Downton Abbey 2×2

Violet, Dowager Countess of Grantham: You be careful, Mary. Sir Richard mustn't think you're after him.
Lady Mary Crawley: Isn't that the truth?
Violet, Dowager Countess of Grantham: The truth is neither here nor there. It's the look of the thing that matters.

Mr. Carson: I really can't have maids in the dining room for such a party, so I'd be grateful if you'd help me and play the footman.
Henry Lang: Me? Wait at table?
Mr. Carson: Well, it's not ideal, but I'm afraid I've no choice.

Anna Smith: Mr Lang seems a bit nervous.
Mrs. Hughes: Stage fright. But what about you?
Anna Smith: Oh, I'm a trooper. And we can't complain, can we?
Mrs. Hughes: Not when you think what's going on in France. Still, a broken heart can be as painful as a broken limb.
Anna Smith: Don't feel sorry for me, Mrs Hughes. I'm not. I know what real love is and there aren't many who can say that. I'm one of the lucky ones.
Mrs. Hughes: If you say so.

Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham: He's working much too hard.
Cora Crawley, Countess of Grantham: For a start, he's just got to let the maids serve in the dining room.
Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham: Quite right. There is a war. Even Carson has to make sacrifices.

Lady Rosamund Painswick: But, Mama, who do you imagine is out there with more to offer?
Violet, Dowager Countess of Grantham: I am not a romantic.
Lady Rosamund Painswick: I should hope not.
Violet, Dowager Countess of Grantham: But even I will concede that the heart does not exist solely for the purpose of pumping blood.
Lady Rosamund Painswick: That is charming, especially from you.

Mrs. Hughes: Anna and Ethel will wait at the table and I will supervise. What's wrong with that?
Mr. Carson: Nothing. Except that it's how a chartered accountant would have his dinner served.
Mrs. Hughes: I can think of worse insults.
Mr. Carson: If you say so.

Mrs. Hughes: Just try to rest.
Mr. Carson: To rest or to feel redundant?
Mrs. Hughes: Both, if it'll slow you down for a minute and a half. The world does not turn on the style of a dinner.
Mr. Carson: My world does.

Anna Smith: Was it good advice?
Lady Mary Crawley: It was about honesty. He thinks I should say what I really feel.
Anna Smith: Sounds a bit wild for Mr Carson.
Lady Mary Crawley: But do you think he's right?
Anna Smith: Well, they do say honesty's the best policy. And I think you regret being honest less often than you regret telling lies.

Henry Lang: So, still full of the joys of warfare?
William Mason: I'm not sorry to be part of it, Mr Lang, and I can't pretend I am.
Henry Lang: Oh, yes, you're part of it. Like a metal cog is part of a factory, or a grain of sand is part of the beach.
William Mason: It's all right, Mr Lang. I understand. And I'm not saying I'm important or owt like that. But I believe in this war. I believe in what we're fighting for and I want to do my bit.
Henry Lang: Then God help you.

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