Page 23 - A Tale of Two Cities

‘Shall we go home, my father?’ she asked, putting her hand softly
into his.
‘Yes,’ he said, with a long breath.

They said goodbye to the group, and Mr Darnay and Mr Lorry
helped them into their carriage and then went their separate ways,
leaving Mr Stryver and Mr Carton to return to the courtroom and
gather together their papers from the trial.
‘That was a clever idea, Sydney,’ Mr Stryver said, ‘showing how
like you that poor man was. When did you notice it?’
‘I thought that he was a handsome man, and I thought that if I
had been luckier in life, I would have been a lot like him.’

Mr Stryver laughed. ‘You have always been the same, Sydney.
You have a clever head on your shoulders, but you are never
determined enough to succeed.’
‘That is why you have always been somewhere, and I have
always been nowhere,’ said Mr Carton miserably. ‘I’m just paid by
you to think of the arguments you can use at your trials.’

‘Come now. Let’s talk about more cheerful things,’ laughed Mr
Stryver. ‘You were very quick to see what happened to the golden-
haired girl in court today, and very worried for her.’

‘She nearly fainted right in front of me!’ said Carton. ‘How could
I not notice? Anyway, enough of this. Didn’t you say earlier that you
want me to look at these papers with you tonight?’
He picked up the papers and started walking away towards Mr

Stryver’s office, closely followed by his friend.

15