Читать книгу The Old Curiosity Shop / Лавка древностей - Чарльз Диккенс, Geoffrey Palmer, Miriam Margolyes - Страница 10

Kit lifted the latch of the door and passed in.

“Bless us!” cried a woman turning sharply round, “Who’s that? Oh! It’s you, Kit!”

“Yes, mother, it’s me.”

“Why, how tired you look, my dear!”

“Old master did not go out tonight,” said Kit. With which words, he sat down by the fire and looked very mournful and discontented.

Kit’s room was an extremely poor and homely place. His mother was still hard at work at an ironing-table; a young child lay sleeping in a cradle near the fire; and another, a sturdy boy of two or three years old, was sitting bolt upright in a clothes-basket.

“Ah mother!” said Kit, falling upon[27] a great piece of bread and meat, “what a kind woman you are!”

“I hope there are many better, Kit,” said Mrs. Nubbles[28]; “Did you tell me, just now, that your master hadn’t gone out tonight?”

“Yes,” said Kit, “worse luck!”

“I wonder what Mrs. Nelly’d say, if she knew that every night, when she is sitting alone at the window, you are watching in the open street.”

“Never mind what she’d say,” replied Kit; “she’ll never know it, and consequently, she’ll never say anything.”

Mrs. Nubbles ironed away in silence for a minute or two, then she observed:

“I know what some people would say, Kit. Some people would say that you’d fallen in love with her.”

“It’s somebody crossing over here,” said Kit, “and coming very fast too, mother!”

The boy stood. The footsteps drew nearer, the door was opened with a hasty hand, and the child herself, pale and breathless, hurried into the room.

“Miss Nelly! What is the matter?” cried mother and son together.

“I must not stay a moment,” she returned, “grandfather is very ill. I found him upon the floor.”

“I’ll run for a doctor” said Kit, seizing his brimless hat. “I’ll be there directly.”

“No, no,” cried Nell, “there is one there, you… you must never come near us any more!”

“What?” roared Kit.

“Never again,” said the child. “Don’t ask me why, for I don’t know. Pray don’t ask me why, pray don’t be sorry! I have nothing to do with it indeed!”

Kit looked at her with his eyes opened wide.

“Grandfather complains and raves of you,” said the child, “I don’t know what you have done, but I hope it’s nothing very bad. He cries that you’re the cause of all his misery. You must not return to us any more. I came to tell you. Oh, Kit, what have you done? You, in whom I trusted so much! You were almost the only friend I had!”

The unfortunate Kit looked at his young mistress, but was perfectly motionless and silent.

“I have brought his money for the week,” said the child, looking to the woman and laying it on the table “and a little more, for he was always good and kind to me. It grieves me very much to part with him like this, but there is no help[29]. Good-night!”

The child hastened to the door, and disappeared as rapidly as she had come. Kit remained in a state of utter stupefaction[30].