TABOO

EPISODE ONE
'Shovels and keys'

Written by

Steven Knight

First Draft
July 31st 2013
EXT. RAIN-SWEPT MUDDY ROAD - STORMY NIGHT

Rain pours in giant drapes against moonlight over rolling

hills. In the near distance a single carriage lamp burns and
we hear a man cursing and horses whinnying...

Caption: Dover to London Road, England, March 1813.

We move close to the single light and find a Lightning four

horse carriage, hopelessly stuck in the mud. The carriage
driver wears a beaver hat with a curly brim which sheds water
in waterfalls. He wears a slick cape. His porter wears the
same uniform and is lashing the lead mare in her traces with
a whip and cursing her to step on.

The passengers are just shadows huddling inside the carriage,

wrapped in blankets. Then one of the passengers steps out
into the deluge under a coat and calls out...

PASSENGER
Driver! We are a sitting duck here
for Slender Billy.

DRIVER
So why dont you push?

PASSENGER
I didnt pay to bloody push.

The driver laughs into the rain...

DRIVER
Then Slender Billy will make you
pay at the end of his pistols.

The driver tries a vicious flick of the reins once more but
the carriage will not budge. The porter violently beats the
lead mare some more too. The horse shies. It seems hopeless.
As the passenger goes to clamber back into the carriage he
sees a lone horseman walking up toward the carriage from
behind. The horseman is a shadow, a tall man in a broad
brimmed hat and leather cape, riding on a grey mare.

The passenger freezes in fear. He turns to the driver.

PASSENGER
Look...

The driver turns and freezes too. The horseman seems

unhurried by the rain and his bridle brass clinks as his
horse walks. No face is yet visible under the broad brimmed
hat.

The porter is still lashing the mare with his whip. The lone
horseman is close.
 Taboo - Ep 1 - Steven Knight - First Draft - July 31st 2013 2.

The passenger lets his hand slip under his cape. The driver
half opens the lid of a small compartment beside his seat and
we see the stock of a pistol. Water has dribbled into the
box and the driver sees his powder is wet. He curses. The
rider is close. The driver pulls his gun anyway...

DRIVER
Who goes there?!

The lone horseman walks his horse on, not replying. He has a
leather bag strapped to his saddle. We see the white faces
of the scared passengers as the horseman walks by. He does
not look at them even once. The driver has his (useless)
pistol cocked.

The porter lays his whip across the back of the lead mare one
more time before seeing the horseman too. He freezes,
holding his whip aloft.

As the horseman walks by, he grabs the whip from the porters
hand and tosses it into the mud.

He then casually leans over in his saddle, grabs the bridle

of the lead mare and hisses an instruction into her ear. The
horse jerks and pulls and the carriage heaves upward then
slumps down, freed of its ridge of mud at last.

As the carriage rocks and settles, the lone horseman gees his
horse and canters away into the darkness. The porter, driver
and passenger watch him disappear. After a moment, the
porter clambers aboard the carriage. The passenger hurries
back inside. The driver flicks his reins and the carriage
moves forward slowly.

EXT. RAIN SWEPT ROAD

The horseman is cantering through the rain and now we catch a
glimpse of his handsome features beneath the brim of his hat.
He makes good time through the mud and we ride with him for a
while.

We will learn soon that this man is JAMES KEZIAH DELANEY, our
hero.

James slows his horse and stops beside a chalk-white mile

marker in the seventeenth century style. It tells that LONDON
is ten miles north.

He dismounts and ties his horse loosely to the mile marker.

From his saddle he takes the leather bag and a small shovel
with a diamond shaped blade. Rain pours off him. He steps
off the road and begins to walk at right angles to it.
 Taboo - Ep 1 - Steven Knight - First Draft - July 31st 2013 3.

EXT. OPEN HEATH/WOODLAND

James walks in a dead straight line. Beyond, we can just

make out the orange smudge in the sky which represents the
lights of London. As he walks, James counts under his
breath...

JAMES
....Two hundred ninety four, two
hundred ninety five, two hundred
ninety six, two hundred ninety
seven, two hundred ninety eight,
two hundred ninety nine...

James takes one more stride then stops. He looks around to

get his bearings against trees and hilltops. He is close to
an old oak tree, battered by the storm.

James takes the shovel and begins to dig.

It is hard, wet work and we come close to him as he gasps and

scrapes. The hole he digs is deep and we cut around his
labors until, by the time he has finished, there is a streak
of dawn in the sky.

In the half light, James takes his leather bag and drops it
in the hole. The rain has stopped but water drips off his
broad brimmed hat.

He takes a breath and removes his hat. He wipes sweat and

rain from his brow. For the first time we see his handsome,
care worn features, set against the rising sun over London.

He puts his hat back on and begins to fill the hole back in.

INT. MORTUARY

A bare room with twenty cold marble slabs. There are high
windows and dull sunlight through iron bars. Flies drone.

The slabs are all empty apart from one. A man in his
seventies lies naked on the slab. Dead.

The body looks feeble in the cold hard room, the only
softness. We come close to the hawk-face of the cadaver,
straggled with grey whiskers. There is a blanket across his
genitals but the rest of his skinny body is exposed.

There are two King George pennies on his eyelids but flies
land around them to try to reach his dried tears. His toes
are curled in death.
 Taboo - Ep 1 - Steven Knight - First Draft - July 31st 2013 4.

Then a door opens and James enters. With his cape removed we
see he is dressed in practical dark clothes, the clothes of a
sea faring man returned home in the year 1813.

He walks with a business like clip which will characterise

him. He takes off his hat late for a man coming into a
mortuary.

He stands beside the body and stares at the face. He is not

unused to death or dead bodies. Indeed, he has no reaction
to the fact of death. He removes the pennies. To our
surprise he puts them into his pocket. He half smiles as he
looks down on the face (as if the man appreciated thrift).
He looks for a long time.

Finally...

JAMES
Forgive me father.

A pause. A firm nod.

JAMES (CONTD)
...For I have sinned.

He is about to say more but finds he doesnt have the words.

He turns and walks his fast business-like walk away to the
door.

EXT. WAPPING WALL LANE, ROTHERHITHE

It is afternoon in the busy dockside street. Porters and

warehousemen carry boxes of goods from the dockside where
they have been stacked. Small carriages whip by and people
walk quickly. There is a sense of commerce and urgent
business all around between the black brick buildings.

We are taken along by a STREET BEGGAR in a frock coat and

bare feet. Strapped to his head he has a perfect replica of
an English naval battleship, made from sticks and paper and
leather. It is twice as big as his head and he balances it
with care.

He makes the ship sway and bob as if it were on rough seas.

He is accompanied by a gang of delighted children who follow
him bare foot and hoot and laugh at his words as he chants
out a rhyme....

STREET BEGGAR
I sailed aboard the Vincent. She
rolled this way and that.

Children laugh...
 Taboo - Ep 1 - Steven Knight - First Draft - July 31st 2013 5.

STREET BEGGAR (CONTD)

Then we turned her on the French,
the mouse for Wellingtons cat..

He spits..

STREET BEGGAR (CONTD)

And know ya this. I saw him there,
standing on the deck. It was the
cursed Bonaparte, I threw a rope
around his neck!

The children suddenly turn and part. They have seen

something coming. The beggar also turns and stops his
chanting.

A young man in a black top hat, black frock coat, black

stockings and boots (THE MUTE) is marching through the mud
with a stick in his hand. He marches like a military band
leader, staring straight ahead. The sight of him makes
everyone freeze. The street beggar holds on to his ship with
both hands so that he can bow elaborately.

Then we see that the Mute is the vanguard of a funeral

hearse.

Behind him there is a black hearse drawn by six black horses

with black plumes atop their heads. They snort in the grey
cold air. There is a slight slope to the road and the
pulling is heavy in the mud.

The windows of the coffin box are glass and are steamed up.
An old man sits on top of the cab looking backward. He cups
his hand to his mouth and calls out...

FUNERAL CALLER
Behold a good man! Behold a man of
his calling! Behold the...

He coughs on the damp air...

FUNERAL CALLER (CONTD)

...Behold the witness to Gods deep
love for us all.

Behind the hearse walk a dozen men, stepping uneasily through

the mud, their boots already no more than clumps of earth.

Among them we see three businessmen in frock coats walking in

a line. The oldest and fattest of them is ROBERT DENT, a
shipping trader, who we will meet later.

There are two other men, father and son and, between them,
James, stepping more easily through the mud than the others.
 Taboo - Ep 1 - Steven Knight - First Draft - July 31st 2013 6.

He is dressed in black and his neck tie seems too tight for
his muscular neck. We come close to some of the sturdy
businessmen dressed in black.

Then, at the back of the funeral cortege, side saddle on a

white horse, we see a young woman, beautiful, early thirties,
her beauty half hidden behind a black veil. This is ZILPHA
GEARY.

Her horse is led by a handsome man in his early thirties

(THORNE GEARY), who is Zilphas husband.

We follow the cortege for a while and study the faces. All
eyes are on James and words are spoken softly among the men
about him.

INT. ST MARYS CHURCH, ROTHERHITHE

The congregation are now all spread out among the pews.
There are small cliques who sit together. James sits alone
at the front pew. Zilpha sits at the back with her husband
and she steals glances at James as her husband whispers to
her.

Jamess fathers coffin sits on a stone plinth next to the

altar. Candles burn in profusion all around.

The three businessmen are conferring as we join the scene and

elect Robert Dent to carry out an onerous task. He crouches
as he comes forward to whisper in Jamess ear.

DENT
I dont wish to be indelicate but
did you pay the grave diggers the
extra shilling?
James doesnt reply.

DENT (CONTD)
Ressurectioners are rife here
because the Bartholomew hospital is
so close.

James doesnt respond and Dent is a little concerned.

DENT (CONTD)
Men of substance pay extra to be
buried two feet deeper than the
rest. That way the grave robbers
cant dig down to their meat before
the sun comes up.

James still doesnt respond. Dent waits. Finally James

speaks...
 Taboo - Ep 1 - Steven Knight - First Draft - July 31st 2013 7.

JAMES
I have no business with the grave
diggers. My father will rest at
the regular depth.

Dent looks a little horrified. The Priest enters from behind

a curtain and steps up to the altar. Dent goes back to his
seat with a shrug of disbelief to his associates. We come
close to Jamess impassive face...

PRIEST
Before we begin, let us bow our
heads to pray.

Everyone bows their head in unison. Except for James.

EXT. ST. MARYS CHURCH, GRAVEYARD

We see the coffin being lowered into the ground. James is

impassive as the priest reads the final words of the burial
incantation.

Then, on a cue from the priest, James scoops up some mud and
throws it onto the coffin. Almost as an act of defiance to
the eyes trained upon him, he speaks in a foreign language...

JAMES
Tlau. Tula. Ngind, Ula.

The priest hears and glares at him. Some of the other old men
glare too. Zilpha and Jamess eyes meet for the first time.

EXT. ST MARYS CHURCH, GRAVEYARD - LATER

The congregation begin to wander away from the grave side as
two grave diggers begin to fill in the grave. Weak Spring
sun shines. James walks alone but is joined by Thorne, who
hurries to catch him. Zilpha hangs back a little.

THORNE
Mr Delaney? Sir?

James slows and turns. Zilpha is a yard away. We should

sense immediately that there is a past between James and
Zilpha but, for the moment, their reunion must be conducted
with their eyes and not their words in Thornes presence.

THORNE (CONTD)
My wife and I wanted to express our
condolences.

James nods acceptance, looks away from Zilpha.

 Taboo - Ep 1 - Steven Knight - First Draft - July 31st 2013 8.

THORNE (CONTD)
Bad luck he died before your ship
made port.

JAMES
It was luck? I see.

The odd, dismissive comment cools the air. Thorne seems to

be a polite man eager to break the ice. He glances at
Zilpha...

THORNE
I was saying to my wife, England
must be cold for you after all
those years away.

James looks at Zilpha.

JAMES
England is frozen.

A pause. He turns to Thorne...

JAMES (CONTD)
In my mind I mean. Frozen as a
memory. It doesnt change.

James turns and walks. Zilpha appears to take secret meaning

from Jamess words but Thorne seems puzzled and a little
hapless. He calls out...

THORNE
We shall see you at the drinks
then.

James keeps walking.

INT. ROSE OF CARLISLE INN

The tavern has a large open space where a wood fire roars.
There is a table with a black tablecloth with food and wine.
Beer barrels rest on trestles.

The congregation from the funeral have mostly arrived, with

some still scraping mud from their boots in the doorway.

The wake is busy, unfussy, good humored. Wine is present in

huge quantities and there is a single haunch of beef which
will feed everyone.

A liveried servant is taking glasses of warm sherry around

the small huddles of guests and we follow him. As guests
take their drinks we hear snatches of conversation...
 Taboo - Ep 1 - Steven Knight - First Draft - July 31st 2013 9.

OLD MAN (TAKING SHERRY)

Were those nigger words he said
over the grave?

The servant moves on. He arrives at a younger set of men, in

their thirties...

YOUNGER MAN (TAKING SHERRY)

...Tighter than a ducks arse he
was but youd think the son would
be all sunshine. They say he was a
complete horse with the women.

An old lady (MISS EISEN) sits in a corner but stands to

intercept the tray of drinks...

MISS EISEN
Where are the poor? Did the old
bugger not leave instruction for
there to be cakes for them?

There is a fat businessman (MACE) and a consumptive solicitor

(DELF).

MACE
He spoke pagan words over the
coffin. Did you hear?

DELF
They eat lions, you know. The men
of the tribes. To make themselves
wild....

Mace takes two drinks and we now follow Mace across the room.
As he walks, we hear a snippet of conversation...
PASSER BY
I bet he has the pox. The pox in
Africa goes to your brain directly
via a worm. The worm takes over
your soul.

Laughter. Mace passes. Zilpha and her husband are in

conversation with several men but Zilpha is looking around
for James. He is nowhere to be seen.

Mace takes the extra glass of sherry to Robert Dent who takes
it and sips...

DENT
Where is he? Did he not come?

MACE
He went to piss.
 Taboo - Ep 1 - Steven Knight - First Draft - July 31st 2013 10 .

Dent looks around...

MACE (CONTD)
This tavern has no privy. You piss
in the boiling house next door.

Mace sips his wine, a little disgusted...

MACE (CONTD)
Youd think with all the money the
old man had hed have afforded
something grander than a tavern
with no pot to piss in.

Dent walks on. Mace grumbles into his drink...

MACE (CONTD)
Miserly, mad old bastard.

INT. BOILING HOUSE/LAVATORY

The large, heavy timbered space is filled with bones. The

bones are mostly of horses and there is a separate pile for
horse skulls. There are also the skulls of other animals.

Fifty yards across the bone strewn floor there are three
great fires burning, and on top of the fires there are
cauldrons which steam and boil intensely. This is a boiling
house, where animal bones are boiled up to make glue.

Men stripped to the waist tend the fires and also drop horse
bones into the cauldrons, or spill out the glutinous contents
onto flat wooden boards for cooling.

The activity of the boiling house is distant and incidental.

Close up we find James in a narrow stable, one of three,
throwing up into a bucket.

He retches a few times then straightens. He wipes his eyes

and gets his breath. As he wipes his face with a cloth, his
hand shakes.

After a moment, Dent enters. He walks to the second narrow

stable where there is a bucket for the purpose. He unbuttons
his fly and begins to pee, his upper half visible over the
low stable divide.

DENT
Unfortunate.

James doesnt respond.

 Taboo - Ep 1 - Steven Knight - First Draft - July 31st 2013 11 .

DENT (CONTD)
Considering the occasion. All these
bones as reminders.

Dent finishes his peeing rather too quickly and buttons his
fly. He steps out...

DENT (BUTTONING) (CONTD)

Myself, I think burials should be
an excuse for music. And laughing.
And girls with nice arses.
Defiance, you know? Not bones.

He wipes his hands on his breeches. James has a deadly look.

JAMES
I didnt hear the piss hit the
leather. Perhaps you had no need.
Perhaps you came here to find me.

Dent takes a moment then comes to face James, appraise him.

DENT
James? It is you? That curious,
funny boy.

James stretches his collar and goes to leave. Dent has

business and takes his arm.

DENT (CONTD)
Yes, I have other business than
pissing.

James studies Dent. We sense he knows him from long ago.

DENT (CONTD)
What are your intentions now that
your father is dead?

A distant door swings open and two skinny horses are led
inside from a sunlit yard, ready for slaughter and boiling
up. James glances at them...

JAMES (DISTANT)
My intentions?

A pause. For the first time James half smiles.

JAMES (CONTD)
The future belongs to God doesnt
it?

He looks good when he smiles. Dent looks around to check no

one is in earshot..
 Taboo - Ep 1 - Steven Knight - First Draft - July 31st 2013 12 .

DENT
Then I will speak plainly. As the
only heir to your fathers
interests, his business will
naturally come to you. What do you
plan to do with it?

The two tired horses are led past by a young groom and James
waits until they have gone by. Dent wants his attention.

DENT (CONTD)
I will offer you a sum. Here and
now this moment. You can take the
money and sail away to anywhere in
the world.

James watches the horses being led to their doom.

DENT (CONTD)
I will take the whole of the
trading business including the
rotten parts. And the parts that
will get a man killed.

JAMES (DISTANTLY)
And boil it all up, yes.

Dent sees that James isnt listening. He watches as the

horses are led to a dark stable for slaughter.

DENT
James, hear me. You are an
adventurer and, before, you were
always careless of yourself. I
dont know how you are now. But you
are not a fool. There are things in
your fathers legacy that you would
shy from...

Finally Dent has Jamess attention.

JAMES
What things?

DENT
As I said, things as could kill
you.

James considers Dent. James is sharp and fast and takes lots
of meanings from the offer. For now...

JAMES (SARCASTIC)
And you, a charitable man, will
take these unknown dangers off my
hands.
 Taboo - Ep 1 - Steven Knight - First Draft - July 31st 2013 13 .

They stare at each other.

DENT
Im curious James. I know what it
was that left England, but what is
it that came back from Africa?

James turns and heads for the open door. Dent calls out...

DENT (CONTD)
I will send you a formal
proposition in writing.

INT. WAKE - LATER

Three men in absurd, matching red velvet suits are singing a

Harmonic, a song sung in harmony (similar to barber shop)
and sung with passion and closed eyes. The ballad is
melancholy.

Thick pipe-smoke swirls and the congregation has been swelled

by young girls and women who are laughing and drinking with
the well dressed businessmen.

Zilpha is with her husband, who is scooping some wine from a

bowl. She stares through the smoke to see James returning
from the boiling house. James glances at her then takes the
condolences from another guest.

THORNE
Darling, we should go. These girls
arriving are all whores.

Zilpha glances at James, talking now to a young girl...

THORNE (CONTD)
They read in the papers that it is
a widowers funeral so they know
there will be a lot of old men.

Laughter is breaking out around the room. Zilpha finally

turns to Thorne.

ZILPHA
Yes. Let me give my condolences to
Mr Delaney.

THORNE
We already gave our condolences.

ZILPHA
You hardly let me speak.
 Taboo - Ep 1 - Steven Knight - First Draft - July 31st 2013 14 .

Before Thorne can respond, she makes her way through the odd
crowd, now infiltrated by young prostitutes, to the delight
of the old businessmen.

Finally she reaches James, who has a young girl hovering by

his side.

ZILPHA (CONTD)
We are leaving Mr Delaney. Once
again condolences on...

Without any change of expression James interrupts...

JAMES
I still love you.

Zilpha is dumbstruck. She stops speaking. She instinctively

glances back toward Thorne.

JAMES (CONTD)
Time and Africa had no effect.

Zilpha turns to walk away.

JAMES (CONTD)
If you cant speak, write to me and
tell me your feelings.

Zilpha has gone into the crowd. The harmonic singers croon
on. James watches Zilpha take Thornes arm and walk out of
the door. He looks around the room. Dent has a girl on his
lap. He finishes his drink and leaves by a different door.

EXT. THAMES FORESHORE

The sun is setting and we see the silhouette of the newly
built East India Import docks above on the Blackwall horizon.

James walks down some stone steps, still slippy with weed
from high tide, and arrives on the river beach. He tears the
neck tie from around his neck and stuffs it in his pocket.
He unfastens his collar button so he can breath.

(Throughout, we should feel that James is restricted by the

formal clothes of the times. His shoes pinch, his collar
strains, his jackets stretch on his frame).

Down the Thames to the East we see ships moored all across to
the South bank. James walks slowly, breathing the rank air
but also smelling the sea on the breeze. This is a place he
remembers.

A stray dog barks and growls and immediately James grins. He

squats and the dog comes to him. He ruffles the dogs hair.
 Taboo - Ep 1 - Steven Knight - First Draft - July 31st 2013 15 .

In the company of the dog James seems more at ease than he

has been with any human.

Then a voice...

VOICE/IBBOTSON
The dogs here live off the flesh of
suicides jumping off Blackfriars
bridge.

James stands. The voice is coming from the shadows beside

the steps where James just emerged. James has been followed.
Out of the shadow steps IBBOTSON. He is a man in his early
fifties, grizzled, poor and angry. James recognizes him.

IBBOTSON
Never seen one go tamely to a mans
hand. Must be some witchcraft you
picked up somewhere.

Ibbotson steps out onto the mud. He gestures back at the

steps to the tavern behind...

IBBOTSON (CONTD)
My invitation to the funeral must
have got mislaid. So I waited
outside.

JAMES
What do you want?

IBBOTSON (FLATLY)
You think your bastard feeds
herself?

James instantly steps forward two paces, grabs him around the
throat and pushes him against the dripping wall hard. His
eyes flash with madness for a second. Ibbotson shows no
fear.

IBBOTSON (CONTD)
Times not changed you then.

James sees no fear in Ibbotsons eyes and Ibbotson growls

into Jamess face.

IBBOTSON (CONTD)
I heard you did a lot of evil over
there in the company kingdom. Now
its time to do some fucking good
among your own.

James allows Ibbotson free. Ibbotson is driven by fury which

makes him fearless...
 Taboo - Ep 1 - Steven Knight - First Draft - July 31st 2013 16 .

IBBOTSON (CONTD)
Me and my wife have cared for that
girl for ten years with not a penny
from you and nothing but threats
from your father. Now youre back I
want payment.

James is about to respond but Ibbotson ploughs on, a decade

worth of anger spewing out.

IBBOTSON (CONTD)
Look at ye. Fancy coffins and mutes
and black plumes. I watched it go
by. Youre from nothing more than
Irish and smugglers. I doubt youll
stay more than two tides so I want
payment quick. If it wasnt for us,
your kid would be sucking cocks in
St. Giles.

James is about to get angry again but he sees the resolution

in Ibbotson. He also knows that Ibbotson is justified.
After a moment he speaks softly.

JAMES
I planned to look you up Mr
Ibbotson.

IBBOTSON
Like hell. Youre a Delaney.

James nods gently. He knows the name deserves the contempt.

He speaks softly...

JAMES
Get an address to the house. I will
send a bankers draft.

James turns and walks.

IBBOTSON
How much?

James swings round and yells across the mud and shale...

JAMES
Enough.

He walks on. Ibbotson watches him go.

IBBOTSON
You dont even ask how your own
daughter fares?
 Taboo - Ep 1 - Steven Knight - First Draft - July 31st 2013 17 .

James walks on. The stray dog, yapping, follows at his

heels.

EXT. THAMES SHORE/CHAMBER HOUSE - NIGHT

The sun has set. Two gas lamps illuminate a fine seventeenth
century merchants house with a flat front and stuccod
pillars which looks out across the River Thames at
Rotherhithe.

There are black drapes of mourning at the windows. There is

an iron gate that separates it from the footpath above the
foreshore and it creaks when James opens it. Behind him, the
river glistens and gentle waves slop out the quays.

James reaches into his vest pocket and takes out a key. The
taking of the key from his pocket (after many years) is
significant. He approaches the house. He hesitates and
looks up at the building, the place filling him with
memories. Then he realizes that the stray dog is still at
his heels. He turns on the dog...

JAMES
Go. Scat.

He goes to the door and opens it up. He goes inside and the
dog is left behind.

INT. CHAMBER HOUSE - NIGHT

A match is struck and a gas light lit. A room emerges from

the darkness, glowing orange then blue/yellow in the growing
light.
James looks around. He sees the well worn, expensive
furniture, the fireplace now cold, a rack of pipes and a bed
for a dog near to the fire.

The place looks neglected and cobwebs hang in the corners of

the high ceiling. There are mouse holes in the skirting
boards and books gathering dust.

There is a large leaded mirror and a portrait of Jamess

father. Beside it a portrait of a fine looking woman with a
half smile (Jamess mother).

James runs his hand through some dust on a shelf then glances
at himself in the mirror. He studies his reflection between
the images of his mother and father in this familiar
environment for a few moments.

He then pulls down the black drapes which have been hung over
the windows.
 Taboo - Ep 1 - Steven Knight - First Draft - July 31st 2013 18 .

Gaslight and moonlight flood in from the river and we can see
trading ships at anchor. Two prostitutes chat under a gas
lamp and the stray dog James left behind is barking at them.

Then fast footsteps and a side door flies open.

A late fifties man-servant (BRACE) flies through the door

brandishing a night stick. He also has a candle which spills
from his hand when James turns...

The two men face each other.

BRACE
By God!

JAMES (CALMLY)
Or maybe by ship and carriage.

Brace is breathing hard. He recognizes James and drops the

stick with a clatter in surprise. He rushes to James then
stops himself. James opens his hands.

JAMES (CONTD)
What, Brace? Propriety? Servant and
master? How dare you?

He grabs Braces hand and shakes it. Then the two men
naturally hug and slap each others backs hard. Brace pulls
away...

BRACE
Begging pardon Sir, but what the
hell are you doing here?

James turns and takes in the room...

JAMES (AMUSED)
No, no pardon for you. You are the
captain of the mutineers and you
will hang.

James turns.

JAMES (CONTD)
And a pirate and a red Indian.

Brace chuckles and shakes his head.

BRACE
I broke my left knee swinging from
a bloody tree being an ape for you.
You needed a brother.

They peer at each other.

 Taboo - Ep 1 - Steven Knight - First Draft - July 31st 2013 19 .

JAMES
I still do.

A pause.

JAMES (CONTD)
But, as before, a broken down old
Butler will have to be sufficient.

A pause. They take each other in, the passage of time.

BRACE
You look the same.

JAMES (MATTER-OF-FACT)
Im not.

Brace looks around at the mess of the room and seems

embarrassed. He pulls a cover straight over the easy chair
and begins to tidy...

BRACE (BUSY)
I didnt think youd come here. I
thought this would be the last
place. I thought youd get the
first boat back to Africa.

James examines the clutter on the fireplace.

JAMES
But I didnt.

He turns. They look at each other. The words are filled

with explosive meaning.

BRACE
You plan to stay the night?

A pause. Jamess silence suggests something more permanent.

Brace cant quite believe it. Before he can speak...

JAMES
Are there any birds hanging on the
nails?

INT. CHAMBER HOUSE, KITCHEN

James is devouring a cold roasted bird with his fingers.

Brace is making a pot of tea on the wood stove and sawing a
stale loaf of bread...

JAMES
So he kept only you?
 Taboo - Ep 1 - Steven Knight - First Draft - July 31st 2013 20 .

BRACE
The cooks died or got tired of him
not eating anything. Sculleries
said there were ghosts. Or that he
was a ghost. He looked a fright at
the end...

Brace brings a pot of tea from the stove...

JAMES
No tea, brandy. How was his mind?

Brace turns on his heel and grabs a bottle of brandy from a

high cupboard. He uncorks it and sets it on the table.

JAMES (CONTD)
Two glasses...

BRACE
Sir...

JAMES
Two glasses. And they should have
invited you to the wake at least.

Brace relents and fetches two glasses and sits. James pours
two generous shots.

JAMES (CONTD)
In this whole dirty fucking city
there is no one I can trust. You
understand? Apart from you.

James raises a toast and they both drink. Brace coughs a

little.
JAMES (CONTD)
Dont try that maidens splutter on
me like you never touch a drop, I
know you drink a half bottle of
Delaney company brandy every night.

They both laugh. James takes out a pipe and fills then lights
it. Brace picks his words with care as he takes another
sip...

BRACE
Jimmy, you could have written to
your father just once.

James disappears in a cloud of smoke.

 Taboo - Ep 1 - Steven Knight - First Draft - July 31st 2013 21 .

BRACE (CONTD)
In the end he was all alone, you
know? In the business. A lot of
powerful men...

Brace stops himself...

JAMES
What men?

BRACE
They dont have newspapers in
Africa?

JAMES
What men?

BRACE
The usual men. You have something
they want, they circle you like
wolves.

Jamess curiosity is apparently aroused...

JAMES
Why? What did he have?

Brace takes a gulp of brandy.

BRACE
How would I know, Im a bloody
butler. All I know is stairs and
closed doors. But there was
something he was keeping locked up.

James stares at Brace. His stare can be unnerving and Brace

squirms a little...

BRACE (CONTD)
Look, if you have any sense youll
sell up...

JAMES (INTERRUPTING)
What sense did I ever have?

BRACE
...sell up his business and go back
to the fucking jungle or wherever
you were. Begging your pardon.
Itd be safer there. London is
falling to revolution anyway...

Brace takes another swig of brandy (hes getting a rush of

alcohol to his brain now) then gets to his feet to tidy his
empty glass.
 Taboo - Ep 1 - Steven Knight - First Draft - July 31st 2013 22 .

BRACE (CONTD)
Ah to shite with all that.

Brace suddenly waves his arm wildly (hes a little drunk)...

BRACE (CONTD)
Youre here and alive and Im not
sure its not a dream. Ill go and
make up your old room...

James senses secrets but decides not to push it. He also

gulps down his brandy in one and grabs the bottle.

JAMES
I want to see the company books.

Brace turns, utterly astonished.

BRACE
You what?

James dumps his dish in the sink and heads for the door...

JAMES
The accounts.

Brace follows.

BRACE
What do you know about accounts?

James gets the door...

JAMES (AMUSED)
Nothing. But knowing nothing never
stopped me in the past.

INT. CHAMBER HOUSE, ATTIC STUDY

At the very top of the house is a study laid out for

business.

There is a large round port hole window which looks east down
the Thames toward Gravesend with a perfect view of ships
entering and leaving the Thames.

As we arrive, we find a mouse nibbling away at a yellowing

London Gazette. There are model ships all around and ships
inside bottles on high shelves. The walls are adorned with
paintings of native Americans, mostly Pacific coast Indians
beside totem poles. There are maps of colonial America and
certificates of trade from Boston.
 Taboo - Ep 1 - Steven Knight - First Draft - July 31st 2013 23 .

Everything has a sheen of dust. The clock is stopped. We

hear four heavy locks being turned.

Brace leads James inside. James studies the four locks on

the door as they enter and Brace notices.

James stays with the locks for a moment. Brace goes to the
large oak desk at the window but hesitates before lighting a
candle...

BRACE
Sir? Why not do this in the
morning and save tallow. You
should sleep.

James takes the taper from Braces hand and lights the candle
himself. He puts the bottle of brandy down with purpose.

JAMES
Keys to the drawers.

Brace takes a weary breath then finds a key on a high shelf

hidden inside a bottle which also contains a wooden ship. He
uses this key to open a secret compartment in an oak dresser.
From this he takes another key which he hands to James.

James makes silent note of the elaborate security.

He takes the key and unlocks the main drawer of the desk. He
pulls it open and takes out a large ledger. In gold letters
on the front we read the words Delaney shipping and trading
company. By Royal Assent.

James puts the ledger on the desk. Brace appears to be

filled with trepidation which James sees. James enjoys the
moment.
JAMES (CONTD)
Thank you Brace. Go to bed.

James sits down in his fathers chair. Brace hesitates and

speaks softly, only half sure...

BRACE
Jimmy Delaney? By God. Have you
come home?

James peers at him.

JAMES (FIRMLY)
Good night Brace.

Brace hesitates then leaves. James uncorks the bottle of

brandy.
 Taboo - Ep 1 - Steven Knight - First Draft - July 31st 2013 24 .

EXT. LEADENHALL STREET - NEXT MORNING

We look across the busy commercial street at the impressive,

newly built edifice of stone and marble which is...

Caption: Headquarters, Honorable East India Company.

INT. EAST INDIA COMPANY HEAD QUARTERS - DAY

A stockinged, liveried man-servant carries a tray of coffee

and cups down a long oak panelled corridor.

The walls are lined with portraits of East India company

chairmen through two hundred years. The place has an
opulence and formality that comes from enormous power and
wealth.

We walk with the servant past hurrying clerks and writers.

The place buzzes with activity. The servant then reaches a
set of enormous double doors. A footman at the door opens the
doors up and sunlight floods out. The servant enters.

INT. EAST INDIA COMPANY, BOARD ROOM

The board room is another step up in opulence and grace. A

huge mahogany table with thirty matching chairs dominates the
room, which has portraits of Indian Moghuls and paintings of
Indian street scenes all around.

Dominating the far wall is a huge carved emblem with the

words Honorable East India Company. Below it there hangs a
flag (the flag of the East India Company) which is similar to
a US flag but with the Union Jack in the corner rather than
stars. (The US flag was based on the East India Company
flag).

There are fifteen men gathered around the table, some wearing
powdered wigs, others in cloth merchants hats. Sun streams
through high windows, making the room look like a Rembrandt.

The coffee is placed and the servant awaits instruction. A

man in his sixties (SIR STUART STRANGE) is evidently in
charge of the meeting and speaks curtly...

STRANGE
Leave it.

The servant heads for the door and leaves. All the men have
paperwork in front of them and there is a CLERK sitting a
little way away from the table taking minutes. In spite of
being in charge, Strange serves the coffees as he talks.
 Taboo - Ep 1 - Steven Knight - First Draft - July 31st 2013 25 .

STRANGE (CONTD)
So gentlemen, lets begin. The
clerk will record everything that
is said except when a fellow raises
a hand. Words from a raised hand
will not reach the record.

Strange glances at the clerk, who nods once. Strange pours

coffee, sweeping the pot from cup to cup.

STRANGE (CONTD)
The issue this morning is old man
Delaney, may he rot in hell.

There are murmurs of approval and amens around the table

(except from one man, a Priest in a dog collar who we will
meet later called APPLEBY). Strange talks while pouring
coffee...

STRANGE (CONTD)
The death of the old bastard three
days ago was welcome and timely.
But it has left us with a question.

The coffee is poured.

STRANGE (CONTD)
His heir. This boy, this son,
this...

He squints at a piece of paperwork...

STRANGE (CONTD)
...James Keziah. My spies tell me
he attended the funeral. As far as
we can work out he will inherit the
old devils business lock stock and
barrel so we will have to deal with
him. Mr Wilton, I asked you to do
some digging.

An eager young executive (WILTON) speaks up, pushing a thick

hand-written file across the table.

WILTON
Which I have done, Sir. In
temperament he takes after his bog
Irish mother, begging Mr ONeils
pardon...

Gentle laughter as an old committee member (one presumes

ONEIL) shrugs forgiveness. Wilton is effete and foppish and
enjoys the theatre of his revelations...
 Taboo - Ep 1 - Steven Knight - First Draft - July 31st 2013 26 .

WILTON (CONTD)
He was educated by his granny to
the age of eleven. Then, curious
to relate, his father put him in
with us.

STRANGE
With us? What do you mean?

WILTON
His father put his son in as a
cadet at the East India company
military seminary in Addiscombe,
year of our lord 1798.

There is disbelief and laughter...

STRANGE (INCREDULOUS)
Delaneys son was a company boy?

WILTON
Before his fathers disputes with
the company began.

STRANGE
Evidently.

WILTON
There is a copy of his attendance
record and his...

Strange is sharp and has identified a liveried document...

STRANGE
Year-end reports. Yes I see. My
God. Corporal James Keziah
Delaney, 1798 to 1799...

He begins to read from reports...

STRANGE (CONTD)
Exceptional. Exceptional.
Exceptional. Musket. Shipcraft.
Leadership. Exceptional.

Wilton sips his coffee and enjoys what comes next...

WILTON
But Sir, then along came the year
of our lord 1880. Exceptional in
different ways. I would guess that
confidence allowed his true bog
Irish nature to emerge.
 Taboo - Ep 1 - Steven Knight - First Draft - July 31st 2013 27 .

As Strange shuffles the papers, Wilton begins to recite with

some amusement...

WILTON (CONTD)
The necks he broke always belonged
to officers. The women he fucked
were many and of the lowest kind
and always begat babies. One
bastard was actually born in the
eating hall of the Seminary with
the boy himself as mid-wife.

Strange looks up from the paperwork and all eyes are on

Wilton. He loves it...

WILTON (CONTD)
And there is the setting ablaze of
a Navy boat in an experiment with
oil and mashed potatoes while
drunk...

The men begin to chuckle...

WILTON (CONTD)
Wait, it gets better. And a
stabbing. And a rebellion against
the cooks for bad custard, started
by him. And then the theft of a
brig in Deptford sink...

More laughter. Wilton gets to his feet the better to regale

the room...

WILTON (CONTD)
And he raved about fortunes and
hidden treasures. He tried to
recruit other boys. To go to India,
to trade with red Indians, to take
gold from the Aztecs. Possessed he
was. And a fight with a bear in
Chancery Lane. And more necks, more
whores and more custard and
finally...I am almost exhausted in
the telling of it, finally, in the
year of our lord 1803...

Pause.

WILTON (SOFTLY) (CONTD)

...He ran away to Africa.

Wilton sits down, mock exhausted. His neighbor slaps his

back. The laughter subsides. Strange instinctively turns to
a thin, owlish man at the end of the table who is studying
his fingernails.
 Taboo - Ep 1 - Steven Knight - First Draft - July 31st 2013 28 .

STRANGE
Pettifer? Did the word Africa
wake you?

PETTIFER
Wasnt sleeping Sir.

STRANGE
Will the Africa desk be as
impressive in its thoroughness as
Mr Wilton from the records office?

A pause. Pettifer also has a written file, thinner than the

first. He slides it across the table to Strange.

PETTIFER
According to charter records he
went to Alexandria aboard a ship
called Cornwallis. Journeyed down
the Nile with two men, one of the
lower orders, one a gentleman.
They went in search of diamonds.
Instead, they found hell.

Strange sips his coffee...

STRANGE
What kind of hell?

A long pause. Among some around the table there is suddenly

an unease. Strange is on it.

STRANGE (CONTD)
Why do others around this table
appear to know more than I?
A pause.

PETTIFER
There have been rumors about James
Keziah Delaney these past two
years. Those around the table who
look uneasy are those who drink in
the taverns by the indentured
docks.

Some of the men swap looks. Pettifer clears his throat (as
if attempting to change the subject)...

PETTIFER (CONTD)
But in the file I have put only the
facts Sir. Not the rumors.

STRANGE (HALF AMUSED)

But what are the rumors?
 Taboo - Ep 1 - Steven Knight - First Draft - July 31st 2013 29 .

Pettifer is hesitating for dramatic effect rather than

through reluctance.

PETTIFER
Stories from sailors off Saltpetre
ships coming back from Port of
Spain.

Strange likes to get to the point and speaks firmly...

STRANGE
What fucking rumors.

Pettifer enjoys the attention.

PETTIFER
Awful and unnatural and Im sure
untrue.

A pause. Strange gives Pettifer a piercing stare...

STRANGE
Relate them.

After a moment, Pettifer raises his hand. The clerk sees and
stops scribbling...

INT. CHAMBER HOUSE, ATTIC STUDY

Sunlight now floods into the study through the large round
port hole window. The Thames sparkles and ships bob on the
incoming tide.

James is still studying the ledgers and accounts. He has

paperwork strewn all around. The bottle of brandy is empty
and ash from his pipe smoulders. A small fire burns in the
grate. As we cut back, there is a knock at the door. James
comes back from another world. Brace enters with a pot of
coffee. There is also an envelope on the tray addressed to
James.

BRACE
You did not sleep at all?

JAMES
I dont sleep well these days.

Brace lays the pot and glances at the empty brandy bottle...

BRACE
Even after so much liquor?

James ignores and pours himself a cup of coffee. Brace offers

James the envelope on the tray.
 Taboo - Ep 1 - Steven Knight - First Draft - July 31st 2013 30 .

BRACE (CONTD)
This was delivered at six am by a
servant of Mr Robert Dent.

James takes the envelope.

BRACE (CONTD)
Begging pardon Sir but...

JAMES
Will you stop begging my fucking
pardon...

Brace adjusts...

BRACE
Mr Dent has been trying to buy the
company from your father for three
years.

James is impassive. Brace dares to conclude...

BRACE (CONTD)
I would imagine the envelope
contains a financial offer.

James looks at the envelope.

JAMES
Yes, I imagine it does.

James picks up the envelope, walks to the fire and drops it

onto the flames. Brace is startled but before he can
speak....

JAMES (CONTD)
According to the books, we still
pay rent on the offices at the
Tobacco wharf.

James grabs his coat from the back of the chair. Brace is
wrong-footed again...

BRACE
We do?

James pulls on his jacket...

JAMES
I want to go there...

BRACE
The old offices are all closed. He
never went there...
 Taboo - Ep 1 - Steven Knight - First Draft - July 31st 2013 31 .

James heads for the door and Brace follows...

BRACE (CONTD)
Not for eight years. They are all
locked up.

James waits in the doorway.

JAMES
Then I will need yet more keys.

INT. THORNE AND ZILPHA GEARYS CHELSEA TOWN HOUSE - DAY

Zilpha Geary is at a large desk, writing a letter quickly.

The room is opulent even for the times. She sits in a shaft
of sunlight. We dont see the contents of the letter but we
see that Zilpha is eager to get it written. We study her
face for a while.

Then the door opens without a knock and Thorne enters.

THORNE
My love, the carriage has been
brought up.

Zilpha forces a smile...

ZILPHA
Yes, Im coming.

Zilpha signs her name. Thorne approaches. Zilpha folds the

letter and puts it into an envelope before he can get to the
desk. Thorne is oblivious. He takes her in his arms and she
places the envelope down.
THORNE
Im sorry Darby is a bore but his
wife adores you. And its only
lunch.

Zilpha smiles...

ZILPHA
She is not so bad as some of them.
Go on and bring the Four round.
Ill join you on the steps.

Thorne kisses her forehead and heads for the door.

ZILPHA (CONTD)
And send the boy for the post.
 Taboo - Ep 1 - Steven Knight - First Draft - July 31st 2013 32 .

Thorne leaves. Zilpha sits quickly and dips her pen in her
inkwell. She hesitates and we sense she has made a difficult
decision.

At last she writes James Delaney... on the envelope. We

come close to her face as she completes the address.

INT./EXT. SHIPYARD

Beside a shallow beach that runs down to the Thames, we see a

middle-sized shipyard full of industry. Two ships are being
built and the sound of men working and laughing and yelling
mixes with the screams of seagulls.

We find James walking through the yard. We guess these are

familiar sights and sounds from his youth.

Ahead there is a set of iron stairs leading up to a line of

offices above a warehouse. Beside it are wharves where boats
are stored, upturned. James reaches the iron stairs and
climbs them. From his pocket he takes a set of iron keys.

He walks along the landing above the wharves, remembering a

doorway. After a moment, he comes to a door which he
recognizes. He prepares to open it up. Then...

FEMALE VOICE/HELGA
Oi!

James looks up. Along the landing, smoking a pipe, is a

woman in her late forties, apparently still dressed from last
night. She has speckled skin and a light brown wig and her
facepaint is applied thickly (this is HELGA). She has a
German accent...
HELGA
What you doing with the door? You
want a bush, you come through me.

She bustles toward James with her pipe smouldering.

HELGA (CONTD)
That is private property.

James appears to recognize Helga.

JAMES
Yes, indeed it is.

Helga confronts. She wheezes a little as her chest heaves.

HELGA
Indeed it is. What are you?
 Taboo - Ep 1 - Steven Knight - First Draft - July 31st 2013 33 .

JAMES
Hello Helga. Good to see you still
working.

Helga stares at James, uncertain. James half smiles.

JAMES (CONTD)
I was a virgin. I lay with you. In
the hull of a half built boat down
there in the mud. When she sailed
they called her the Maidenhead. Or
did I dream that? I have had so
many fevers since then.

Helga angles her head. James puts the key in the lock and
turns it.

HELGA
Where did you get that key?

A pause. James knows the penny will drop.

JAMES
From my father, Mr Delaney.

Helga studies James. Then she half recognizes him and

realizes what he represents. She sighs...

HELGA
Ah shhhhit.

James opens the door and offers Helga inside.

INT. DELANEY COMPANY OFFICES

James steps inside and looks around with concealed amusement.

What was once a shipping company office has been transformed

into a sumptuous brothel. There is lace and silk and purple
lampshades. The blinds are painted pink and there are carved
phalluses along the shelves. There are reproduction
paintings of naked women around the walls and, through
drapes, we glimpse beds.

We see that two women are sleeping in one of the beds.

James turns back to Helga. She is defiant.

HELGA
Your father stopped coming. It was
empty. It was wasted. So close to
the docks...

She bustles toward a small stove...

 Taboo - Ep 1 - Steven Knight - First Draft - July 31st 2013 34 .

HELGA (CONTD)
You want tea?

JAMES (AMUSED)
No.

She lights the stove and gestures at the sleeping women...

HELGA
You want a fuck?

JAMES
No. Id like my familys offices
back.

Helga sighs and curses in German under her breath.

HELGA
(I didnt pray to the Saint
Catherine. I am a bad girl. Shit
to fuck).

James begins to look around. Behind a drape he finds a

painting of a merchant ship which evidently remains from the
time when this was his fathers office.

JAMES
How much do you make here?

Helga re-lights her pipe, boils water.

HELGA
With the workers in the yard and
the boats that moor at the wharf,
we make twenty five pounds a day.
James hardly reacts. Helga gives it a try...

HELGA (CONTD)
Ill give you ten. And whatever you
like. Boys, girls, suck, fuck...

James turns back to her and is suddenly hardened.

JAMES
You have two hours to get out.

Helgas amusement dies away too. Her pipe smoulders in her

hand. Helga is a hard woman. She decides to test James.

HELGA
You say I took your cherry. Where
you been little boy?

James meets her stare.

 Taboo - Ep 1 - Steven Knight - First Draft - July 31st 2013 35 .

JAMES
Ive been in the world.

Helga stares into his eyes.

HELGA
I have girls. But I also have men.

She steps toward him, her chest wheezing. A face off.

HELGA (CONTD)
They are not good men, you
understand? They have rocks for
hearts. And knives. Yeah. And
chains and ropes. You see out the
window?...

James doesnt look...

HELGA (CONTD)
Men who cross Helga get chained to
big dock slabs and they get left
there for the high tide and for the
crabs. I offered you ten. If you
have any sense...

James suddenly and violently snatches a pink blind down from

the window and the nails fly from the plaster walls. Even
Helga jumps a little.

JAMES
People who dont know me soon learn
that I do not have any sense. Now
please do not misunderstand the
situation.
His eyes darken and Helga (who knows about these things) sees
the capacity for evil deeds...

JAMES (CONTD)
You send a dozen men for me, I will
send you back two dozen testicles
in a bag and I will have your
whores eat them.

James pulls down another blind with a crash. He pushes over

a cabinet and ornaments and glass smash. The two prostitutes
asleep in the bed begin to stir.

JAMES (CONTD)
You have two hours.

She looks at him. Dishes are still rattling. Helga knows

violent men. He is an interesting specimen. She draws on her
pipe.
 Taboo - Ep 1 - Steven Knight - First Draft - July 31st 2013 36 .

HELGA
Old man Delaneys son.

A pause. She speaks softly in German and English.

HELGA (CONTD)
Ya. (Now I remember.) I heard
stories...

She turns to look at the waking girls then back to him. She
chuckles...

HELGA (CONTD)
If I give a girl to you, I might
not see her again.

Helga expects anger or offence. Instead, James leans forward

and speaks clearly.

JAMES (SOFT, MATTER-OF-FACT)

You heard about me. Good. So youll
be punctual.

He leaves.

INT. CHAMBER HOUSE, HALLWAY

Through a small glass window in the door we see James

arriving and unlocking the door outside.

Zilphas letter is on the floor. James enters and sees it.

He picks it up and recognizes the writing. He tears it
open...

INT. CHAMBER HOUSE

James is climbing the stairs toward the attic study. He has

the letter in his hand which he is reading as he climbs.

We hear Zilphas voice in voiceover.

ZILPHA (OOV)
Dear James. I feel I need to
explain my domestic circumstances
in order that you are not given any
false impression.

INT. CHAMBER HOUSE, ATTIC STUDY

James is at his desk, reading the letter. We hear Zilpha in

voiceover...
 Taboo - Ep 1 - Steven Knight - First Draft - July 31st 2013 37 .

ZILPHA (OOV)
Since you left England, I have
married. I am happily married and
my husband is a good man whom I
love.

We come close to Jamess face...

ZILPHA (OOV) (CONTD)

It is more than ten years since you
went away unexpectedly and in that
time I assumed that you had died or
at least would never return. In
truth, all my former feelings for
you have now disappeared and I do
not believe that you and I should
ever again meet...

He turns a page...

ZILPHA (CONTD)
We are in the same city but your
business is mostly in the east and
my society circle is in the west. I
doubt we will meet accidentally.
And I am certain that we must never
again meet by design. With fond
memories, Mrs Zilpha Geary.

James stops reading. He puts the letter down and looks out
across the river. We see on his face a look of resolution.

He looks back to the letter. We should sense as he folds it

and returns it to the envelope that he is not deterred in the
slightest.

EXT. GRAVEYARD - NIGHT

We recognize the freshly laid grave of Jamess father. Then

there is a lamp and uncertain shadows. Through trees we see
two men with shovels. They are resurectioners (grave
robbers) and they set about the business of digging the grave
up.

INT. GRAVEYARD - NIGHT, LATER

In a flickering light we see Jamess fathers coffin being

smashed and glimpse his ash white face. The coffin lid is
split open.
 Taboo - Ep 1 - Steven Knight - First Draft - July 31st 2013 38 .

EXT. DESERTED STREET - NIGHT

The grave robbers bundle the body, wrapped in a black sheet,

onto a small pony and trap. They leap aboard and, with a
whip, a pony trots away with the body on board.

EXT. ST. BARTHOLOMEWS HOSPITAL

The pony and trap races through a brick arch toward a dark,
low building signed Mortuary. A single candle burns
inside.

INT. ST. BARTHOLOMEWS HOSPITAL, MORTUARY

A cold slab in moonlight. A door opens and the two grave

robbers carry the freshly dug body inside. A middle-aged
surgeon (POWELL) accompanies them and they lay the bundle on
a slab. In the half light we see Powell slip them some coins
before the grave robbers go back outside.

This is evidently a routine trade.

Powell pulls the black sheet away to reveal the body, which
has begun to atrophy. Powell has surgical implements on a
wheeled trolley and he pulls them close. He also has a
decanter of port on the trolley. He begins to undress the
body, his face only half visible.

Then, in the shadows, a match is struck. To our surprise,

James appears from the darkness. He lights a candle and
brings it near.

POWELL
Not too much light. There are
watchmen.

James places the candle on the slab near to the body of his
father. Powell wipes his brow as he begins to lay his
scalpels on a clean cloth beside the body. The bodys belly
and chest are now revealed. Powell takes a sip of the port
and James glares at him. Powell drinks and dismisses...

POWELL (CONTD)
If you dont approve of me
steadying my nerves with Madeira,
then perhaps you should consult the
directory of the Royal College of
Physicians and see how many others
of them will agree to carry out
this kind of work.

Powell turns and, from a drawer, he takes a bell jar attached

to two tubes and a horizontal chamber.
 Taboo - Ep 1 - Steven Knight - First Draft - July 31st 2013 39 .

From a second drawer he takes a brass tube, curved to the

vertical. He attaches the tube to the horizontal chamber.
The odd iron and brass contraption will remain unexplained
for a while. It has the engineered intricacy of early
nineteenth century technology.

(At this point we should have no idea what James is doing

here).

Powell picks up a scalpel and prepares to cut into the body.

POWELL (CONTD)
If you felt anything for him, you
should not stay. It is not pleasant
to see a man reduced to his
component parts...

Powell looks up at James, who has no expression. Powell

becomes uneasy...

POWELL (CONTD)
I will know in twenty minutes.
Come back when the church bell
chimes.

James turns and walks his business-like walk to the door...

EXT. ST. BARTHOLOMEWS HOSPITAL, DARK ARCHWAY

We find James standing in a shadowed archway among the black-

brick hospital buildings. He is waiting. He leans back
against the wall inside the unlit arch and takes out his
pipe. He is about to fill it but we see his hands are
shaking and he drops it...

INT. ST. BARTHOLOMEWS HOSPITAL, MORTUARY - SAME TIME

In a fast image we see Powell running his scalpel down the

belly of the dead body.

EXT. ST. BARTHOLOMEWS HOSPITAL, DARK ARCHWAY

...The pipe breaks in two on the hard cobbles. Jamess hands

shake hard and he curses under his breath. He clenches his
fists and we see that some kind of fit or mental episode is
about to overcome him. He looks around the hospital
courtyard. He then leans his head back on the brick and
closes his eyes...
 Taboo - Ep 1 - Steven Knight - First Draft - July 31st 2013 40 .

INT. ST. BARTHOLOMEWS HOSPITAL, MORTUARY - SAME TIME

Powell is hunched over the body cavity and using his scalpel
to cut through tissue. The image is over in a second...

EXT. ST. BARTHOLOMEWS HOSPITAL, DARK ARCHWAY

James opens his eyes, breathing hard. He stares out into the
misty darkness of the hospital courtyard. He hears a groan
of pain somewhere. A woman is giving birth in one of the
half lit rooms across the courtyard. He breaths hard...

INT. ST. BARTHOLOMEWS HOSPITAL, MORTUARY

Powell is fastening the body cavity open with metal clips.

It is a brief, ghastly image...

EXT. ST. BARTHOLOMEWS HOSPITAL, DARK ARCHWAY

James hears the woman screaming as she gives birth. Then he

hears the echoing sound of a new born baby crying. He looks
deeply agitated and turns to face the brick wall, panting for
breath. He puts his fist against the wet brick for support.
The crying of the baby continues...

INT. ST. BARTHOLOMEWS HOSPITAL, MORTUARY

Powell is mixing chemicals into the bell jar. He swirls them

around over the open body cavity...

EXT. ST. BARTHOLOMEWS HOSPITAL, DARK ARCHWAY

James is still facing the wall, trembling now, fighting for
breath. We see him suddenly look out of the sharp corner of
his eye. He looks deranged as we see the whites of his eyes
flash. He hears a voice....

DARK VOICE (HISSING)

Tula. Tlua. Tula. Tlua...

The voice sounds as if it belongs to an African teenage girl.

She seems to be imploring. With his back to us James shakes
his head firmly. He will not turn around and look. He
scrapes his forehead on the brick...

DARK VOICE (CONTD)

Tula. Tlua. Tula, turn and look.

James claws the brickwork with his hand and shakes his head
again.
 Taboo - Ep 1 - Steven Knight - First Draft - July 31st 2013 41 .

JAMES
No. I will not look again.

DARK VOICE
Tula, Tlua. Look.

James takes some big breaths. He grunts as if giving in to

some irresistible force. Then he slowly turns around. He is
expecting horror. He blinks and stares ahead.

To his mighty relief there is only mist and dark shadows and
the black brickwork of the hospital. James takes a huge
breath. His hand shakes madly as he wipes his hair from his
face.

We should sense that he has had these episodes before and

seen horrors but this time he has been spared. He looks down
and takes a final big breath to end the moment. He looks
up...

Then...

Two hospital porters in crimson robes suddenly emerge from a

shadowed archway, laughing loudly and sharing a joke. James
jumps but then regains his composure. He falls back against
the wall and comes to himself.

He takes a flask of brandy from his pocket with trembling

hands and takes a swig. We should sense that James has been
plagued by some memory or vision but, as yet, we dont know
what it is.

The church clock begins to strike twelve midnight.

EXT. ST. BARTHOLOMEWS HOSPITAL, MORTUARY DOOR

As the last chime tolls, James arrives at the door. He has
put himself back together and perhaps we understand more why
he is so stiff and buttoned up most of the time. Powell steps
out of the half lit mortuary, drying his hands on a cloth.

POWELL
Come.

INT. ST. BARTHOLOMEWS HOSPITAL, MORTUARY

The body of Jamess father has been covered over once more by
a sheet. Powell leads James to the slab, where the bell jar
contraption is set up. The jar now contains a crimson liquid
which is dribbling condensation. Powell speaks softly.
 Taboo - Ep 1 - Steven Knight - First Draft - July 31st 2013 42 .

POWELL
I added zinc and sulphuric acid to
a sample of blood from your
fathers liver.

Powell picks up the candle.

POWELL (CONTD)
The horizontal chamber contains
calcium chloride. Which dries the
gas.

Powell half smiles...

POWELL (CONTD)
Now the moment of truth.

He puts the candle to the end of the upturned brass tube that
comes out of the horizontal chamber. A blue flame begins to
burn. Powell takes off his spectacles and holds one of the
lenses to the blue flame.

He waits a while, his face and Jamess face lit by the blue
flame. The smoke from the flame begins to blacken the lens
of Powells spectacles. He holds the lens to the flame for
five seconds. Then Powell takes it off the heat and examines
the blackened lens.

He makes his conclusion. James studies him.

POWELL (CONTD)
As you see, the flame has formed a
reflective surface on the glass.

He holds up the lens and James sees an uneven image of his

own face.
POWELL (CONTD)
It is what is known as an arsenic
mirror.

James reacts.

POWELL (CONTD)
Your father was poisoned.

James is impassive. We see he was more than half expecting

the conclusion. Powell begins to wipe the blackness from the
lens.

POWELL (CONTD)
From the density of the mirror, I
would say heavy doses over a short
period.
 Taboo - Ep 1 - Steven Knight - First Draft - July 31st 2013 43 .

Powell puts his spectacles back on and blinks.

POWELL (CONTD)
And, yes, it would have affected
his mind in the later stages.

James nods once. Without a word he reaches into his pocket

and hands Powell some coins.

POWELL (CONTD)
You want him re-buried.

JAMES
And sewn back up into one piece.

Powell checks the coins...

POWELL
I would recommend they dig a bit
deeper this time.

James drops some more coins into his palm. Powell nods and
goes to turn back to his work. James suddenly grabs him with
a fist around his collar and spins him around. James stares
into Powells eyes.

JAMES
If you use this body for any other
purpose, I will come for you and I
will kill you. Tell every man of
your profession.

He stares at the surgeon...

JAMES (CONTD)
I have ways of knowing about the
dead and I will know. And I will
kill you in a very bad way.

Powell looks chilled. When James is close and serious there

is something terrifying in his eyes. Powell nods quickly and
puts the coins into his pocket. James heads for the door
with his business-like stride. Powell calls out, almost
facetious...

POWELL
Do you want any words said over him
when we put him back?

At the door...

JAMES
No. No one is listening.
 Taboo - Ep 1 - Steven Knight - First Draft - July 31st 2013 44 .

INT. DOCKYARD TAVERN

The place is sad and woozy and drunk from floor to ceiling.
Most people have gone home but the prostitutes and a few
sailors are sleeping or sobbing or drinking.

James sits alone at a secluded table with a candle and a

bottle of brandy which he devours with a sparkle in his eye.

We hear him hiss to himself...

JAMES
They know not what they do.

He rolls his head on his neck. He drinks then chuckles...

JAMES (CONTD)
Or what I will have them do. Dance
to this new tune...

James picks up the bottle and looks as if he is about to hurl

it against the wall but instead he puts it down gently. We
should sense a gigantic energy, a terrible power that he is
just holding in check as he looks around the darkness of the
tavern, nodding his head.

He could be dismissed as the insane drunk in the corner but

there is a terrible discipline about his movements.

Then, suddenly....

HELGA
The keys to your office Mr Delaney.

He turns to Helga. We realize he was expecting her. He

takes the keys and puts them into his pocket...
HELGA (CONTD)
We left it clean and respectable.

Helga looks much improved in the half light. She has a dry
sherry in her hand. James focuses on her then looks away.

HELGA (CONTD)
Are you drunk?

He stares into the shadows.

JAMES
I am unable to get drunk. Go away.
I have company.

Helga takes his hand. Her German accent is broader now...

 Taboo - Ep 1 - Steven Knight - First Draft - July 31st 2013 45 .

HELGA
Im not impressed Mr Delaney. Most
who come back from Africa have
company that lives in their heads.
You just need a gentle hand. A
gentle word. The devils come out
of you drop by drop in the spunk
you see.

She speaks softly then gestures to a young girl who steps out
of the shadows. She steps forward into the candlelight.

HELGA (CONTD)
My girls are the receptacles for
you to empty your devils into.

James turns and focuses on the girl. Helga waits. James

takes another swig of brandy.

JAMES
How much?

EXT. DOCKSIDE ALLEY

Behind the pub we find James screwing the young prostitute

from behind. He pumps at her, his teeth clenched, no
expression in his eyes. The girls takes the pain as he pins
her over a low ledge.

Beyond, we see the River Thames glistening in moonlight, the

ships at anchor, the commerce of the world at dock.

James reaches orgasm. He straightens immediately and buttons

his breeches. The young girl runs away.
James is left alone. He looks at his fingers and sees there
is blood under his fingernails where he has gripped the girl
so hard.

He has a moment of regret then turns and walks his clip clop
walk into the darkness.

EXT. CHAMBER HOUSE - NIGHT

James walks toward the house in gas light. The streets are
deserted apart from men collecting pures (dog shit) and the
odd drunk teetering home. Jamess footsteps echo.

He reaches the gate of his house and looks up from his key.
He reacts. On the wall, in red paint that might be blood,
someone has painted...

ISIAH 9:19.
 Taboo - Ep 1 - Steven Knight - First Draft - July 31st 2013 46 .

James stares at the words, the paint still dribbling down the
white wall. He then hurries to his door, fumbling with his
key.

INT. CHAMBER HOUSE

James enters the main room and yells...

JAMES
Brace!!

He goes to the bookcase and begins to pull books down from

the shelf...

JAMES (CONTD)
Brace!!

Books tumble all around. James is looking for a particular

book. After a few moments Brace enters from the hall stairs
(from below) wearing night clothes...

BRACE
What the hell?

JAMES
Where is the bible?!

James pulls some more books down from the shelf. He grabs
Braces candle to scan the spines and quickly identifies a
King James bible. James snatches it...

JAMES (CONTD)
Go outside and look at the wall.
Look at what is written there.
Brace is horrified, confused by Jamess stare.

JAMES (CONTD)
Go!!

Brace hesitates then heads for the open door. Mathew grabs
the bible and exits...

INT. CHAMBER HOUSE, ATTIC STUDY

The attic study is lit by a candle and by lights from the

street and the river. Barges drift by slowly in the half
darkness.

On the desk the bible is open. The candle drips on it. We

glimpse the verse Isiah 9:19.
 Taboo - Ep 1 - Steven Knight - First Draft - July 31st 2013 47 .

James is reading the verse and sits down heavily in his

fathers chair. As we come close to his face, the candle and
the bible, we hear the verse being read by James (as if in
his head) in voiceover...

JAMES (OOV)
Isiah 9:19. And the people shall
be as fuel of the fire. No man
shall spare his brother. And he
shall snatch on his right hand and
be hungry. And he shall eat on the
left hand and he shall not be
satisfied....

Jamess face fills with horror...

JAMES (CONTD)
And he shall eat the flesh of
man.

We stay with James for a few moments. The door is knocked.

James doesnt answer. Brace finally enters...

BRACE (SOFTLY)
Sir?

James doesnt turn.

BRACE (CONTD)
Sir. I dont understand. There was
nothing written on the wall.

James turns sharply.

EXT. ST. JAMES SQUARE - NEXT MORNING

The busy life of one of Londons most opulent areas goes on
in the street in front of an impressive gentlemans club.

A carriage pulls up and James gets out, carrying a leather

case. He heads up the steps of the club and is greeted by a
doorman. We read a brass plaque...The Honorable East India
Club.

INT. EAST INDIA CLUB - DAY

James is led through the oak and leather interior of the

club, on which no expense has been spared. Animal heads from
every continent adorn the walls, along with portraits of
Kings and Queens and company chairmen.

James is led toward a side room, a private dining area. A

door is knocked and he is shown inside.
 Taboo - Ep 1 - Steven Knight - First Draft - July 31st 2013 48 .

INT. EAST INDIA CLUB, PRIVATE MEETING ROOM

A large fire burns and daylight comes through half-closed

shutters. The private room is large and oak panelled. There
are four leather chairs placed around a small coffee table
near to the fire.

We find Appleby (the Priest from the meeting) sitting in one

of the chairs. Sir Stuart Strange sits in another, Wilton in
another.

Pettifer is at the window and turns to greet James as he

arrives. There is a clerk seated a little way away from the
fire prepared to make notes. James is ushered in by the
footman. Pettifer shakes his hand...

PETTIFER
John Pettifer. East India company.
Africa desk.

JAMES
James Delaney.

All the East India company men are on their feet.

PETTIFER
Dominic Wilton, records, Abraham
Appleby, our delegate from Christ.
And this...

A flourish...

PETTIFER (CONTD)
...is Sir Stuart Strange. Chairman
of the Honorable East India company
across the entire surface of the
earth...

Pettifer expects James to be impressed. But he is impassive

and only nods. A very slight chill in the air...

STRANGE
Mr Delaney, we thought wed hold
this meeting in our private club
rather than our offices as it is a
little more conducive. We
understand you enjoy the finer
things in life. Please sit.
Brandy?

JAMES
No.

James sits and he faces the four men and the clerk across the
small coffee table.
 Taboo - Ep 1 - Steven Knight - First Draft - July 31st 2013 49 .

Appleby takes out a thick file of papers and places them on

the table. When he speaks, the clerk begins to scribble...

APPLEBY
Mr Delaney. First of all
condolences on...

JAMES (INTERRUPTING)
Please understand, hypocrisy I hate
most.

Appleby re-boots. He nods gently...

APPLEBY
Indeed. I suppose we must not
pretend...

JAMES
Do not pretend...

Strange steps in.

STRANGE
I wonder, will Mr Appleby ever be
allowed to finish a sentence.

A pause. James relents a little...

APPLEBY
Mr Delaney, we are here to arrange
the purchase of your fathers
trading interests with a view to
incorporating them into the
international portfolio of the
Honorable East India Company.
Mathew stares at Appleby for long enough for him to be
uncomfortable.

JAMES
My fathers business is not for
sale.

Strange quickly glances at Wilton, who drops a sealed

envelope onto the desk.

WILTON
We have settled upon a figure which
we think you will find very
generous.

James stares at Wilton.

JAMES
It is not for sale.
 Taboo - Ep 1 - Steven Knight - First Draft - July 31st 2013 50 .

WILTON
Open the envelope.

JAMES
Are you deaf?

APPLEBY
Mr Delaney...

JAMES (INSTANTLY)
Fuck you.

STRANGE
Mr Delaney, perhaps...

James begins to pump out words...

JAMES
The leviathan of the seas. The
terrible shadow. The beast with a
million eyes and ears. Conquest,
rape, plunder, then give them God.
In that order. India, Africa,
America. The Honorable East
India...

Strange and the others swap looks. Is this man perhaps

insane? Strange sighs and looks away as James fires on...

JAMES (CONTD)
In your seminary I learned all your
techniques of dominion. Of
suppression. Of suffocation. And in
Gods name you will do anything....

Appleby appears to be trusted by the others to be the

diplomat and they silently hand over to him as he
interrupts...

APPLEBY (INTERRUPTING)
Mr Delaney, we know you left our
seminary at odds with us, but
perhaps we can stay with the
business at hand.

James waits, impassive.

APPLEBY (CONTD)
As you may know, your father was in
a long term dispute with our
company. Specifically, the dispute
was regarding the trade in furs in
an area of North west America known
as Nootka Sound.
 Taboo - Ep 1 - Steven Knight - First Draft - July 31st 2013 51 .

Wilton quickly unrolls an 1805 map of the United States and

Canada. The others secure its corners with candlesticks and
glasses. Appleby uses the arm of his spectacles to point out
an area marked with black ink...NOOTKA SOUND. It is near
to Vancouver Island, near to the existing border with the US.

James doesnt look at the map.

APPLEBY (CONTD)
Your father laid claim to a harbor
post here in 1789 and took it upon
himself to also claim ownership of
the fur trade in the province.

James lets Appleby continue, his eyes burning.

APPLEBY (CONTD)
His claims are, of course,
disputed.

Sir Stuart Strange pours himself a glass of sherry...

STRANGE
You see, James, your father failed
to understand that subsequent to
the Yorke Pratt opinion of 1757...

Wilton offers a legal document for James to view, which he

again refuses...

APPLEBY
...All overseas territories claimed
by commercial interests are also
subject to the Crown in any dispute
of a political nature.
James says nothing. Appleby is beginning to think maybe James
is bamboozled, or out of his depth. He changes the note of
his voice.

APPLEBY (CONTD)
Mr Delaney, for the past three
years, ownership of this entire
coastline including Nootka Sound
has been disputed between Britain
and the new cursed rebel Americans.

James says nothing. Appleby is sure now that James simply

doesnt get it. He defers to Strange, who half smiles...

STRANGE
You do know that Great Britain and
America are currently at war, dont
you Mr Delaney.
 Taboo - Ep 1 - Steven Knight - First Draft - July 31st 2013 52 .

James nods gently.

APPLEBY
Then you will understand that your
fathers continued claim on the
Nootka Sound outpost as territory
outside the British crowns remit
is allowing the Americans to treat
it as a free zone.

WILTON
They are using it to land men and
munitions.

STRANGE
It is therefore a matter of great
urgency that your title to the land
be passed over to the East India
company so that it can, in turn, be
deemed property of the British
Crown. This is war Mr Delaney.

James lets the word resonate. Then he picks up his leather

case. He unfastens it. He takes out some papers and puts
them on the desk beside Applebys papers, on top of the map.
He speaks evenly...

JAMES
The Pratt Yorke opinion of 1757
which you cite, only handed
political rights to the crown over
territory gained by conquest.

James lays a legal document down on top of the map of

America...
JAMES (CONTD)
It does not give the Crown or the
East India Company rights to
territory gained by treaty.

Strange, Appleby and the others apparently knows these facts

already but are shocked that James knows them. They dread
what comes next. As James speaks, Strange realizes he is up
against someone who isnt stupid and we see a shift in his
attitude. James continues with deadly formality..

JAMES (CONTD)
In 1788 my father made a treaty
with a Nootka Indian chief named
Nou-Chah-Nulth...

Appleby turns away and whispers to Wilton. James

continues...
 Taboo - Ep 1 - Steven Knight - First Draft - July 31st 2013 53 .

JAMES (CONTD)
It gave the Delaney trading company
seven acres of land and the
exclusive rights to trade fur for
Saltpetre on the coast line from
Nootka to King George Sound.

James sweeps Applebys papers aside and points out a strip of

coast line.

JAMES (CONTD)
Since this right was won by treaty,
and not conquest, you know as well
as I that neither the Crown nor the
East India Company has any business
making claim to it. And like my
father, I have no intention of
selling it to anyone.

Silence, apart from the chime of the old grandfather clock.

The East India men are forced to make a radical and fast re-
assessment of James. After a moment...

APPLEBY
Are you sure you wont have brandy?

Wilton speaks to the air and others murmur...

WILTON (SOFTLY)
If he just opens the fucking
envelope this will be done...

PETTIFER
Perhaps we should adjourn....

WILTON (MORE FIRM)

Look, if he just opened the fucking
envelope....

Strange clears his throat to stop the squabbling. He peers

at James...

STRANGE
Mr Delaney? Are you a loyal
subject of his Majesty and of the
lawful crown of England?

James doesnt answer. Strange then looks to the clerk and

raises his hand. The clerk leans back and stops writing.
Strange now speaks softly, with half a chuckle in his
voice...
 Taboo - Ep 1 - Steven Knight - First Draft - July 31st 2013 54 .

STRANGE (CONTD)
Mr Delaney, the East India Company
and the nation state of Great
Britain are...

A pause.

STRANGE (CONTD)
...Like brothers. Twin brothers.
Today I am speaking to you with the
voice of the Prince Regent. You
really do not have a choice.

Strange smiles...

STRANGE (CONTD)
The balance of your fathers mind
was disturbed. You have no such
excuse. Now why dont you just open
the fucking envelope.

James waits a moment, then gets to his feet and heads for the
door, his footsteps echoing. Appleby is on his feet...

APPLEBY
Mr Delvin, this matter will be
resolved one way or another.

James slams the door and is gone. The company men swap
looks. Strange takes a breath. Now that James is gone there
is a loosening of belts. This is a problem but these men have
dealt with much worse. For now it is a matter of a small
inconvenience. Even half amusement.

STRANGE
So the son is as unstable as the
father.

PETTIFER
Perhaps the rumors about him are
true.

Strange drains his glass.

STRANGE
I was hoping to resolve things in a
modern way. It seems that will not
be possible.

A pause. His turns to Pettifer.

STRANGE (CONTD)
Hes all yours.
 Taboo - Ep 1 - Steven Knight - First Draft - July 31st 2013 55 .

EXT. BEAUTIFUL MEADOW - SPRING MORNING

The first flowers of Spring are appearing and daffodils sway

in a breeze.

It is not until we see James pacing out his footsteps as he

walks, that we realize we are in the same place that James
buried his leather case in the opening scenes.

He stops as he counts three hundred.

INT. CHAMBER HOUSE, STEEP WINDING STAIRCASE

Brace and James are hauling a heavy iron safe up the stairs.
It is awkward, painful work in the narrow twist of the
staircase...

INT. CHAMBER HOUSE, ATTIC STUDY

Brace and James lay the hugely heavy safe onto a desk near to
the back of the attic, where the ceiling slopes into shadows.
They both gasp with the exertion.

BRACE
Itll bring the whole house down
around it, damn fucking thing,
begging pardon.

James checks the intricacies of the door and the locking

mechanism. Brace watches him.

BRACE (CONTD)
So what is it for?
James looks up at Brace.

JAMES
To keep things safe.

BRACE
Well, yes, but what things?

James simply peers at him. Brace gets the message. He shakes

his head wearily and walks...

JAMES
Oh, and Brace?

Brace stops. James goes to the desk and uses the key to open
the drawer. He pulls out a pistol, a bag of powder and some
shot. Brace recoils...
 Taboo - Ep 1 - Steven Knight - First Draft - July 31st 2013 56 .

BRACE (INSTANTLY)
Now go to hell...

JAMES
I know you marched with Tremain.
Now you march with me.

Brace defies...

BRACE
March to where? For what purpose?

A pause.

JAMES
Right now, for the purpose of
staying alive.

Brace hesitates.

JAMES (CONTD)
Mr Brace, if you wish to leave my
service, thats up to you. The sea
ahead is looking lumpy. You might
want a quiet life.

Brace stares into Jamess eyes.

BRACE
First him, then you. What is it
with you Delaneys?

James (amused) speaks for him...

JAMES
Begging my pardon of course.
Brace looks away. James offers the gun again.

JAMES (CONTD)
Take this for the discouragement of
burglars and ambitious beggars.

After a frozen moment Brace snatches the gun, expertly cocks

it, checks the straightness of the barrel and sniffs the
powder.

JAMES (CONTD)
Hang it in the meat locker. Keep
the powder out of the steam.

Brace turns and walks, cursing as he goes...

BRACE
Fucking mad house. Again.
 Taboo - Ep 1 - Steven Knight - First Draft - July 31st 2013 57 .

James waits to hear Braces footsteps on the stairs. He then

grabs the leather bag which he buried from under the desk.
He opens it up. Inside is a smaller case with a lock, like a
medical bag with a brass clasp. James takes a small key from
around his neck and unlocks the bag.

Inside there is a black cotton bag. James spills the

contents onto the desk.

We see twenty four large uncut superb quality diamonds.

James takes three of the diamonds from the spread and

isolates them. He puts the rest back into the black bag and
puts the bag into the safe. He locks the safe with three
jointed levers.

He goes back to the three diamonds he selected and puts them

into his pocket.

EXT. HAMPSTEAD, MUDDY LANE

James gallops on the back of his grey mare through open heath
land.

EXT. THORNE AND ZILPHA GEARYS CHELSEA TOWN HOUSE

A uniformed postman walks up to the front door of the house

which faces the river. Here, in the west, the river has
little commerce and meanders without labor. From outside we
see the size of the house and its opulence.

EXT. HAMPSTEAD HEATH, CROSS ROADS

A drover herds sheep down the muddy lane. We see sign posts
to Hendon and Hampstead. James consults an address and walks
his horse up a shallow incline toward a farmhouse on the
horizon.

INT. THORNE AND ZILPHA GEARYS CHELSEA TOWN HOUSE, CORRIDOR

A servant carries a bundle of letters down the elegant

corridor of the house. He reaches a door and knocks. He
waits and then enters.

Thorne is at his desk, writing correspondence. The servant

lays the bundle of post down on his desk but retains a single
envelope. He turns to walk away. Thorne is half amused as
he gestures at the letter...

THORNE
What is that one?
 Taboo - Ep 1 - Steven Knight - First Draft - July 31st 2013 58 .

SERVANT
It is for Madam Geary Sir.

THORNE
Oh.

A puzzled amusement.

THORNE (CONTD)
Very well.

The servant leaves. Thorne registers just a flicker of

uncertainty.

INT. THORNE AND ZILPHA GEARYS CHELSEA TOWN HOUSE,

CORRIDOR/INT. ZILPHAS MORNING ROOM

The servant continues down the corridor then enters a second

room. The morning room is empty. The servant leaves the
envelope on Zilphas desk.

As he leaves, Zilpha arrives, combing through her hair.

SERVANT
Post for you madam.

Zilpha reacts. The servant leaves. Zilpha goes to the desk

and stops when she sees the handwriting on the envelope. She
recognizes it. She goes around the desk and tears open the
envelope.

Inside there is a small ring box. She opens it and a large

uncut diamond falls out. She gasps. She searches for a note
but there is none. She reacts with incredulity as she
studies the jewel on her blotter. A long pause. Then there
is a knock at the door. She looks up sharply.

EXT. HENDON/HAMPSTEAD BORDER, SMALL FARMHOUSE

James tethers his horse and knocks the door. The farmhouse
is thatched and whitewashed, (therefore the home of a poor
man). James waits. Ibbotson opens the door and reacts.

James is cool and business-like as he hands Ibbotson a

leather wallet. Inside are a thick wedge of bank notes.

JAMES
I decided to bring it in person.

Ibbotson hesitates. Then he takes the wallet and glimpses

inside. He reacts to the huge amount of money and reels a
little.
 Taboo - Ep 1 - Steven Knight - First Draft - July 31st 2013 59 .

JAMES (CONTD)
For the past, the present and the
future.

Ibbotson cant help but open up the wallet and see again the
amount of money. He looks up at James...

JAMES (CONTD)
I would like to see her. To be
sure youre not lying.

Ibbotson is in shock. His manner has changed utterly...

IBBOTSON
Yes Sir Mr Delaney.

The money has bought his humility. He wipes his hands and
offers James inside...

EXT. HENDON/HAMPSTEAD BORDER, SMALL FARMHOUSE, PATHWAY BEHIND

THE FARMHOUSE

Ibbotson leads James around the back of the house. The

garden is well kept and planted with vegetables and herbs.

Across the herb bushes there is a paddock where pigs roam. A

girl of twelve in a brown smock is distributing acorns and
chicken carcasses for the pigs to eat. The fat sows trundle
along behind her as she walks. She talks to them as if they
were children.

The girl is fifty yards away but James can make out her brown
hair and fine stature. (Much later we will meet her. Her
name is AGNES).
James shades his eyes and peers at her.

IBBOTSON
Do you want to talk with her?

A pause.

JAMES (MATTER-OF-FACT)
No. I am not a fit man to be around
children.

He continues to stare.

JAMES (CONTD)
You are doing a good job Mr
Ibbotson. Dont let the money
change anything. Keep it aside to
counter the rolls of the dice.
 Taboo - Ep 1 - Steven Knight - First Draft - July 31st 2013 60 .

A pause.

JAMES (CONTD)
Fate can be very hard on beauty and
innocence. You have to be hard
back.

James looks at his daughter a little longer then turns and

walks his business-like walk away. Ibbotson watches him go
then looks back to the money.

IBBOTSON
Will you wish to see her again.

James calls back without turning...

JAMES
No. Not ever.

He disappears. Ibbotson hesitates then runs inside the

house, yelling...

IBBOTSON
Maria! Maria!

EXT. HAMPSTEAD, COUNTRY LANE

James rides back toward London at a slow pace, the drowsy

Spring sunshine on his back. We walk with him and perhaps
wonder how he can be so dispassionate, wonder what mechanisms
are turning in his mind.

Perhaps he is thinking of...

INT. THORNE AND ZILPHA GEARYS CHELSEA TOWNHOUSE, ZIPHAS

BEDROOM

Zilpha enters quickly and closes the door. The room is a

ladys room, a sanctum and she hurries to her chest of
drawers. We should incidentally notice how wealthy Zilpha
is, and how lavish are her surroundings. She opens the
bottom drawer where her underwear is folded neatly.

She places the diamond between the folds then closes the
drawer. She takes a key from on top of the dresser (one she
has never used before) and she locks the drawer.

We come close to her face now that her secret has been
concealed.

Suddenly...
 Taboo - Ep 1 - Steven Knight - First Draft - July 31st 2013 61 .

INT. GRAYS INN ROAD, TABARD INN, AUCTION ROOM

Heavy drape curtains are thrown open and rainy daylight comes
in.

In the large back room of the inn, an auction is about to

take place. In front of a leaded window an auction table has
been set up and there are fifty hard-backed chairs laid out
in rows. Rain dribbles down the leaded window.

Gentlemen of some standing are gathered and are sipping tea

or beer. An auctioneer in a frock coat enters, accompanied by
a young assistant who carries a wooden box. The assistant
begins to remove candles from the box and we see that the
first inch of each candle has been dyed red.

The assistant lays out a dozen red tipped candles and puts a
candlestick on the auctioneers desk. The AUCTIONEER hits the
table with his gavel and calls the meeting to order in a
businesslike tone...

AUCTIONEER
Gentlemen. Jardine, Matheson and
Company would like to commence this
candle auction with a published
list of twelve items for sale.

The men begin to take their seats and pick up the booklets
which have been left on each seat. The auctioneer picks a
red tipped candle and puts it into the candle stick.

AUCTIONEER (CONTD)
Each item will be auctioned for the
length of time it takes for its
allotted candle to burn down one
inch. When the inch is burnt, the
last bid will win.

The auctioneer picks up a pamphlet and turns the first

page....

AUCTIONEER (CONTD)
First item on the list, a
merchantman brig commandeered from
the Spanish fleet by Captain
Reeves, this last twelve months and
one. Currently the brig is named
the Felice Adventurero.

The assistant lights the candle with a taper from the fire
and the flame flickers...

AUCTIONEER (CONTD)
Who will start the bidding?
 Taboo - Ep 1 - Steven Knight - First Draft - July 31st 2013 62 .

EXT. TABARD INN, BACK COURTYARD

In a sheltered courtyard, James arrives on his grey mare.

Rain dribbles from rooftops. A stable boy hurries to take
Jamess horse as he dismounts. James enters the inn through
the back door...

INT. TABARD INN, AUCTION ROOM

The auction is proceeding briskly with offers being taken of

thirty pounds, rising to thirty one, thirty two...

The bids are made with gentle nods or raising of the hand.
We come close to the candle which has almost burnt down one
inch. Then the flame is wafted by a breeze as a side door
opens. James enters beyond the flame.

James stands by the door as the bidding continues. A

particular gentleman in the second row (HURST) recognizes
James and peers at him.

James is close to the front and can see that almost all the
red has burnt. There is a flurry of late bids. Then, at the
last moment...

JAMES
Thirty seven pounds.

All heads turn. James is impassive. He has raised the bid

by two clear pounds. No one cares to follow. They all stare
at James as the candle burns down for five more seconds.

Then the auctioneer snuffs out the candle...

AUCTIONEER
The Felice Adventurero. Sold for
thirty seven pounds to...

The auctioneer peers at James...

JAMES
The Delaney/Nootka Trading Company.

Hursts eyes burn into James.

INT. EAST INDIA COMPANY HEADQUARTERS - LATER

In a long white washed corridor Hurst is striding along

beside Wilton, his wet silk hat dripping in his hand.
 Taboo - Ep 1 - Steven Knight - First Draft - July 31st 2013 63 .

HURST
I spoke to old Grady afterwards and
he said Delaney had told him he was
going to use the ship to increase
the capacity of his trade with the
Salish Indian tribe and with the
Nootka.

Wilton holds open a door and Hurst passes through.

INT. EAST INDIA COMPANY HEADQUARTERS, SIR STUART STRANGES

OFFICE

Strange has a huge office overlooking the river. He has a

map of the world dominating one wall and the obligatory
paintings of seascapes all around. There are two giant
globes either side of the office.

A portrait of the Prince Regent hangs over his desk. Wilton

and Hurst are sitting near to the fireplace. Sir Stuart is
standing up, facing the window.

A clock ticks. The silence otherwise is deafening. Strange

taps his hand against his leg in a gesture of fury as he
stares out of the window at the manicured company gardens.
He still has his back turned. Wilton and Hurst swap anxious
looks. Finally...

WILTON
Sir, I already have a strategy in
place which...

Strange raises his hand for silence. The clock ticks.

Strange stews in his own anger. After a while...
WILTON (CONTD)
Sir...

Strange instantly spins around and barks...

STRANGE
Why?

He strides toward the fire.

STRANGE (CONTD)
Why would he not even look at our
offer?

Strange pokes the fire violently with a poker and sparks fly.
 Taboo - Ep 1 - Steven Knight - First Draft - July 31st 2013 64 .

STRANGE (CONTD)
Why would he defy logic and the
King simply to maintain trading
rights to some sea-otter pelts?

HURST
Not only maintain but expand...

Wilton gestures at Hurst. Its not wise to speak when

Strange is in this mood. Strange turns and hurls the poker
across the room and it smashes a hanging plate...

STRANGE
Why?

Strange turns on Wilton for a reply. Wilton shrivels...

WILTON
I believe he is simply trying to
raise the price...

STRANGE (CUTTING HIM DEAD)

Why did he know so much about the
law? The fine print of the Pratt
Yorke opinion of seventeen fifty
fucking seven? He was no lawyer
when he left England and he didnt
gain a degree in fucking Africa.
And where did he get the money to
buy a ship?

Strange turns on Wilton. It seems Strange has his own

answer.

STRANGE (CONTD)
Jesus. Am I the only one in this
company with a brain?

Strange is close to a globe and he spins it violently...

STRANGE (CONTD)
They got to him. Either in Africa
or on the passage back to London.
One of their agents approached him
and briefed him. They gave him
money and secured his services.

Stranges eyes burn as the globe begins to slow down on its

axis.

WILTON (SOFTLY)
Who did Sir?

Strange turns to Wilton and barks....

 Taboo - Ep 1 - Steven Knight - First Draft - July 31st 2013 65 .

STRANGE
The fucking Americans!

EXT. ROTHERHITHE, DRY DOCK

The dock is a covered shed with a ramp down to the foreshore.

James is accompanied by a clerk and a HARBOR MASTER as he
steps aboard a tidy brig with masts stripped bare. This is
the Felice Adventurero.

James steps on the deck and looks all around his new ship.
He appears to be filled with anticipation. The harbor master
has papers which he consults...

HARBOR MASTER
We will need signatures to release
her.

James looks up to study her masts...

HARBOR MASTER (CONTD)

And perhaps before we let her out
of the sink youll want us to
change her name. Something a
little more patriotic.

James takes the papers and studies them...

JAMES
I think it is quite a pretty name,
Harbor master...

He hands the papers back...

JAMES (CONTD)
And I will keep it. I will sign her
off as the Felice Adventurero. I
believe it means happy
adventurer.

The harbor master looks troubled as James departs to explore

his new ship.

EXT. THAMES FORESHORE - LATER

James is walking home at the waters edge. He seems

invigorated. As he walks, he passes the tavern where his
fathers wake was held. He strides on. Then he hears a dog
yapping and sees the stray he met before.

He greets the dog and strokes it roughly.

 Taboo - Ep 1 - Steven Knight - First Draft - July 31st 2013 66 .

JAMES
Very well. Come.

He walks and the dog follows...

JAMES (CONTD)
I will call you...Prince. After
the Prince Regent to whom we are
all so loyal.

He throws a rock and the dog chases after it. James calls
out...

JAMES (CONTD)
But I warn you, you are entering a
very troubled period in your life.

The dog races on.

EXT. CHAMBER HOUSE, FORESHORE - LATER

James approaches his house from the shore once more. Prince
is with him. As James ushers the dog toward the steps he
sees a gathering of people at the waters edge a little way
downstream. One carries a blanket and we glimpse the dark
uniform of a Bow Street officer.

For now James pays no attention.

INT. CHAMBER HOUSE, LIVING ROOM

James enters with Prince and throws his coat over a chair.
James shows the dog to the dog basket and he sniffs...
JAMES
Her name was Mathilda. Long since
gone Im afraid.

Prince rejects the basket and goes around the room to

explore. Brace enters from downstairs...

BRACE
I brought you breakfast this
morning but you werent there.

James takes papers from his jacket...

JAMES
I was out walking long before dawn.
I told you, I dont sleep so
well...
 Taboo - Ep 1 - Steven Knight - First Draft - July 31st 2013 67 .

In a hidden corner of the room Prince barks at a mouse.

Brace jumps out of his skin and grabs a poker...

BRACE
How the hell do they get in here?!

James takes his arm.

JAMES
This one by invitation. Prince.
Come.

Prince emerges from the corner and pants. Brace sighs...

BRACE
Dear God. Another mouth to feed...

JAMES
He will protect us Brace.

Brace is not impressed as Prince comes to James and James

ruffles his fur. Brace goes to the window and peers down
stream...

BRACE
Maybe we will need protection.

James is busy inspecting Princes ears for parasites and

hardly hears. Brace turns...

BRACE (CONTD)
Did you not see the constables on
the shore?

James is still hardly engaged. Brace puts his face to the

window to get a better view down stream...
BRACE (CONTD)
They found the body of a man washed
up. Dressed like a gentleman. And
hear this...

James is still busy with the dog...

BRACE (CONTD)
Hed had his heart cut clean out of
his body.

James looks up sharply. Brace is still staring out of the

window...

BRACE (CONTD)
And his lungs too. Not a sign of
them. Like theyd been stolen from
him.
 Taboo - Ep 1 - Steven Knight - First Draft - July 31st 2013 68 .

James gets to his feet. His face is frozen. Brace turns to

him...

BRACE (CONTD)
Body was still fresh so it was last
night they think. Or early this
morning.

Brace sees the thunderous look on Jamess face. He half

smiles and talks gently as he walks by...

BRACE (CONTD)
Dont look so worried Jimmy. We
have our dog now to keep us safe.

Brace leaves. We stay on Jamess face for a long time.

EXT. THAMES, FORESHORE

In the bend in the river where the body was found, we find
James staring across the water.

He seems to be deeply troubled, trying to piece something

together. Prince sits a little way up the bank, attentive,
staring at his new master.

High up in the attic study, Brace is peering out of the port

hole window and staring at James.

END OF EPISODE ONE