Page 46 - A Tale of Two Cities
P. 46
The man led Charles out of the office and through the gates into
A Tale of Two Cities
the city.
‘I have heard about you,’ he said in a low voice. ‘Is it true that you
married the daughter of Doctor Manette, who was once a prisoner in
the Bastille?’
‘Yes,’ said Charles, looking at him with surprise.
‘My name is Defarge, and I have a café in Saint Antoine. You have
perhaps heard of me?’
‘My wife came to your house to find her father? Yes! She has told
me about you,’ said Charles.
‘Why did you come to France at this time?’ said Defarge.
‘You heard me say why, a minute ago,’ said Charles.
‘It was a bad decision,’ said Defarge.
‘Everything here has changed so much, I feel lost,’ said Charles.
‘Will you give me some help?’
‘None,’ said Defarge.
‘It is very important for me to tell my friend, Mr Lorry, an
Englishman who is now in Paris, that I have been taken to the prison
of La Force. Will you do that for me?’
‘I will do nothing for you,’ said Defarge. ‘My duty is to my
country and the people, against you.’
They continued forward in silence. Charles noticed that the
people were very used to the sight of an aristocrat on his way to
prison. He knew now that he had fallen among far greater dangers
than he had imagined.
‘If I had known in England what to expect,’ he thought sadly to
himself, ‘I would not have made this journey.’
A few nights after this, Mr Lorry was in his room at the Paris
office of Tellson’s Bank when the door suddenly opened and a group
of figures rushed in. At the sight of them he almost fell back into
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