Читать книгу The Old Curiosity Shop / Лавка древностей - Чарльз Диккенс, Geoffrey Palmer, Miriam Margolyes - Страница 21

Kit raised his eyes to the window of Nell’s little room, and hoped to see some indication of her presence. His own earnest wish, coupled with the assurance he had received from Quilp, filled him with the belief that she would arrive.

“I think they must certainly come tomorrow, eh mother?” said Kit, laying aside his hat and sighing as he spoke. “They have been gone a week. They surely couldn’t stop away more than a week, could they now?”

The mother shook her head, and reminded him how often he had been disappointed already.

“I consider,” said Kit, “that a week is quite long enough for them to be rambling about; don’t you say so?”

“Quite long enough, Kit, longer than enough, but they may not come back for all that.”

Kit thought she was right.

“Then what do you think, mother, has become of them? You don’t think they’ve gone to sea, anyhow?”

“Not gone for sailors, certainly,” returned the mother with a smile. “But I think that they have gone to some foreign country.”

“I say,” cried Kit with a rueful face, “don’t talk like that, mother.”

“I am afraid they have, and that’s the truth,” she said. “It’s the talk of all the neighbours.”

“I don’t believe it,” said Kit. “Not a word of it. How should they know!”

“They may be wrong of course,” returned the mother, “but the people say that the old gentleman and Miss Nell have gone to live abroad where they will never be disturbed.”

Kit scratched his head mournfully. Suddenly a knock at the door was heard. Kit opened the door and saw a little old gentleman and a little old lady.

“Why, bless me,” cried the old gentleman, “the lad is here! My dear, do you see? This is a very good lad, I’m sure.”

“I’m sure he is,” rejoined the old lady. “A very good lad, and I am sure he is a good son.”

The old gentleman then handed the old lady out, and after looking at him with an approving smile, they went into the house.

“Well, boy,” said the old gentleman, smiling; “We are here before you, you see, Christopher[60].”

“Yes, sir,” said Kit; and as he said it, he looked towards his mother for an explanation of the visit.

“This gentleman, Mr. Garland[61], was kind enough, my dear,” said she, in reply to this mute interrogation, “to ask me yesterday whether you were in a good place, or in any place at all, and when I told him no, you were not in any, he was so good as to say that…”

“That we wanted a good lad in our house,” said the old gentleman and the old lady both together.

“You see, my good woman,” said Mrs. Garland to Kit’s mother, “that it’s necessary to be very careful and particular in such a matter as this, for we’re only three in family, and are very quiet people, and it would be a sad thing if we made any kind of mistake, and found things different from what we hoped and expected.”

To this, Kit’s mother replied, that certainly it was quite true, and quite right, and quite proper and her son was a very good son though she was his mother, in which respect, she was bold to say, he took after his father, who was not only a good son to his mother, but the best of husbands and the best of fathers besides. After this long story she wiped her eyes with her apron, and patted her little son’s head, who was staring at the strange lady and gentleman.

Mr. Garland put some questions to Kit respecting his qualifications and general acquirements. It was settled that Kit would start to work on the next day, and the money is six pound a year. Finally, the little old couple took their leaves; being escorted by their new attendant.

“Well, mother,” said Kit, hurrying back into the house, “I think my fortune’s about made now.”