- 9 hours ago
A Woman Of Substance S01E05 (2026)
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00:10To be continued...
00:30Henry Rossiter to come and see me.
00:32I need to liquidate some assets.
00:34Really? How much do you need?
00:36Seven million pounds.
00:38What for?
00:39And as much as it pains me to say it, I should make a television appearance.
00:43So call Peter Lasalli and tell him it's finally a yes for The Tonight Show.
00:48And after that, I'd like you to call Jim Fairley and put an end to your dalliance with him.
00:57I don't know what you know.
01:00I didn't even know who he was when we first met him.
01:03I thought you were serious about your future here, Paula. I thought you had ambition.
01:07I am. I do.
01:08Then it ends today.
01:10But, Grandy, I love him.
01:14Paula, I understand.
01:16Believe me.
01:17That occasionally one can find oneself distracted.
01:22But one must use that distraction as a springboard for moving on.
01:26You and Jim Fairley are over.
01:29End of story.
01:32You don't get to where I am without making sacrifices.
01:35to where I am without making sacrifices.
02:07Ready for your grand opening day?
02:13Have a lovely day.
02:34All right.
02:37He's my second and compared to the first, he's just an angel.
02:42Emma, just don't tell him the worst of all.
02:45Harry.
02:45Love you, my brother.
02:47Love you.
03:06Love you.
03:07Love you.
03:08Love you.
03:10Love you.
03:12Love you.
03:21perfect mrs jacobs with the height you've been blessed with i take the skirt up to mid-calf
03:25i'll have to persuade my husband and he's a new jacket he'll be showing me up in church
03:29perhaps sweeten them up first you see my treacle tart kits my mother's recipe my dad used to ask
03:34for one instead of a birthday cake in june so you've been working every day every second when
03:44will this place be running smoothly enough for you to take time off and see your family
03:47hey menswear that should be next perfect way to expand the customer base now look at yours
03:55yes if you're going to undress me perhaps without an audience
04:00sorry
04:04tweed i'm gonna need lots of tweed can you oh i'm good at being in charge
04:17i'm going to need whatever you've got in tweed worsted wool maybe some linen you can't be running
04:22dry already it's not a menswear line did you hear they're selling jewsbury mill someone'll make a
04:29fortune yeah they'll have to spend one first if you buy it think how much bigger your profit
04:32margins will be no thank you that'd be too risky for me i'd have to take out a whacking loan
04:37it'd
04:38more than pay for itself given how poorly everyone thinks of the fairly mills broad juice i reckon
04:41the contracts they've got left will be yours for the day you know
04:44mr louder you've seen what she's doing treacle tart kits in her dressmakers have you ever heard of
04:51such a thing i knew it the second you let her move in i said to my husband i said
04:54she's after my
04:55shop mrs hart is free to sell whatever she wants oh you would say that protecting your fancy woman
05:01emma is a married woman who's she married to the invisible man i've seen the way she's in and out
05:06of your shop like nobody's business it sounds like you made it your business mrs minton if you want to
05:11keep leasing my premises i suggest you apologize to mrs hart immediately and spend less time worrying
05:16about what she's selling and more about what you're selling which as of late i suspect is not very much
05:27sorry invisible husband invisible baby thanks for asking mrs minton but my daughter's been very
05:32well looked after as a matter of fact she wants her nothing emma
05:39what does she know eh she thinks we're carrying on she's going to her shop i never keep you waiting
05:45for ren i'd be too worried that she'd bludgeon us both to death of one of our treacle tarts
05:58some fish eye darts at the front here would make for a better silhouette don't you think
06:02pulling the waist without just throwing the ball yes you're right clean lines
06:12can i take your measurements for samples
06:18sure yes thanks
06:41most people
06:43wait more than a few months after opening a ladies workshop to expand
06:48you think it's due soon no i don't
06:54and this is exactly why i wanted to work with you
07:03because you're not most people
07:17i can't i can't i'm married someone should remind your husband of that because it's been almost a
07:21year emma and he hasn't bothered to come near you not even when he gave birth to his child
07:25please always
07:26week after week i say to myself has he any idea who he married does he know you has he
07:30seen you
07:33because surely if he'd had even a glimpse of you he'd not be able to tear himself from your side
07:37i'm sorry i'm sorry
07:38i'm sorry
07:38i'm sorry
08:10Emma Hart, isn't it?
08:13Yes.
08:14How can I help you, Mrs...
08:16Miss... Chandra?
08:19At least for the next few weeks, then it'll be Mrs. Edwin Fairley.
08:24That's why I'm here.
08:34Yes, I can see.
08:37It just needs the odd adjustment.
08:42All we have to do is...
08:43Burn it.
08:45It's a fairly alien they insisted I try on, and as you can see, it fits.
08:50Which is rather unfortunate, because it's an absolute monstrosity.
08:56I'm sorry.
08:58So am I.
08:58Anyway, but I kept hearing such wonderful things about this place.
09:02I was hoping you could make it even a tiny bit less hideous.
09:05Let's see.
09:10I always imagined I'd get married and what my mother wore to her wedding.
09:13It was a beautiful red sari.
09:16Bold thread.
09:17But she won't be at the wedding herself.
09:24She passed away.
09:28I'm sorry.
09:31And to lose a mother, that's...
09:35I know.
09:37It's the worst thing.
09:39Yes.
09:40It is.
09:48He writes to you.
09:52Letters.
09:55Constantly.
09:58Though he seems to have no intention of sending them, so...
10:01I suppose I was always going to find them eventually.
10:04Okay.
10:08Why did you come here?
10:11If I'm going to spend the rest of my life with a man whose heart is broken,
10:15I thought I ought to at least have a good look at the woman responsible.
10:18If Edwin's heart is broken, it's entirely his own doing.
10:20I can assure you of that.
10:28You can look.
10:35Well, I'd have made me look an absolute fright if I were you.
10:38Oh, I considered it.
10:40It was a time I'd have ruined the dress completely.
10:43Anything to get back at them, even a little bit.
10:48I made a vow, you see.
10:50Spend the rest of my life punishing them.
10:53All of the failies.
10:55I know.
10:59Sometimes I wonder whether, in doing that, I'm also punishing myself.
11:14Don't marry him.
11:17Not because I want him, or because I'm trying to ruin his life.
11:21I just...
11:23I think you deserve more.
11:30He's good to me.
11:33And love can grow, I think.
11:37Now you have hope.
11:42I know this might be terribly inappropriate, but I really did want you to...
11:46I'll have it delivered.
11:48Once it's finished.
12:13Sure, I thought you'd be pleased to hear Edwin's living a life of misery.
12:16Doesn't it feel good, Emma, to know you built all this while he's been stood still, right where you left
12:20him?
12:21But part of me's been there with him, hasn't it?
12:23Wearing the ring he got me.
12:25Even pretending to have a husband at sea.
12:27Making sure there isn't even the slightest possibility I might one day be able to meet someone else.
12:34Are you ready for that?
12:37I want to be, I think.
12:40But I'm scared.
12:43That rage, the rage against Edwin, it's what's dragging me out of bed every single morning.
12:47It's what's keeping Edwina fed and safe.
12:49If I let that go, am I just going to get distracted again?
12:52Am I going to let my mam down?
12:53No, Emma, that fire inside you is going nowhere.
12:57It's that rage.
12:58It's who you are.
13:00Rage was just the fuel there for a little while, but that can come from anywhere.
13:05It can come from love.
13:09You're right.
13:13Emma.
13:14Would you speak to him for me?
13:16Would you speak to David?
13:19You'll probably notice how we are around each other.
13:23I never expected it.
13:25Tried to tell myself it wasn't happening, but...
13:28He makes me feel...
13:30I don't know...
13:32Excited.
13:33Fluttery.
13:35Hopeful.
13:37Is that bad?
13:40Never.
13:42What, um...
13:45What do you want me to say to him?
14:10I know I should feel guilty, but these past months, with the death away, have been the best of my
14:18life.
14:25Delivery for you, Miss Chandler.
14:27Oh, thank you.
14:30My wedding dress, so best not to mention it to you.
14:33Of course.
14:35Wouldn't want to bring about any...
14:36bad luck.
14:53What have you got there?
14:54Oh.
14:55It...
14:55It's, um...
14:56Oh, sorry.
14:57Is that the...
15:00Wedding dress.
15:01Yes.
15:02I had it altered.
15:03A little.
15:03At this...
15:05New dressmakers I kept hearing about.
15:10Really?
15:12Right.
15:13Good.
15:14Good.
15:16I hope you got...
15:18What you wanted.
15:35These are...
15:36For you.
15:38Mac told me about your husband.
15:39I'm so sorry.
15:53Why didn't you tell me sooner that he died?
15:59It was a while ago.
16:03I think I was scared...
16:06of us.
16:10No.
16:12Worried about me being...
16:15forward.
16:19Worried I might.
16:26I was just going to have to drink.
16:27You're all right.
16:30Well, Mac sets you up.
16:32It's a loser husband.
16:35I feel awful.
16:36The things I said about him.
16:37You're right.
16:39Truth is, I...
16:40...lost him a long time ago.
16:43Even before he died.
16:47You...
16:47...make me feel.
17:48We could ask them whether they'd sell us one of their looms.
17:50We still don't have one from the fire, but if we could just get back to running at full capacity...
17:54There's a little point running at full capacity when we're not even selling the fabric we're making at half...
17:57Not a hint of that sort of talk when Sir Rickeram arrives.
18:00We'll focus on the wedding.
18:01If he says the conversation is turning to anything more serious, deflect.
18:05I think we're all pretty good at that.
18:07Now, Olivia, at the luncheon, I'm going to need...
18:09Did somebody say luncheon?
18:11I love luncheon.
18:14And, darling, we weren't expecting you.
18:15Mother, you look...
18:16I know, darling. Come here.
18:21Sherry, mother.
18:22Sure, sir, Gerald.
18:23No, thank you, darling.
18:24Yes.
18:25Wise.
18:26We've had to switch to the cheap stuff in those two long months you've been on holiday.
18:33Still, it's here when you need it.
18:36Tea.
18:37We've got tea.
18:38I think I'll rest.
18:39Right.
18:40I've come a long way.
18:44But I'm so looking forward to hearing what you've all been up to while I've been gone.
19:04I may have thought ahead of myself earlier.
19:07I had a plan, you see.
19:09I don't know much about them.
19:12What did it involve, this plan?
19:14Well, the first step is going to be persuading you to take a day off.
19:18No one committed you out to hard work.
19:24It is time I took a day off.
19:27I need to go back.
19:29Home, I mean.
19:30See my family.
19:31I'm so out of touch with them.
19:33Would you be able to mind the shop?
19:35Of course.
19:36But this isn't exactly in line with my plan.
19:38I'm sorry.
19:40It's just any spare moment I have, I go to my cousin's to see Edwina.
19:43So going home, I think I've been scared of the reminders of my husband.
19:49But now I think I'm ready to see my dad and my brother.
19:54Anyway, that's my plan for Friday.
19:56On Saturday, I'm very much committed to your plan.
20:01Oh, two days off in a row.
20:02Emma Hart, you slacker!
20:03Huh!
20:04Oh, my God!
20:06Oh, my God!
20:07I can't do that!
20:08I can't do that!
20:09I can't do that!
20:44I'm sorry for not being here.
20:47Don't be sorry for that.
20:49It's a relief, if anything.
20:53I'm not just talking about when I left.
21:00I've not been the mother you deserved.
21:04Not for a long time.
21:07Not ever, perhaps.
21:15Do you remember when I was first learning to ride?
21:18I'm sorry for being rather pathetic about it.
21:23And that night, father made me sleep there in the stables.
21:30I was so against it.
21:32You came, and I begged you to take me back to the house.
21:39You said no.
21:41That I had to face it.
21:42That it was the only way.
21:44I'm so sorry, darling.
21:45No.
21:46You were right.
21:49And you stayed with me, right through till morning.
21:55And by then I wasn't scared anymore.
22:03You were, you were a wonderful mother.
22:07Until you weren't.
22:09And that's what made it so much worse.
22:13There have been so many times where I needed...
22:15I'm here now.
22:21What is it?
22:22You can tell me.
22:25I was trying to help.
22:26I really was.
22:27And I'm bloody good at it, Pocah.
22:30Everyone says so.
22:33Things are so bad with the business.
22:34I thought that if I could make a bit of extra cash, then father would...
22:40I got reckless.
22:42And love.
22:43Oh, Christ.
22:45I'm in such a lot of debt.
22:47And father will be so upset.
22:49You leave your father to me.
22:52I'll fix it.
22:53I promise.
22:54I promise.
23:21I'm in such a lot of debt.
23:23I'm going to be so sad.
23:28I want to make a plan.
23:37I'm going to be so sad.
23:40I want to make a plan.
23:42I want to make a plan.
23:46I need to make a plan.
24:09I didn't do your work.
24:11I'm making a right piece of it.
24:14I'm not hungry anyway.
24:18Frank.
24:26Where were you?
24:27Armley, in Leeds.
24:30I didn't think in a dress.
24:33I didn't know where you were.
24:34You couldn't even write.
24:35I've been working all hours of the day and trying to get myself settled.
24:39What am I now?
24:42You don't look like you.
24:45You really sound like you.
24:47Frank.
24:48Please.
24:49I'm sorry.
24:51But listen, I've got so much to tell you.
24:55I don't care am I?
24:57You can't just come walking in here after all this time acting like nothing's happened.
25:03I suppose you don't want these presents then?
25:05I've brought loads for you and for Dad.
25:09Come on, Frank.
25:10I'll let you clean this up and we can talk.
25:13Expecting Dad home for lunch, are you?
25:23Dad.
25:33Dad.
25:36Dad.
25:42Dad.
25:45I couldn't get rid of them.
25:47I couldn't get rid of any of it.
25:53I couldn't get rid of any of it.
25:55I would have known.
25:57I would have known.
26:00In my heart I would have felt it.
26:02I know I would.
26:03I would have.
26:06When?
26:07When?
26:07What?
26:07What happened?
26:10Sophia.
26:13At the mill.
26:16Here on three months ago.
26:22He had to be the hero of course.
26:25Running into Sheffield.
26:29I wasn't here.
26:31I wasn't here.
26:34You are now.
26:36I'm sorry.
26:40Oh, Frank.
26:42I'm so sorry.
26:45And of course we'll show you the church tomorrow.
26:48It's spectacular.
26:49Oh, yes.
26:49Fairlies have been marrying there for centuries.
26:53To family.
26:55To family.
26:57Family.
26:58Family.
26:58Family.
27:03Oh, look at them.
27:04Did you ever see a more handsome girl?
27:07Oh, well.
27:08Adam and I tend a few heads back in the day, didn't we, Adam?
27:11He couldn't keep his hands off me.
27:12I'm glad to say.
27:13But Edwin is more respectful.
27:19Yeah.
27:19Edwin tells me that.
27:20I suppose it's different, isn't it?
27:22With a marriage of convenience.
27:24I tell. Convenience.
27:26In that it's conveniently good for business.
27:28My mother has an unusual sense of humor.
27:31Well, it is good for business, isn't it?
27:34More so for ours than yours, I suspect, Savikram.
27:40Priya, it's so wonderful that you're going to be wearing Adam's mother's wedding dress.
27:44Oh, are you?
27:45That is wonderful.
27:46Something borrowed.
27:48You will fit in perfectly.
27:51In this family, you can borrow anything you like.
27:54For example, Savikram, my sister has been borrowing my husband for some time.
27:58I don't.
28:01What?
28:03Well, sure Priya knows, don't you, darling?
28:05She's been sleeping under the same roof.
28:06And if she doesn't, she ought to know what she's marrying into.
28:09I'm so sorry, Savikram.
28:12The truth is, my wife is very ill.
28:15Oh, I have never felt better.
28:21I have never felt better.
28:31Well, this was fun.
28:35Mm-hmm.
28:43I'm so sorry.
28:45Don't do that, Livy.
28:46Don't apologize as though it was just some accident.
28:49Some mistake.
28:50You wanted my husband and you took him.
28:54I've loved him for a very long time.
29:00Longer than you've loved me.
29:14Same old Aunt Lily then?
29:17Remember when she caught Dad teaching us to whistle in the house?
29:19Satan!
29:20They're gonna summon Satan!
29:22I think Dad did it on purpose to wind her up.
29:30Could've got to come and look after you.
29:32But she needn't anymore.
29:34You can come to Armley and help me in the shop.
29:36I can't.
29:37I'll be starting boarding school soon.
29:39What?
29:40Yeah.
29:40The fairies are paying for it.
29:42They've been of us the kind.
29:43Why would they be doing that?
29:45Supposedly they filled her with a debt,
29:46given our Dad's save master of his wife.
29:50Edmund?
29:52Yeah?
29:54Where shall we run back in for?
29:59Emma?
30:02Emma!
30:19Edmund?
30:46David!
30:46What the hell were you playing at?
30:48what the hell were you playing at?
30:48Do you have any idea how important that marriage is?
30:53You're going to lecture me on the importance of marriage?
30:55Adele, the business is in an incredibly precarious position.
31:00Our finances are...
31:01Oh, for God's sake, don't bore me with the details, darling.
31:04I shall read about them in the divorce papers.
31:07We can't divorce.
31:09Let's see.
31:10Adultery, yes, we can be certain of that.
31:13And for additional grounds, I believe I shall go for cruelty.
31:19Cruelty.
31:21You are the queen of cruelty.
31:24Do you really blame me, Adele, for seeking solace elsewhere?
31:27Elsewhere, perhaps not.
31:29But my sister...
31:34Why?
31:36Why did it have to be her, Adam?
31:39Because she is the only one who understood what it was like to watch you disappear.
31:45Dear, you caged me too when you locked yourself in this damn room.
31:50In sickness and in health, Adam.
31:52That was the vow, remember?
31:54I spent years blaming myself, but you abandoned me.
31:58The second you saw that I was sinking, you let go of my hand.
32:01That is not true.
32:02I tried.
32:04You drowned yourself, Adele.
32:05All I ever wanted to do was to please you.
32:08To stay on that pedestal where you put me.
32:11A perfect, proper little wife.
32:15To sit by your side at church every Sunday.
32:18And then to submit to your darkest desires every night.
32:23I have never done a thing to you that you didn't yearn for.
32:30That's absolutely true.
32:36You loved every second of turning me into your little whore.
32:41But then you couldn't bear the thought of being married to one.
32:59I will never be on my knees again.
33:13If I am the problem, then why is it that Olivia and I have been perfectly happy without you here?
33:22You always were unfit, Adele.
33:24To be a wife and a mother.
33:28Olivia, though, she's wonderful at both.
33:30Born for it.
33:32Just like you were born.
33:35A dirty, rotten, little...
33:40Home.
34:00Home.
34:10Home.
34:12Home.
34:13Home.
34:21Home.
34:22Home.
34:24Home.
34:24Home.
34:28Home.
34:29Home.
34:30Home.
34:30I don't know.
35:08I don't know.
35:31I don't know.
35:34I don't know.
35:49I'm coming.
35:50I'm here.
35:58How was your trip home?
36:00I want the grocers.
36:03I've only had hearts a few months.
36:05What do you know about selling groceries?
36:06It's too soon, Emma.
36:08It's too much to manage.
36:10Too risky.
36:10What could be more risky than the loss you're already making?
36:13I'm ready for it.
36:14Put me in there.
36:15Not only will I pay you a month up front, I'll increase the rent 5% every month and I'll
36:18still be making a profit.
36:22Ten percent.
36:23Eight.
36:25Done.
36:28I've never met a woman like you.
36:31I'm not sure there's ever been one.
36:33On that, I do have one more proposition for you.
36:52I need help here.
36:53Help, I need help here!
37:10What did you say to her?
37:38What is it?
37:43What's happened?
37:45Joe Larger and I are getting married.
37:51What?
37:52I'm sorry, David.
37:54You're not serious?
37:56Joe?
38:01Does he know you're marrying him for his shops?
38:02That's not the only reason.
38:03Oh, I do apologise. I was forgetting. He owns a rather nice house as well.
38:08Hey, man.
38:11I really think there's something here.
38:13Something between us that could be remarkable.
38:16If we can just let it...
38:17I've got to do this.
38:20I really am truly sorry.
38:36I'm sorry, but you're quite early.
38:38That's alright. I can wait.
38:40If you and your husband would...
38:42He's not my husband yet.
38:43You do know I'm here about the loan?
38:45I do. I made the appointment.
38:47You realise an unmarried woman cannot take out a loan of any kind?
38:50I realise, and in less than an hour that won't be a problem.
38:53I don't make a habit of wearing wedding gowns on days of not getting wed.
39:02Excuse us.
39:08I know it's only a quick ceremony, but I thought you might wear something a bit smarter.
39:12I can't do it.
39:14I can't do it.
39:15I can't walk you down the aisle to a man you don't love.
39:18What about David?
39:19I'm not in love with David either.
39:21But there are feelings there at least, and feelings aren't...
39:24I'm not looking.
39:26I just noticed you haven't closed up, so I'm just checking that you are still...
39:29Yes, but we'll just...
39:30Are you the groom, sir?
39:31Yes.
39:33Sorry, who's that?
39:34Mr Ivins, solicitor.
39:36And I must make sure you understand the risks of guaranteeing such a very large loan.
39:40If your bride cannot pay it back, the debt will be yours.
39:45Only in name.
39:46The risk is all mine.
39:48And I won't default, but if I did, we've agreed it would be my stock we'd sell off to pay
39:52it.
39:53The law says I need a husband to sign on my behalf.
39:56Well, in 45 minutes, that's exactly what I'll have.
39:58No one's going into this blind, Mr Ivins.
40:01Emma!
40:02I don't believe in superstition.
40:04I think we make our own luck.
40:11I'm not sure what I did to get this lucky.
40:14You head to the church, it won't be long.
40:17Come if you like, Mr Ivins, we can discuss the terms.
40:25Emma.
40:27Your stock.
40:28Everything you built.
40:29This?
40:30This is just the foundations.
40:31And the loan, what's that for?
40:33I'm buying Dewsbury Mill.
40:35If I'm making my own fabric, the profit margins will be huge.
40:39You don't know how to run a mill.
40:40But I know a lot of men who do.
40:43Men who loved my dad as much as I do.
40:46Men who were dissatisfied with the current employer.
40:49You're going to steal workers from the Fairleys?
40:51I'm just going to make them a better offer.
40:54So what's back then?
40:56The rage.
40:58I thought you were moving on.
41:00But this is all about revenge.
41:02Yes, it is.
41:03And it feels wonderful.
41:04Emma.
41:06A loveless marriage.
41:08There are worse things.
41:09Well, if you're so hell-bent on marrying someone you don't love, marry me then.
41:12I already asked you once.
41:14But I do love you.
41:20Imagine me ruining your life.
41:23Joe can help me.
41:25And he wants to.
41:26And he's got influence.
41:29Joe's a decent man.
41:30And he won't be a distraction.
41:32I let myself get carried away thinking I could put all of this behind me.
41:36Put them behind me.
41:37And now my father's dead.
41:38That wasn't your fault.
41:40Oh, I know that.
41:41My father's blood's on Fairley hands.
41:42And I won't rest until every drop of theirs is on mine.
41:45No Fairley will ever come near me or my family ever again.
41:54You can't tell me who to love.
41:57I'm a grown woman.
41:59I'm simply giving you a choice between Jim Fairley and your future at this company.
42:05You don't even know him.
42:06Only her surname.
42:07Do you think it's a coincidence his interest in you?
42:10My grandchild?
42:12My protege?
42:13Neither of us knew who the other was when we first met.
42:15Oh, come along Paula.
42:16Don't be so naive.
42:17The whole world knows I've been training you to be me.
42:21To take over everything.
42:22Of course a Fairley would seek to take advantage.
42:25What if this isn't about you?
42:26As incomprehensible as that may seem for someone so self-centered.
42:31You have no idea what I have sacrificed.
42:35What if Jim loves me for me?
42:37The fact that you think I would want to be you.
42:41Surrounded by people but entirely alone.
42:44No, thank you. I choose life.
42:57Yes, Mrs. Hart?
42:59Jerry.
43:01Mrs. Hart.
43:02Would you call an ambulance, please?
43:04Mrs. Hart.
43:06I think I'm having a heart attack.
43:09Oh, my God.
43:11Mrs. Hart.
43:13Mrs. Hart.
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