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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 far 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].
10
The old man was in a raging fever accompanied with delirium. The child was more alone than she had ever been before. The house was no longer theirs. Mr. Quilp took formal possession of the premises and all upon them. The dwarf proceeded to establish himself and his coadjutor in the house.
First, he put an effectual stop to any further business by shutting up the shop. His coadjutor, Mr. Brass[31], was an attorney of no very good repute. He was a tall, meagre man, with a nose like a wen, a protruding forehead, retreating eyes, and hair of a deep red. He wore a long black surtout[32] reaching nearly to his ankles, short black trousers, high shoes, and bluish-grey stockings[33]. He had a cringing ma
Quilp looked at his legal adviser[34], and being quite overjoyed, rubbed his hands with glee.
“Is it good, Brass, is it nice, is it fragrant?” said Quilp. He smoked a lot. “This is the way to keep off fever, this is the way to keep off every calamity of life!”
“Shall we stop here long, Mr. Quilp?” inquired his legal friend.
“We must stop, I suppose, till the old gentleman upstairs is dead,” returned Quilp.
“He he he!” laughed Mr. Brass, “oh! very good!”
“Smoke!” cried Quilp. “Never stop! you can talk as you smoke. Don’t lose time.”
“He he he!” cried Brass faintly. “But if he should get better, Mr. Quilp?”
“Then we shall stop till he does, and no longer,” returned the dwarf.
The sentinel at the door interposed in this place, and without taking his pipe from his lips, growled:
“Here’s the girl coming down.”
“Aha! Nelly! Oh!” said Quilp, “My dear young friend! How is he now, my lady?”
“He’s very bad,” replied the weeping child.
“What a pretty little Nell!” cried Quilp.
“Oh beautiful, sir, beautiful indeed,” said Brass. “Quite charming!”
“Has Nell come to sit upon Quilp’s knee,” said the dwarf, “or is she going to bed in her own little room inside here? What is poor Nelly going to do?”
“What a remarkable pleasant way he has with children!” muttered Brass.
“I’m not going to stay at all,” faltered Nell. “I want a few things out of that room, and then I won’t come down here any more.”
“You’re sure you’re not going to use that little room anymore; you’re sure you’re not coming back, Nelly?’
“No,” replied the child, hurrying away, with the few articles of dress “never again! Never again.”
“She’s very sensitive,” said Quilp, looking after her. “Very sensitive; that’s a pity. The bed is just my size. I think I shall make it my little room.”
The dwarf walked in and threw himself on his back upon the child’s bed with his pipe in his mouth. Mr. Brass applauded this picture very much.
11
At length, the crisis of the old man’s disorder was past, and he began to recover. By very slow and feeble degrees his consciousness came back; but the mind was weakened and its functions were impaired. He sat, for hours together, with Nell’s small hand in his, playing with the fingers.
He was sitting in his easy-chair one day, and Nell upon a stool beside him, when a man outside knocked.
“Yes,” the old man said without emotion, “it is Quilp. Quilp is master there. Come in, of course.”
And so he did.
“I’m glad to see you well again at last, neighbour,” said the dwarf, sitting down opposite to him. “You’re quite strong now?”
“Yes,” said the old man feebly, “yes.”
“I don’t want to hurry you, you know, neighbour,” said the dwarf, raising his voice; “but the sooner you can find a place to live, the better.”
“Surely,” said the old man. “The better for everybody. I will, certainly, we shall not stay here.”
“You see,” pursued Quilp after a short pause, “I have sold the things. Today’s Tuesday. When will the things be moved? This afternoon?”
“What about Friday morning?” returned the old man.
“Very good,” said the dwarf. “So be it, neighbour.”
“Good,” returned the old man. “I shall remember it.”
12
Thursday arrived. In a small dull yard below his window, there was a tree green and flourishing enough, it threw a rippling shadow on the white wall. The old man sat watching the shadows, until the sun went down; and when it was night, and the moon was slowly rising, he still sat in the same spot.
27
falling upon – набрасываясь на
28
Nubbles – Набблс
29
there is no help – ничего не поделаешь
30
utter stupefaction – полное оцепенение
31
Brass – Брасс
32
surtout – сюртук
33
bluish-grey stockings – сизо-голубые чулки
34
legal adviser – учёный советчик