Chapter 20

My story had almost come to an end.  I have published several books now, and am a well-known writer.  Agnes and I have been married for twenty years, and live in perfect happiness, with our children around us.  We have heard from Daniel Peggotty in Australia.  He and Emily have made friends there and are happy.  Mr Micawber had become an important figure in a large Australian town, and his family are quite used to living there.  My aunt, Mr Dick and Peggotty are all white-haired and old now, but still very fit, and they love playing with our children whenever they can.  My old friend Traddles has two sons of his own, and will soon become a judge.

When I think of my friends and family, Agnes’s lovely face shines above them all.  She is here, next to me, as I write, and I hope that when my life comes to its end, she will be with me in the shadows, pointing upward to the light!

Chapter 19

Traddles and I had both received rather strange letters from Mr Micawber, in which he asked us to come to Canterbury, with my aunt.  At this meeting, he said, he would show to all of us the proof of Uriah Heep’s wickedness.  Dora was too ill to come with us, so Traddles, my aunt, Mr Dick and I travelled to Canterbury by coach, spent the night in a hotel there, and arrived punctually at the Wickfield’s house the next morning.  Mr Micawber met us at the door and showed us into Uriah Heep’s office.  Uriah himself seemed rather surprised to see us, but pretended to welcome us as old friends.  Mr Micawber brought Agnes into the room too, and then stood firmly by the door.

Uriah fell back, shocked.  Looking slowly round at us, with a dark, evil expression on his face, he said, ‘I see!  You’ve all arranged this between you!  But I know who to blame for this!  It’s you, Copperfield!  You’re jealous of my new position, aren’t you?  But I know things about all of your father’s business mistakes, Miss Agnes, and I know about your past in the warehouse, Copperfield! So be careful, I warn you all!’

Chapter 18

Of all the conversations we had, I remember that one very clearly.  It made a strong impression on me, and I am glad now that I did not try to change Dora any more.  I had fallen in love with an innocent child-like girl, and I could not expect her to become a wise, experienced woman in such a short time.  But this meant that I had to carry all our problems on my own shoulders, and sometimes I felt sorry that I did not have a real partner in life, with whom to share these worries.
At about this time, my first book was published, and was a great success.  Dora and my aunt were equally proud of me.  I was becoming, however, rather worried about Dora.  She had been ill for some time, and did not seem to be getting better.  She was not strong, and could not walk anywhere by herself.  I began to carry her downstairs every morning, and upstairs every night, and my aunt came every day to look after her.  My little wife was still very pretty, and cheerful, but I knew how light she was, and how weak.  I began to fear she would not be with me for much longer.

Chapter 17

When I returned to London, I was delighted to discover that Dora’s  aunts had decided to allow me to visit her.  So every Saturday and Sunday I walked to their house in Putney, and spent the afternoons there.  Sometimes Dora sang or played the guitar, sometimes we walked by the river, and sometimes I brought Traddles or my aunt with me.  What happy times they were!

Mr Spenlow had seemed a very rich man to me, but when he died the lawyers discovered that Dora would not inherit much from him after all, as there anyone would debts to pay.  So I did not feel worried that anyone would suspect me of marrying Dora for her money.  Mr Spenlow’s frim lost a lot of business after his death, and I realized I would have to find another profession.  I had always been good at writing, so I continued as secretary to Dr Strong, and also began reporting what was said in parliament, for the daily newspapers.  I even wrote some stories, which were published in magazines, and was very pleased with the money I was earning.  

Chapter 16

We had not been sitting together long when Mrs Heep came in.  She did not leave us for a moment all that evening, and I wondered whether Uriah had told her to watch over us.  Whenever I looked at Agnes’s lovely face, I saw Mrs Heep’s evil black eyes staring at me.

The next day, Mrs Heep did not leave Agnes and me alone even for a minute.  The Heeps, mother and son, seemed to me like two ugly great black birds hanging over the house, and they made me so uncomfortable that I went out for a walk in the afternoon.  I was walking along a path near the house, wondering if I should warn Agnes about Uriah’s plan of marriage, when I heard footsteps behind me, and turned to see Uriah himself running after me.

I knew Uriah was deliberately encouraging Mr Wickfield to drink too much, but I saw that although Agnes’s father was aware of his weakness, he could no longer stop himself.  As the evening passed, I was disgusted to see that Uriah became more and more drunk.  Finally Uriah stood up with a glass in his hand.

Chapter 15

With Agnes’s encouragement I felt much stronger, and no longer depressed.  My life now had a purpose. I intended to work as hard as I could, to help my aunt and to earn enough money to marry Dora.  I got up every morning at five o’clock, walked to Dr Strong’s house on the other side of London, worked with him for two hours every morning, and then walked back to Mr Spenlow’s office, where I spent most of the day in the lawcourts.  Then I returned to Dr Stong’s for two or three more hours in the evening, and finally came home to my flat, where my aunt, Peggotty and Mr Dick would be waiting for me.  I was glad to be also to tell my aunt that Dr Stong would pay me seventy pounds a year for my work.  With that,  and the rent from my aunt’s house in Kent, we could live quite well, if we were careful.  Because I was young and healthy, I did not mind hard work, and whenever I was tired, I told myself, ‘You’re doing it for Dora!’ and that made me work even harder.

Chapter 14

I could not give her my opinion of Uriah, because by then we had arrived at the flat.  My aunt was very pleased to see Agnes again, and made us sit down on the sofa next to Peggotty.  ‘Now let me explain to you all what happened to my money,’ said my aunt family.  I was surprised to see that Agnes was pale and trembling.  Betsey Trotwood continued, ‘I saved a lot of money over the years, and my lawyer, Mr Wickfield, used to help me invest it in the right companies.  But recently I thought he wasn’t such a good lawyer as he used to be, so I decided to invest my money myself.  Whet a lot of mistakes I made!  Who knows where it’s gone?  In gold, and foreign banks, and so on.  It’s  no good worrying about it, but I can tell you, there’s nothing left.’

The colour was beginning to return to Agnes’s face.  ‘So it- it wasn’t my father’s fault, dear Miss Trotwood?’

‘Not at all, Agnes,’ said my aunt cheerfully.  ‘Now can any of you give me some advice?  I’ve asked my servant Janet to rent my little house in Kent.  That will bring in about seventy pounds a year.  I think we’ll need more than that, to live on.’