“Letters!” cried my aunt. “I believe he dreams in letters!”
“There’s Mr. Dick, too,” said Traddles, “has been doing wonders! As soon as he was released from overlooking Uriah Heep, whom he kept in such charge as I never saw exceeded, he began to devote himself to Mr. Wickfield. And really his anxiety to be of use in the investigations we have been making, and his real usefulness in extracting, and copying, and fetching, and carrying, have been quite stimulating to us.”
“Dick is a very remarkable man,” exclaimed my aunt; “and I always said he was. Trot, you know it!”
“I am happy to say, Miss Wickfield,” pursued Traddles, at once with great delicacy and with great earnestness, “that in your absence Mr. Wickfield has considerably improved. Relieved of the incubus that had fastened upon him for so long a time, and of the dreadful apprehensions under which he had lived, he is hardly the same person. At times, even his impaired power of concentrating his memory and attention on particular points of business, has recovered itself very much; and he has been able to assist us in making some things clear, that we should have found very difficult indeed, if not hopeless, without him. But, what I have to do is to come to results; which are short enough; not to gossip on all the hopeful circumstances I have observed, or I shall never have done.”
His natural manner and agreeable simplicity made it transparent that he said this to put us in good heart, and to enable Agnes to hear her father mentioned with greater confidence; but it was not the less pleasant for that.
“Now, let me see,” said Traddles, looking among the papers on the table. “Having counted our funds, and reduced to order a great mass
of unintentional confusion in the first place, and of wilful confusion and falsification in the second, we take it to be clear that Mr. Wickfield might now wind up his business, and his agency-trust, and exhibit no deficiency or defalcation whatever.”
“Oh, thank Heaven!” cried Agnes, fervently.
“But,” said Traddles, “the surplus that would be left as his means of support—and I suppose the house to be sold, even in saying this—would be so small, not exceeding in all probability some hundreds of pounds, that perhaps, Miss Wickfield, it would be best to consider whether he might not retain his agency of the estate to which he has so long been receiver. His friends might advise him, you know; now he is free. You yourself, Miss Wickfield—Copperfield—I—”
“I have considered it, Trotwood,” said Agnes, looking to me, “and I feel that it ought not to be, and must not be; even on the recommendation of a friend to whom I am so grateful, and owe so much.”