| [01:40.50] | Chapter 1 David Copperfield's childhood |
| [01:46.50] | I was born at Blunderstone,in Suffolk,in the east of England,and was given my poor father's name,David Copperfield. |
| [01:55.66] | Sadly,he never saw me He was much older than my mother when they married,and died six months before I was born. |
| [02:04.27] | My father's death made my beautiful young mother very unhappy, |
| [02:09.15] | and she knew she would find life extremely difficult with a new baby and no husband. |
| [02:15.41] | The richest and most important person in our family was my father's aunt,Miss Betsey Trotwood. |
| [02:23.69] | She had in fact been married once,to a handsome young husband. |
| [02:28.64] | But because he demanded money from her,and sometimes beat her,she decided they should separate. |
| [02:36.64] | He went abroad,and soon news came of his death. |
| [02:40.86] | Miss Trotwood bought a small house by the sea,and lived there alone,with only one servant. |
| [02:47.74] | She had not spoken to my father since his marriage,because she considered he had made a mistake in marrying a very young girl. |
| [02:56.74] | But just before I was born,when she heard that my mother was expecting a baby,she came to visit Blunder- stone. |
| [03:04.98] | It was a cold,windy Friday afternoon in March. |
| [03:09.63] | My mother was sitting by the fire,feeling very lonely and unhappy,and crying a little. |
| [03:16.09] | Suddenly a stern, strange-looking face appeared at the window. |
| [03:21.07] | "Open the door!" ordered the sternfaced lady. “ |
| [03:24.55] | My mother was shocked,but obeyed at once. |
| [03:27.60] | "You must be David Copper field's wife,"said the lady as she entered. “ |
| [03:32.69] | "I'm Betsey Trotwood. You've heard of me?" “ |
| [03:36.77] | "Yes，"whispered mother,trembling. "“ |
| [03:39.98] | How young you are!" cried Miss Betsey."Just a baby!" “ |
| [03:44.16] | My mother started sobbing again."I know I look like a child! |
| [03:49.51] | I know I was young to be a wife,and I'm young to be a mother! |
| [03:53.75] | But perhaps I'll die before I become a mother!" |
| [03:57.34] | "Come, come! answered Miss Betsey."Have some tea. “ |
| [04:00.95] | Then you'll feel better.What do you call your girl?" |
| [04:04.54] | "My girl?I don't know yet that it will be a girl,"replied my mother miserably. “ |
| [04:11.44] | "No,I don't mean the baby,I mean your servant!" “ |
| [04:13.97] | "Her name's Peggotty.Her first name's Clara,the same as mine, “ |
| [04:19.16] | so I call her by her family name,you see." |
| [04:22.17] | "What a terrible name!However,never mind. Peggotty!"she called,going to the door. “ |
| [04:29.11] | "Bring Mrs Copperfield some tea at once!" “ |
| [04:31.82] | She sat down again and continued speaking."You were talking about the baby.I'm sure it'll be a girl. |
| [04:39.92] | Now,as soon as she' s born..." "He,perhaps," said my mother bravely. |
| [04:46.02] | "Don' t be stupid,of course it'll be a she.I'm going to send her to school,and educate her well. “ |
| [04:52.97] | I want to prevent her from making the mistakes I've made in life." |
| [04:57.16] | Miss Betsey looked quite angry as she said this. |
| [05:00.85] | My mother said nothing,as she was not feeling at all well. |
| [05:04.87] | "But tell me,were you and your husband happy?"asked Miss Betsey. “ |
| [05:11.04] | This made my poor mother feel worse than ever." |
| [05:15.16] | "I know I wasn't very sensible—about money—or cooking—or things like that!" she sobbed. “ |
| [05:24.40] | "But we loved each other—and he was helping me to learn—and then he died!Oh!Oh!" “ |
| [05:32.82] | And she fell back in her chair,completely unconscious. |
| [05:37.64] | Peggotty,who came in just then with the tea,realized how serious the situation was,and took my mother upstairs to bed. |
| [05:46.56] | The doctor arrived soon afterwards,and stayed all evening to take care of his patient. |
| [05:52.82] | At about midnight he came downstairs to the sitting－room where Miss Betsey was waiting impatiently. |
| [06:00.30] | "Well,doctor, what's the news? How is she?" “ |
| [06:05.32] | "The young mother is quite comfortable,madam," replied the doctor politely. “ |
| [06:10.94] | "But she,the baby,how is she?" cried Miss Betsey. “ |
| [06:16.09] | The doctor looked strangely at Miss Betsey."It's a boy,madam," he replied. |
| [06:22.47] | Miss Betsey said nothing,but walked straight out of the house,and never came back. |
| [06:31.04] | That was how I was born. |
| [06:33.47] | My early childhood was extremely happy,as my beautiful mother and kind Peggotty took care of me. |
| [06:41.69] | But when I was about eight,a shadow passed over my happiness. |
| [06:46.42] | My mother often went out walking,in her best clothes,with a gentleman called Mr Murdstone. |
| [06:53.28] | He had black hair,a big black moustache and an unpleasant smile,and seemed to be very fond of my mother. |
| [07:01.43] | But I knew that Peggotty did not like him. |
| [07:04.50] | A few months later Peggotty told me that my mother was going to have a short holiday with some friends. |
| [07:11.97] | Meanwhile Peggotty and I would go to stay with her brother Daniel in Yarmouth，on the east coast,for two weeks. |
| [07:19.42] | I was very excited when we climbed into the cart,although it was sad saying goodbye to my mother. |
| [07:26.20] | Mr Murdstone was at her shoulder,waving goodbye,as the driver called to his horse,and we drove out of the village. |
| [07:35.24] | When we got down from the cart in Yarmouth,after our journey,Peggotty said,"That's the house,Master David!" |
| [07:43.88] | I looked all round,but could only see an old ship on the sand. |
| [07:49.90] | "Is that—that your brother's house?"I asked in delight. |
| [07:55.95] | And when we reached it,I saw it had doors and windows and a chimney,just like a real house. |
| [08:02.85] | I could not imagine a nicer place to live. Everything was clean and tidy,and smelt of fish. |
| [08:09.61] | Now I was introduced to the Peggotty family.There was Daniel Peggotty,a kind old sailor. |
| [08:17.37] | Although he was not married,he had adopted two orphans,who lived with him and called him Uncle. |
| [08:23.73] | Ham Peggotty was a large young man with a gentle smile,and Emily was a beautiful,blue-eyed little girl. |
| [08:32.04] | They all welcomed Peggotty and me warmly. |
| [08:35.86] | I spent a wonderfully happy two weeks there,playing all day on the beach with Emily,and sleeping in my own little bed on the ship. |
| [08:44.73] | I am sure I was in love with little Emily in my childish way,and I cried bitterly when we had to say goodbye at the end of the holiday. |
| [08:54.81] | But on the way home to Blunderstone,Peggotty looked at me very worriedly. |
| [09:01.31] | "Master David,my dear,"she said suddenly in a trembling voice. “ |
| [09:07.37] | "I must tell you—you'll have to know now... “ |
| [09:11.66] | While we've been away,your dear mother—has married Mr Murdstone!He's your stepfather now!" |
| [09:21.41] | I was deeply shocked. I could not understand how my mother could have married that man. |
| [09:29.01] | And when we arrived home,I could not help showing my mother how very miserable I was. |
| [09:35.44] | I went straight to my room and lay sobbing on my bed,which made my poor mother very unhappy too. |
| [09:43.30] | As she sat beside me,holding my hand,Mr Murdstone suddenly came in. |
| [09:50.75] | "What's this,Chara,my love?" he asked sternly. “ |
| [09:54.34] | "Remember，you?must?be firm with the boy!I've told you before,you're too weak with him!" “ |
| [10:01.42] | "Oh yes，Edward,I'm afraid you're right," my mother replied quickly."I'm very sorry.I'll try to be firmer with him." “ |
| [10:12.40] | And when she left the room,Mr Murdstone whispered angrily to me, |
| [10:18.14] | "David,do you know what I'll do if you don't obey me? I'll beat you like a dog!" “ |
| [10:25.20] | I was still very young,and I was very frightened of him. |
| [10:31.10] | If he had said one kind word to me,perhaps I would have liked and trusted him,and my life would have been different. |
| [10:39.05] | Instead,I hated him for the influence he had over my dear mother,who wanted to be kind to me,but also wanted to please her new husband. |
| [10:50.63] | That evening Mr Murdstone's sister arrived to "help" my mother in the house. |
| [10:56.65] | A tall dark lady,with a stern,frowning face,she looked and sounded very much like her brother. |
| [11:04.50] | I thought she was planning to stay with us for a long time,and I was right. |
| [11:09.87] | In fact,she intended to stay for ever. She started work the next morning. |
| [11:16.85] | "Now,Clara," she said firmly to my mother at breakfast,"I am here to help you. “ |
| [11:24.83] | You're much too pretty and thoughtless to worry about the servants,the food and so on. |
| [11:31.71] | So just hand me your keys to all the cupboards,and I'll take care of everything for you." |
| [11:38.88] | My poor mother just blushed,looked a little ashamed,and obeyed. |
| [11:45.84] | From then on,Miss Murdstone took complete control of the house,keeping the keys hanging from her waist as she hurried through the house, |
| [11:55.90] | checking that everything was being done just as she wished. |
| [01:40.50] | Chapter 1 David Copperfield' s childhood |
| [01:46.50] | I was born at Blunderstone, in Suffolk, in the east of England, and was given my poor father' s name, David Copperfield. |
| [01:55.66] | Sadly, he never saw me He was much older than my mother when they married, and died six months before I was born. |
| [02:04.27] | My father' s death made my beautiful young mother very unhappy, |
| [02:09.15] | and she knew she would find life extremely difficult with a new baby and no husband. |
| [02:15.41] | The richest and most important person in our family was my father' s aunt, Miss Betsey Trotwood. |
| [02:23.69] | She had in fact been married once, to a handsome young husband. |
| [02:28.64] | But because he demanded money from her, and sometimes beat her, she decided they should separate. |
| [02:36.64] | He went abroad, and soon news came of his death. |
| [02:40.86] | Miss Trotwood bought a small house by the sea, and lived there alone, with only one servant. |
| [02:47.74] | She had not spoken to my father since his marriage, because she considered he had made a mistake in marrying a very young girl. |
| [02:56.74] | But just before I was born, when she heard that my mother was expecting a baby, she came to visit Blunder stone. |
| [03:04.98] | It was a cold, windy Friday afternoon in March. |
| [03:09.63] | My mother was sitting by the fire, feeling very lonely and unhappy, and crying a little. |
| [03:16.09] | Suddenly a stern, strangelooking face appeared at the window. |
| [03:21.07] | " Open the door!" ordered the sternfaced lady. " |
| [03:24.55] | My mother was shocked, but obeyed at once. |
| [03:27.60] | " You must be David Copper field' s wife," said the lady as she entered. " |
| [03:32.69] | " I' m Betsey Trotwood. You' ve heard of me?" " |
| [03:36.77] | " Yes," whispered mother, trembling. "" |
| [03:39.98] | How young you are!" cried Miss Betsey." Just a baby!" " |
| [03:44.16] | My mother started sobbing again." I know I look like a child! |
| [03:49.51] | I know I was young to be a wife, and I' m young to be a mother! |
| [03:53.75] | But perhaps I' ll die before I become a mother!" |
| [03:57.34] | " Come, come! answered Miss Betsey." Have some tea. " |
| [04:00.95] | Then you' ll feel better. What do you call your girl?" |
| [04:04.54] | " My girl? I don' t know yet that it will be a girl," replied my mother miserably. " |
| [04:11.44] | " No, I don' t mean the baby, I mean your servant!" " |
| [04:13.97] | " Her name' s Peggotty. Her first name' s Clara, the same as mine, " |
| [04:19.16] | so I call her by her family name, you see." |
| [04:22.17] | " What a terrible name! However, never mind. Peggotty!" she called, going to the door. " |
| [04:29.11] | " Bring Mrs Copperfield some tea at once!" " |
| [04:31.82] | She sat down again and continued speaking." You were talking about the baby. I' m sure it' ll be a girl. |
| [04:39.92] | Now, as soon as she' s born..." " He, perhaps," said my mother bravely. |
| [04:46.02] | " Don' t be stupid, of course it' ll be a she. I' m going to send her to school, and educate her well. " |
| [04:52.97] | I want to prevent her from making the mistakes I' ve made in life." |
| [04:57.16] | Miss Betsey looked quite angry as she said this. |
| [05:00.85] | My mother said nothing, as she was not feeling at all well. |
| [05:04.87] | " But tell me, were you and your husband happy?" asked Miss Betsey. " |
| [05:11.04] | This made my poor mother feel worse than ever." |
| [05:15.16] | " I know I wasn' t very sensible about money or cooking or things like that!" she sobbed. " |
| [05:24.40] | " But we loved each other and he was helping me to learn and then he died! Oh! Oh!" " |
| [05:32.82] | And she fell back in her chair, completely unconscious. |
| [05:37.64] | Peggotty, who came in just then with the tea, realized how serious the situation was, and took my mother upstairs to bed. |
| [05:46.56] | The doctor arrived soon afterwards, and stayed all evening to take care of his patient. |
| [05:52.82] | At about midnight he came downstairs to the sitting room where Miss Betsey was waiting impatiently. |
| [06:00.30] | " Well, doctor, what' s the news? How is she?" " |
| [06:05.32] | " The young mother is quite comfortable, madam," replied the doctor politely. " |
| [06:10.94] | " But she, the baby, how is she?" cried Miss Betsey. " |
| [06:16.09] | The doctor looked strangely at Miss Betsey." It' s a boy, madam," he replied. |
| [06:22.47] | Miss Betsey said nothing, but walked straight out of the house, and never came back. |
| [06:31.04] | That was how I was born. |
| [06:33.47] | My early childhood was extremely happy, as my beautiful mother and kind Peggotty took care of me. |
| [06:41.69] | But when I was about eight, a shadow passed over my happiness. |
| [06:46.42] | My mother often went out walking, in her best clothes, with a gentleman called Mr Murdstone. |
| [06:53.28] | He had black hair, a big black moustache and an unpleasant smile, and seemed to be very fond of my mother. |
| [07:01.43] | But I knew that Peggotty did not like him. |
| [07:04.50] | A few months later Peggotty told me that my mother was going to have a short holiday with some friends. |
| [07:11.97] | Meanwhile Peggotty and I would go to stay with her brother Daniel in Yarmouth, on the east coast, for two weeks. |
| [07:19.42] | I was very excited when we climbed into the cart, although it was sad saying goodbye to my mother. |
| [07:26.20] | Mr Murdstone was at her shoulder, waving goodbye, as the driver called to his horse, and we drove out of the village. |
| [07:35.24] | When we got down from the cart in Yarmouth, after our journey, Peggotty said," That' s the house, Master David!" |
| [07:43.88] | I looked all round, but could only see an old ship on the sand. |
| [07:49.90] | " Is that that your brother' s house?" I asked in delight. |
| [07:55.95] | And when we reached it, I saw it had doors and windows and a chimney, just like a real house. |
| [08:02.85] | I could not imagine a nicer place to live. Everything was clean and tidy, and smelt of fish. |
| [08:09.61] | Now I was introduced to the Peggotty family. There was Daniel Peggotty, a kind old sailor. |
| [08:17.37] | Although he was not married, he had adopted two orphans, who lived with him and called him Uncle. |
| [08:23.73] | Ham Peggotty was a large young man with a gentle smile, and Emily was a beautiful, blueeyed little girl. |
| [08:32.04] | They all welcomed Peggotty and me warmly. |
| [08:35.86] | I spent a wonderfully happy two weeks there, playing all day on the beach with Emily, and sleeping in my own little bed on the ship. |
| [08:44.73] | I am sure I was in love with little Emily in my childish way, and I cried bitterly when we had to say goodbye at the end of the holiday. |
| [08:54.81] | But on the way home to Blunderstone, Peggotty looked at me very worriedly. |
| [09:01.31] | " Master David, my dear," she said suddenly in a trembling voice. " |
| [09:07.37] | " I must tell you you' ll have to know now... " |
| [09:11.66] | While we' ve been away, your dear mother has married Mr Murdstone! He' s your stepfather now!" |
| [09:21.41] | I was deeply shocked. I could not understand how my mother could have married that man. |
| [09:29.01] | And when we arrived home, I could not help showing my mother how very miserable I was. |
| [09:35.44] | I went straight to my room and lay sobbing on my bed, which made my poor mother very unhappy too. |
| [09:43.30] | As she sat beside me, holding my hand, Mr Murdstone suddenly came in. |
| [09:50.75] | " What' s this, Chara, my love?" he asked sternly. " |
| [09:54.34] | " Remember, you? must? be firm with the boy! I' ve told you before, you' re too weak with him!" " |
| [10:01.42] | " Oh yes, Edward, I' m afraid you' re right," my mother replied quickly." I' m very sorry. I' ll try to be firmer with him." " |
| [10:12.40] | And when she left the room, Mr Murdstone whispered angrily to me, |
| [10:18.14] | " David, do you know what I' ll do if you don' t obey me? I' ll beat you like a dog!" " |
| [10:25.20] | I was still very young, and I was very frightened of him. |
| [10:31.10] | If he had said one kind word to me, perhaps I would have liked and trusted him, and my life would have been different. |
| [10:39.05] | Instead, I hated him for the influence he had over my dear mother, who wanted to be kind to me, but also wanted to please her new husband. |
| [10:50.63] | That evening Mr Murdstone' s sister arrived to " help" my mother in the house. |
| [10:56.65] | A tall dark lady, with a stern, frowning face, she looked and sounded very much like her brother. |
| [11:04.50] | I thought she was planning to stay with us for a long time, and I was right. |
| [11:09.87] | In fact, she intended to stay for ever. She started work the next morning. |
| [11:16.85] | " Now, Clara," she said firmly to my mother at breakfast," I am here to help you. " |
| [11:24.83] | You' re much too pretty and thoughtless to worry about the servants, the food and so on. |
| [11:31.71] | So just hand me your keys to all the cupboards, and I' ll take care of everything for you." |
| [11:38.88] | My poor mother just blushed, looked a little ashamed, and obeyed. |
| [11:45.84] | From then on, Miss Murdstone took complete control of the house, keeping the keys hanging from her waist as she hurried through the house, |
| [11:55.90] | checking that everything was being done just as she wished. |
| [01:40.50] | Chapter 1 David Copperfield' s childhood |
| [01:46.50] | I was born at Blunderstone, in Suffolk, in the east of England, and was given my poor father' s name, David Copperfield. |
| [01:55.66] | Sadly, he never saw me He was much older than my mother when they married, and died six months before I was born. |
| [02:04.27] | My father' s death made my beautiful young mother very unhappy, |
| [02:09.15] | and she knew she would find life extremely difficult with a new baby and no husband. |
| [02:15.41] | The richest and most important person in our family was my father' s aunt, Miss Betsey Trotwood. |
| [02:23.69] | She had in fact been married once, to a handsome young husband. |
| [02:28.64] | But because he demanded money from her, and sometimes beat her, she decided they should separate. |
| [02:36.64] | He went abroad, and soon news came of his death. |
| [02:40.86] | Miss Trotwood bought a small house by the sea, and lived there alone, with only one servant. |
| [02:47.74] | She had not spoken to my father since his marriage, because she considered he had made a mistake in marrying a very young girl. |
| [02:56.74] | But just before I was born, when she heard that my mother was expecting a baby, she came to visit Blunder stone. |
| [03:04.98] | It was a cold, windy Friday afternoon in March. |
| [03:09.63] | My mother was sitting by the fire, feeling very lonely and unhappy, and crying a little. |
| [03:16.09] | Suddenly a stern, strangelooking face appeared at the window. |
| [03:21.07] | " Open the door!" ordered the sternfaced lady. " |
| [03:24.55] | My mother was shocked, but obeyed at once. |
| [03:27.60] | " You must be David Copper field' s wife," said the lady as she entered. " |
| [03:32.69] | " I' m Betsey Trotwood. You' ve heard of me?" " |
| [03:36.77] | " Yes," whispered mother, trembling. "" |
| [03:39.98] | How young you are!" cried Miss Betsey." Just a baby!" " |
| [03:44.16] | My mother started sobbing again." I know I look like a child! |
| [03:49.51] | I know I was young to be a wife, and I' m young to be a mother! |
| [03:53.75] | But perhaps I' ll die before I become a mother!" |
| [03:57.34] | " Come, come! answered Miss Betsey." Have some tea. " |
| [04:00.95] | Then you' ll feel better. What do you call your girl?" |
| [04:04.54] | " My girl? I don' t know yet that it will be a girl," replied my mother miserably. " |
| [04:11.44] | " No, I don' t mean the baby, I mean your servant!" " |
| [04:13.97] | " Her name' s Peggotty. Her first name' s Clara, the same as mine, " |
| [04:19.16] | so I call her by her family name, you see." |
| [04:22.17] | " What a terrible name! However, never mind. Peggotty!" she called, going to the door. " |
| [04:29.11] | " Bring Mrs Copperfield some tea at once!" " |
| [04:31.82] | She sat down again and continued speaking." You were talking about the baby. I' m sure it' ll be a girl. |
| [04:39.92] | Now, as soon as she' s born..." " He, perhaps," said my mother bravely. |
| [04:46.02] | " Don' t be stupid, of course it' ll be a she. I' m going to send her to school, and educate her well. " |
| [04:52.97] | I want to prevent her from making the mistakes I' ve made in life." |
| [04:57.16] | Miss Betsey looked quite angry as she said this. |
| [05:00.85] | My mother said nothing, as she was not feeling at all well. |
| [05:04.87] | " But tell me, were you and your husband happy?" asked Miss Betsey. " |
| [05:11.04] | This made my poor mother feel worse than ever." |
| [05:15.16] | " I know I wasn' t very sensible about money or cooking or things like that!" she sobbed. " |
| [05:24.40] | " But we loved each other and he was helping me to learn and then he died! Oh! Oh!" " |
| [05:32.82] | And she fell back in her chair, completely unconscious. |
| [05:37.64] | Peggotty, who came in just then with the tea, realized how serious the situation was, and took my mother upstairs to bed. |
| [05:46.56] | The doctor arrived soon afterwards, and stayed all evening to take care of his patient. |
| [05:52.82] | At about midnight he came downstairs to the sitting room where Miss Betsey was waiting impatiently. |
| [06:00.30] | " Well, doctor, what' s the news? How is she?" " |
| [06:05.32] | " The young mother is quite comfortable, madam," replied the doctor politely. " |
| [06:10.94] | " But she, the baby, how is she?" cried Miss Betsey. " |
| [06:16.09] | The doctor looked strangely at Miss Betsey." It' s a boy, madam," he replied. |
| [06:22.47] | Miss Betsey said nothing, but walked straight out of the house, and never came back. |
| [06:31.04] | That was how I was born. |
| [06:33.47] | My early childhood was extremely happy, as my beautiful mother and kind Peggotty took care of me. |
| [06:41.69] | But when I was about eight, a shadow passed over my happiness. |
| [06:46.42] | My mother often went out walking, in her best clothes, with a gentleman called Mr Murdstone. |
| [06:53.28] | He had black hair, a big black moustache and an unpleasant smile, and seemed to be very fond of my mother. |
| [07:01.43] | But I knew that Peggotty did not like him. |
| [07:04.50] | A few months later Peggotty told me that my mother was going to have a short holiday with some friends. |
| [07:11.97] | Meanwhile Peggotty and I would go to stay with her brother Daniel in Yarmouth, on the east coast, for two weeks. |
| [07:19.42] | I was very excited when we climbed into the cart, although it was sad saying goodbye to my mother. |
| [07:26.20] | Mr Murdstone was at her shoulder, waving goodbye, as the driver called to his horse, and we drove out of the village. |
| [07:35.24] | When we got down from the cart in Yarmouth, after our journey, Peggotty said," That' s the house, Master David!" |
| [07:43.88] | I looked all round, but could only see an old ship on the sand. |
| [07:49.90] | " Is that that your brother' s house?" I asked in delight. |
| [07:55.95] | And when we reached it, I saw it had doors and windows and a chimney, just like a real house. |
| [08:02.85] | I could not imagine a nicer place to live. Everything was clean and tidy, and smelt of fish. |
| [08:09.61] | Now I was introduced to the Peggotty family. There was Daniel Peggotty, a kind old sailor. |
| [08:17.37] | Although he was not married, he had adopted two orphans, who lived with him and called him Uncle. |
| [08:23.73] | Ham Peggotty was a large young man with a gentle smile, and Emily was a beautiful, blueeyed little girl. |
| [08:32.04] | They all welcomed Peggotty and me warmly. |
| [08:35.86] | I spent a wonderfully happy two weeks there, playing all day on the beach with Emily, and sleeping in my own little bed on the ship. |
| [08:44.73] | I am sure I was in love with little Emily in my childish way, and I cried bitterly when we had to say goodbye at the end of the holiday. |
| [08:54.81] | But on the way home to Blunderstone, Peggotty looked at me very worriedly. |
| [09:01.31] | " Master David, my dear," she said suddenly in a trembling voice. " |
| [09:07.37] | " I must tell you you' ll have to know now... " |
| [09:11.66] | While we' ve been away, your dear mother has married Mr Murdstone! He' s your stepfather now!" |
| [09:21.41] | I was deeply shocked. I could not understand how my mother could have married that man. |
| [09:29.01] | And when we arrived home, I could not help showing my mother how very miserable I was. |
| [09:35.44] | I went straight to my room and lay sobbing on my bed, which made my poor mother very unhappy too. |
| [09:43.30] | As she sat beside me, holding my hand, Mr Murdstone suddenly came in. |
| [09:50.75] | " What' s this, Chara, my love?" he asked sternly. " |
| [09:54.34] | " Remember, you? must? be firm with the boy! I' ve told you before, you' re too weak with him!" " |
| [10:01.42] | " Oh yes, Edward, I' m afraid you' re right," my mother replied quickly." I' m very sorry. I' ll try to be firmer with him." " |
| [10:12.40] | And when she left the room, Mr Murdstone whispered angrily to me, |
| [10:18.14] | " David, do you know what I' ll do if you don' t obey me? I' ll beat you like a dog!" " |
| [10:25.20] | I was still very young, and I was very frightened of him. |
| [10:31.10] | If he had said one kind word to me, perhaps I would have liked and trusted him, and my life would have been different. |
| [10:39.05] | Instead, I hated him for the influence he had over my dear mother, who wanted to be kind to me, but also wanted to please her new husband. |
| [10:50.63] | That evening Mr Murdstone' s sister arrived to " help" my mother in the house. |
| [10:56.65] | A tall dark lady, with a stern, frowning face, she looked and sounded very much like her brother. |
| [11:04.50] | I thought she was planning to stay with us for a long time, and I was right. |
| [11:09.87] | In fact, she intended to stay for ever. She started work the next morning. |
| [11:16.85] | " Now, Clara," she said firmly to my mother at breakfast," I am here to help you. " |
| [11:24.83] | You' re much too pretty and thoughtless to worry about the servants, the food and so on. |
| [11:31.71] | So just hand me your keys to all the cupboards, and I' ll take care of everything for you." |
| [11:38.88] | My poor mother just blushed, looked a little ashamed, and obeyed. |
| [11:45.84] | From then on, Miss Murdstone took complete control of the house, keeping the keys hanging from her waist as she hurried through the house, |
| [11:55.90] | checking that everything was being done just as she wished. |
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