[00:00.27] Chapter three.
[00:03.04] Thoughts of Murder.
[00:05.98] Caudor did his best to save his skin.
[00:10.18] He admitted every wrongdoing, repented like a saint and begged his king for pardon.
[00:17.22] It did him no good.
[00:19.53] He was executed like all traitors.
[00:25.59] Macbeth, on the other hand, was showered with praise.
[00:29.97] Duncan could not do enough for his cousin, the savior of his kingdom.
[00:36.69] I've not valued you enough, Macbeth, he said.
[00:42.22] It is reward enough to do my duty, replied Macbeth, sounding like the humblest subject in the kingdom.
[00:50.48] To think I trusted Caudor, continued the king.
[00:55.97] Two-faced dog, replied Macbeth.
[01:00.49] Indeed, agreed Duncan.
[01:03.87] To look at him, you could never have guessed his devious thoughts.
[01:11.43] Indeed, agreed Macbeth.
[01:18.45] An important announcement was in the air that day.
[01:23.07] You needed no magic glass to guess what it was about.
[01:28.08] Duncan was aging and had not yet announced his successor.
[01:33.71] Now, at last, the question would be settled.
[01:41.07] Macbeth stood at Duncan's right hand as the king began to speak.
[01:47.71] The hot grip of ambition was tightening on his throat.
[01:53.79] Sons, kinsmen, thains, began the king.
[01:59.52] Today is a day of reward for many of you, new lands, new titles.
[02:10.61] But as for my state and throne, that can only fall upon one man.
[02:19.48] My son, Malcolm, who I hereby name Prince of Cumberland.
[02:29.57] A cackle escaped my throat as the self-satisfied smile vanished from Macbeth's face.
[02:38.09] Now he had two hurdles to overcome on his way to the throne.
[02:46.73] No wonder he departed the court in such agitation.
[02:54.87] I was not the only female watching these events unfold.
[02:59.65] Away in Inness, pacing the corridors of a cold castle, was Macbeth's keen eyed wife.
[03:09.38] Lady Macbeth had heard all the news from Macbeth's letters.
[03:15.80] With each one she grew hungrier for power.
[03:21.25] There were no battles or cheering crowds to enliven her empty life.
[03:27.76] The prospect of becoming queen, on the other hand, that was a road to glory.
[03:39.05] Just as I knew Macbeth's mind, so I knew his wife's.
[03:45.28] I had been tormented and driven from society by hard-faced women like her.
[03:56.19] But she was still not hard enough for the job in hand.
[04:02.77] For that, she needed special help.
[04:08.13] I watched intently as she summoned the spirits and called on them to destroy her human tenderness, to turn her into a machine for murder.
[04:23.23] As Lady Macbeth's heart hardened, her thoughts turned to her husband.
[04:30.91] For all his fierceness in battle, Macbeth was still too soft for this business.
[04:39.36] She would have to destroy his conscience, too.
[04:44.77] Then the crown would be theirs for the taking.
[04:50.15] The opportunity came sooner than Lady Macbeth could have dreamt.
[04:56.88] News reached the castle that Macbeth was on his way, and, close behind him, the grateful Duncan.
[05:05.71] The king was to be their guest that night.
[05:11.82] Lady Macbeth embraced her husband.
[05:16.99] There was no need for Macbeth to ask if the letters had reached her.
[05:25.76] The king, asked Lady Macbeth, how long is he staying?
[05:31.61] Till tomorrow morning, replied Macbeth.
[05:38.28] Lady Macbeth's face set like stone.
[05:43.66] Then we must ensure he never sees that morning, she pronounced.
[05:52.76] What do you mean? asked Macbeth nervously.
[05:58.24] You know exactly what I mean, replied Lady Macbeth.
[06:08.35] Lady Macbeth had her way.
[06:11.50] The trap was redded and sweetened with delicious meats and wines.
[06:17.38] Duncan rode into it as innocent as a dove.
[06:21.75] But then, why should he suspect the cousin who had just saved his throne?
[06:30.39] Or his charming wife, who had gone to such trouble to cater for her king and his attendance.
[06:38.25] Such a fair and noble woman she was.
[06:44.00] Yes, Duncan feast well that night.
[06:48.12] But Macbeth was in no mood to eat.
[06:53.97] He paced his rooms, then his grounds, building himself up for the dark deed.
[07:02.06] The more he thought about it, the greater the doubts became.
[07:08.77] What kind of host would murder a man who had come to him for protection?
[07:17.67] Besides, murdering Duncan did not guarantee the crown for Macbeth.
[07:24.85] The king was a popular leader, a modest, decent man.
[07:32.84] His killer would not be honored, but cursed.
[07:38.51] Lady Macbeth, on the other hand, was having no such pangs of conscience.
[07:45.53] With urgent steps, she sought out her husband.
[07:50.53] There you are, she cried.
[07:53.89] What do you think you are doing leaving the banqueting hall?
[08:00.59] Has Duncan noticed? asked Macbeth.
[08:04.70] Of course he has noticed, replied his wife.
[08:10.60] Macbeth steals himself.
[08:13.41] We're not going through with this, he said.
[08:18.33] Don't say that, murmured Lady Macbeth.
[08:24.13] All my life I have craved the respect I have today, replied Macbeth, to throw it away now?
[08:35.97] Lady Macbeth's face seemed agonized.
[08:40.92] Were you drunk when you said you would be king? she hissed.
[08:47.41] Maybe when you said you loved me, you were drunk as well.
[08:52.00] What is wrong with you?
[08:56.75] The greatest glory in life is there for the taking, but you're too scared to grasp it.
[09:09.51] You'd rather be a second rater, a meek little nobody.
[09:19.28] I'm being a man, replied Macbeth.
[09:24.27] A man? cried his wife.
[09:28.42] A man has the courage of his convictions.
[09:35.94] And think how more of a man you'll be when you've gone through with this.
[09:43.97] Believe me, I am a woman.
[09:48.56] I know what love a woman feels when she nurses a baby.
[09:55.96] But I dash its brains out for a chance like this.
[10:04.28] And what if we fail? countered Macbeth.
[10:09.75] We will not fail, replied Lady Macbeth with steely certainty.
[10:21.76] Macbeth was impressed by his wife's determination.
[10:27.39] Sensing she was winning him, Lady Macbeth pressed on with her plans.
[10:34.83] Duncan is sure to sleep heavily tonight, she said, and I shall deal with his guards.
[10:43.91] A little charm, a few songs, a bottle or two.
[10:49.64] I'll see to it they drink themselves into a stupor.
[10:55.09] There'll be nothing to stop us getting to Duncan and laying the blame on them to boot.
[11:04.42] Macbeth turned the plan over in his mind.
[11:08.87] We could use their daggers, he suggested, and mark them with his blood.
[11:19.16] Lady Macbeth smiled and laid her hand on her husband's.
[11:24.67] Exactly, she replied, and the way we will grieve for Duncan, no one will dare to suspect our involvement.
[11:40.10] Macbeth was won over.
[11:44.69] The desire to murder, like an iron mask, came down over his human features.
[11:54.13] From this point, there was no going back.