Victory in Saratoga! The English surrender!
America wins!
The marquis de Lafayette, hero of Brandywine!
America wins!
Victory! The English lost in Saratoga. America won!
- Hold on! Calm down! Calm down! - Please, sir. Please! Please!
Here. For you. These are for you. You take these.
Make sure you hand all of them out!
Everyone has some? Now spread out! Go!
"MARCH OF THE INSURGENTS"
Are you all right, sir?
Do you need help?
Not at all, my friend. All is well.
Bravo! What a marvelous instrument. Bravo!
Yes, it's interesting.
I believe the principle is Greek in origin.
The Abbé is right.
What is the name of the place?
Saratoga. In the colony of New York, I believe.
Come look at this.
Very skillful, Your Majesty.
Do you enjoy the mechanical arts, Foreign Minister?
Alas, obligations do not afford me the time.
What's interesting about locks
is that unless you crack them open, you've no idea what's inside.
But then you've broken the lock.
Your Majesty, you know of the victory at Saratoga.
Yes. Rather bloodied old George's nose, hmm?
There's an opportunity here.
It would be wise to seize it before it's too late.
You're on about your alliance again.
I'm certain England is seeking a way out before it suffers even greater losses.
The Americans may well be inclined to grant them one.
Then we wouldn't have to pay for a war, would we?
We'd only be delaying one.
Against an enemy we could have weakened if we had been bold enough to act.
I don't know.
- Your Majesty means-- - I don't know.
Yes.
- Yes, I may proceed? - Yes, I don't know.
Did he mean to refuse you without saying it?
Possibly.
Does he wish you to negotiate
but doesn't want it known that he said so?
He might.
Is he setting a trap,
expecting that you'll disobey, and so expose you?
He's not that smart.
Are you sure?
What are the risks?
Disgrace. Exile. Prison.
I think that covers it.
And the rewards?
France wins. The English lose. And--
You succeed.
What should I do?
Charles, my dear,
you've already decided.
You just want me to tell you you're right.
I'll have Gérard handle it.
That way there's someone else to blame.
I BECAME FULLY VERSED IN THE NUANCED ART OF SEXUAL PLEASURE
The what?
You can't put the plow before the oxen.
- A declaration of war. - He was quite brazen about it.
He'll have us all carrying muskets by the time he's done.
What do I answer?
That you will confer with me.
Isn't that what I'm doing now?
Now we're only talking.
We can confer after I've advised His Majesty.
Monsieur le Comte.
With the greatest respect, I'm uncertain which master I'm serving.
You are serving me.
We both serve the king.
And we all serve France.
So...
Use your discretion.
Resist his blandishments.
Say nothing you can't take back. And...
Carry on with the excellent work.
He's right, of course.
It's war any way you look at it.
You underestimate my patience.
Anything I am allowed to do.
Who or what is this Williams?
He claims to represent the English prime minister.
- What did they discuss? - It wasn't clear.
Every other man at Passy is a spy. Doesn't anyone know how to do his job?
I suspect the doctor arranged the whole affair for our benefit.
Of course he did.
He means for us to respond in haste and confusion.
Isn't that what we're doing?
Tell Dr. Franklin that France will guarantee American independence
if war is declared.
But we don't guarantee that it will.
Should he press the point--
We make guarantees, but we don't guarantee anything?
Precisely. Now go away.
We know what you're up to.
I have no idea what you're talking about.
You're not the only one with informants.
You think you can ransack the treasury and start a war without us knowing?
Gentlemen, whatever I do-- If I was doing it--
I do with the king's consent.
Then why hasn't he told us about it?
That seems a question that answers itself.
You're bluffing.
Am I?
Shall we go see His Majesty and ask him directly? I'm sure he won't mind.
I hear there's a good little library in the Bastille.
To keep the prisoners occupied.
Good god, man.
Can't you see that Franklin is playing us both for fools?
- Pardon, sir, but-- - The king requests your presence.
Right now?
Monsieur Stormont,
I regret I must conclude our interview prematurely.
Sir. I demand an answer.
We both may have one shortly.
Day by day our little undertakings creep along, don't they?
And then, all at once...
Splendid bit of metalwork, Your Majesty.
Count Maurepas and Monsieur Necker have been chatting with me.
Have they, sire?
A monarchy allying itself with a rebel army, seeking to overthrow a king.
Where will that notion lead, once it is set loose?
No man can predict the future.
Certainly not his own.
I rely on the counsel of my ministers.
If I cannot trust them, what remedy do I have?
You are the king.
All remedies are yours.
I should like the people to love me.
But I don't think a republic is a terribly good idea.
I hope never to see one myself.
Make an alliance with the Americans.
And teach the rosbifs a lesson they won't forget.
Pleased with yourselves?
What did you tell him?
That a war could be financed without raising taxes.
That's all he wanted to hear.
Makes you and me look good, doesn't it?
Long live America!
If you will please follow me, gentlemen.
He doesn't look like an ambassador.
He's not even wearing a wig.
Where is your sword, Dr. Franklin?
The man who discovered electricity has now electrified two continents.
The deputy of the United Colonies of America,
Monsieur Benjamin Franklin.
Your Majesty, permit me to present Dr. Benjamin Franklin
and his grandson, William Temple Franklin.
Your Majesty.
That's that then, I suppose.
Wasn't I saying just the same thing?
The Americans are here!
Your Majesty, the Americans have arrived.
Your Majesty, Dr. Franklin.
What did he say?
He said spending the king's money makes two people happy.
Pardon me.
You said just a few people.
Forty, 50...
Do we need to give them so much to drink?
It's an investment, my dear.
In what?
In America. Now that the agreement's been signed, they'll all want a piece.
And who will they have to come to? The man who was there first.
You mean the man who hasn't been paid yet?
Maybe the king knows a bit more about this sort of thing than you do.
Attention!
Your attention, please!
I address you tonight in two languages.
Because our king has made official
what we know in our hearts always to have been true.
and the youthful spirit of America,
To friendship.
To liberty.
To Franklinity!
As you wish, madame.
What have you got there?
An empty glass.
Let's get that fixed.
Hey! Over here.
Now bugger off.
Here's to, uh, what you do.
Need to talk.
By all means.
Let's work out the terms then.
Want to get it nailed down before she's too old.
You are proposing...
Our own alliance. If you catch my meaning.
Very wise.
So, you're in agreement?
Nothing could make me, or my grandson, happier.
And Madame Brillon?
What about her?
We won't fuss over that.
What did you say then?
That the time had come to reach an accord,
and that if they did not, both nations would suffer.
That's what made them sign?
And then you met the queen.
You're always right at the center of things.
What will you do next?
This.