6 A New Life in London

CHAPTER 6 A New Life in London Five hours later, I was in a coach taking me to Mr. Jaggers's office. The gloomy street frightened me a little, so I quickly went inside and introduced myself to the clerk. "Mr. Jaggers is in court, young sir, but you're to wait here for him." There were many people crowded into the room waiting to see him. When Mr. Jaggers finally arrived, he talked with everyone else first before he approached me. After leading me back into his private room, he washed his hands and face and said, "At last, Pip, you've arrived. You're to go to Barnard's Inn to see Mr. Pocket's son, Herbert.

Stay there until Monday, when you'll go to the Pockets's house in Hammersmith. You won't be at school full-time, so we'll have to sort out a place for you to stay here in London, too." He continued, "Here's your allowance. My clerk, Wemmick, will be keeping tabs on you in case you run into any trouble." "Should I call for a cab?" I asked. "Wemmick can walk you over. It's not far." Mr. Wemmick smiled as we stepped out onto the street. He asked if I'd ever been to London before. When I said no, he chuckled. "I was new here once." A short man with a square face, Wemmick had a nose that looked like it was carved out of wood. "Funny to think about that now when I know the city so well," he said. The gate for Barnard's Inn opened into a dismal square complete with dismal trees and dismal birds. Dirty windows with FOR RENT signs, broken flowerpots, and a layer of dust completed the scene. I could see no earthly reason why anyone might want to live here.

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Mr. Wemmick led me up a rickety set of stairs. I thought they would collapse beneath our feet. We came to a door with a note that said, Be right back! "I suppose Herbert didn't think you'd be early," Mr. Wemmick said. "Do you need me to wait here in the hallway with you?" "No, I'll be fine." "I'm sure we'll meet again." Mr. Wemmick started back downstairs. "Good day!" As I waited, I wrote my name on a dirty window and thought, London is not what I expected. Five, then ten, then thirty minutes passed. Finally, I heard the sound of shoes on the stairs. A young man in a suit identical to mine soon stood before me. He looked very familiar to me. "Pip?" he said. "Herbert?" "Dear me!" he said. "I thought you would take the afternoon coach. I've been out getting us some fruit." Herbert pushed, pulled, and attacked the door as if it were a wild beast. At last it opened.

"Come in, come in!" he shouted excitedly. "It's a small place." He showed me around. "Tomorrow, I thought—well, Mr. Jaggers thought —we could take a walk around London..." Herbert's voice trailed off as he looked at me more closely. "Why, it's you! From that day in Miss Havisham's garden." Suddenly I recognized him. "And you're the pale young gentleman!" We laughed. "Of all places, Pip! How have you come to be here?" I replied, "I'm to come into a fortune one day. My benefactor wants me to become a gentleman." Herbert was cheerful and chatty and made me feel right at home. After dinner we ate strawberries and swapped stories about Miss Havisham. I even told Herbert that I thought she was the one helping me. "It's a secret," I said. "It's safe with me," he said. "Do you know the story of Miss Havisham's life?" "I know she was supposed to be married." Herbert told me her father had owned a factory,

the one on the grounds of Manor House. "She was popular, always attending balls and parties," he continued. "She met a young man who wasn't very nice. On the day they were to be married he didn't show up. Stole her money and sent a letter instead." I gasped. "He just left her?" Herbert nodded. "At that very minute all the clocks in Manor House were stopped." "What happened to him?" "He fell onto hard times," Herbert said. "Might have ended up in jail. Soon after, Miss Havisham adopted Estella." Before I could ask about Estella, Herbert started telling me about his plans to own a shipping empire. We spent the rest of the night dreaming of the future. Monday came, and we went by coach to Hammersmith to meet Mr. Pocket, Herbert's dad. He was to be my teacher. As we walked into the garden, we saw Herbert's six brothers and sisters tumbling around. "Mother," Herbert called, "this is young Mr.