Elizabeth quotes from House of Cards (trilogy)

Elizabeth

[of Mattie] You trust her?

Yes. Up to a point.

Elizabeth

If you wanted to be quite certain of her loyalty, perhaps one night when you're in town and I'm here in the country... Well, I should quite understand, Francis. I'll leave that up to you entirely.

Elizabeth

The Margaret Thatcher Memorial. Is there really no way of preventing it?

It would seem not. It's all been paid for out of the Foundation. And the site was earmarked fifteen years ago, apparently. For a time, there seemed some possibility of putting it up in Grantham. Where no one would have to look at it.

Elizabeth

Except the unfortunate inhabitants. Where is Grantham, anyway?

No one seems quite sure.

Elizabeth

Couldn't the Arts Council do something about it?

You forget, my dear. We abolished the Arts Council a year ago.

Elizabeth

Of course. Department of National Heritage?

No, not their pigeon, apparently. It seems the best we can hope for is to keep the scale of that thing down and perhaps plan a somewhat larger memorial of oneself to stand nearby.

Claire Carlsen implied that what we need now is a miracle, as if she thought me capable of splitting Earth's crust. [pause] The Earth's crust...

Elizabeth

Francis?

Suppose we leak information to the Greeks and the French that they have been cynically conned. There are massive oil deposits off the coast of Cyprus. The British and the Turks have known it all along and are now exploiting it to enrich themselves.

Elizabeth

No, it's too dangerous.

[excited] Thus provoking an international incident. A small war, perhaps! To which we can react with moral outrage, uniting the country behind a strong Prime Minister.

Elizabeth

But we couldn't control the outcome. We'd risk losing everything.

Better to do that than to slink away. One way or the other I'll be remembered. This could be our Falklands, Elizabeth.

Elizabeth

Francis, my dear. Safe now. It was the only way, my darling. You do understand.

Elizabeth... [dies]