not yet. they both smile, as if they share a secret. general feversham reaches out and straightens his son's collar, trying to make him look as presentable as possible. int. dance area.  the durbar court.  india office - night. trench and castelton are dancing with two girls: trench waltzing boisterously, castelton taking it all very seriously. int. another area.  durbar court.  india office - night. willoughby has found a place amongst a group of senior officers. he stands next to colonel hamilton, the commander of their regiment.
whose fault is that. ethne squirms but loses herself in his embrace. as they start to kiss they're suddenly interrupted by trench's braying voice in the distance. trench o. s goodnight, ladies. goodnight, ladies. goodnight, ladies, we hate to see you go.  harry shakes his head in despair. trench, castelton, willoughby and durrance together o. s merrily we roll along, roll along, roll along. merrily we roll along, until the morning comes.  ethne smiles.
i'd like to see the colonel please. willoughby stares in confusion. the aide-de-camp disappears into the next door office. harry still can't bring himself to look at his friend. willoughby harry, what's wrong?.  he's interrupted as the aide-de-camp walks back in.
my papers, sir. i wish to resign my commission. colonel hamilton doesn't appear to understand. he looks back at the piece of paper, as if he's misread something.
i don't want any leave sir. i wish to resign my commission. a long silence. colonel hamilton calmly puts the letter aside, and returns to his work, ignoring harry. harry sir.
sir, i've made up my mind.
i have considered, sir. and i've decided to leave the service.
it's not his decision, sir.  hamilton explodes, all his repressed fury pouring out.
sir --
i will not, sir. dead silence. harry i wish to resign my commission. hamilton stares at harry for what seems an eternity. he's struggling to make sense of something beyond his comprehension. slowly he gathers himself and lowers his eyes, looking down at harry's papers:
because of you. because of me. i couldn't see the point of continuing. the moment i fell in love with you my career in the army was over.
whoa! you ought to train these beasts dermod.
that there are some things that can't be hidden.
you're the most important thing to me.
i need to talk to you, sir. there's a long silence as general feversham gazes at his son. harry looks as if he hasn't slept in days. his eyes are swollen and bloodshot, full of heartbreak and shame. for a moment it seems as if the old man will take him in his arms and comfort him, but instead he averts his eyes, and climbs into the carriage. colonel sutch looks at harry regrettably, as if to say there's nothing he can do. ext. london streets - night. newsboys follow harry home, trying to sell him their newspapers, refusing to take no for an answer.
they do to me, sir. they're all i have left of my friends.
yes sir. in alexandria. they transfer to suakin in a fortnight. sutch doesn't understand at first. then he looks at the newspapers and maps spread out across the floor, and begins to see the method in harry's madness.
i sent a man to you with a warning from abou klea. you wouldn't listen to him. you had him tortured instead. the confusion and shock bring pent-up tears to willoughby's eyes.
he told you a british officer had sent him. even if you didn't believe him, what would it have cost to take precautions. what more did i have to do? willoughby i didn't know harry. i didn't know it was you.  . what are you doing here in god's name?. what are you doing?.  harry opens his hand to reveal a soiled white feather. willoughby stares at it, in bewilderment at first,then slowly beginning to understand. willoughby give me the others. give them to me. harry they're not yours to take back. willoughby looks up at him through his tears. there's no condemnation in harry's eyes, but no sympathy either. his experiences have changed him, turned him into a harder man. ext. maze.  caroline's house - day. ethne gazes silently at the feathers in her hand. willoughby . he'd followed us all the way from alexandria, looking for an opportunity to redeem himself. it was only after he left that i found out an arab matching his description had also saved jack durrance's life. ethne looks up in surprise. willoughby jack doesn't know. that was the way harry wanted it. ext. flashback.  battlefield.  desert.  sudan - day. smoke hovers over the corpse strewn battlefield. we see harry through the haze, carrying durrance on his shoulders, staggering under his friend's weight. ext. flashback.  hills above the battlefield.  sudan - day. harry and abou fatma help durrance up a steep mountain trail, as below them, the battle rages. ext. flashback.  banks of the nile.  sudan - day. durrance's brow is beaded with sweat. harry cools his face with a wet cloth. durrance murmurs questions in his feverish state, but harry remains resolutely silent. ext. maze.  caroline's house - day. ethne stares at willoughby, thinking only of harry. willoughby thinks she's staring at the medals on his chest. willoughby i tried to turn them down. i told the committee i'd done nothing to deserve them. they didn't care. i think they pick their heroes' names out of a hat. you asked me how he'd changed. all i can say is that you would have been proud of him.
no, i'm not laughing. harry fights his own pain. trench i don't think i can take it anymore, harry.  harry finds it hard to argue. staring at trench's ravaged face and withered body all he can do is nod in sympathy. ext. courtyard.  prison.  omdurman - day. harry sits opposite the young arab boy in the courtyard. there's a look of quiet resignation in his eyes as he stares at the small glass vial in his hand. harry thank abou fatma for me. ask him to pray for us. the arab boy nods sadly, as if he's seeing harry for the last time. harry pats him on the shoulder, and gets up. int. house of stone.  prison.  omdurman - night. harry and trench lean against a wall, watching as the house of stone fills with prisoners. trench's eyes are filled with dread. harry . we had a visitor today. trench turns and looks at him. harry opens his hand to reveal the small glass vial. trench stares at the dark liquid inside, slowly realising what it is.
are you sure? trench nods, his decision made. harry the poison will take a few hours to work. you won't feel any pain.
half.  trench stops. trench i didn't mean to be a pig about it.  he holds out the vial for harry. harry takes it and swallows the rest of the poison. he grins at trench. harry what do you say, we give them one last night of hell. trench i'll drink to that. shoulder first, harry charges into the massing prisoners. trench follows him, laughing through his tears.
aye, sir.
by the way, i must remember to thank you.  for telling everyone i was dead.
a terrible habit. raises all kinds of hell.  as he heads out through the door, with the organ playing: "the wedding march" series of shots : 156