Page 28 - A Tale of Two Cities

Charles smiled gratefully. ‘But before anything else, I would like
A Tale of Two Cities
you to know the truth about me. You will remember that I told you
before that the name Charles Darnay is not my own. I would like
now to tell you why that is and why I am in England.’

But to Charles’s surprise, the doctor put his hands over his ears.

‘Stop!’ he cried.
‘I wish to tell you, because I do not want to have any secrets from
you,’ said Charles.

‘Stop!’ the doctor said. ‘Tell me when I ask you, not now. If Lucie
agrees to marry you, then tell me on the morning of your wedding
day. Do you promise?’

Charles paused for a moment, looking at the doctor strangely. ‘I
do,’ he said at last.
‘Now go, Charles,’ said Doctor Manette. ‘Lucie will be home soon,
and it is best that she does not know about this tonight.’

Doctor Manette was troubled but when Lucie returned home he
explained what Charles Darnay had said during his visit. Lucie was
pleased to accept Charles’s offer.
Sydney Carton, like Charles, often visited the Manettes’ house,
but a cloud always hung over him, and Lucie had never felt very
comfortable in his presence. One day, however, when he looked
especially troubled, she decided to speak to him.
‘I am afraid you are not well, Mr Carton!’ she said.

‘No,’ Carton replied. ‘But the life I live does not keep me in good
health, Miss Manette. I am an intelligent man with a good heart, but
for some reason I cannot make myself do useful work. I eat poorly, I
sleep little, and I know that I am wasting my life.’

20