[00:01.04] Chapter 5.
[00:03.49] A fresh life and old friends.
[00:07.79] I spent the next few days with my head in the clouds, overjoyed at my new life with Aunt Betsy and Mr. Dick.
[00:14.59] Then, one morning, Aunt Betsy said, Trotwood, we are off to Canterbury today to visit your new school.
[00:22.72] We will stop on the way at my solicitor's.
[00:25.93] Mr. Wickfield is someone whose opinion I greatly value.
[00:33.63] At the mention of school, memories of Salem House and Mr. Creakle spun through my mind.
[00:40.90] But I felt sure that Aunt Betsy would never send me to that kind of school.
[00:47.91] The door of Mr. Wickfield's house in Canterbury was opened by a bony, red-haired boy of about 15.
[00:57.72] His pale, resentful face seemed old for his years, and I couldn't help noticing that his red brown eyes had no eyelashes.
[01:10.36] Instinctively, I disliked the way he seemed to fawn on us, wringing his hands and smiling in a very unpleasant way.
[01:20.04] Uriah Heep, would you tell Mr. Wickfield we are here? asked my aunt as we went in.
[01:28.00] Mr. Wickfield had white hair and looked as if he had a lot on his mind, but he had a kind smile, and he was clearly very fond of my aunt.
[01:38.33] So, this is your great nephew, he asked.
[01:43.19] That's right, nodded Aunt Betsy.
[01:45.92] I would like you to come with me and choose a school for him, Mr. Wickfield.
[01:54.00] When the two of them returned, they were both full of praise for the school they'd visited.
[02:02.58] It'll be perfect for Trotwood, Aunt Betsy declared, but where can he live?
[02:10.45] He could lodge here with us, suggested Mr. Wickfield.
[02:17.65] I had already decided I liked Mr. Wickfield, with his gentle, gracious manner, and I was even more certain when I met his daughter, Agnes.
[02:29.60] She was so sweet natured and full of life, it was clear to me that we'd become very good friends.
[02:40.16] The next day, I started at my new school.
[02:44.19] It was as different from Salem House as good is from evil.
[02:51.60] While Mr. Creakle had been a violent bully, my new headmaster, Dr. Strong was kind and gentle.
[03:03.43] The school room was a large, well lit hall, and the sheltered gardens were full of peach trees.
[03:10.51] I knew immediately that I'd be very happy there.
[03:15.99] I was even happier at home with the Wickfields, but I still disliked Uriah Heap, the law student.
[03:25.62] There was something about him that made me very uncomfortable, and he was always staring at me with his pale eyes, as if he hated me too.
[03:38.26] Are you aiming to be Mr. Wickfield's partner in law when you've qualified?
[03:44.42] I asked him one evening.
[03:48.89] Uriah rubbed his pale hands together, and his body writhed in a most horrible way.
[03:59.14] Oh no, he oozed.
[04:03.81] I'm much too humble for a job like that.
[04:09.69] But you, Master Copperfield, are a gentleman.
[04:15.46] Maybe it will be you who becomes his legal partner.
[04:24.56] I shook my head.
[04:27.34] The thought hadn't even crossed my mind.
[04:34.90] I would be honored if you would come to have tea with my mother and I at our most humble home, he went on, bowing low.
[04:50.74] His invitation was such a surprise that I couldn't think of an excuse.
[04:58.95] And so, a couple of days later, I found myself sitting in Uriah's parlor with his mother.
[05:06.68] She seemed to writhe as she spoke, just like Uriah.
[05:14.26] We are so delighted you are sitting in our humble home, she weedled.
[05:23.02] Before I could speak, the two of them started firing questions at me.
[05:30.97] How long are you going to stay with the Wickfields?
[05:37.64] What do you know about Mr. Wickfield's law business?
[05:44.38] What do you think of his daughter, Agnes?
[05:51.55] They were like a pair of dentists pulling out a painful tooth.
[05:59.62] They managed to squeeze information out of me, and I told them a lot more than I meant to.
[06:09.55] I also realized that Uriah felt threatened by me.
[06:17.59] I guessed he really did want to be Mr. Wickfield's law partner, and saw me as his rival.
[06:28.73] Luckily, I was saved from any more of this grilling by a man outside.
[06:35.46] He walked past the house, looked in, doubled back, and strode inside.
[06:43.57] Copperfield? cried the man.
[06:47.73] Is it possible?
[06:50.99] I stared in amazement.
[06:54.27] It was Mr. Miba.
[06:59.27] I introduced him to Uriah and Mrs. Heap, and it seemed as though Mr. Miba would stand and talk forever.
[07:09.94] In the end I said, I can't wait to see Mrs. Miba again, and finally managed to steer him out of the house.
[07:20.42] I was delighted to escape.
[07:25.68] Mr. and Mrs. Miba treated me to a splendid supper that evening.
[07:33.76] But I was saddened to discover that they still owed a great deal of money.
[07:40.44] It didn't seem that their saving plans had been put into practice, and they owed even more after the supper.
[07:53.35] Later that night, I was sitting in my room, when who should I spot out of the window?
[08:03.52] It was Mr. Miba again.
[08:07.54] He was strolling along the pavement, very deep in conversation with Uriah Heap.
[08:17.38] A chill slid over my body.
[08:22.43] The more I thought about Uriah, the more uncomfortable I became.
[08:29.72] Was he plotting something?
[08:34.11] What did he want with Mr. Miba?