Page 33 - A Tale of Two Cities

‘I think it would be better for him – and for his daughter – if they
were gone, and then the fear might go with them,’ said Mr Lorry,
more strongly now.

There was a pause, and then the doctor said, ‘For his daughter
then – but I think it would be better if they were removed when he
is not at home.’ For the next few days, the doctor remained perfectly
well. When the time came, he went away to join Lucie and Charles
in Wales. That night, Mr Lorry went into the doctor’s room with a
hammer and broke the shoemaking bench into pieces. He buried the
tools and half-made shoes in the garden.
Lucie, Charles and Doctor Manette returned home and the bench
was soon forgotten in the simple pleasures of a happy family life.
The house was always sunny with laughter, and when the Darnays’
daughter, little Lucie, was born, new sounds of happiness began to
fill its rooms.

One of the family’s visitors was a surprising favourite with little
Lucie: Sydney Carton was the first stranger who she reached out to

with her little arms. Her mother noticed this and was touched by it,
and when Charles Darnay laughed unthinkingly one evening about
Carton’s carelessness and lazy manner, she was troubled.
‘May I ask you, dearest,’ she said to Charles, ‘to always be very
generous with Mr Carton? He cares very deeply for our family. His
life has not gone the way he hoped, but I am sure that he could do
good things, even great things. And remember how strong we are in
our happiness, and how weak he is in his misery!’
Charles was touched by the pity in his wife. ‘I will always
remember it, dear Lucie,’ he said. ‘As long as I live.’

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