Nan St. George finds herself with an unexpected decision to make in The Buccaneers episode 2 on Apple TV Plus. But, before we get onto Nan's complicated love life, she has some tensions with her friends and family to contend with first.
As Nan arrives in Runnymede to be with her best friend Conchita and the rest of her gang of friends, she seems to be a changed woman from the one who left to go to Cornwall. Not only has the time away from her fun-loving friends left her in a much quieter state of mind, but the news that she was born illegitimately is clearly still something she is struggling to get her head around.
But as she arrives at Conchita's party house, the girls are thrilled to see her despite the fact new mum Conchita is upset with her for leaving as she went into labor. But as Nan tries to explain why she abandoned her in her moment of need, Conchita doesn't wait to listen.
As everyone gets into the party mood, Nan gives her sister, Jinny, the cold shoulder, and it isn't until they are getting dressed for the evening that Jinny corners Nan in the bathroom and asks for forgiveness. But it is too soon for Nan and their conversation soon turns into another argument.
Desperate to get married, Jinny flirts with Lord James Seadown and he coldly turns her away, stating that she is too obvious and instead turns her affections to Lizzie. But while Lizzie is more than happy to bask under his gaze, it is clear that Jinny is fuming. The women have a conversation where they both talk about their possible futures with Lord Seadown, but they soon fall out, leading to Lizzie flirting with him while the gang plays a game of Sardines.
But things soon turn sinister when Lord Seadown takes Lizzie into an empty bedroom and his coercive, controlling behavior makes an appearance. He leaves Lizzie feeling used and embarrassed after he asks her to lie there naked as he sits watching her, only for him to leave the room, leaving her lying there for hours and then sending his butler up to tell her that he has gone to bed and will see her in the morning.
But while Lord Seadown's horrific behavior is playing out, Mable is waiting for everyone to find her in a cupboard while they play a game, and eventually, it is Lord Richard's sister, Honoria, who finds her. Soon the chemistry is building between forthright Mabel and straightlaced Honoria... could this be a new romance on the cards?
As the party continues, Guy Thwarte turns up to see Nan, with Conchita admitting that he 'practically begged for an invitation'.
We know that he is planning to propose to Nan, seeing her as a way to get his family out of debt after his mother died. Nan is pleased to see him and the pair flirt, but as the evening draws on, he can see that she isn't herself and she blurts out the truth about her mother not being her biological mum. It is clear the news lands hard for Guy as his plans to get his hands on her family cash fall apart, and he soon makes a hasty exit, leaving Nan to wonder what she did wrong.
After the party Jinny and Nan make up and Jinny begs her sister not to tell anyone about their family secret, not realising that Nan has just told Guy.
The next morning, everyone is struggling with their hangovers at breakfast, and things soon turn sour when Conchita overhears husband Richard talking about their marriage, admitting that his mother is right and she isn't the sort of woman he should have married and that she isn't wife material.
Conchita is devastated and runs off crying, not realizing that Richard hasn't actually finished his sentence as he goes on to say that despite his mother being proved right, he is totally in love with Conchita and he always will be, and is unable to imagine his life without her.
The next morning Lizzie tries to talk to Jinny about what happened when she was alone with Lord Seadown in the bedroom the night before. She admits nothing physically happened between them, but before she can explain his coercive and odd behavior, Jinny waltzes off, not wanting to listen.
However, things take a sinister turn as everyone is in the garden, and Lord Seadown arrives, completely ignoring Lizzie and heading straight for Jinny and promptly proposing to her. Jinny is thrilled and everyone celebrates, apart from Lizzie who knows the sort of monster her friend is now engaged to.
Later, finding a moment alone together, Lizzie tries to warn Jinny that she is making a mistake, but again Jinny is so focused on the fairytale wedding that she refuses to listen.
But Jinny isn't the only sister with a proposal on her hands, because as Nan spends time on her own in the garden, she is shocked to see Theo turn up. As far as Nan is concerned Theo is just a painter who she met on the beach in Cornwall, not the Duke of Tintagel, who is extremely rich and looking for a wife.
Sick of his mother trying (and failing) to find him a suitable wife, Theo is desperate for someone to marry him for his personality and not his money and title. Having seen this in Nan on the beach, he has tracked her down from Cornwall and she is thrilled to see him and can't wait to introduce him to her friends.
However, word that the Duke of Tintagel's carriage is on the drive gets everyone's attention, and as Theo tries to tell Nan how he feels about her and that he has been looking for someone like her for so long, everyone is gathering in the bushes and watching from afar, not believing what they are seeing.
However, as Theo gets down on one knee and shocks Nan by proposing, Guy returns and sees the whole proposal play out from afar. Will Nan accept Theo's proposal? How long will it be before she realizes who he really is? And what is Guy going to do now? Did he return to propose to Nan himself? With him being the keeper of Nan's biggest secret, we can't see this playing out well...
The Buccaneers is an eight-part series that launched worldwide on Apple TV Plus on Wednesday, November 8, 2023, with the first three episodes. New episodes now air weekly, running every Wednesday through to December 13 2023.
