Page 26 - A Tale of Two Cities

Mr Lorry was not the only visitor who was often at the Manettes’
A Tale of Two Cities
house these days. Charles Darnay was now working in England
as a teacher of French, and living in Cambridge and in London.
However, he was living with a secret. He had told the Manettes

when he first met them that he was not actually called Darnay, but
he had not said why he kept his real name hidden.

Charles Darnay was a French aristocrat and since the recent death
of his uncle, he had become the Marquis of Evrémonde, and owner
of the Evrémonde Castle. But Charles was deeply ashamed of the
way his father and uncle had lived, taking land and money from
the poor. They had been hated by the local people, to whom they
showed no kindness or pity. His father had died some years before,
and his uncle had been murdered after driving his coach through a
crowd of people and killing a young child.
Before Charles’s dear mother had died, she had begged Charles
to live well and kindly, and to make amends for the cruelty of her
husband and his brother. So, after the death of his uncle, Charles had
decided to start a new life in England, and to make his money by
working.
Charles had asked one of the important people of his village, a
man called Gabelle, to take control of the castle for him, and he had
told him to charge no rent to the people, and to ask for only the
smallest taxes possible. He had turned his back on France, where he
saw only hunger, injustice and suffering.

Charles had admired Lucie Manette from the moment he fi rst saw
her. He had never heard so much gentle kindness as he did in her
sweet voice, or seen a face so beautiful.

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