Captain Sharpe and I have met. You are late, sir, and I cannot abide unpunctuality.
I'm sorry I'm late, my Lord, the inspection of the rocket battery ran to a full hour, sir.
I am not happy you did not get me my horses, Sharpe. You think there may be something in these rockets, Sharpe?
Not as to accuracy, sir, but they play merry hell with the morale of poorly led men, sir. The sound is shocking.
Scared you, did they?
[deadpan] I was terrified, sir.
Are you...uh...sure that Captain Sharpe is the right man to send with the ransom? He won't cut and run if somebody lets off a gun, will he?
Who is this fool?
I have not come here, my Lord, to hear this man explaining about his rockets. What about my wife, sir?
You have the money?
Five hundred golden guineas.
Good. The deserters have demanded that the ransom be delivered by Captain Sharpe.
Oh, I wonder why, sir. It's probably because he knew one of the ruffians when he was a private soldier. That's what comes of raising from the ranks. Personally, my Lord, I don't hold with it.
My Lord if I may speak? [Wellington nods] Sir Augustus is probably correct in speculating that whoever asked for me served under me in the ranks. I was a Sergeant and a stickler for duty, so it's fair to assume that whoever it is wants to settle a score and slit my throat. But, if Sir Augustus does not trust me, I am more than willing to step down, and let him take the gold himself, sir.
[looking uncomfortable] Well! I am willing to accept Captain Sharpe as a messenger if you are, my Lord.
Let's have it Nairn.
What do you say, Sharpe?
We leave at dawn, sir.
Does that suit you, Colonel?
Well, naturally, I had hoped to go myself.
No, Colonel. These dogs would merely take you hostage and increase the ransom.
Well, that being so, I have some concerns as to the correct conduct of Captain Sharpe, and his men. My wife is a lady. I must ask you to impress on Captain Sharpe the need to adopt certain standards which are not necessarily his by birth.
How dare he speak of Captain Sharpe in such a fashion! We Morenos are of the blood. We know who is a man of manners and who is a man of the mouth, and you, Sir Augustus, are a man of the mouth. Take my advice and shut it, before someone shuts it for you!
How dare you, Madame!
Sir Augustus has a point, Sharpe. You and your men can be a little rough and ready. Sir Augustus has written a book on the proper conduct of the Spanish Campaign, I suggest you study it tonight, Sharpe. Full of good things, listen, "During the day's march, the men should keep their files, no indecent language or noise to be allowed." Be sure to read that particular part to the Chosen Men tonight after prayers.
Wild horses wouldn't stop me, sir.
Don't talk about horses, Sharpe. Dismissed!
[to Sir Augustus] If you were a man, I would call you out, force you to fight a duel, and kill you. [leaves]
Close call, there, sir. They call her 'the needle', don't ask me why.
[looking a trifle alarmed] Am I in danger?
[impatient] Escort Sir Augustus to his tent.
More from this episode
All quotes from this episode →More Sharpe quotes · These quotes come from Wikiquote's Sharpe pages and are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.