'And a very clever sharp gentleman he is,' said Mrs. Trump.
'With a tolerably good business, I suppose?' asked Crabwitz.
'Pretty fair for that, sir. But he do be turning his hand to everything. He's a mortal long family of his own, and he has need of it all, if it's ever so much. But he'll never be poor for the want of looking after it.'
But Mr. Dockwrath did not come near his lodger on the first evening, and Mr. Crabwitz made acquaintance with Mrs. Dockwrath before he saw her husband. The care of the fourteen children was not supposed to be so onerous but that she could find a moment now and then to see whether Mrs. Trump kept the furniture properly dusted, and did not infringe any of the Dockwrathian rules. These were very strict; and whenever they were broken it was on the head of Mrs. Dockwrath that the anger of the ruler mainly fell.
'I hope you find everything comfortable, sir,' said poor Miriam, having knocked at the sitting-room door when Crabwitz had just finished his dinner.
'Yes, thank you; very nice. Is that Mrs. Dockwrath?'
'Yes, sir. I'm Mrs. Dockwrath. As it's we who own the room I looked in to see if anything's wanting.'
'You are very kind. No; nothing is wanting. But I should be delighted to make your acquaintance if you would stay for a moment. Might I ask you to take a chair?' and Mr. Crabwitz handed her one.
'Thank you; no, sir. I won't intrude.'
'Not at all, Mrs. Dockwrath. But the fact is, I'm a lawyer myself, and I should be so glad to become known to your husband. I have heard a great deal of his name lately as to a rather famous case in which he is employed.'
'Not the Orley Farm case?' said Mrs. Dockwrath immediately.
'Yes, yes; exactly.'
'And is he going on with that, sir?' asked Mrs. Dockwrath with great interest.
'Is he not? I know nothing about it myself, but I always supposed that such was the case. If I had such a wife as you, Mrs. Dockwrath, I should not leave her in doubt as to what I was doing in my own profession.'
'I know nothing about it, Mr. Cooke;'—for it was as Mr. Cooke that he now sojourned at Hamworth. Not that it should be supposed he had received instructions from Mr. Furnival to come down to that place under a false name. From Mr. Furnival he had received no further instructions on that matter than those conveyed at the end of a previous chapter. 'I know nothing about it, Mr. Cooke; and don't want to know generally. But I am anxious about this Orley Farm case. I do hope that he's going to drop it.'
