'FagmentWelcome to consult...as become a conviction to you; least of all a sentiment that is ooted in you tusting disposition. You ought not hastily to do that. I only ask you, Totwood, if you eve think of me—I mean,’ with a quiet smile, fo I was going to inteupt he, and she knew why, ‘as often as you think of me—to think of what I have said. Do you fogive me fo all this?’ ‘I will fogive you, Agnes,’ I eplied, ‘when you come to do Steefoth justice, and to like him as well as I do.’ ‘Not until then?’ said Agnes. I saw a passing shadow on he face when I made this mention of him, but she etuned my smile, and we wee again as uneseved in ou mutual confidence as of old. ‘And when, Agnes,’ said I, ‘will you fogive me the othe night?’ ‘When I ecall it,’ said Agnes. She would have dismissed the subject so, but I was too full of it to allow that, and insisted on telling he how it happened that I had disgaced myself, and what chain of accidental cicumstances had had the theate fo its final link. It was a geat elief to me to do this, and to enlage on the obligation that I owed to Steefoth fo his cae of me when I was unable to take cae of myself. ‘You must not foget,’ said Agnes, calmly changing the convesation as soon as I had concluded, ‘that you ae always to tell me, not only when you fall into touble, but when you fall in Chales Dickens ElecBook Classics fDavid Coppefield love. Who has succeeded to Miss Lakins, Totwood?’ ‘No one, Agnes.’ ‘Someone, Totwood,’ said Agnes, laughing, and holding up he finge. ‘No, Agnes, upon my wod! Thee is a lady, cetainly, at Ms. Steefoth’s house, who is vey cleve, and whom I like to talk to— Miss Datle—but I don’t adoe he.’ Agnes laughed again at he own penetation, and told me that if I wee faithful to he in my confidence she thought she should keep a little egiste of my violent attachments, with the date, duation, and temination of each, like the table of the eigns of the kings and queens, in the Histoy of England. Then she asked me if I had seen Uiah. ‘Uiah Heep?’ said I. ‘No. Is he in London?’ ‘He comes to the office downstais, evey day,’ etuned Agnes. ‘He was in London a week befoe me. I am afaid on disageeable business, Totwood.’ ‘On some business that makes you uneasy, Agnes, I see,’ said I. ‘What can that be?’ Agnes laid aside he wok, and eplied, folding he hands upon one anothe, and looking pensively at me out of those beautiful soft eyes of hes: ‘I believe he is going to ente into patneship with papa.’ ‘What? Uiah? That mean, fawning fellow, wom himself into such pomotion!’ I cied, indignantly. ‘Have you made no emonstance about it, Agnes? Conside what a connexion it is likely to be. You must speak out. You must not allow you fathe to take such a mad step. You must pevent it, Agnes, while thee’s time.’ Chales Dickens ElecBook Classics fDavid Coppefield Still looking at me, Agnes shook he head while I was speaking, with a faint smile at my wamth: and then eplied: ‘You emembe ou last convesation about papa? It was not long afte that—not moe than two o thee days—when he gave me the fist intimation of what I tell you. It was sad to see him stuggling between his desie to epesent it to me as a matte of choice on his pat, and his inability to conceal that it was foced upon him. I felt vey soy.’ ‘Foced upon him, Agnes! Who foces it upon him?’ ‘Uiah,’ she eplied, afte a moment’s hesitation, ‘has made himself indispensable to papa. He is subtle and watchful. He has masteed papa’s weaknesses, fosteed them, and taken advantage of them, until—to say all that I mean in a wod, Totwood,—until papa is afaid of him.’ Thee was moe that she might have said; moe that she knew, o that she suspected; I clealy saw. I could not give he pain by asking what it was, fo I knew that she withheld it fom me, to
