A Thousand Blows

This is Prince Albert Victor, second in line to the British throne.

Victoria has told me a lot about you, Mr Moscow.

This unfortunate business about your ban.

I used to run here with my friend.

Him train me and teach me everything he know.

You know, someone crossed my path the other day. A certain Mr Lao.

There's a dying oil man in New York.

There's a painting, and he will have it at any cost.

The mysterious Caravaggio. And now he keeps it locked away.

Meet our American heiress.

Are you up to this, Alice?

Jane's sick. She's dying.

If you care about your brother, you will tell me precisely what Mary Carr is up to.

As promised, ladies. Forged documents for our American heiress.

Bond coupons, travel papers and even a letter from her darling father.

Silas Drake. Jesus, what a name.

Bet he wouldn't mind a daughter with a questionable accent

- turning up out of the blue, no? - Alice will get the hang of it. Won't ya?

Of course I will.

All right, ladies, let's focus on the job in hand. We've got work to do.

Are you okay?

Where the hell have you been?

What's wrong?

I'm so sorry, Mary.

It's your mother.

She's dead.

Mary? Mary, shall we go there?

Mary, I'm so sorry.

Try again.

Again.

Mmm.

Now find me.

Good.

We're done.

Now, where on earth did you learn a training technique like that?

My friend was the first man I saw who boxed the bells.

He would hang them around him in the breeze,

close him eye, and seek the loudest.

This friend...

was his name Alec Munroe?

Let's concentrate on you.

I read about what happened to him.

Is that why you're returning to Jamaica?

Do you want to put this awful memory to bed?

Maybe I'm just ready to go home.

I mean, surely there's a future for you in London.

I mean, I saw you the other night, Mr Moscow,

and you... you possess a unique gift.

That doesn't matter anymore.

The carriage has arrived, Your Royal Highness.

Yes. Uh, I'll be right there.

Be honest then.

With this fight looming...

Do I stand a chance?

Would I be here if you didn't?

Well, that's all I needed to hear.

And then the land will be yours.

Hello, Sugar.

Someone told me you might be down here.

- Fuck off. - Right.

I've been looking for you for days.

We thought you might've done something stupid.

I'm not in the mood, Sugar.

What's this?

This is business, Sugar. Remember that.

I've had to handle it while you've been away.

What, by selling the one thing we've got left?

It's your name above the door.

I know.

That place has cost me so much.

I came down here to... to fight.

You know, to see if I was still up to it.

Do you know what happened?

I-I froze.

That's when I realised that I've got nothing left.

There's no fight in me no more.

Cutting ties with the Blue Coat ain't the answer.

You're giving up a future for your family.

Family?

And I'm supposed to trust in that 'cause of what you say?

No. No. Because I'm your brother. Right, and we're all we've got left.

So let me fight for the both of us.

Yeah? Yeah?

Come on.

- Hey. I'm gonna fix this right now. - Yeah.

Mr Goodson.

You almost gave me a bloody heart attack.

We wouldn't wanna do that.

We'd like a word, Mr Rees.

Take a seat.

I, uh... I wasn't scheduled to see you so soon, Mr Goodson.

The sale of the Blue Coat Boy.

It ain't gonna happen.

We have a deal in place, Mr Goodson.

The deed is signed.

Well, there's been a change of plans.

You don't just renege on a deal with the Metropolitan Board of Works.

That sounded like a threat.

Merely advice.

That area has been marked for regeneration.

We're on a march for progress. That can't be stopped.

Well, that march stops at Wapping.

Do you understand?

- Do you understand? - Yes.

Deal's off.

Glad you could join us, Miss Dower.

Now, as you ladies have been left without a queen

there'll be a change of command today.

Has no one heard from Mary?

She'll be found when she wants to be. You know what she's like.

Yeah, Alice is right, and this job remains our focus.

Today, while I'm working on the Graftons, the rest of you work with Alice.

She's got a plan how you can walk in and out the front door

- without a second glance. - We shouldn't be doing this without Mary.

We've got a job to do. Mary isn't your problem.

Right. Follow me, ladies.

How can you all act so normal about all this? It's not right.

This is what Mary would want, Belle. This is what she taught us.

I'm curious, Miss Bridges.

Where did you learn such knowledge of the esoteric?

I descend from a family of Bavarian witches.

The knowledge is in my blood.

That was a joke, sir.

They were Romanian.

Sit down, Nicholas.

So, you're shortly to be leaving us.

I have to, I'm afraid.

A generous old client of mine from Boston has written to me requesting my services.

They must be offering you something interesting to draw you away.

Mmm. Silas Drake is a very persuasive man.

Drake? As in, um, shipping magnate Drake?

Oh. You... You know him?

By name only, I'm afraid.

I shouldn't really be sharing, but his daughter, Lucinda,

has been in London on a whirlwind tour of the art galleries.

She requires a companion for her European travels over Christmas.

She loves a soirée or two.

Well, it's a sh-shame that she's leaving so soon, isn't it, Father?

We could've thrown open the vaults.

Miss Drake is in London.

Perhaps we could persuade her to visit us here at the house before she leaves.

Perhaps a Christmas ball.

As of now, you three are part of the White Chapel Workhouse Choir.

Verity will help with the lyrics.

Right.

So, how does this get us into Grafton Manor?

Well, Silas Drake is known for his charity.

He sponsors church choirs across Boston.

So to show his own charitable side, Lord Grafton will invite a choir

of God's less fortunate creatures in on the day of my visit.

Sophie's planting the seeds today, and that, ladies, is your way in.

I'm not fucking singing.

You'll cry like a rooster if I say this job needs you to, Belle.

Any questions?

Just make sure you don't cock this up, or there'll be hell to pay.

Mary would think this is smart.

I'm not talking about Mary. I meant me.

There'll be hell to pay with me.

Do not cock it up this time, Alice.

Everything clear with you three?

- Mmm. - Yes.

Good. I'll go get us a carriage.

We're going out west.

Lucinda Drake needs some pearls for her ball gown, I think.

- Thank you. - You're welcome.

Miss Lucinda Drake, you are cordially invited to a ball at Grafton Manor.

Perfect.

Any news on Mary?

None at all.

You know what I think?

Fuck Mary.

The Forty Elephants died the other night with her mother.

You're a big picture girl, Alice. You know I'm talking sense.

Loyalty gets you far in these parts.

Ambition gets you further everywhere else.

Look, we don't need to stick around here after the heist is done.

We could take it all and go.

The painting, Mary's cut. It could all be yours.

There's a big world we can disappear into with that kind of capital.

Where would we go?

New York.

You can be an ambitious woman out there. Take what the world won't give you.

Look, I was part of a wolf pack like you once, Alice, but it fell apart.

There's only so far you can go in this world

with people who lack the vision you do.

New York is the place to be,

and if you're as smart as I think you are, it could be your future.

Mary's sinking. Don't go down with her.

To what do I owe the pleasure of a visit from my favourite muse?

Are we nearly finished?

Not long now, Miss Crane. Perfection is an art in itself.

I don't need perfection. I just need it done.

Is there...

a reason for your sudden urgency?

What do you see? When you're painting it.

I see Polly Crane, the swan-necked beauty.

I see proof.

Proof I was here.

Proof I was real.

That's all that really matters.