Placentia Roses

Question 1

Mary: Actually its know-it-all.
Irene: Glares and you girls have got to do your part.

Answer 1

Oh i see. Were to be bait, are we, for fathers dynasty.

Question 1

Welsh: Dont be ridiculous. Girls, Tell Irene how much you want to get married.

Answer 1

Actually Father, I may not be ready for marriage for a very long time.

Question 2

Irene: Look here young lady, the world isnt chnaging as fast as those books of your would have you believe. A woman today can have a very difficult time of it on her own.

Answer 2

That might be so for most woman, but fathers going to leave us a great fortune when he dies

Question 3

Bridget: That might be so for most woman, but fathers going to leave us a great fortune when he dies!
Irene: Bridget!

Answer 3

Oh Irene, dont be so dramatic. Father isnt going to die for. avery long time but.. when he does…sorry father..die, we girls will be able to look after ourselves. well have money aplenty and wont need a man to provide for us.

Question 4

WELSH: Indeed I will, Irene (to the girls) First of all, after I’m gone, as you well know, your brother David, as the eldest male (a universal groan) will be the one to inherit all of my fortune, including my business.

Answer 4

BRIDGET and MARY: Unfair! Unfair!

Question 5

IRENE: And poor Master David back in County Wexford busting his arse for the good of the family while the three of you get to lounge around here all day reading books! He should not be responsible for your upkeep while he’s trying to build his own dynasty. That’s not fair!

Answer 5

BRIDGET: But if Father won’t allow us to work, what are we to do?

Question 6

WELSH: Ah! You read too much, Mary.
MARY: You taught me to read!

Answer 6

BRIDGET: Seriously, Mary, Father would never make us accept someone unsuitable. Imagine what our lives would be like not having common opinions and thoughts with our mate on how life should be lived in the modern age.

Question 7

WELSH: You think too much, Bridget.

Answer 7

BRIDGET: So you say, but I am allowed to have my own ideas about such things.

Question 8

ANNE: I speak up all the time. You’re not listening, that’s all. (Her eye begins fluttering uncontrollably)

Answer 8

BRIDGET: Nice try, Anne, but you know that’s not true. (to Irene) Her right eye flutters when she tells a lie. It gives her away every time.

Question 9

MARY: The poor thing is condemned to speaking only the truth.

Answer 9

BRIDGET: And the truth is you’re the quiet one, Anne. Get over it.

Question 10

ANNE: But I just heard you say that we can choose a husband.

Answer 10

BRIDGET: She did. She used the word “choose.” I heard it too!

Question 11

IRENE: You heard me say I will “help” you choose. And I will. The fact is, if you all do exactly as I say everything will work out fine. Ah, when I was a young woman in Ireland, there was no one more skilled than myself at matchmaking. The meek, the mild, the woolly and the wild. I could find a match.

Answer 11

BRIDGET: Why didn’t you find a match for yourself then?

Question 12

IRENE: I could never find one good enough! Besides, I chose a life in service to your mother and father and to you three, and David, of course. And I don’t regret it one little bit. But you three are not meant for service, you are meant to marry and marry well.

Answer 12

BRIDGET: If we can find someone. Slim pickings here in Placentia.

Question 13

IRENE: Well, sometimes men can be shy about declaring their feelings, but these things have a way of working themselves out over time.

Answer 13

BRIDGET: According to Father, time is something we don’t have a lot of.

Question 14

IRENE: The whispering trick. Back home in Ireland, there was an old woman who lived all alone in a little shack on a pinch outside the village. We all thought she was a witch. Well, I got to know her a little bit, you know, and she wasn’t as bad as everyone thought. In fact, she was quite kind and very knowledgeable about all sorts of things. She helped me make my first loaf of bread. Risen perfectly, golden brown, little raisins poking up out of the crust just so, the smell alone

Answer 14

BRIDGET: Irene! Get on with it.

Question 15

IRENE: Oh, right. Anyway, one day she told me that if I ever wanted to get a man all I had to do was get him alone and whisper complete gobbledygook in his ear … like this: psssst, psssst, psssst, pssssst, gobbledy, gobbledy, gibbledy, gabbledy… and he’d drop down on one knee straightaway ask me to marry him.

Answer 15

BRIDGET: Why on earth would he do that?

Question 16

IRENE: Now, girls, lunch at noon, on the nose. Don’t be late. And behave yourselves in the meantime. I’d best go see if your father needs anything. You girls have put that poor man through his paces this morning. (Out she goes.)

Answer 16

BRIDGET: Well, well, well, have you ever heard such malarky in all your life? The whispering trick. Where does Irene come up with this nonsense?

Question 17

ANNE: And what do you make of Father threatening to go down to the beach to round up a few fish workers to marry us?

Answer 17

BRIDGET: He’s joking, Anne. At least, I think he’s joking. In any case, between the two of them we’re doomed.

Question 18

MARY: We are doomed unless one of us gets married by the fall. At least that will buy some time for the other two. Who knows, with one married off, maybe he’ll ease off the notion for a while.

Answer 18

BRIDGET: We need a sacrificial lamb. Which of us will that be, I wonder?

Question 19

ANNE: What are you looking at me for?

Answer 19

BRIDGET: (officious, lawyerly) So, Anne, what’s this you say about marrying someone of your own choosing. I don’t suppose you’ve actually found someone you fancy right here in Placentia, have you?

Question 20

ANNE: Of course, I haven’t. Don’t be silly.

Answer 20

BRIDGET: Mary, check the right eye.

Question 21

MARY: (inspecting the eye) The right eyelid is gone cracked.

Answer 21

BRIDGET: Don’t lie to us, Anne. We’re your sisters. Maybe we can help you attain the object of your desires.

Question 22

ANNE: Object of my desires? I don’t know if that’s what I’d call him.

Answer 22

BRIDGET: Aha! So there is someone! Tell us who it is Anne, and don’t bother lying.

Question 23

ANNE: (shyly) Well, I’m hardly smitten. But I do like him … just a little bit … that’s all (the eyelid flutters madly).

Answer 23

BRIDGET: Oh come on, Anne. Admit it. You should be happy you’ve fallen in love.

Question 24

MARY: It’s true. (Bridget takes Anne by the hands and speaks seriously.)

Answer 24

BRIDGET: Anne, that's wonderful! Look, I don't care what Irene thinks or what Father says; we can do a better job finding husbands for ourselves than they can.

Question 25

MARY: (excited) Hear, hear!

Answer 25

BRIDGET: And we're going to start with you!

Question 26

MARY: She has a point there. She can’t say boo to a goose, so how is she going to convince a man to propose?

Answer 26

BRIDGET: Maybe she could try the whispering trick. BRIDGET: Sorry, Anne. I suppose that’s not funny, is it? Wait a minute. I have an idea! Mary, you've read a lot of those mediaeval romances, haven’t you?

Question 27

MARY: When I’m in the mood for some light reading, yes.

Answer 27

BRIDGET: Oh, admit it. You love them. They’re full of polite conversation between lovers, aren’t they?

Question 28

MARY: Of course, they are.

Answer 28

BRIDGET: (developing the plan) Well, you being the resident expert, so to speak, you could hide - behind the curtain there - and pass little notes to Anne to help her along in her conversation and maybe we can steer Mr. Saunders in the right direction.

Question 29

ANNE: How are we going to get Mr. Saunders to come to the parlour to talk to me all by himself?

Answer 29

BRIDGET: (still scheming) Irene always goes to the bread oven right after lunch and father will be busy working. So, I'll slip a seductive little note from you into Mr. Saunders’s accounts ledger, inviting him for a chat in the parlour at one o’clock.

Question 30

ANNE: I’m not writing any seductive little note!

Answer 30

BRIDGET: Of course you’re not. I’ll write it! Don’t worry, I won’t overdo it.

Question 31

ANNE:You’re right about that. I won’t worry about a thing - I’ll worry about everything!

Answer 31

BRIDGET: Come on Anne - where’s your sense of adventure?! Take control of your life!

Question 32

ANNE: All right, then, let's do it!

Answer 32

BRIDGET: That’s more like it! Let’s go in for lunch and act like everything is perfectly normal.

Question 33

WELSH: Time for lunch, ladies. (sensing something) What are you three conspiring about now?

Answer 33

BRIDGET: Really, Father. You have such a suspicious nature. We were just talking about the weather, weren’t we, girls?

Question 34

BRIDGET: Mr. Saunders is outside.

Answer 34

MARY: (pops her head out) Oh my goodness. He looks more frightened than she is.

Question 35

ANNE: (almost fainting) Oh my Lord, I can't do this.

Answer 35

BRIDGET: (aside to Mary) We've got our work cut out for us. (to Anne) Of course, you can! We’ll be with you every step of the way. (A timid knock.) That's him! Mary, get ready to start scribbling. BRIDGET (cont’d) Come in, Mr. Saunders. You can join my sister over there on the settee. I'll leave you two alone.

Question 36

ANNE: (another note) How charming. One day, please God, we'll have a proper bridge across the gut here in Placentia. (A knock at the door. Bridget enters.)

Answer 36

BRIDGET: I’m so sorry to interrupt. Father has just informed me that he will require the use of the parlour momentarily. Mr. Saunders, would you mind?

Question 37

SAUNDERS: No, not at all. It was lovely to speak with you, Miss Welsh - Anne. I hope I may call again. (Anne is frozen like a deer in the headlights. Mary offers a note which Bridget grabs and throws aside. She’s in charge now.)

Answer 37

BRIDGET: Of course, you may, Mr. Saunders. You’ll be hearing from me … I mean, from Anne, of course. (giving him the bum’s rush) Would you mind taking this way out? Wonderful. Thank you. See you soon, Mr. Saunders. Bye now.

Question 38

MARY: It was brilliant! I was brilliant! It’s simple. He’s a man. Get him talking about himself and he’ll go on all day. I believe we could’ve reeled him in if not for the interruption. Why on earth does Father need the parlour at this time of day?

Answer 38

BRIDGET: He said he has to conduct some interviews. Anne, you did very well. Come, let’s do a little debrief and plan our next move.

Question 39

IRENE: Hello, girls. I need to tidy up a little before your father gets here.

Answer 39

BRIDGET: That’s fine, Irene. We’re quite finished.

Question 40

MARY: That was a great bit of sport, wasn't it?

Answer 40

BRIDGET: It was. Now, where’s that note I dropped on the floor? It’s evidence. We can’t have Father or Irene getting wise to us.

Question 41

MARY: (searching) Here it is! (They spot the three boys and look at each other in disbelief.)

Answer 41

BRIDGET and MARY: (to the boys) Hello.

Question 42

MARY: (Aside to Bridget) Bridget, you don’t think that Father …

Answer 42

BRIDGET: … actually went down to the beach and picked them … out for … us?

Question 43

MARY: I told you he was serious.

Answer 43

BRIDGET: He wouldn't … he couldn’t … could he??? (to the lads) Hello. May we ask who you are and why are you here

Question 44

DWYER: We’re here for the interview. Mr. Welsh is looking for three good men.

Answer 44

BRIDGET: Did he say what he needed these men for?

Question 45

DWYER: He said it was particularly nasty piece of work.

Answer 45

BRIDGET: Did he say that!?

Question 46

HANAGAN: And we're just the fellas to do it! (The lads strike a jaunty pose.)

Answer 46

BRIDGET: (to Mary) This is madness. If we don’t get Anne married off in a hurry we are in deep trouble.

Question 47

MARY: I’ll run away from home. I swear.

Answer 47

BRIDGET: Hopefully, it won’t come to that. But we haven’t a minute to waste. When father is finished in the parlour, we’ll get Mr. Saunders and Anne back on the couch and get him to propose. It has to happen today or we are sunk.

Question 48

WELSH: Tell them I’m in the process of arranging their accommodation. (Bridget, Mary, and Anne enter.)

Answer 48

BRIDGET: (uneasily) How did the interview go, Father?

Question 49

WELSH: Honestly, despite Irene’s strong recommendation (the girls look at her in horror) I’m not sure they're suitable for the task at hand. (girls relieved) Not to worry, though. There’s plenty more where they came from. Come, Irene, let’s give the room back to the ladies. Sorry for the interruption. (They go out.)

Answer 49

BRIDGET: I think Father is losing his mind.

Question 50

ANNE: (galvanised) Where’s Mr. Saunders now?

Answer 50

BRIDGET: He’s waiting outside.

Question 51

ANNE: Of course, I do, Mary. I haven’t miraculously acquired the gift of gab.

Answer 51

BRIDGET: (peeking out) And neither has he, by the look of him.

Question 52

SAUNDERS: … a suitable companion. (They look longingly into each other's eyes) (Bridget bursts in.)

Answer 52

BRIDGET: Father needs the parlour again! He says he has a grand announcement to make. We’re so sorry, Mr. Saunders, but would you mind?

Question 53

SAUNDERS: (He knows the drill.) No trouble at all. The same way?

Answer 53

BRIDGET: If you don’t mind. Thank you, Mr. Saunders.

Question 54

MARY: I feel like I’ve just had a price put on my head. Five thousand pounds!

Answer 54

BRIDGET: We won’t stand a chance once the word gets out. Every fish servant on the beach will be beating a path to our door.

Question 55

ANNE: As well as every crusty old man from Poole or Bristol.

Answer 55

BRIDGET: Not that I have anything against fish servants. I just don’t want to marry one, that’s all.

Question 56

ANNE: Get William back in here. He was right on the hand of proposing when Father came in with his big announcement.

Answer 56

BRIDGET: I think you’re right, Anne. Just remember. Lead him to it. He’s the one who has to propose. Not you.

Question 57

MARY: And no more notes. This time you’re on your own. ANNE: I can do it!

Answer 57

BRIDGET: I know you can. Let’s go get him.

Question 58

ANNE: Of course, I will. (Any chance of a kiss is ruined as Bridget and Mary burst into the room. They’ve been listening at the door the whole time.)

Answer 58

BRIDGET: Well done, Mr. Saunders. We thought you’d never ask. Now you have to go ask Father for her hand. I’m sure he’ll accept.

Question 59

MARY: Bring that expensive book with you. It’ll strengthen your case.

Answer 59

BRIDGET: He’s in his office. Go right now. (A nervous Saunders exits.) BRIDGET: How did you get him to propose? The last thing I heard, you told him to stand up, and the next thing, he was on his knees.

Question 60

WELSH: (looks askance at Bridget and Mary) You’ve got your work cut out for you. (Welsh shakes hands with the three men and his new son-in-law.)

Answer 60

BRIDGET: (aside) Speaking of marriage, Irene, do you think you might use the whispering trick to capture Douglas? We can tell you like him.