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Starring:
Adrian Paul (Duncan MacLeod) Guests:
Deborah Epstein (Luisa Hidalgo)
Written by Jan Hartman |
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Warning: I know diddly-squat about dancing. I've tried to stick with the terminology I heard on the show and not embarrass myself with further displays of ignorance, but I wouldn't, by any means, take my interpretations of the dancing stuff as the gospel truth. (One day, they'll do a show all about Elizabethan dramatists . . . ;))
Anna Hidalgo and Rafael are dancing, all alone on a large floor that's lit from behind by light coming through an open door above. A lot of their dancing is done, therefore, in silhouette. There are a handful of people watching, standing perfectly still. Anna and Rafael move through the first slow steps, and as they pause we move to Otavio Consone, watching from the wings. The pace of the dance shifts to a quicker tempo, and Consone moves forward, walking slowly onto the floor as Anna and Rafael dance. He commands Anna to "let me see your passion," and looks on approvingly as they dance. "That's it," he says, then calls, "Duende!" and starts to clap his hands as they finish the dance. Anna is pleased when he praises her, and thanks him. But as she starts to move away, he tells her to wait.
Consone: "Stay. I have a surprise for you." He turns to the spectators, and says that he wants them to join, tonight, in the most joyous moment of his life. "The moment when Anna consents to be my wife."
Rafael, in the corner, looks up sharply. Anna, standing with her back to Consone, looks uncomfortable. She tries to refuse him, but he persists, saying that he will overcome her shyness, and that he will spend his life making her happy.
Anna: "You don't understand. I'm already engaged . . . to Rafael."
Consone: "Impossible."
Anna: "And I'm carrying his child."
Enraged, Consone calls her a whore and strikes her. Rafael rushes to her defense, and Consone pulls out a switchblade and stabs him. The spectators flee in horror, and Consone grabs Anna by the hair and pulls her to her feet. He holds the bloody knife close to her face.
Consone: "For as long as you live, remember this: That was only the first cut."
Anna rakes her nails down his face, and he lets her go. She falls down beside Rafael, crying and screaming his name. Consone walks off, and as he turns and looks back we see the scratches on his face heal. He smiles, and walks away, leaving Anna alone with Rafael's body.
Duncan, looking sad, caught up in the dance: "She's telling how her lover left her. How she can't live without him."
Richie, not talking about the dance: "She is amazing."
Duncan: "Put your eyes back in your head, Romeo." Points to Anna. "That's, Anna, her mother. So behave yourself."
The dance ends, and Anna, limping and leaning heavily on a cane, walks to the stage. She addresses the audience, and says that, "to merely watch flamenco, is not to know its spirit. For that, you must dance."
Duncan smiles and nods a little. Anna looks around, and points her finger at Richie.
Anna: "You! Young man."
Richie, laughing: "Nonono."
Anna: "Come, I'm not asking you to bullfight."
Richie: "I'd love to, really, you know, but, too many left feet."
Anna: "I see, then perhaps your friend Senor MacLeod would try."
Richie, eagerly: "I'm sure he'd love to. Come on, Mac, don't be shy."
He helpfully takes Mac's coat for him.
Duncan: "Thank you."
Richie: "Go for it."
Duncan goes to Luisa, and she begins to show him the moves, but after the first steps he withdraws and begins to move on his own.
Luisa: "I think you've done this before."
Richie, watching from the sidelines: "Of course. Of course."
Duncan starts to dance more boldly, and as he stamps his feet we turn to . . .
(Okay, this is kinda weird. They call the chaperone "Tialita," but there's no one by that name in the credits. As I have been informed by several kind and helpful folks, "tia" is Spanish for "aunt," and the diminutive makes her name translate as "little aunt." Sounds like a good name for a chaperone to me!)
The chaperone is telling Theresa that, "This is not proper. We shouldn't even be here," but Theresa, watching Duncan, doesn't seem to care. She watches, breathing hard and biting her lips, as Duncan dances, and when the dance is done she applauds vigorously. As her chaperone sputters, warning her to leave before her father sees them, Theresa rises and walks towards Duncan, who has gone to the table where her father is sitting. Don Diego rises and compliments Duncan on his dance, but wonders "where does a gentleman learn to dance like a gypsy?"
Consone: "Perhaps he was a gypsy. In a former life."
The others laugh and Duncan smiles, but doesn't seem amused.
Don Diego: "Tell me, Senor Consone, is your student as talented with the sword as he is with the dance?"
Consone shrugs, but before he can reply Theresa rushes up to Duncan.
Theresa: "You were wonderful."
Don Diego: "Theresa! You shouldn't be here."
Tialita: "I told her, Senor."
Duncan is kissing Theresa hand, but moves to Tialita, spreading his arms.
Duncan: "Ah, but Tialita, the inspiration of a beautiful woman brings out the flamenco in any man."
Tialita: "It isn't the proper sort of dance for any young girl to see."
Duncan: "Ah, so true, Senora, so true. The passion of flamenco can only be truly appreciated by someone who knows . . ." He turns to Tialita. " . . . the passion of life. I dance to her."
He dances a few steps to Tialita, and Theresa laughs into her hand. Consone and Don Diego laugh, too.
Duncan, to Tialita: "The woman of experience."
Tialita, smiling now, fanning herself: "Senor MacLeod. Such joke is indecent."
Consone: "Talk of love is never indecent, Tialita. Surely you're not too old to remember what it was to be--" (Touching Theresa's hair.) "--young."
Theresa looks uncomfortable, and Tialita shoots her a worried look. Duncan, though, doesn't seem to notice. He offers to escort Tialita home.
Tialita: "People will talk."
Duncan, turning to Theresa: "Then we should have a chaperone."
Theresa: "But of course. Only to protect your reputation, Tialita."
They leave, and Consone watches them go, thoughtfully.
Theresa and Duncan are walking along a covered walkway, Tialita a few paces behind.
Theresa: "I think it has been years since a man has turned Tialita's head. Be careful you don't break her heart. A gentleman of Spain doesn't speak of love unless he has serious intentions."
Duncan, taking her hand: "Neither does a gentleman of Scotland."
They look at each other, then let go and look away. As they walk out to the fountain, Theresa goes on to say that she's been told all her life that she's too forward, has too many opinions. She sits at the fountain, and Duncan sits next to her.
Theresa: "Do you think I'm too forward? Or have too many opinions?"
Duncan: "No."
Theresa: "Good. Then I won't shock you when I tell you that I love you. I've been in love with you since the first moment I met you."
Duncan: "But you know nothing of me."
Theresa: "I know what I feel." She tells him that her father has a very good opinion of him, despite his being a foreigner. She asks if he loves her.
Duncan: "You know I do."
Theresa: "Then you will ask for my hand."
Duncan: "Good opinion or not, your father will want you to wed someone from a noble Spanish family."
Theresa: "Will you ask?"
Duncan, taking her hand: "You know not what I am."
Theresa: "I know enough. I know what I feel when you touch me. I know when I look in my eyes that you love me. Nothing else matters. We'll have a lifetime to learn each other's secrets. Won't we, mi amor? What else is marriage for?"
They move as if to kiss, but Tialita stops them, saying it's time to go in. Theresa begs for a moment more, and turns back to Duncan.
Theresa: "Talk to him."
Duncan nods, and she kisses him quickly before leaving with Tialita. Duncan, alone, taps a last step before turning and walking off.
Richie: "Now, don't get me wrong. I am impressed. It's just that, you'd think that over 400 years you'd probably acquire some skills."
Duncan: "Well, I think my zapatiata (sp?) was a little rusty." He dances a few steps.
Richie: "Gee, Mac, I'm real sorry to hear about that."
Duncan snickers: "Well, if you want some lessons I can get Anna to give you some."
Richie: "I thought Luisa was the dancer."
Duncan: "Luisa's good, but Anna was the best."
Richie: "So what happened?"
Duncan: "Car accident."
As he talks, the scene fades to a flashback of Anna walking down a sidewalk, carrying a bunch of roses.
Duncan, voiceover: "25 years ago, Anna and her partner, Rafael, were flamenco's royalty. After he died and Luisa was born Anna moved to Paris to open the club." Anna turns and walks onto the street. "I didn't know her then, but wow, could she dance." A car approaches from down the street. "Then about 10 years ago there was a hit and run." We see Anna turn in horror as the car bears down. "She never danced again."
Back to Richie and Duncan.
Richie: "Man, that sucks. But I still think I'm going to pass on those lessons, you know my zap here is a little rusty."
Duncan corrects him, but they're interrupted by the sound of Luisa's voice raised in anger. She and Anna are standing on the curb, Luisa saying that's she's going, and Anna protesting that it's 3 in the morning. Luisa tells Anna that she's 24, to stop treating her like a child.
Anna: "Then stop acting like one. Luisa, you have a great gift but you mistreat it. You need rest and practice."
Luisa: "What I need is a mother who stops living her life through me."
Anna, shouting: "You are my daughter!"
Luisa: "I'm not you and you can't be me! It's not my fault you can't dance anymore. I didn't make you a cripple."
Anna slaps her. Above, Duncan takes a step forward, then stops as he gets a buzz. A limousine pulls up at the curb, and Luisa gets in. Duncan and Richie come up to Anna as the car drives away. Duncan puts his hand on her arm.
Duncan: "Anna. Let me drive you home."
Anna, controlled, but very upset: "No." She puts her hand on his shoulder. "It's all right, Duncan." She wishes him good night and walks off.
In the limo, Luisa is drinking champagne, talking about her mother.
Luisa: "I love her, but she makes me crazy. You know, she treats me like I'm still a kid, like I need a chaperone or something."
Consone leans toward her, putting his glass to hers: "I'll be your chaperone.
Richie: "You know, Mac, just because this guy is rich, and he is immortal, does not necessarily make him a bad guy."
Duncan: "Yeah, I know, but I'd feel safer knowing who it was."
A car pulls up, and Anna gets out. Duncan trots down to meet her, and asks her what's wrong. Anna tells him Luisa never came home last night. Inside the barge, Duncan gives her tea, and tells her that he knows she wants everything for Luisa, but she "can't force her to dance." Anna looks rueful, but doesn't answer.
Duncan, casual: "Do you know anything about this guy she's seeing?"
Anna shakes her head: "Nothing. She won't even tell me his name. She used to tell me everything."
Duncan starts as he suddenly senses another immortal. Outside, we see Consone, smirking and holding a yellow flower to his nose. Inside, Duncan and Richie exchange glances, and Duncan says he has to do something outside, telling her that "Richie will keep you company." He leaves, and Richie turns to Anna.
Richie: "So, Mac tells me that you taught Luisa how to dance . . ."
Outside, Duncan finds Consone standing on the shore, pulling the petals from the flower, saying, "She loves me, she loves me not." He smells the flower as Duncan comes up, and says, "She loves me," and tosses the flower away.
Consone: "Is that furious look really meant for me?"
Duncan: "Who else, Consone?"
Consone: "A great Spanish name. You make it sound like you're cursing."
Duncan: "Where's Luisa?"
Consone: "Where she wants to be. With me, of course."
Duncan: "You brought her here."
Consone: "I thought you had hopes of becoming a gentleman someday, MacLeod. But here you are, living in a dump, on the river. Just a gitano. A gypsy."
Duncan smiles thinly: "If you've come here for me, let's go."
Consone: "I remember you as clumsy, MacLeod. Not stupid."
Inside, Richie is asking Anne about "duende."
Richie: "So this 'duende,' this happens all the time?"
Anna: "Not every time. The true duende is where--" She considers. "It happens when the dancer is beyond being tired. So exhausted he can't think. He can't stop, either. The spirit of the dance enters you. For a moment, time stops, pain stops, your body seems to move by itself. It is then that the dance can be truly perfect." As she speaks, she turns to the window, and stops as she sees Consone outside. "My God. Consone!" Her cup shatters on the floor.
Outside, Consone is saying that he's not here to fight Duncan.
Consone: "I'm here to offer a simple choice. Stay away from the Hidalgos, or die."
Before Duncan can answer, he hears Anna calling Consone's name. He goes to her, but she's enraged, screaming at Consone that she's found him, that he is a devil, a monster, and that he killed her Rafael. Luisa jumps out of the car and goes to her, screaming that she's crazy. Anna stops, shocked, then looks at Luisa.
Anna: "He killed Rafael. He killed your father!"
Luisa starts screaming again that she's crazy, that it was 25 years ago.
Luisa: "Look at him. Look! Think, Mama, how can he be the same man?"
Anna is confused, and begins to realize her mistake. She reaches for Luisa, saying she's sorry, but Luisa backs away.
Luisa: "Don't touch me. Stay out of my life."
She runs back to the car, with Anna calling after her. Duncan tells Richie to take Anna home, and Richie manages to lead her off while Consone leans against the car, where he's been the whole time, watching and smirking.
Consone: "Maybe therapy would help."
Duncan: "I'll see you soon."
Consone: "Wrong choice."
He goes back to where Luisa stands by the door, and kisses her before they get in and drive off.
Back inside the barge. Duncan is standing in front of a case covered with a purple cloth. Richie is pacing back and forth, and Duncan asks what he told Anna.
Richie: "What could I tell her, Mac? She's afraid she's going crazy. I mean, her mind tells her it can't be him but in her gut she knows it. She just knows it."
While he talks, Duncan is uncovering and opening the case to reveal a sword and dagger set. He picks them up, and Richie walks to his side.
Richie, in the patient tones one uses when one knows exactly what someone is doing and disapproves: "What are you doing with those?"
Consone: "This is gentleman's work, not like your gypsy dance."
They fight again, and Duncan cuts him.
Duncan: "Whatever works."
They close again, and this time Consone stabs Duncan in the chest. His back is to the other students, so they don't see.
Consone, still holding the blade in: "You're a good student, but you have much to learn."
Duncan, gasping: "That wasn't necessary."
Consone jerks the blade, and Duncan grunts again: "Are you the master now?"
Duncan: "No."
Consone yanks the blade out: "You must be relentless. If this were a fight to the death would you let a dagger in the ribs stop you?"
Duncan: "No, I would not."
Consone, pleased, declares the lesson over, and they walk off, Duncan tugging his gloves off with his teeth.
Consone: "The art of the swordfight lies not only in winning, it lies in not losing. The champion is the man who fights until the final stroke."
In the steamroom, Consone tells Duncan that he has "good instincts." He says that if he had another year, "I would make a real swordsman of you."
Duncan turns, looking a little nervous: "I'm thinking of staying in Madrid a little longer."
Consone: "Are you? I thought you had a little too much of the gypsy in you?"
Duncan, sheepish: "Theresa wants me to propose marriage."
Consone, laughing: "A young woman of quality does not discuss such things."
Duncan: "This one does. I know marriage isn't an easy thing for any of us. How long can we go before someone notices that we're not getting any older?"
Consone: "Perhaps you fail to understand our custom."
Duncan waves a hand: "I know, I know. We'll have to travel. She'll have to give up everything that she loves. If she wants me to . . . give her children, I--I can't give her those."
Consone, more sharply: "Theresa is not for you. She is of noble blood."
Duncan stares, then laughs and slaps him on the shoulder.
Duncan: "I'm the son of a clan chieftain."
Consone: "You are the son of a barbarian. You are a foreigner, an estrangero. No, no, you forget her, my friend. She is not for you. I have already spoken to her father."
Duncan, quietly: "Perhaps you should have spoken to the lady first."
Consone: "She will do as her father instructs."
Duncan: "You will ask her to deny her heart?"
Consone: "Theresa deserves a gentleman! And if she does not love me now, one day, she will."
Duncan, softly: "You're wrong, Consone. You're so wrong."
Consone: "You are finished in Madrid. Leave tomorrow. Or you will die. The choice is yours."
At Theresa's house, we hear her saying, "I can't marry him."
Don Diego, voiceover: "Theresa, I am your father, and you will do as I say. My decision is final."
We see Theresa run out, saying that she'd rather die. Duncan rushes to meet her, and she tells him that he's too late. Duncan says he'll speak to her father.
Duncan: "I'll make him see reason."
Consone: "He already has." He steps into the garden. "His daughter will marry one of Madrid's finest gentlemen. Leave. She's my betrothed."
Theresa: "No, I'll never marry you. I hate you."
Consone, ignoring her: "I warned you. Let's see if the barbarian can die like a gentleman."
Duncan tells Theresa to leave, but she stays, begging them not to fight, telling Consone that Duncan is his friend.
Consone: "No more."
She backs away, and they fight until Consone stabs Duncan through the chest. Duncan staggers back, dropping his sword. Theresa runs up as Consone puts his blade to Duncan's neck.
Theresa: "No! Wait!"
Consone: "Leave us."
Theresa: "Spare his life and I'll marry you."
Duncan: "No."
He breaks free and fights with his dagger, but Consone knocks him down.
Theresa: "Kill him and I'll be in a convent by nightfall."
Consone: "Renounce him. Swear never to see him again or ever speak of him."
Duncan begs her not to promise anything, but she swears nonetheless. He calls her name, but she says she's given her word.
Theresa: "Go."
Richie: "Mac, it just looks like a big circle."
Duncan: "It's a lot of things. It's a discipline, a state of mind."
Richie: "And you expect him to stand in this thing while you fight."
Duncan: "Consone was the master of this circle. This was his world. He'll come."
Richie: "Why don't you just go after the guy? What do you want to play his game, on his turf, for?"
Duncan: Because it all comes back to this."
Richie: "Yeah, but Mac, this isn't poetry. It's a fight to the death. Why do you want to give him an edge you don't need to? If Consone beat you before, he might beat you again."
Duncan: "I'm better now."
Richie: "Yeah, but, maybe he is, too."
Duncan doesn't answer, just keeps practicing.
Duncan: "You certain you don't know where he lives." Anna shakes her head. "What about where he takes her"
Anna: "Nothing."
Duncan: "How about the other dancers in the company?"
Anna: "They tell each other everything. But they are friends. I'm the boss. They'll never tell me. And they've seen you with me before, they know we're friends."
Duncan: "Don't worry, Anna. I have ways to find him."
The line "Don't worry, Anna. I have ways to find him," doesn't appear in the Euroversion. Instead, the scene goes like this:
Duncan, looking at photos: "Yes they were wonderful Anna. Fandango, Solereis (sp?), [another dance I'm not even gonna try and attempt to copy down]. No-one moved quite like you, no one."
Anna: "I was pretty good wasn't I, I thought my Louisa would be better."
Duncan: "She will be."
Anna: "She's all I have left Duncan, I don't want to lose her. Even if she never danced again."
Duncan: "You won't lose her. You're certain you don't know where he lives. What about where he takes her?"
Anna: "Nothing/"
Duncan: "What about the other dancers in the company?"
Anna: "Oh they tell each other everything. But they're her friends, I'm the boss. They'll never tell me, and they've seen you with me before, they know we're friends."
Duncan: "Hmmm! It does cause a problem doesn't it? Then we'll just have to find someone they don't know, won't we?"
Cut to a young woman (I'll call Woman1) doing exercises. Knock at the door, another young woman with only a towel wrapped around herself (Woman2) goes to get it, only to find Richie there.
Richie, smiling and in a very charming and quite sexy voice: "Oh, I hope I haven't come at a bad time."
Woman2: "Who are you?"
Richie: "Richard Redstone, very pleased to meet you." He holds out hand, she goes to shke his hand only for the towel to almost fall away, she catches it with her other hand. "Oh I'm sorry!"
Woman1 moves to the doorway: "Richard who?"
Richie: "I saw you at the club, I got your address from one of the musicians there, what's his name..."
Woman1: "Ramone?"
Richie: "Ramone! Ramone, yes that's it. Anyway, he said you may be interested."
Woman1: "In what?"
Richie: "A job. You see I need three flamenco dancers for my hotel. It's a free room and board, good pay and . . . "He smiles, glancing at the second lady. " . . .private dressing rooms. What do you say?"
Woman1: "Maybe..."
Richie: "Good, good! but there were 3 of you before, where's the other girl, is she here?"
Woman1: "Louisa's not here. There's just the two of us now."
Richie: "Hmm! That could be a problem. Is there any way I can get in touch with her?"
Woman1 exchanges a look with the other girl: "We don't know where she is, sorry."
Richie: "Oh well, thanks anyway, that's too bad."
Woman1: "Wait...she made us promise not to tell anyone..."
Richie: " Ladies, she'll never know it was you who told me. Oh come on, you gotta trust me..."
Duncan: "Do you know where I can find him?"
Housekeeper, wary: "Are you a friend of his?"
Duncan, smiling: "We go back a long way."
Housekeeper: "Oh, you came for the wedding.." Duncan's smile falters. "But you are too late."
Duncan stares, hearing the echo of "too late" as he remembers . . .
Tialita: "You are mad, Senor. What are you doing here?"
Duncan: "I've come to see Theresa."
Tialita tells him that Consone will kill him if he sees him, but Duncan insists on talking to Theresa.
Tialita: "Impossible."
Duncan then asks her if she'll take a message to Theresa from him, but she says that he doesn't know what he asks.
Duncan: "Tell her, I haven't forgotten her. I cannot forget her. She hasn't been out of my heart for the past two years. Please, Senora, just for a moment."
Tialita: "Come, Senor. Prepare yourself."
Cut to the cemetery, Duncan kneeling by a new white sarcophagus.
Tialita: "Only three months ago. I shouldn't have told you. Better you should think of her as you knew her. But she is happier now. I'm sure of it."
Duncan, forcing it out: "How."
Tialita: "An accident."
Duncan: "What kind of accident?"
Tialita: "The stairs. She must have slipped."
Flash to Theresa, standing at the top of the stairs with a basket of apples in her hand. Consone is standing behind her, and she suddenly jerks and falls, the apples tumbling down the steps. Consone stands at the top, watching, smoking a cigar.
Duncan asks if Consone was there, but Tialita tells him that no one saw what happened.
Tialita: "She never stopped loving you. It's made the Senor insane with jealousy."
Duncan demands to know where he is, but Tialita tells him he mustn't.
Duncan: "Tialita, when she was alive I promised to honor her vow. Now I will avenge her murder."
He tries to leave, but Tialita grabs his arm.
Tialita: "Senor, no!"
Duncan: "Why?!"
Tialita: "She gave her happiness to spare your life. It was her dying wish that you were safe."
Duncan, choking: "I cannot just ride away."
Tialita: "If you don't, then my Theresa died for nothing. Nothing. I beg of you, Senor, for her, for my Theresa, ride away."
Duncan turns and kneels by the sarcophagus again, leaning his head on it. Tialita touches his head and walks away.
Housekeeper: "Senor Consone and Luisa got married this afternoon. Senor Consone gave me a week off. Newlyweds, you know how it is."
Duncan: "Well, I came and brought him a gift, too . . ."
The housekeeper offers to give it to him, but Duncan says, no, he'd rather do it in person. The housekeeper leaves, and Duncan turns, thinking.
At the Club Hidalgo, Anna is coming down the steps in the dark. She goes to the lights, but as she turns on the spotlight we see a figure silhouetted against the light.
Consone: "That does look awkward." Anna whirls. She turns on the other lights, and sees him sitting at a table, smoking. "Tell me, does it hurt? Does it bother you every day? How did it happen?"
Anna: "It was an accident."
Consone: "That's right, Anna. A terrible accident. September, 1986, on the Rue de Madeline." As he speaks, describing the scene, we see it all happen. "You were wearing a red coat. You looked lovely. Maybe it was the birds that made you turn, or maybe you heard the roar of the car." Anna turns, and we hear the impact, and see the roses spill into the street, the petals scattering. "You were too late."
Anna limps toward him, her expression shocked.
Anna: "No!"
Consone: "Tell me, do you still move with the same passion, the same fire?" He stands. "How is your dancing, Anna?"
With a mindless cry of rage, Anna strikes at him with her cane, but he grabs her arm and she collapses on the bad leg, falling to the floor. He sits down again, holding the cane.
Consone: "Such behavior. Is that any way to greet your new son-in-law?"
Anna: "You! You didn't! No. No, it's not you, it can't be you. This is impossible."
Consone: "Luisa was such a lovely bride. Pity she'll die so young."
Anna begs him not to do it, saying Luisa is innocent.
Consone: "She is the spawn of the two who betrayed me. Remember, I told you Rafael is only the first cut."
Flash back to the moment of Rafael's death, Consone stabbing him.
Anna: "Kill me. Not Luisa. Kill me, instead."
Consone: "You, Anna?" He lets her cane drop to the floor. "I killed you that day in the street."
Flash to Consone getting out of the car, looking back in satisfaction.
Back at the club, Consone gets up, leaving Anna moaning in anguish on the floor.
Duncan: "We're gonna get your things, and I'm gonna take you away from here. You don't know what he is."
Luisa: "I know enough."
Duncan: "What if I told you he'd been married before."
Luisa: "So what?"
Duncan: "That the person that he married meant a great deal to me."
Luisa: "I think you should go now."
Duncan grabs her arm: "He killed her."
Luisa says he's as crazy as her mother, and he tells her that her mother isn't crazy. Just then, he senses Consone, and bundles Luisa into the house. He meets Consone on the steps. Inside, Luisa sits on the steps, looking out the window, hearing every word they say.
Consone: "Highlander. I always seem to find you sniffing around my women."
Duncan: "Theresa was never yours."
Consone: "Don't flatter yourself. She never thought of you again."
Inside, Luisa leans forward a little, listening intently.
Duncan: "No, no, no, Consone. What you mean is that she never spoke of me again. But she thought of me. She thought of me every night. Every time you touched her, every time you looked at her. That's why you killed her."
Consone: "Young women. They wither and fade so quickly." Inside, Luisa leans her head into the banister, closing her eyes. "Theresa was no different. Yes, I killed her. Have you met the new Senora Consone? She is quite a beautiful flower, is she not?"
Duncan tells him to forget about her, that he sent her home to her mother. Inside, Luisa listens as Consone says that's impossible, that Luisa is his.
Duncan: "Do you think any woman would stay with you, once they knew what you were."
Consone says Luisa can run all she likes, that if it takes 20 years he'll find her, and that if she has a husband, he'll kill him, too.
Consone: "If she has a daughter, I will seduce the daughter."
Behind Duncan, the door opens and Luisa charges out, yelling. Consone only smiles.
Consone: "That was a mistake. It's too bad. For both of you."
Duncan restrains Luisa, and gets her to run off.
Consone: "I'll find you!" Turns to Duncan. "And I will have her, and your noble sacrifice will be for nothing."
Duncan: "Who said anything about sacrifice?"
Consone: "Bravo, estrangero."
He gestures, but Duncan nods to him.
Duncan: "After you."
Cut to a circle, patterned like the one Duncan trained on in Madrid, laid on a platform in Consone's back garden. Duncan and Consone walk up, carrying their weapons. They step into the circle and salute, saying nothing before beginning. They fight, and the duel goes on for hours, into the darkness, into the rain. Finally, Duncan forces Consone out of the circle.
Duncan: "Still think you can make a swordsman out of me, Consone?"
Consone: "You were born a pig farmer. You will always be a pig farmer."
They engage again, and within a few strokes Consone stabs Duncan through the heart.
Consone: "And you die a pig farmer."
He raises his blade to strike, but Duncan grabs the hilt of his sword and drives it further into himself, pulling Consone closer until he can get at him with his dagger. He disarms Consone, and holds the daggers at his throat. He whips his arms out, taking Consone's head, and Consone falls back, pulling the sword from Duncan's body. Duncan falls to his knees in the circle. Flames leap up around him in a huge rectangle as the Quickening begins, and fireworks cascade from behind him, arcing in both directions so that it looks like a waterfall. Then the fireworks diminish, but the fire still burns as the scene fades out.
Anna: "Did the earth open up and swallow him? Did a mountain crumble on top of him and bury him?"
Duncan: "Not exactly."
Anna: "Then she's not safe!"
Luisa is distraught, saying she can't believe she married him. Duncan, standing with his back to them, pouring a drink, bows his head.
Duncan: "You're a widow."
They look at him, and Anna goes to him. He tosses the drink off and turns to face her, and Luisa asks how. Anna raises her hand swiftly.
Anna: "We won't ask anymore."
She kisses Duncan's hand, then embraces Luisa fiercely. Duncan watches them a moment, then turns and leaves.
At the barge. Richie and Duncan are sitting in front of the fire, a bowl with cards scattered all around it sitting off to the side.
Richie: "So, you beat the master at his own game, huh."
Duncan: "Consone thought the fight was all about control, about mastering every step and every move." He waves his hands, and smiles. "You know, there's a place in the dance when you just forget about dancing. And you do things beyond what your body has learnt, that's beyond what your conscious mind is aware of."
Richie: "Duende." Duncan stares, and then nods. "I'm learning, Mac."
Duncan: "Duende."
Richie leans over and lights Mac's cigar for him, and snaps the lighter shut.
Until "The Stone of Scone"
These pages are written by Jinjifore and are translated into HTML and maintained by Ian.
Disclaimer: All the dialogue, characters, situations, and darn near everything else belong to a bunch of fine and talented folks at Rysher Entertainment and Panzer/Davis, and in particular the dialogue belongs to the credited writer of this episode. Me, I just wrote the rest down in my own words, which belong to me, but the episode itself was made by the aforementioned people and is owned by them. This humble synopsis isn't meant to infringe on their rights, and I'm sure as heck not making any money from doing these.
Everything not belonging to Rysher, et al, ©Copyright 1997 by Jinjifore
Feel free to copy and distribute as long as this copyright notice and disclaimer are included, except where local bandwidth laws apply.
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Celtic clip art courtesy of the Celtic Art Web Page.
| Last Rev: H8E [ 14 Aug 97 ] |
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