[♪]
Oh, Hetty, look! Yoo hoo!
Olivia.
We're not speaking to Tremayne.
Why are we not speaking to him this time?
Well, he's stubborn and he's addlepated.
That's why.
He always assumes he is in the absolute right.
Well then, he doesn't agree with you.
No, er, yes ...
So why isn't Aunt Hetty talking to you this time?
Your aunt is driving me to distraction
over this housekeeper business.
I pity this next victim.
[train whistle]
You know a lot of things.
Things? What kind of things?
Well, what was it like when you were a boy?
What was what like?
Things.
Honestly, I don't know what's gotten into you lately, Iz.
Hello, Felix.
Hello, Izzy -
Who are you meeting?
The new housekeeper for the White Sands.
Oh.
We're meeting Arthur.
Say, you want to come by the hotel during my lunch break?
Really?
I'd like that.
Great.
We're having a game of ball hockey
and we'll need some extra players.
Oh.
See you at noon.
Right. At noon, then.
Watch your step, please.
No, Olivia, I think I saw her this way.
That must be Miss Greta Steig.
Miss Steig.
Yes.
Simon Tremayne.
Mr. King ... get Miss Steig's bags.
That will not be necessary, Mr. Tremayne.
As director of house keeping at the Schloss Langstraum,
I was perfectly capable of handling baggage.
This is the only car we haven't checked, Hetty.
Arthur!
Iz!
Promise you won't get into any arguments
with father this time?
Oh, I promise.
Besides, I've made an effort to accept the foibles
of older people like father who are set in their ways.
What about younger people who are set in their ways?
Sometimes, you can't change people --
Arthur.
-- or there attitudes.
Father.
That little bag...
Good lord.
What's she doing here?
Now Hetty...
Louisa Banks, my word.
Hetty King ...
I had no idea you were coming.
This is a surprise.
It was a last minute decision that I should accompany Sara.
I hope it's not an inconvenience.
No!
No, of course not.
Where is Sara?
Aunt Hetty!
Aunt Olivia!
Six months is too long!
Sara Stanley -
Well, I hardly recognize you, young lady.
Uncle Alec.
Careful - I'm covered with paint.
Hello.
Hello, Mr. King.
Hetty, I got a late start.
How could you!
Alec was supposed to have had your room papered
and painted when you got here.
Something fresh, at least more suitable for a young lady
than that dark old dreadful stuff that's there.
-Yellow. -Yellow.
Isn't that nice?
Oh - yellow...
Sara cannot abide yellow.
Rose Cottage is yellow,
it's practically the King family color.
Yellow is fine.
Really.
Well it's so nice to see you again, Miss Banks.
Thank you.
It's been quite a number of years hasn't it?
Why Sara was just a young girl,
and I hadn't yet married Jasper.
I can't quite remember when you were last in Avonlea.
Yes quite...
whatever prompted you to leave your beloved Montreal,
may I ask?
Well, when Sara returned from her experience here,
it was clear to me that my place was with her
and not with Stanley house.
[spits]
She's not staying here?
Is she?
I wouldn't want to inconvenience you, Hetty.
I will share with Sara.
Well --
Oh I'm sure we can all arrive at a simple solution.
Aunt Hetty - Nanny Louisa -
please sit down -
I'd like to talk about my future...
I have something important to tell you...
I didn't get a wink of sleep last night.
The noise was simply dreadful.
Noise? What noise?
Wild animals.
In this very house.
It's just field mice, Nanny Louisa.
I am grateful for your hospitality Hetty,
but I think the hotel would be more suitable.
I couldn't agree with you more, Louisa.
We'll get your things, Sara.
Sara?
Sara's home is here.
Nanny Louisa, Rose Cottage
is as much my home as our house in Montreal.
As you wish dear.
But I will not put you out anymore, Hetty King.
Knives will be arranged by size.
Spices and herbs -
separated and alphabetized.
Disinfect counters.
Excusez-moi, mademoiselle.
You do not like my kitchen?
You can stay out of it.
That will be quite enough, Pierre.
Well Miss Steig,
I look forward to your recommendations.
Mr. King, if you would show Miss steig the laundry facilities.
Yes, sir.
She is staying.
For your information, Miss steig comes with the highest
recommendations from Count Joseph von Heim
and the top hotel in the Schwarzwald.
So make the best of it.
Schwarwald...
Felix...
Hetty, this is Miss Greta Steig,
the new housekeeper.
Miss Steig Miss King...
Miss King.
You realize this is just a trial period, you know.
A fair trial, I hope.
She looks capable enough.
Yes, doesn't she though.
Won't work though - with Pierre La Pierre --
German and French;
oil and water, they don't mix.
Oh, if you will follow me Miss Banks.
I will show you to your room.
Mr. King.
Miss Steig?
Mr. King.
What is that discoloration on your hands?
Shoe black.
Mein Gott!
Those towels will have to be returned to the laundry.
Oh, don't worry.
It's old shoe black.
This is no excuse.
One must scrub with lye soap.
The hands must be disinfected.
All employees must adhere to a strict code of cleanliness.
I expect you to set an example for the entire staff.
Premedical courses at Dalhousie University...
what did your parents say when you told them?
Well, they were a little bit surprised at first,
but I think they're really pleased about it.
It's very hard to pursue a career, especially in medicine.
Well it's just something I feel I have to do.
I can't really explain it.
I know how you feel.
I want to write, professionally.
Somehow that doesn't really surprise me.
But there's so much I have to learn,
so much to read and experience.
On the Island?
Or in Montreal?
Actually, at l'Ecole des beaux arts de cluny in Paris.
Paris, France?!
While I was at home in Montreal,
I did a lot of thinking about my father.
I remembered traveling with him in Europe.
Hiking in Switzerland, learning to ride in Vienna...
Shopping in Paris.
I was only eight when I attended reading at the school.
My father hoped that someday I would attend.
I remember he told me it was held in the highest esteem
for its programs in language and literature.
And that the Bronte sisters had once lectured there.
Well have you applied?
Actually, I've already been accepted.
Sara, that's wonderful.
But you can't tell a living soul.
Not even Felix.
You haven't told Aunt Hetty?
Or Nanny Louisa.
Why not?
My life is already planned out in their minds -
some boring finishing school
selected by Aunt Hetty,
and then marriage to a proper young gentleman,
selected by Nanny Louisa.
I can't let that happen.
Sara, you've got to tell the truth -
it's always the best way.
How can I?
It would hurt their feelings.
As you can see, Sara, all your favorites.
Is that Abigail's gravy?
That's my gravy.
Thank you, Aunt Janet.
Too much red meat is not good for young girls.
It stirs the blood.
Not medically proven, is it Felicity?
Not to my knowledge, Aunt Hetty.
Young girls these days - so independent.
Some young girls.
So, what have you been doing all this time in Montreal, Sara?
It's been - what - six months?
I spent a lot of time thinking about my future.
And a good thing too.
Time a girl your age saw more of the world.
Everyone: I have arranged for Sara and I
to leave this Thursday
on a train trip right across Canada.
Hetty, that's wonderful!
I wish I could go.
I am sorry to disappoint you, Hetty King,
but I, also, have made plans for Sara.
We will spend the next several months traveling across Europe.
We will be sailing from Boston on the SS Southampton on Friday.
Sara is canadian, surely she has to see
her own country before gallivanting off to some --
Well you agree Sara?
Well, I agree it's important to see Canada.
Yes.
And as a Stanley,
Sara should investigate her ancestral roots in Europe,
the cradle of civilization.
Is that not so, Sara?
Well, I agree it's important to know all of one's history.
I'll help Felicity.
Now look What you've done. You've upset the child --
I most certainly did not.
I can't take another minute of this.
They are rather impossible.
What are you going to do?
I'm going for a walk.
Well what should I tell all of them?
Tell them I've gone... to the moon.
Hallo!
Arthur Pettibone!
Sara Stanley.
A pleasant surprise.
But what brings you out alone at this time of night?
I needed to think.
The salt sea air, the flickering home lights...
with the sunset kindling fires in the valley.
I love this place.
You sound homesick.
And what about you?
What brings you home?
Just visiting.
I'm off to England in a few days.
Special studies.
That's lucky.
I wish I could be on my own.
Well it is exciting - charting one's own future.
I have too many futures.
One according to Aunt Hetty,
one is Nanny Louisa's, and one is my own.
I don't want to hurt either of them.
Why does life have to get so complicated?
I think we sometimes make it more complicated
than it has to be.
Have you tried telling them the truth?
How can I tell them that I don't want to travel
with either one of them?
I think that above all they want you to be happy.
And, for your own happiness Sara,
you must follow your own destiny.
In time, I think they'll understand.
HETTY: There she is!
Sara!
Sara Stanley!
You gave us a right scare.
We have been searching high and low for you.
Arthur Pettibone,
good evening.
Miss King.
It is not seemly to be wandering about in the dark
with a young man of dubious background.
Good evening ladies - Sara.
Arthur Pettibone is a very good friend, Nanny Louisa.
He happens to be a professional young man,
a veterinarian,
if you must know, and from a good British family.
And Sara is an impressionable young woman.
[knocking]
Here you are.
Nothing like a glass of warm milk, I always say,
to steady the nerves.
But there's nothing wrong with my nerves, Aunt Hetty.
I know how it is when a young girl takes a fancy
into her head, she can become agitated.
Agitated?
Sara, I am not saying that Arthur Pettibone
is not a suitable young man.
Suitable?
Arthur?
But he is several years older than you, child,
a university man, really,
with I'm sure some very modern ideas
about...
certain things.
What kinds of things, Aunt Hetty?
Of course, when I was a young girl, there were rules,
you see, a strict code of behavior.
Firstly, you're expected to write to one another, you know.
Get to know one another's likes and dislikes.
To see if they had anything in common, I suppose.
Back then it was understood that young people's futures
were best decided by their elders.
Particularly matters of the heart.
Otherwise, goodness, young girls might run off
and marry whomever took her fancy.
And we wouldn't want that, would we Aunt Hetty?
No we wouldn't.
I am glad we had this talk, Sara.
Goodnight, child.
Good night.
-Uncle Alec... -Yes my dear?
I was wondering what would you do
if you wanted very desperately to do something,
for yourself, but there were other parties involved
who each wanted you to do something else.
Well has the first party expressed her wishes
to the other parties?
Not exactly.
You see it's very difficult because the other parties
will be very upset.
Sara, you know that your Aunt Hetty and Nanny Louisa
both love you and want what's best for you.
Yes. I know.
Now you know when Janet and I got married,
we were very young,
but we'd known each other for a long time, all our lives.
It just seemed right.
Are you sure that Arthur Pettibone
is the right suitor for you?
I mean...
Arthur Pettibone?
Hetty said that you and Arthur...
Oh, bother. No, Uncle Alec.
I'm just tired of being fought over like a toy.
If they would just listen to me about my own future,
about what I feel is important.
Yes.
Don't worry, Sara, I'll talk to them.
Thank you, Uncle Alec.
There we go..
Sara will make her goodbyes tomorrow.
She will do nothing of the kind.
Look, have either one of you sat down
and discussed this matter with Sara?
She just might have some ideas of her own.
BOTH: Nonsense!
Olivia... you're not leaving yet.
We haven't completed the itinerary.
I have had enough.
You can carry on 'til Doomsday if that's what makes you happy.
You obviously enjoy this senseless bickering
with Louisa Banks.
I think you are willing to give up
everything you have with Sara just to win an argument.
It's for Sara's benefit.
Oh, is it really?
Well, then, you had better put aside your own feelings
and come to a compromise with that woman.
Or you are going to be waving to Sara from a dock.
Good night.
Go on now, perfect opportunity.
Louisa Banks...
...I have given this problem of Sara's immediate future
a good deal of thought.
Ah - good - Hetty, Miss Banks -
if you don't mind,
I'd like to talk to you very frankly about Sara Stanley.
Alec, do you mind?
We are quite capable of dealing with Sara on our own, thank you.
No, she finds it very difficult
to talk to you both about this.
The one partlcular point that she wanted to make
is that there is nothing, absolutely nothing,
between her and Arthur Pettibone.
In fact, she --
We're not talking about Arthur Pettibone.
If you'll just let me finish...
Alec -
Hetty has something very important to say.
If you just talk to Sara...
Let me speak!
As I was saying, Louisa Banks,
I have thought long and hard
about what would be in Sara's best interests,
I've come to a decision.
I am now prepared to sacrifice
what I believe to be the more educational trip
in order to accompany the both of you on your tour of Europe.
Well, come if you like, Hetty King.
I'm sure Sara will be delighted.
And as you know, it was never her father's intention
that she should stay on this little Island forever.
Is that so?
Sara may just choose to return to this little Island
as you put it.
Compromise..
It has made a world of difference to her character.
When she first brought her to Rose cottage,
she was an exceedingly spoiled child.
I beg your pardon, Hetty King!
Well, now I know what Sara was talking about.
A word of advice.
If you are not careful, you're going to drive her
to desperate action,
and I for one wouldn't blame her.
Sara, you seem to know Felix King better than anyone.
Well, you seem to be a good friend.
That's just it.
To him I'm only a friend.
He never gets the hint.
Well then you must capture his imagination.
You know Felix, he's always scheming and dreaming -
he's a true romantic.
Felix King?
A romantic?
But that's just it, Izzy.
Write to him.
You mean write Felix a love letter?
Absolutely.
So, say I did write a letter,
what if he hates it
and doesn't like me and never speaks to me again?
Don't sign your name.
I don't get it.
Sign.. from your secret admirer.
Then, when he falls in love with the girl who wrote the letter -
you reveal it's you.
Gee, that's a swell idea, Sara.
It is, isn't it.
To my secret love -
My heart will burst The pain's the worst.
I will be doomed, Perchance entombed.
carrying my love to Heaven above.
I think it needs a little work.
Mr. King.
[thump]
Oh, Miss Steig.
I'm sorry.
I expect this kitchen to be spotless and sanitary
by the time I complete the table linen inventory.
Oh, this is for you.
"My secret love.. your eyes, your smile, my heart will burst.
Your secret admirer."
You have a secret admirer?
Someone with addled wits and poor eyesight.
Miss Steig - the new housekeeper at the hotel.
She said 'this is for you'.
I bet she wrote it herself.
Felix, Miss Steig is a woman.
You are a boy.
Some people don't think so, Felicity.
I'm to leave a reply in the lobster traps
at the lighthouse if I want to know more.
You.
Write a love letter?
Or you could do it for me.
It's not a good idea to get involved in someone else's
romantic entanglements.
Does that mean no?
Sara, you've got to help me!
I need a letter to a secret admirer.
Whoever she is, she must really like me.
I've got to find out who she is.
I know.
Look, copy this down in your own handwriting.
Mine's too feminine.
Good thinking.
Mr. Tremayne -
is there something I can assist you with?
Ah - Miss Steig - no - no.
Between all the desk staff the receipts are always
in a state of confusion.
Just look at this.
Jensen and Daley charged to the same room number.
Ah, but, Jensen was in room 4 until noon -
and asked to be switched to a corner room.
Mrs. Daley agreed.
Please allow me.
I can finish this for you Mr. Tremayne.
Oh I couldn't impose.
It is no imposition.
Ah, a woman after my own heart.
You know, your organizational ability
has been missing from this organization for far too long.
For far too long...
I must say.
The list for the items you require
must be on my desk by 5 a.m.
Not a moment later.
Yes.
And, Pierre, the breakage rate over the past several days
has exceeded that of the entire previous month.
[crash]
Mr. King...
I would advise you to pay less attention to Miss Steig
and more to your duties.
[laughter]
What's so funny?
You have melted the heart of the Ice Queen.
Oh good Lord.
You don't mean...
Ah, but have no fear - I shall counsel you both.
Coffee, Miss Steig?
No, thank you, Mr. King.
Now, Monsieur Lapierre...
We will organize the kitchen linens and cutlery this morning.
Nothing needs to be organized.
I know exactly where everything is.
I think it's a great idea.
I could get on that right away.
You are not scheduled for this duty, Mr. King.
And I think you are already two minutes late for the front desk.
Sorry.
I am off for my morning ride.
Upon my return we shall discuss the inventory.
Yes, Mr. Tremayne.
Mr. Tremayne...
Monsieur LaPierre has told me you rode in the cavalry?
My father was a cavalry officer.
It is the only life for a young man.
Builds character, makes a man decisive, practical, a leader.
Why is everybody just standing around?
Don't you have work to do?
Yah, mein herr.
[laughing]
This isn't funny!
Yah, mein Herr.
This is all your fault.
You knew how she'd react.
In future, just stay out of my business.
Ooh, la, la, la, la
I love it when you are so decisive.
Eeee-ya!
Look!
Look, you were right.
Who would've thought Felix was so romantic?
Who, indeed?
He wants me to meet him at the lighthouse.
What'll I do?
What'll I say?
What'll I wear?
Arthur!
Arthur - look, what do you think of this?
It's very becoming, Iz.
Very sophisticated.
What's all this about?
Just something I needed to impress someone with, I hope.
You mean somebody like a young man?
You won't tell father will you?
My lips are sealed - if you tell me who it is?
Felix King.
I'm meeting him but he doesn't know it.
It's a bit complicated.
You can tell me about it on the way home, Iz.
And how about you, Sara?
Have you told them about your plans?
No, I haven't.
And now it's gone from bad to worse.
Aunt Hetty is going to accompany us to Europe.
They'll have to let you go one day, won't they, Sara?
It's never easy.
But parents eventually realize their children are grown
and have their own lives.
Make a decision and act on it.
Psst. Felicity. How do I look?
Why ask me?
You already know what I think of you.
Come on Felicity, this is important.
All right.
You look... nice.
Nice? Is that all?
Felix, you've been preening for over an hour.
You don't really have time to stew about it.
Shouldn't you be at the lighthouse now
to meet your lady love?
Oh my gosh!
[knocking]
Sara...
Sara?
Olivia? Where's Sara?
Oh Hetty - Sara's gone to the lighthouse to meet someone.
Arthur Pettibone!
We best get Louisa Banks.
Come on.
Look, Sara, I've been thinking -
I should never have let you talk me into this.
Running away isn't going to solve the problem.
This isn't a good solution.
You should just tell them the truth.
You don't understand, Arthur.
You can't talk to them.
They don't listen to anyone but themselves.
Sara, they'll both be terribly hurt.
It's an old and tired adage,
but honesty is the best policy.
I am being honest.
To myself.
I love my father, but I can't live with him.
My problem exactly.
But, I would never run off without facing him.
It's cowardly.
Somehow, I never thought of you as a coward, Sara.
It's all your fault, Louisa Banks.
You probably had her under lock and key back in Montreal,
the poor child.
Better that than to have her courted
by a country ruffian right under your very nose.
Ruffian!
Stop it!
It's no wonder Sara's run off.
To get away from the two of you!
Come on, hurry up!
Oh Hetty!
What on earth?
Good evening, Miss Steig.
Ah, Miss Steig, good evening.
Felix King, I might have guessed.
What is the meaning of this?
Where is Sara!
Sara! Sara!
-Sara? -Greta?
Greta?
Izzy.
Felix, who's Greta?
You were going to meet someone else?
You'd better explain yourself young man.
Well, I...
I want to go home...
Izzy, it's all right.
Alright, Felix King, what have you done
with Sara and Arthur Pettibone?
Sara? Arthur?
I was afraid to tell you, either one of you,
that I want to go to L'Ecole des Beaux Arts de Cluny in Paris.
I knew you'd say no.
It being a Roman Catholic Institution...
Why?
It's reputed to be one of the best academies
for young ladies interested in language and literature.
Oh I know, because your father mentioned it so often.
And naturally, I made my own enquiries.
Why would you think I'd say no?
Your education has always been paramount.
It is the one area on which Hetty King and I agree.
Oh goodness Sara, what a wonderful opportunity.
I shall take an apartment near the Tullieres.
What? As sole guardian?
No you don't, Louisa Banks.
Then I shall take rooms nearby myself.
So now you both want to go to Paris;
is that to keep an eye on Sara
or to continue your ongoing feud?
Well, might I simply want to see Paris...
It's why I didn't tell you in the first place.
You always make plans and put me in the middle.
You force me to choose between you and I can't.
Oh, Sara, I never meant to...
I'm sorry.
No, dear. Never.
How could I say I love one over the other?
How could I choose between the woman who raised me from a baby
and the woman who ushered me into womanhood.
You have taught me everything you can,
instilled in me the best values and the highest goals.
There is a time when chicks must leave the nest to test
their wings and discover the world on their own.
This is my time.
I will write every week.
Everyday.
I love you both so much.
What is going on here?
Why aren't dinners being served?
I quit!
What?
We all quit!
That know-it-all has ruined my kitchen.
Looked like she whipped everything into ship-shape.
M. Tremayne, I know you will not agree,
but nothing is good enough for that lady.
And, she seems to think that every area of this hotel
is under her control.
If that is what you wish, monsieur,
then she can take over my position here.
Au revoir.
Wait - wait.
Pierre.
If you would allow me to get a word in,
I would've said that I agree with you.
Although, you brought much of this problem on yourself.
Felix, ask Greta to come and see me.
I like her.
Yes, we know that.
You behave like a jackass every time you see her.
Miss Steig.
If I may have a word with you privately.
Felix, let me counsel you about women.
I have made a complete study of the hotel.
Among my recommendations,
I think that it would be more efficient
if we move the kitchen linens into the storage...
Miss Steig -
Yes.
You are a very capable woman...
Thank you.
Yes, very capable, but...
I may be that the White Sands Hotel
is not quite ready for such rigid efficiency
and continental style.
They will get used to it.
Please - allow me to finish.
I'm afraid I will have to let you go.
I am sorry.
Miss Steig, please -
you are an extraordinary housekeeper...
Yes?
I will be happy to provide you with a glowing recommendation.
Recommendation?
Any hotel would be proud to have you on their staff.
It's just an unfortunate personality conflict.
I see.
You prefer Pierre, that rabble in the kitchen...
So, you have won.
This beautiful hotel will fall to wrack and ruin -
and it will be all your fault, Monsieur LaPierre.
I hope you will be satisfied.
Good luck and good bye.
[humming happily]
Bonjour.
Hetty!
I am sorry that things have not worked out for you
at the White Sands, Miss Steig.
Here is a letter of recommendation to a fine hotel,
the Wolper House, in Berlin, Ontario.
Good luck, Miss Steig.
Mr. Tremayne.
I can manage, thank you.
She was very beautiful though.
Felix, there is more to a relationship
than a pretty face.
Oh Felix, tell them to hurry.
Don't give up on Felix yet.
I'll have to wear a paper bag on my head.
Father, I'll write when I get to college.
Good luck, Arthur.
I'm sure you'll do well.
Quick step.
Allow me.
Why thank you Mr. Pettibone.
My pleasure, Miss Banks.
Gee Sara - it'll be getting lonely here without you.
-You'll write. -Yes. You too.
-I will. -Even you Felix.
I promise. I might even visit?
Here, Sara.
We got you a small going away gift.
It's a diary.
So you can remember all that exciting stuff to tell us.
I'll miss you both.
Me too.
HETTY: Sara, the train!
Oh.
Thank you, Aunt Olivia.
I'll miss you.
Give my best to Jasper when he returns.
I'm sorry I missed him.
Take care, Sara.
I love you.
Sara, don't dally.
Janet! Over here.
I know you'll do well Sara.
You've been like a father to me.
Here's the exchange for your ticket.
Go on, give it to her then.
Sara, dear - Aunt Hetty would like you to have this -
just to buy a little something for yourself.
CONDUCTOR: All aboard!
Get on, it's leaving!
Aunt Hetty...
...you are the most important person in the world to me.
Oh, child...
[train whistle]
Sara, dear, come along!
You know Hetty, that girl has a lot of King in her.
In fact, Sara has always reminded me of you.
Bye, Sara!