Page 794 - bleak-house

‘Let me see,’ said Richard, looking at his watch. ‘If I run
down to the Dedlock, and get my portmanteau fastened up,
and order a gig, or a chaise, or whatever’s to be got, we shall
have an hour then before starting. I’ll come back to tea.
Cousin Ada, will you and Esther take care of Mr. Vholes
when I am gone?’
He was away directly, in his heat and hurry, and was
soon lost in the dusk of evening. We who were left walked
on towards the house.
‘Is Mr. Carstone’s presence necessary to-morrow, Sir?’
said I. ‘Can it do any good?’
‘No, miss,’ Mr. Vholes replied. ‘I am not aware that it
can.’
Both Ada and I expressed our regret that he should go,
then, only to be disappointed.
‘Mr. Carstone has laid down the principle of watching
his own interests,’ said Mr. Vholes, ‘and when a client lays
down his own principle, and it is not immoral, it devolves
upon me to carry it out. I wish in business to be exact and
open. I am a widower with three daughters—Emma, Jane,
and Caroline—and my desire is so to discharge the duties
of life as to leave them a good name. This appears to be a
pleasant spot, miss.’
The remark being made to me in consequence of my be-
ing next him as we walked, I assented and enumerated its
chief attractions.
‘Indeed?’ said Mr. Vholes. ‘I have the privilege of sup-
porting an aged father in the Vale of Taunton—his native
place—and I admire that country very much. I had no idea

794 Bleak House