"***" " Might you be interested in doing a little detective work for me?" " Name of the party?" " William Dorrit." " Something's gone wrong with Chivery." "Can't think what it's owing to." "I'm sorry, John, but I could never feel about you that way." "Count to five and twenty, Tatty." "I can't do it, I couldn't forgive myself if I left them." "There's someone I care about, but I've held back from declaring my love." "You don't know her." "***" "***" "***" "Rent day!" "Rent day!" "It's no use hiding, I'm going to get you!" "Rent day!" "It's no use hiding!" "Rent day!" "Rent day!" "Rent day!" "Rent!" "Rent!" "If you please, Mr Pancks." "Yes, Mrs Plornish." "It's about Mr Cavalletto." "What, Italian chap, bad leg, your lodger?" "Yes, sir." "Here he is, speak of the devil." "If you please, Mr Pancks, he got to take a room of his own now, he's earning good money at Doyce and Clennam and can pay for it." " Says who?" "Well, Mr Plornish and me, sir, not to deceive you, sir." "What, and you'll stand surety for him, will you?" " Well..." " The thing about references is, it is usually one person who can't pay guaranteeing another person who can't pay can pay." " He say he don't think you got no money." " Money?" "Yes!" "Yes!" "You got it now, but will you have it when rent day comes?" "Yes, he will, Mr Pancks." "I'll stand surety for him." "Mr Clennam!" "Good morning!" "Well, that's good enough for me!" "You shake hands, old chap!" " He say 'e very 'appy." "I mean, he says he's very happy." "Glad to hear it." "Good day." " Any news, Mr Pancks?" " Nothing definite, Mr Clennam, but I'm on the case." "I'm on the scent." "I'm going to get to the bottom of this Dorrit business or blow myself up in the attempt." "Rent day!" "Rent day!" "I'll be back on Friday." "Dammit!" "Dan, just to say I won't be in this morning or this afternoon." "I've an appointment out of town." "In Twickenham?" "Well, yes, since you ask." "She's a lovely girl, Pet." "Yes." "Dammit!" "Damn!" "Good luck!" "I thought I might meet you, if I came this way." "I'm glad you did." "I'd hoped I'd get the chance to speak to you alone." "I too." "There is something I particularly wanted to say to you, without anybody else being there." "Mr Clennam..." "Please, let me speak first." "I've been going over and over my speech on the way here." "It's not a long one." "Miss Meagles" " Pet - you have brought a great deal of happiness and joy into my life." "I was struck by your beauty when we first met in Marseilles." "And now, of course, I'd like to think that we've become good friends." "I want to ask you if we could be more than friends." "I want to ask you if... you could love me." "If you would consent to be my wife." " Oh, dear." " I know that we haven't known each other long, and I don't press you for an answer now, only to consider it." "Mr Clennam..." "Arthur..." "I thank you for your proposal, but I can't consider it." "I gave my consent to marry Mr Gowan this morning." "I am so sorry." "No, no!" "You mustn't say that." "God bless you both!" "I was so frightened to tell you." "Tell me you don't blame me." " Blame you?" "Why should I blame you?" "I know nobody likes him but me, but I do love him!" "I can't help it." "I'm sure you'll both be very, very happy." "You are so good!" "Could I ask you something more?" "Anything." "Papa will miss me so much, I know." "Will you keep him company?" "Only when you can spare the time, and Mama too, there is no-one they like so much, or trust so much." "Of course I will." "And...and will you try to use your influence with Papa?" "If Papa thought YOU liked Henry, he might think a little better of him." "I'll do my best." "Thank you." "Thank you." "DOOR OPENS Oh, Tatty, would you put these in water for me, and fetch me my shawl from upstairs?" "I feel quite chilly all of a sudden." "Which d'you want me to do first?" "Oh, whichever." "The shawl." "Well, don't be cross, Tatty." "Anybody would think you're not happy for me." "You can have my shawl and all my other things when I am Mrs Gowan." "LAUGHTER Gowan." "Congratulations." "I've heard the happy news." "Let me shake you by the hand." "Thanks, Clennam." "You're a lucky man." "My dear man, Lord knows what the dear girl sees in me." "But that's the way the world goes, I suppose." "Mr Clennam?" "Please forgive this intrusion." "I was in town, and my son, Mr Henry Gowan, was kind enough to give me the direction." "Is Mr Gowan with you?" "I asked him not to accompany me." "I wish to speak to you alone, and in confidence." "Oh!" "Er, what about?" "Well." "Forgive me," "I'm hardly in a state to receive visitors." "I, um..." "Could I offer you any refreshment?" "Nothing, thank you." "Mr Clennam, is she really pretty?" "Er, who?" "Oh, you know." "This flame of Henry's." "This unfortunate fancy." "Miss..." "Mickles or Miggles?" "Miss Meagles is very beautiful." "Men are so often mistaken on these points." "He picked the people up in Rome, I think?" "Picked them up?" "Came upon them." "Found them out." "Stumbled against them." "I am pretty sure it was at Rome, no matter." "Is she very plebeian?" "Really, ma'am." "I am so plebeian myself, I don't feel qualified to judge." "Very neat, very happy." "From which I infer you find her manner equal to her looks?" " I do." " I hope it may be so." "It is quite a blessing to be able to speak to someone so well informed." "Henry, you know, is very contrary, and as these Miggles people naturally strain every nerve to catch him," "I have very little hope of it being broken off." " Mrs Gowan, you have understood the situation quite wrongly." "You think they have strained every nerve." " Strained every nerve, yes." "But it happens to know that Mr Meagles is very unhappy in this matter, and has done all he can to put obstacles between his daughter and your son." "Of course." "That's the way to catch him." "Mr Miggles is very clever." "This is very well done, indeed!" "Believe me, ma'am..." "Mr Clennam, can you really be so credulous?" " This is unjust, it's a perfectly groundless suspicion!" " Not so." "Although it seems to have taken you in completely." "Thank you, Mr Clennam." "I am so obliged to you." "Good day." "Miss Amy." "Are you all right?" "Yes, thank you, John." "Are you all right?" "Not so bad, thank you, Miss." "I've hardly seen you since..." "I hope you're not cross with me, John." "I could never be cross with you, Amy." "Then we can still be friends, and talk as we used to?" "Of course we can." "If that's what you want." "Thank you, John." " Young Chivery!" "Chivery, John." "Assistant turnkey?" " Yes, Mr Pancks." "Now don't take this wrong, John, but mooning's no good." "How would you like to do Miss Dorrit a good turn?" "Name it, Mr Pancks." "Anything for her." "She may never be mine, but I am always hers." "Very nice." "Very poetic." "Seven o'clock this evening suit you?" "Er, yes, Mr Pancks." "I'll pick you up, we'll have supper, John and then I'll tell you more." "But till then, not a word to anybody." " Oh..." " Good man." "A fine day, Chivery." "Very fine, as you say, sir." "I hope there's nothing amiss between us, Mr Chivery." "Nothing as I knows of, sir." "You know I have the highest regard for you and for your son, John." "I should have been very happy if, er... and I should be very sorry to have you think otherwise." " Is that a fact, sir?" " It is, it is, but in matters of the heart, what can we fathers do?" "We're powerless, Mr Chivery." "Powerless." "I believe you're right, sir." "And there's no hard feelings from the Chivery end of things." "If you was inclined, sir, to step out into the forecourt just this once and take a look at the street, I would be happy to accommodate you, Mr Dorrit." "Really?" "No, no." "No, I thank you, Mr Chivery, you're very kind." "Thank you, Mr Chivery." "Oi, mister!" "Maggy!" "I'm going to go and see Little Mother." "D'you want to come?" "I'm on my way home, Maggy." "Oh, you don't you want to see her?" "Well..." "Yes, of course I do." "Well, come on then!" "DOOR OPENS Little Mother!" "Please, little mother, guess who I've got?" "And he's waiting downstairs." "Who, Maggy?" "Him." "With the cake!" "You know!" "Mr Clennam?" "Yeah, that's him!" "I brought him to see you." "I can't see Mr Clennam today, Maggy." "Go down and tell him I have a headache." "That's not very polite." "He will understand." "I will if you tell me a story first." "Shall it be about a Princess?" "If you like." "Once upon a time there was a princess, and she had everything she could wish for, and a great deal more." "Yeah, everything like lemonade and chicken and baked potato!" "Shush." "Listen..." "Now, near the Palace was a cottage in which lived a poor little tiny woman, all alone." "She was an old woman, I expect." "No, Maggy." "No." "Quite a young one." "And one day the Princess stopped at the cottage and said to the tiny woman, "Let me see what you keep there."" "And the tiny woman opened a very secret place, and showed the Princess a shadow." "A shadow!" "It was the shadow of someone who had gone by many years before." ""And you keep watch over this, every day?" said the Princess." ""Yes", said the tiny woman," ""because no-one so good" ""or kind" ""had ever passed that way ever since."" "And then what did the princess say?" "She realised that for all of her gold and silver and diamonds and rubies... ..she had nothing so precious to her as that shadow was to that tiny woman." "That's the end of the story, Maggy." "Well, that's not much of a story, is it?" "Sorry, Maggy." "It's the best I can do today." "Here we are, Mr Chivery." "My landlord and occasional partner, Mr Rugg, and his daughter, Miss Anastasia Rugg." "Now they have heard of your misfortunes." "Your feelings do you credit, Mr Chivery." "May you never outlive them!" "I doubt I shall, Mr Rugg." "My daughter is no stranger to trials of the heart." "She was cruelly jilted by a fiend in human form." "Was you, Miss?" "A fiend in human form." "Baker, weren't he?" "A baker... and a fiend." "Eat up, Mr Chivery." "I'm afraid I don't eat much at present, Mr Rugg." "the plaintiff in Rugg and Hawkins, she wasn't taking more than ten ounces of food a week!" "I think I go a little beyond that, Mr Rugg." "Well, in your case, there's no fiend in human form." "No, sir." "Far from it." "An angel, rather." "Come, come, John." "Brace up." "She wouldn't want to think you were blubbing." "Now, to details." "Let's see." "I've got a churchyard in Bedfordshire." "Who takes it?" "I'll take it, Mr Pancks, if no-one bids." "That's one to you." "An enquiry in York." "I'm not good for York." "Then perhaps you would be so obliging?" "For Miss Dorrit's sake?" "For her sake, Mr Pancks, I'd go anywhere." "Then you should take this one too - a Clerk of works in Durham." "A church in London, that'll do me." "And a retired seafaring man in Dunstable?" "Done." "And dusted!" "Now, let's see..." "Enough!" "No more, Frederick." ""Tis not so sweet now as it was before."" "I cannot help but be reminded of a world that is lost to me forever." "You're not so badly off here, William, when you think about it." "You've got Amy to look after you." "Frederick, how can you be so insensitive?" "We'll say no more." "Amy, Mr Clennam was very disappointed that you didn't come down to see him this morning." "I am not sure that you appreciate, my dear, that Mr Clennam is a very highly valued... is a very generous benefactor." "It would be little short of calamitous were he to take offence and discontinue his visits here." "I'm sorry, Father, I was not well." "Then you could have made an effort!" "Has Mr Clennam behaved improperly towards you?" "No, father, not at all." "Then in future I shall expect you to show him every courtesy." "You may not care for Mr Clennam's company, but you must learn to consult the wishes of others, not merely your own." "Papa, Mamma, it's Tattycoram, she's like a wild thing, I'm frightened of her!" "What are you all looking at?" "I hate you, all three!" "I am bursting with hate of the whole house!" "Count to five and twenty, Tattycoram!" "I shan't!" "I can't!" "Five and twenty!" "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight..." "Oh, no, I can't do it any more!" "I'm so boiling up with anger, I can't bear to spend another hour in this house!" " Tatty!" "Tattycoram!" "I hate that name!" "I fling it back at you!" "Who are you to name me like a cat or a dog?" "That's all I am to you, I'd rather be dead than spend another minute here!" "I'm going away forever!" " But where would you go?" "Little you care!" "All you need know is, none of you will never see me again!" "Goodbye!" "But Tattycoram!" "Ah!" "Damn, damn, damn..." "Everything all right, old chap?" "Pet is to marry Gowan." "I know her father would have preferred it to have been you." "Well, it's done now and there's an end of it." "Come and have a look at this, would you?" "I've always found work to be the best cure for sorrow." "Are you there, Mr Clennam?" "Mr Doyce?" "Mr Meagles!" "Whatever's the matter?" "It's Tattycoram!" "She's left us!" "Wouldn't count five and twenty, and then took herself off!" "I believe she's gone to that woman." "Miss Wade?" "I searched Tatty's room, and I found this letter from her." "It gives her address." "Will you come with me?" "Mr Clennam." "Mr Meagles." "May I know the cause of your favouring me with this visit?" "The cause, as I believe you well know, is Tattycoram." "Harriet, do you mean?" "Is she here?" "She is." "She left our house in a fit of temper." "I am sure that she regrets that now." "If you would be so good as to tell her that we forgive her and that we will be happy to have her back." "You may tell her so yourself, if you will." "Harriet!" "Here is your master, Harriet." "He says he's willing to take you back to be a slave to his pretty daughter." "You may have your droll name again, setting you apart." "All you have to do is beg to be forgiven." " I say I'd die, sooner!" " There is your answer, gentlemen." "Tattycoram, for I shall call you that name still, you should know I meant nothing but kindness when I gave it to you." " I don't!" "Perhaps not at the moment, but you will when you reflect upon how this lady has poisoned your mind against those who love you and care for you." "Now, we're not asking you to be penitent..." "I shan't..." " I only ask you to count to five and twenty." " I won't." "I'd be torn to pieces first." "I'd tear myself to pieces first!" "I don't know what you are, you were always a mystery to all of us, but I believe that you take a perverted delight in making this poor girl as wretched as you are!" "You may insult me at your pleasure." "I am alone here." "Mr Clennam, have you any indignities to add to your friend's?" "I think we should leave now." "But, Tattycoram..." "Harriet, if you ever change your mind, you have a home to go to." " I never shall." " You are a wicked woman and if I..." "Come along, Meagles!" "We can do no good by staying longer." "Good day, Miss Wade." "Five and twenty, Tattycoram, five and twenty!" "I've never struck a woman in my life, but I nearly struck that woman just now!" " She enjoyed her triumph." "Yes, by God, she did." "And there's something unnatural about her." "I only pray that Tattycoram comes to her senses and she sees her for what she really is!" "The light is going." "You shouldn't strain your eyes, Amy." "I can see very well, Mrs Clennam." "You have done enough for today." "You may tidy up and go." "Thank you, Mrs Clennam." "Yes, Flintwinch?" "Mr Pancks." "Pancks?" "You know him." "Mr Casby's man." "What does Mr Casby's man want here?" "I suppose he'll tell you, if you'll see him." "Let him in, then." "Very nice of you to see me, ma'am." "Happening as I was to be in the area, I thought I'd enquire as to your health, on behalf of my proprietor, of course." "Mr Casby knows very well that I am not subject to changes in my health." "The only change I await here is the great change." "Oh... very well put, ma'am." "But you are looking uncommonly nicely, I would say." "I bear what I have to bear, Mr Pancks." "As you do what you have to do, no doubt." "Thank you, ma'am." "Yes, such is my endeavour." "Miss Dorrit!" "You are busy at your sewing, I see." "Tell me, does it run in the family?" "I don't believe so, sir." "Now, your great uncle Ned, he was a sailor, I believe." "Is he still with us?" "He died, sir." "He died?" "Well, well..." "Uncle Ned... is dead." "Mr Pancks." "Was that all you wanted?" "Yes, ma'am." "Happening as I was to be in the area, I..." "You need not have troubled yourself." "Tell Mr Casby and his daughter not to trouble themselves by deputy." "When they wish to see me, they know where I am." "No trouble, ma'am." "No, but you are looking uncommonly..." "Thank you, Mr Pancks." "Good evening." "Good evening." "no need to come down, miss dorrit, cos I know the road to the door!" "Little Dorrit, what do you know of that man?" "Nothing, ma'am, except I have seen him about, and he has spoken to me." "Come here, child." "I think you have had a very hard life." "Sometimes it has been hard to live... but I think not as hard as many people find it." "That is well said." "You are a good girl, and a grateful girl too." "Now go, Little Dorrit, or you will be late." "You hurry up home now, Miss Amy." "It's a horrid windy evening." "Goodbye, Affery." "Good evening, madam!" "Oh, my saints, who's this?" "My name is Blandois, at your service!" "There are secrets in all families, I suppose." "There are the devil's own secrets in some families!" "I used to know your father very well, you know." "Have you made a discovery?" "We rather think so." "Think what the best surprise that could possibly happen to you." " That could happen to me?" " Yes." "What would it be?"