Guión Rob Roy III

Libreto

Aye, but it's a fine, bold signature you have,

worthy of a chieftain himself.

Are you Rob Roy McGregor?

I am. And what's your name?

Davey Anderson.

Hello, Davey Anderson.

Hello.

Even the servant boys know who you are.

You've become a famous reiver and retriever in your own lifetime.

Business and profit.

And a soft winter.

Are you Rob Roy McGregor?

I am.

I'm Will Guthrie.

You heard of me?

No, I have not.

Well, I've heard of you.

Indeed.

And what have you heard, Mr Guthrie?

I heard you backstabbed Tam Sibbald.

Were you and Tam kin?

Near enough.

I shagged his sister.

Likely so did Tam.

You want the wind let out of your bladder?

What's your business with me, Guthrie?

Business best done outside.

We have no quarrel.

That can be remedied.

The first cut?

Aye.

Well done.

Some other time

when we're both sober.

Tam Sibbald has a longer reach dead than he ever did living.

I'm away home.

Keep the pony and stick to Killearn till you have the note.

I'll see you back in Craigrostan.

I'm to wait here till the note is signed.

Aye. We are the obedient one.

Fetch and carry at command.

Why has a smart young lad like you

attached himself to a bunch of tinkers?

I would have thought you more fit

To serve a man like my master, the Marquis of Montrose.

I do not serve Robert McGregor.

I'm his friend

and count myself fortunate to claim it.

My God, what a crew you Highlanders are.

With your airs and honours,

come begging £1,000 as if you were doing the lender a favour.

Sheep shaggers, the lot of ya.

Baa!

My mother could come no nearer

than three candidates for my paternity.

The Earl of Rutland.

Now, there's a name for a whore master.

A secretary to the Spanish Ambassador

whose name she hazarded as Ferdinando

and some young buck she never saw

who raised her skirts at the masked ball.

He ravished her?!

I would put it no higher than surprised.

Archie, take me with you.

Wherever.

Whatever.

Take me away with you.

I am away, Betty,

and God help me, this is where I've landed.

You think me a gentleman

because I have linen and can manage a "lisp".

I am but a bastard abroad,

seeking my fortune and the favours of great men,

as big a whore as my mother ever was.

I'm pregnant by you, Archie.

Well.

When it asks for its father's name,

at least you'll have it to give.

Mr Cunningham, it's me... Killearn.

A word with you.

Don't let him see me.

You are a carbuncle on this arse of a country.

And if you ever inform against me to His Lordship again,

I'll squeeze the pus out of you

with my bare hands.

My, Archie,

but you have a rare contempt in you.

I gave you no leave to call me familiar.

Could I pay for the privilege?

At a fair price.

What are you gibbering about?

Money, Archie. Money. What else?

How much money?

Let's talk inside over a dram.

It's chill on the stairs.

Say what you have to say.

I am engaged within.

Ah, you've Betty on her back.

How much money?

£1,000.

£1,000. What does £1,000 look like?

Will we have enough ponies to carry it?

Not coin. A note of credit

drawn on His Lordship.

- What interest, Rob? - One fifth.

And he gets £200 profit for three months?

Aye. That's the price of cash,

and we must plan the matter to the last penny.

When Alan returns, he'll take three of you,

and you'll go to Creiff.

There you'll bargain with the drovers

and have the herd assembled when I come with our kit for the drive.

How big a herd?

300. Maybe more.

And whatever we can acquire along the way.

No harm if a dozen or more stick.

We'll drive them into Carlisle like an army.

So, let's have all hands to it.

We'll stay warm this winter, within and without.

To celebrate, we'll hold a gathering

and drink to our success!

Right, McKinness.

That's two shillings still owing.

- Next. - Colqhoun.

Colqhoun, what have you got? A rabbit?

You're still a week behind, Colqhoun.

Must I wait all day for my note, Killearn?

Patience, McGregor's man.

Your turn is marked.

Take you that goat to the pen.

Come, young Davey Wilson.

What have you got for me? Another rabbit.

- Does nobody have any money? - No, sir. Only a rabbit.

Dreaming of the New World, were we?

I hear tell in the New World

they have tribes of noble savages

with paint on their faces

and skins on their backs.

You'll be well at home among them.

Enough of this tripe. Have you the note?

His Lordship is to Edinburgh for the Assize,

then to London direct.

Great doings at the Court.

And he's away without signing the note.

The best I can do for you is coin.

This was not agreed.

Agreed or no, there's £1,000 here.

Take it or leave it, it makes no difference to me,

nor to His Grace.

Aye, it's a terrible shock,

the sight of such a fortune within reach, is it not?

It's just as well you have the trust of the McGregor

or I'd be hard pressed to sign it over to you.

Angus.

A great gathering, Rob.

Oh. That Alasdair Roy is a fierce dancer.

The last time I saw you in such a lather,

- You were flat on your back. - Ooh!

Do not affront me afore these folk.

Rob, do you know why Calvinists are against shagging standing up?

No, Coll. I do not.

They fear it might lead to dancing.

Stay back,

or by God, I'll shoot you dead.

For a moment there, I thought you might take the road to Greenock

with your £1,000.

Killing is not so easy as it seems.

La.

He sat out there all day, pondering on this.

- You gave him coin. - He insisted upon it.

When I told him His Grace hadn't signed the note,

he said you must have it,

or the beasts could not be bought at the best price.

I'm hard put to see you hand over such a sum

to one who couldn't bear the debt.

He was your man,

present at your signing of the terms,

ordered by you to wait.

For a note, not a bag of guineas!

It was not all guineas.

These farmers pay in small coin, I assure you.

He signed for this bag of coin?

Indeed.

He did.

Almost as bold a hand as yourself.

There best be no skulduggery here, Killearn.

Alan McDonald stands under my protection.

Well, that's a great comfort to us all, I must say,

what with £1,000 at risk.

Now, listen. We must search for Alan.

I fear he's come to mischief hereabouts.

I say we look in Greenock.

It comes quickly to your mind that he has robbed us.

He spoke of the Americas often enough.

And he walked to Greenock from Buchlyvie

and sent his pony home without him?

£1,000 would be enough to buy him 10 ponies.

Alan McDonald did not betray me.

Now to it and find his trace.

Come on! To it!

Go to Greenock, then

since you have that stink in your nose.

But, brother,

bad enough that it might be so without you wishing it.

Rob.

Well, what news?

The ship sailed the day before I got there,

and McDonald's name

was not on the harbourmaster's list.

But he wouldn't have likely used his own name

and him run off with... 1,000...

Aye.

Your Lordship,

the Duke of Argyll this way comes.

John, you look like a man who means to play hard.

Do not presume to speak above your station, sir!

I will have my rank from you!

Your Grace.

I have word from Court that you're saying I'm a Jacobite,

as one who would rise for the Stuart should he land here to claim the throne.

Great men such as yourself

draw rumours as shite draws flies.

You are the shite, Montrose,

and the flies upon it!

For all the flowers in your great gardens,

I know you in my nose.

Keep your stink off my name,

or by God, I will clip you as close as one of your gelded trees,

and this carrion you keep will not come between us!

What pride to use a fellow peer in public so!

Damn his pride!

Forgive me.

Damn His Grace's pride.

Why is it so beyond your belief

that he might have yielded to the sight of all that money?

Unguarded, unasked, but there

a lifetime's wages in a bag.

Because I know him. I know him more than half his life.

But was he ever handed £1,000 before?

He was handed a hundred times more.

He was given trust, and he repaid in kind.

Why do you not believe me?

All right, Rob.

He did not steal from you.

But he has gone, the money's gone,

and Montrose will not care if you believe one thing or the other.

- That's another matter. - No. That's the only matter now.

For all our sakes, Robert, you must take off your high hat,

and make what terms you can.

Else our home is lost and ourselves His Lordship's tenants.

Ah, here comes the bold Highlander.

No arse in his breeks

but too proud to tug his forelock.

No doubt the rogue seeks to blame his servant

for I hear there is no word of the man.

I see you're back in favour with your tailor, Archibald.

He must be a happy man.

So, McGregor, how is it with you?

As it was, My Lord.

There is still no word of McDonald or Your Lordship's money.

What are we to do, then?

If Your Lordship would contract with me for another sum,

I would turn over all profit and so repay my debt.

I have but lost £1,000. You ask me to risk another?

My Lord, the money was stolen from me and from you.

I am no part of your incompetence.

You signed a paper.

And I will honour it.

Oh, ply me not with your honour, man.

Let us keep these matters simple.

You are indebted to me. On that we are agreed?

We are, My Lord.

Know you the Duke of Argyll?

By his repute alone.

My report is that Argyll is a Jacobite

and would declare for James Stuart should he seek to reclaim the throne.

These are intelligences unknown to me, My Lord.

They are known to you now.

I'm uncertain of Your Lordship's meaning.

Oh, damn it, man!

You and your clan are Jacobites

bred to the bone.

Argyll is nothing to you.

I want your word against him.

Give it, and we will come to some reckoning on what you owe me.

I can be of no assistance to Your Lordship

in this matter of the Duke of Argyll.

You owe me.

I owe you money. Nothing more.

What you have asked is as below me as it should be beneath Your Lordship.

You misspeak yourself, McGregor.

It is the Marquis of Montrose who has misspoke himself

to ask my perjury against his enemies.

Leave the blade be, sir!

This is not your quarrel.

You do not hear me, McGregor.

I did not ask if or whether.

Your land is forfeit to me against your debt.

Until that is settled, I will have you lodged in the tolbooth.

Take him into custody, Archibald.

You have my commission on it!

My father spent two years in that jail

for no cause but the will of great men like you.

- I will "not" go there, sir. - Call out the watch!

Call nothing, or I'll cut his throat!

You are damned, McGregor.

Damned to hell.

Come, Your Lordship.

Leave the devil some work.

You've done enough for one day.

Call out the watch!

Yes, sir.

Call out the watch! Call out the watch!

You have slept your last peaceful night, McGregor.

You and yours.

What is John Campbell, Duke of Argyll, to us

that you must defend him against Montrose?

I did not defend him.

I refused to bear false witness against him.

Gregor, send men to the passes and set watches.

And the lochside?

They'll not likely come by the shore, but watch all ways.

Listen, lads. I have to go to the hills for a time.

You stay by your mother and be her help, you hear?

Let Argyll know that you are persecuted for his sake.

I'm persecuted for no man's sake but my own, Mary.

What?

Would you have me lie against my conscience to suit Montrose?

No! To suit me and Duncan and Ranald,

to stay home with your wife and children

instead of taking to the hills like a fox.

Out!

Out! Out! Out! Out!

He'll be with you soon enough!

Take the boys and go to Morag's.

She'll make a place.

And let Montrose's troopers foul my house.

No harm will come to you. Montrose's quarrel is with me.

And you revel in it.

The great man against all.

And likely you'll slip down in the night

when the mood takes you.

Or will you just find yourself a sheep to comfort you?

If I do, it will be one that doesn't bleat so bitter.

No trouble between them and you.

Give no cause.

This is between me and Montrose,

and likely when he's broke a few horses, he'll quieten down.

Watch Alasdair. Put him where he can do no harm.

Keep up the watch for McDonald.

Ach, Rob, he's long gone.

Aye, but is he over the seas or under them?

And, Coll, ask Morag to go down to Mary.

She's sore at me for this business.

That Montrose is a stoat of a man.

Heaven protect us from his like.

When the King comes across the water again,

we'll see him hung.

Your Lordship will not regret leaving this matter in my hands.

I have some knowledge of how best to bring such rogues to heel.

Broken but not dead, Archibald. That is all I ask.

Broken but not dead.

It has a ring to it.

Your health.

Goodbye!

Instead of spying them out, we should lay for them

and cut them down as they come through the passes.

Aye, a wee war with Montrose would suit us fine.

Listen, Alasdair Roy.

Keep your watch, give warning, and stay your hand,

or you'll answer to me.

Damn that McDonald has brought this on us.

I never trusted the man.

Always at Rob's arse like a collie dog.

Morag had a dream on him. Saw him drowned.

Maybe his ship sank

and him loaded down with the theft.

Wheesht! "Wheesht!"

Give me your musket.

Boys, wake up! Wake up! Quickly! Quickly!

Get out of bed!

Go, go! Bring the Gregorach!

I've come for the outlaw Robert McGregor.

If you think he'd be lying in his bed waiting for you,

you're more of a fool than you look.

Ohh!

Search the outsheds.

Burn them. Kill the stock.

You best stand aside, Mistress McGregor.

You don't ask a whore. You make her.

Aah! No!

Aagh! No!

No! No!

Do you want yours now, Killearn?

Think of yourself as the scabbard

and me the sword, Mistress McGregor.

And a fine fit you were, too.

I will think of you dead

until my husband makes you so.

And then I will think on you no more.

Indeed.

Such a man as he will need to see blood on his blade

before honour is satisfied.

Tell him Archibald Cunningham is at his service.

What are you gawking at?

Have you never been to war before?

Oh, you're a warrior, Archie, and no mistake.

If she doesn't come out, Archie,

there will be a reckoning.

Shagging her's one thing, burning her's another.

She'll be out. She's a hater, that one.

Hmm.

 There she is.

Back to the boat!

They say it's not a sin

if you don't take pleasure in it.

Come on! Come on!

Come on! Come on!

I am Alasdair Roy McGregor!

Come on! Come on!

Is that the best you can do?

Come on!

Come on! Come on! Come...

Mary, are you hurt?

Did they wound you?

Oh, Mary.

Oh... Mary.

What have they done?

We will avenge you.

Rob will kill every last one of them.

He will not know. Rob will not know.

Mary, Rob must know.

He will not! He will not!

No! He will not!

I will not tell him, and you will not.

Do you hear me, Alasdair McGregor?

It is what they want!

It is what the Englishman wants!

It is his plan!

You swear it to me.

Swear it!

I cannot! I cannot!

You can! If I can bear it to be done,

you can bear to be silent!

Now, you swear it! Swear it.

Swear it. Swear it.

Swear it!

I swear. I swear.

I swear.

And I will hold you to it.

Mark me.

But of McGregor himself, still no word?

We will have him soon enough.

I have set such an affront to his highland honour

that he will come to redeem it.

Very well.

See to it that I am not mocked,

and in the meanwhile, make my claim against these acres in Lomondside

for the debt he owes.

Still no word of this man of McGregor's?

He who took the coin?

No, My Lord, not a word.

Nor will there be.

This was McGregor's ploy, to take the money and blame another.

His man is hid... and Your Lordship's money spent.

I wager it.

You have a rare grasp of the conspirator's mind, Archibald.

You are to be commended on it.

He sees through it, Archie. I know him and his gibes.

You think it would count against us if he knew?

He has another 300 acres to plant and prune

and all for the price of a paltry 1,000 Scotch pounds,

a fair price by any reckoning.

Archie, sir!

I must speak with you.

I am dismissed from service on account of my state.

And what is your state, pretty Betty?

You know well. I'm with your child.

And he... this one... has made report of it.

My report did nothing your belly wouldn't announce on its own.

Archie, what am I to do?

Root it out.

If Killearn does not know a crone with a twig,

I miss my guess.

It's gone too far for that.

Then it will not be the first bastard born in Scotland.

Archie, I love you.

Love is a dunghill, Betty,

and I am but a cock that climbs upon it to crow.

No!

It's a sore thing they have done to us... Mary and me.

Far past any wrong I had expected,

even from such as Montrose.

He must pay for it, Rob!

Else what are we?

Oh, pay he will

till his teeth squeal.

Think on it, now.

Think on it.

Even if we raised all the McGregors,

we could not, must not, fight Montrose in open battle.

He has 10, 20 times our numbers

and the strength of the Crown to back him.

There is honour here.

You were wronged. Mary is wronged.

Honour will be satisfied. You know me well enough.

But consider this.

One house burned,

cattle killed,

but none are dead, none injured.

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