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As he entered the hall she stood nearer than the rest, and the child thought from the look in her eyes that she was going to speak to him. Mr. Havisham, who held his hand, paused a moment. "This is Lord Fauntleroy, Mrs. Mellon," he said. "Lord Fauntleroy, this is Mrs. Mellon, who is the housekeeper." Cedric gave her his hand, his eyes lighting up. "Was it you who sent the cat?" he said.
But I felt myself so unequal to the performance that I gave it up, and stood looking at Miss Havisham in what I suppose she took for a dogged manner, inasmuch as she said, when we had taken a good look at each other, "Are you sullen and obstinate?" "No, ma'am, I am very sorry for you, and very sorry I can't play just now.
Take all the praise, take all the blame; take all the success, take all the failure; in short, take me." "O, look at her, look at her!" cried Miss Havisham, bitterly; "Look at her so hard and thankless, on the hearth where she was reared! Where I took her into this wretched breast when it was first bleeding from its stabs, and where I have lavished years of tenderness upon her!"
I misdealt, as was only natural, when I knew she was lying in wait for me to do wrong; and she denounced me for a stupid, clumsy laboring-boy. "You say nothing of her," remarked Miss Havisham to me, as she looked on. "She says many hard things of you, but you say nothing of her. What do you think of her?" "I don't like to say," I stammered. "Tell me in my ear," said Miss Havisham, bending down.
I don't think I should have done so, if I had been Miss Havisham. But she ought to know her own business best." "I know more of the history of Miss Havisham's adopted child than Miss Havisham herself does, sir. I know her mother." Mr. Jaggers looked at me inquiringly, and repeated "Mother?" "I have seen her mother within these three days." "Yes?" said Mr. Jaggers. "And so have you, sir.
He needed no look at this woman's face to be sure that it was the woman of his wife's abhorrence, and he felt quite as sure that it was the actress Yolande Havisham, from the effective drama of her self-possession. "Don't be frightened. Your wife turned her foot on the steps here. I was coming into the house, and caught her from falling. It's only a swoon."
I signified that I thought he would consider it an honour to be asked. "Then let him come!" "At any particular time, Miss Havisham?" "There, there, I know nothing about time. Let him come soon, and come alone with you!"
"He seems to be a very mature little fellow," Mr. Havisham said to the mother. "I think he is, in some things," she answered. "He has always been very quick to learn, and he has lived a great deal with grownup people. He has a funny little habit of using long words and expressions he has read in books, or has heard others use, but he is very fond of childish play.
"Oh!" he said, "I have been kind to you, have I?" "Yes," answered Lord Fauntleroy brightly; "I'm ever so much obliged to you about Bridget, and the apple-woman, and Dick." "Bridget!" exclaimed the Earl. "Dick! The apple-woman!" "Yes!" explained Cedric; "the ones you gave me all that money for the money you told Mr. Havisham to give me if I wanted it." "Ha!" ejaculated his lordship.
Mr. Havisham knew his hard, fierce ways by heart, and he was thinking of him as he looked out of the window into the narrow, quiet street. And there rose in his mind, in sharp contrast, the picture of the cheery, handsome little fellow sitting in the big chair and telling his story of his friends, Dick and the apple-woman, in his generous, innocent, honest way.
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