AFFAIR AT BROMFIELD HALL
Picture courtesy of Anke Lantin
Lambeth
Pier, London. A man called Ransome,
walks along the Embankment then enters a telephone box and places a card on top
of the directories then begins to dial a number. Another man walks up behind him then shoots him in the back. As Ransome falls to the ground, the shooter
picks up the card and reads the name, ’Lee Stetson’ on it.
Elsewhere
in London, Lee is posing as the President of Anacord Electronics so that he can
openly meet with MI5 but look as if he’s just peddling the latest
technology. Apparently there’s been a
major breach in the Anglo-American intelligence community and MI5 have invited
him over to help. Amanda is with him
acting as his secretary, or ‘window dressing’ as he none to tactfully puts it,
in order to complete his cover.
Lee
tells Amanda to go sight-seeing as he doesn’t need her for the rest of the day
and warns her not to get into trouble.
She assures him she won’t and heads over to watch some Morris Dancers
who are performing in a nearby park. As
she watches, passers-by keep pushing her back onto a gentleman standing behind
her so he suggests a better place for her to watch the festivities and leads
her over to a park bench which she stands on.
Unbeknownst to Amanda, the man is Lord Ralph Bromfield, peer of the
realm and undersecretary to the Foreign Office. He comments on her being American and expresses surprise at her
being off the usual tourist track.
Amanda explains that a man outside her hotel told her about the dancers
but she’s not sure what the are. Lord
Bromfield thinks they’re a survival of a primitive, religious ceremonial and
then says he wishes he wife were there as she’d know. As he says that he looks around wondering aloud at where she is
as she should’ve met him there by now.
His
wife, Gwen, is actually with her lover, Geoffrey! She tells him that she’s leaving her husband but he doesn’t think
it’s a good idea as he doesn’t have enough money to support them but Gwen
thinks that love’s enough and she’s sick of having five years of memories of
stolen times with him. He asks her to
be patient but she says that something’s got to happen soon.
Back
at the Morris Dancers, a freelance photographer spies Amanda and Lord Bromfield
and takes a photo of the gentleman helping Amanda down off of the bench which
when developed and printed in the newspapers the next day looks very
compromising. Lee isn’t happy at what
Amanda’s got herself into a sex scandal because he’s in the middle of the most
delicate investigation of his career and in four days a top level meeting will
be held at which the defence strategy’s for the North Sea Oil Fields are being
laid out and that’s how long he has to plug the leak in the intelligence
network. Amanda says it’s not a sex
scandal and that she doesn’t even know the man and Lee tells her who Lord
Bromfield is. Amanda then worries about
the story getting back to the States but Lee assures her it won’t as he’s called
in a few favours to which she’s grateful.
Lee then tells her that he’s booked her on the next flight out but
Amanda refuses to go until Lord Bromfield has made a public denial of their
‘affair’.
They
meet with Lord Bromfield but he refuses to make a statement as he thinks it
would inflame the situation. As they chat, Compson the photographer appears and
takes a photo of the three of them sitting at their table together then runs
away. Amanda is mortified and decides
to leave the next day as Lee suggested but doesn’t want to look as if she’s
running away. Lord Bromfield then asks
them, at the invitation of his wife, if she’d like to stay at Bromfield Hall
for the weekend to make her look like an old friend of the family. Lee thinks she should but Lord Bromfield
says the invite is for both in the hopes that people will think they’re more
than just employer and employee – reluctantly, they both agree to go.
The
next day they arrive at Bromfield Hall and no sooner are they out of the car
than Compson pops up out of nowhere and takes their picture. Lee has had enough and runs over to the guy
and snatches the camera out of his hands and rips out the film. Compson objects but Lee shoves the camera
back at him and tells him to get lost.
Later,
at the garden party that’s being held at the Hall, Lee and Amanda meet the
other guests. Among them is Geoffrey
and his friend Mr. Pridemore who knows Lee.
After shaking hands with them, Lee suddenly makes his apologies saying
he has to get back to London for business.
Amanda offers to walk him to his car and as they set off, Pridemore runs
up behind them in order to talk. He’s
MI5 and they express sorrow at Ransome’s death then Pridemore assures him
there’s no resentment towards Lee for his involvement in the case and he’ll be
there all weekend if they need any help.
They thank him and then set off for Lee’s car. As they round the front of the house they begin discussing how
ridiculous it is that Amanda is involved in a sex scandal. They’re so wrapped up in their conversation
that they fail to notice Compson running off towards the other end of the
house. Amanda then offers to help Lee
but Lee walks up a few of the front steps of the Hall and turns and opens his
arms wide telling Amanda to look around at how nice the place is and to just
relax and enjoy herself. As Amanda
looks up at him she sees a stone urn being pushed from the balcony above and
rushes forward shoving Lee out of the way just as the urn smashes to pieces a
mere few inches away. Suffering a sore
shoulder and a slight bump to the head, Lee decides he’ll stick around to find
out what’s going on.
Later
that evening while walking through the Hall to where a party is being held,
Lord Bromfield tells Amanda that it’s a shame she didn’t see Compson actually
push the urn as they could then arrest him.
Amanda asks why he thinks it’s Compson and the Lord says that he’s had
him checked out and he’s a bad lot plus he threatened Lee earlier but Lee
doesn’t think it is the photographer although he won’t elaborate why. They enter the room where the party’s being
held and Compson is already there having bluffed his way in. Lee spots him and gives chase through the
Hall and outside to the grounds. Amanda
follows and notices that one of the pikes is missing from a display in the
hallway. Outside, Lee follows Compson
into the maze and a few seconds later, Amanda follows. As they wander around, another man carrying
the pike is also in the maze. Compson
finds Lee and they begin to struggle.
Through the hedge the man with the pike pushes the weapon through the
bush and stabs Compson in the back, killing him.
The
next day at New Scotland Yard in London, Lee and Amanda talk with Inspector
Keaton about Compson’s death. The
inspector thinks Lee has the motive which Amanda confirms in her usual helpful
way. Keaton says that he knows about
Lee’s current investigation from his colleague, Newhart, who’s also sitting in
on the chat and who tells Keaton that the investigation can’t be compromised. Keaton agrees but can’t just let a murder go
by without doing something about it.
Lee says to mark it down as accidental as he thinks the pike was meant
for him. He reckons that the sex
scandal was a set up to get him to Bromfield Hall so that he could be
eliminated. Newhart is surprised as he
didn’t realise they were so close and neither did Lee. Lord Bromfield is suspected as the leak but
Lee thinks it’s either Pridemore or Geoffrey although Newhart can’t find
anything on him accept for a busy social calendar. Keaton agrees to hold off on the Compson case for 24 hours and
Lee says that he should be at Bromfield Hall.
Lee
and Amanda leave New Scotland Yard and take a walk along the Embankment as they
discuss the case. Amanda doesn’t think
Lee should go back to the Hall as someone’s trying to kill him but Lee says he
hopes they’ll try again as he’s got two days the plug the leak. Amanda then says she’ll go with him and at
Lee’s opposition to her idea, she points out that it’ll help keep cover so he
agrees. She then says she has a feeling
that Gwyn is behind everything because she obviously doesn’t love her husband
as she never touches him and their no emotion in her face when she looks at
him. Lee doesn’t agree and they head
back to the Hall.
At
the Hall, Gwyn tells Geoffrey that she’s divorcing her husband. Geoffrey tries to dissuade her but she’s
adamant saying she doesn’t know why he thought up the weekend but she doesn’t
like playing hostess to Amanda when she should be naming her as co-respondent. Geoffrey asks for a few more days and she
reluctantly agrees.
Outside,
Lee and Amanda are talking to another guest called, Lady Witherspoon, about
Geoffrey. She says he has a good
background and is often a guest there but that’s it. She also goes on to say the Lord and Lady Bromfield had an
arranged marriage as she had no money.
When asked about Pridemore, she tells them that he’s only there when
Geoffrey is and although they seem close, she doesn’t think they’re friends. This information only confirms Lee and
Amanda’s suspicions that the two men are the leaks and Lee decides to check
their rooms but declines Amanda’s offer of help and tells her to go to the
library and check Gwynneth’s family tree.
In
the library, Amanda sits reading a Genealogy book in a large surround chair
when Pridemore and Geoffrey enter. They
don’t see her and talk about Compson’s death and getting the defence plans to
make them rich. They then discuss the
necessity of killing both Lee and Amanda then leave the room. Amanda is mortified and immediately gets up
and tries the door but can’t open it.
She hears footsteps coming closer and fearing it’s either Pridemore or
Geoffrey, she grabs an inkwell off the desk ready to strike. To Amanda’s relief it’s Lord Bromfield and
she quickly tells him what she heard.
He shows her how to open the door via the secret handle and she rushes
off to find Lee, only to come back seconds later to ask where Pridemore and
Geoffrey’s rooms are. Lord Bromfield says he’ll show her and as
they reach the stairs Lee is coming down.
Amanda tells him what she overheard and he’s dumbfounded as he only sent
her to the library to get her out of his way.
Just
then, Pridemore and Geoffrey enter the hall and Lord Bromfield demands an
explanation from them. Lady Bromfield
ventures downstairs just as Geoffrey punches Lord Bromfield and the two men
make a run for it. Lee sets off in
pursuit and Lord Bromfield gets up and looks at his wife suddenly realising
that she’s having an affair with Geoffrey as she called out his name even
though her husband went down.
Outside,
the two men run to the stables and Lee tells Amanda to stay out of it as he
gives chase. She does for about two
seconds then runs after him. In the
stables, Lee and Pridemore battle it out with pitchforks then fists. Amanda comes in a watches then suddenly
notices behind her that Geoffrey leaves the stable and runs outside and grabs a
horse and rides off. Lee knocks
Pridemore out then Amanda tells him where Geoffrey went. Lee goes outside and also grabs a horse and
sets off after his foe into the woods.
He catches up and as the horses draw level, Lee launches himself from
his horse and grabs Geoffrey, knocking him off his horse and into the pond
where Lee knocks him out.
With
Pridemore and Geoffrey taken away, all the guests leave Bromfield Hall and Lord
Bromfield discusses the case with Lee and Amanda before they go. He decides to go and ask his wife if she
fancies a holiday in Majorca and leaves them alone. Amanda is impressed when Lee says Lord Bromfield is forgiving
because he’s in love with his wife.
Lord Bromfield comes back to say goodbye and takes Amanda’s hand and
kisses it. Just then about 20
photographers pop up from behind parked
cars and start taking pictures but Lee and Amanda turn away and hold their
hands up over each other’s faces.
SCENE’S
TO WATCH OUT FOR:
Lee
telling Amanda she’s ‘window dressing’ – it’s doesn’t go down to well although
he’s totally oblivious as usual J
Lee
and Amanda discussing her ‘sex scandal’ when it blows up in the papers.
Amanda
confirming to Keaton that Lee had a motive to kill Compson – Lee’s long
suffering reaction is funny.
When
the two Scotland Yard detectives are talking Amanda says something to Lee
(probably another apology) and Lee shushes her – very sweet.
Scene
at Embankment when Amanda explains her theory on why Lady Bromfield is the one
behind everything.
Tag.
ROMANCE:
Nice
episode this with a few cute moments in it, one of which is when Lee tells
Amanda he’s called in a few favours so that her ‘sex scandal’ won’t get back to
America and her family. Although I
think part of this is to protect his cover, there definitely seems to be a part
of him that does it because he genuinely wants to put her mind at rest and help
her as a friend. As usual he plays it down
but it’s nice to see his caring side.
Another
sweet moment is when Lord Bromfield invites them both to the Hall saying that
he hopes people will think they’re more than just boss and employer. They both awkwardly deny there is anything
going on between them, but it’s not so quick and not so strongly as usual –
especially from Lee. He gives her a
little look and almost seems to follow her lead. Maybe he had a sudden thought that it might be an idea to pretend
they were lovers as a way of strengthening their cover…or maybe not. Whatever his thoughts were as he gazed at
her, they certainly seemed pleasant.
And
of course, the best part of the episode is the wonderful scene at the Embankment
when Amanda goes into detail as to why Lady Bromfield isn’t in love with her
husband. The way she squeezes his hand
and arm as a way of showing that people who care touch one another and then
realises what she’s doing and immediately stops is so sweet (a theme which is
carried through the rest of the episode).
Her awkwardness over the way she’d acted tells you she almost slipped up
and when Lee tries to break the tension by saying that she has fascinating
theories, she almost slips up even more by saying, “Well,” then stopping and
the widening of her eyes slightly is probably when she realises what she’d been
about to give away – you just know she was going to say, “Well, they’re not
theories actually.” And Lee, well, he
never actually pulled his hand away from did he? In fact, he looked quite bereft when she stopped touching
him. And fair play to the man, he
didn’t make a big thing of her awkwardness, he just tried to diffuse the
situation. Before that moment he always
seemed oblivious to Amanda’s feelings but this time he seemed to know exactly
what she wasn’t saying. This, I think,
shows a deepening of their friendship and takes their relationship to another
level.
And
finally the tag scene. Although not
obviously romantic between the two as such, I was just struck when Amanda says
she’s surprised that Lee notices things like people being in love and he
quietly responds that he does. Makes me
wonder if it’s his subtle way of saying he notices the signs in Amanda…definitely
something to ponder on J
QUOTES:
LEE:
Try to stay out of trouble huh?
AMANDA:
Sightseeing? Oh, hardly any trouble sightseeing.
AMANDA:
Look, how can that newspaper call me a…(whispers) mistress!
LEE:
What are you whispering for? It’s made
every rag in town.
AMANDA:
It didn’t make The Times.
LEE:
Oh, is that something to be grateful for?
COMPSON:
Hold on, you can't go mucking about with that. That's private property.
LEE:
Oh yeah? This is private property and THIS is a private face.
AMANDA:
You didn’t tell me anyone had been murdered.
LEE:
You didn’t ask.
LEE:
Nobody who knows you is going to believe you in the middle of a sex scandal.
All you have to do is take one look to know it's ridiculous.
AMANDA:
Lee, I'm part of your cover. If I don't go with you how will you explain it?
LEE:
Alright, strictly as part of my cover. Just background.
AMANDA:
Right. Window dressing.
LEE:
I don't know what makes me ask this but why don't you trust her?
AMANDA:
It's a feeling.
LEE:
Oh, that solid huh?
AMANDA:
Be careful.
LEE:
Oh, always.
LORD
BROMFIELD: You are to be commended, Mr. Stetson. You too, Mrs. King.
AMANDA:
Oh, I didn’t do anything.
LORD
BROMFIELD: Oh, well…
AMANDA:
Well, I did stop that urn from falling on Mr. Stetson’s head.
LEE:
Right.
AMANDA:
And I did overhear the conversation in the library.
LEE:
Yeah, you were good.
AMANDA:
Oh, but you were better. You suspected
Mr. Douglas-Wood and Mr. Pridemore, I thought it was…(she stops
and stares at Lord Bromfield)…someone else.
AMANDA:
He's a very understanding man.
LEE:
He's in love.
AMANDA:
You noticed that though, huh? Didn't know you noticed things like that. I mean,
I know you're trained to notice things but I didn't know you noticed things
like that.
LEE:
I noticed.
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