Bleak House

Woodcourt visits Bleak House with the news of Tulkinghorn’s murder. Esther immediately remembers how much Lady Dedlock feared the lawyer. George stands accused of the murder, Woodcourt says, and Jarndyce and Esther are in disbelief. However, the evidence is compelling. They visit George in prison. Despite Jarndyce’s recommendation, George insists that he will have “no lawyer.” He says that he would rather defend himself than be defended by a lawyer who did not believe in his innocence. The Bagnets are similarly insistent that George should not defend himself. As she leaves, Esther is shocked by George’s comment that on the night of the murder, he saw someone who resembled her on the way out of Tulkinghorn’s office. Later, Mrs. Bagnet talks about George’s relatives. He has a family, but they think he is dead, so she tells Jarndyce, Woodcourt, and Esther that she will find George’s mother. She leaves immediately for Lincolnshire.

Bucket is considering something, dragging his “fat forefinger” around his face while he thinks. He is so absorbed in thought that he ignores his wife, even though she is a consummate detective in her own right.

Tulkinghorn’s funeral is not well attended; most of his family members predeceased him. Bucket says goodbye to his wife and joins the funeral procession just outside his house. He leaves quickly and visits Sir Leicester, using his own key to enter the house. Several letters are waiting for him in the care of the servant named Mercury. Each letter bears Lady Dedlock’s name and nothing else. Bucket compares the letters’ handwriting to other samples scattered around the house.

Sir Leicester, who is in London for the funeral, speaks to Bucket about the case that evening. Bucket has no new information. Sir Leicester is deeply affected by the death of Tulkinghorn, but Bucket assures him that they will solve the case soon. He then speaks to a servant, Mercury, about the night of the murder and compels him to admit that Lady Dedlock went out alone, wearing a black veil.

The next day, Bucket visits Sir Leicester in the latter’s London office, locking the door to ensure that they can talk in private. He reveals that a woman murdered Tulkinghorn. He prepares Sir Leicester for a “shock,” explaining how Tulkinghorn learned that Lady Dedlock had a child out of wedlock. Sir Leicester is overwhelmed. He does not know why Tulkinghorn would keep a secret from him. Noises from outside the office indicate that they are no longer alone. Bucket suspects that the secret has got out. He opens the door and Mrs. Snagsby, Mr. Chadband, Mrs. Chadband, and Grandfather Smallweed all enter.

Smallweed talks about the handwriting samples he found in Krook’s shop, which matched those of Captain Hawdon. Grandfather Smallweed insists that the murder of Tulkinghorn warrants further investigation and that George must be innocent; he knows about Lady Dedlock’s affair and implies that he wants Sir Leicester to pay him off to keep it a secret. Bucket makes it clear that he—not Smallweed—is in charge of the murder investigation but tries to bargain with Smallweed on the matter of payment. Mrs. Chadband (Rachael) reveals that she helped raise Lady Dedlock’s secret daughter, even after Lady Dedlock’s sister claimed the child had died. She and her husband also want money. Mrs. Snagsby disrupts the conversation with a series of accusations against her husband that are based entirely on misunderstandings. The people are ushered out of Sir Leicester’s home with Bucket promising to address their claims the following day.

Bucket announces his plan to arrest Tulkinghorn’s murderer. In an elaborate scheme, he ushers Hortense into the room and then announces that she is being taken “into custody on a charge of murder” (761). Though he tells her to be quiet, she curses him violently. Crediting his wife’s part in his scheme, Bucket tells Sir Leicester that he took Hortense into his home as a lodger after she argued with Tulkinghorn and Snagsby. When he found Hortense making friends with his wife, Bucket suspected her guilt. He laid a trap by feeding Hortense false information via his wife. He soon discovered that Hortense was posting him letters accusing Lady Dedlock of the murder. After Tulkinghorn’s funeral, Hortense visited the countryside. There, she disposed of the murder weapon. Mrs. Bucket had covertly followed Hortense, so Bucket later went and retrieved the pistol. Now that he has all the evidence he needs, he arrests Hortense and leads her away. Left alone, Sir Leicester “gazes round the empty room” (768), sadly reflecting on his wife and her pain before collapsing.

Before Bucket’s meeting with Sir Leicester and before Hortense’s arrest, Mrs. Rouncewell and Mrs. Bagnet travel to London. Mrs. Bagnet has solved the mystery of George’s family: George is Mrs. Rouncewell’s son, presumed dead. Now, Mrs. Bagnet hopes that Mrs. Rouncewell will persuade George to accept legal help. She takes Mrs. Rouncewell to the prison, where George apologizes for letting his mother believe that he was dead. She forgives him easily. He admits that his brother’s success embarrassed him and asks her to keep his identity a secret from his brother. Before the women leave, George mentions that he has been writing a statement about his experiences in the Tulkinghorn murder.

Mrs. Rouncewell returns to Chesney Wold. Lady Dedlock is in Tulkinghorn’s old room when Mrs. Rouncewell finds her. Mrs. Rouncewell discusses Tulkinghorn’s murder and begs Lady Dedlock to help prove her son’s innocence. In the course of the conversation, she mentions a letter she received the previous day. She promises not to discuss the letter with anyone but asks Lady Dedlock to come forward with anything she knows. After Mrs. Rouncewell leaves, Lady Dedlock reads the letter. The letter describes Lady Dedlock as the murderer.

Shortly afterward, Mr. Guppy visits the home and discusses how Esther told him not to investigate her past. Then he asks whether Lady Dedlock has received any “strange visitors,” such as Snagsby, Mrs. Chadband, or Grandfather Smallweed. When Lady Dedlock insists that she has not seen them, he warns her that they may have the letters that link Nemo to Captain Hawdon and to her. They may try to extort her. Believing that she can no longer keep her secret, Lady Dedlock dismisses Guppy and writes a note for her husband that insists that she is innocent of Tulkinghorn’s murder. Then, as “her shame, her dread, remorse, and misery, overwhelm her” (783), she runs away from Chesney Wold. 

In London, Sir Leicester’s cousin Volumnia enters Sir Leicester’s library and finds him collapsed on the floor. Her screams bring the servants; they rouse Sir Leicester, but he can barely speak and must communicate through written notes. He asks about his wife, and the doctors assure him that she has simply gone out and does not know her husband is sick. Mrs. Rouncewell brings the letter written by Lady Dedlock for her husband. Sir Leicester summons Bucket and tells the detective that he forgives his wife and that he would like Bucket to find her. On his way out, Bucket assures Mrs. Rouncewell that she “needn’t be distressed no more” about George (788).

Bucket performs an examination of Lady Dedlock’s rooms. He finds a handkerchief embroidered with Esther’s name, so he rushes to get Esther’s address from George, remembering that Esther was present at George’s shooting gallery when Gridley died. Having obtained Jarndyce’s London address, he races to the house. There, he finds Jarndyce and shows him the letter that hints that Lady Dedlock may be at risk of suicide. Bucket asks Jarndyce to ask Esther to help him find Lady Dedlock. As Bucket waits for Esther, he sees “the figure of a woman” in the distance (792), walking between the brick kilns.

Jarndyce wakes Esther. She accepts Bucket’s request to help locate Lady Dedlock. Bucket questions her about Lady Dedlock’s associates. Esther says that Boythorn has a connection to her mother that he is unaware of. At a police station, Bucket issues instructions and then resumes his journey. As they progress, they make several stops. During these stops, Bucket talks to “a mixture of police and sailors” (795). At one stop, he examines the bodies of people found drowned in the Thames, but he does not find Lady Dedlock. At another stop, Bucket brings Esther a warm cup of tea and news that Lady Dedlock passed through the area earlier that day. On the way to Bleak House, Bucket admits that he was the person who took Jo away from Esther’s care. At Bleak House, Bucket questions the visiting Skimpole, whom he refers to as a “singular character.” He confesses that he bribed Skimpole for Jo’s location. Esther notes Skimpole’s latest “treacherous” act. No one at Bleak House can provide any information about Lady Dedlock.

Bucket and Esther check the surrounding area. They visit the cottage occupied by Liz, Jenny, and their husbands. Jenny is not present, but Liz seems to want to talk to Esther in private, away from the violent husbands. Jenny, her “surly” husband says, went to London. Liz tries to answer Esther’s questions, but her husband threatens to “break [her] neck” (803). However, Jenny’s husband admits that a woman passed through and asked Jenny for the embroidered handkerchief. Bucket and Esther leave; Bucket notes that the brickmakers had Lady Dedlock’s watch, which they must have received in exchange for something. They continue their search in the snow, which causes Bucket to lose his trail. They stop at an inn, where Esther faints and must be nursed back to health by the owner and her daughters. Bucket has a revelation and orders the driver of their carriage to head back to London. He says that they will follow Jenny.

Rumors regarding Lady Dedlock’s location seem to contradict one another. Sir Leicester remains ill in bed, but by the morning, he “can speak a little, though with difficulty and indistinctness” (813). He tells Mrs. Rouncewell to prepare Lady Dedlock’s rooms in anticipation of her arrival. Quietly, Mrs. Rouncewell tells George that she does not believe Lady Dedlock will come home, whether to Chesney Wold or to anywhere else. She fears that “the great old Dedlock family is breaking up” (814). Lady Dedlock’s rooms are prepared nonetheless while Volumnia sits at Sir Leicester’s bedside. She praises Mrs. Rouncewell and George, prompting Mrs. Rouncewell to tell her employer that her long-lost son has “come home.” Sir Leicester asks to see George, who helps Sir Leicester to sit up comfortably in his bed. Sir Leicester describes his health, seemingly suggesting that he has had a stroke. Concerned that another stroke may leave him unable to communicate, he tells George, Mrs. Rouncewell, and Volumnia that he still loves Lady Dedlock and is not angry with her. He lies down in the bed, and George sits at his side. As the day ends, Sir Leicester refuses to abandon his hope that his wife will soon return. Mrs. Rouncewell and George stay up as everyone else retires to bed. George walks the corridors of the house and runs into Volumnia, who confesses that she fears for her financial situation if her cousin dies. George convinces her to go to sleep.

Esther and Bucket pull into London in the early hours of the morning. Bucket assures Esther that they have not abandoned the search for Lady Dedlock. Their journey continues, as do Bucket’s regular stops to chat and talk to local police officers. Finally, he stops the carriage and announces that they must “walk a little way” (827). At Chancery Lane, they are joined by the passing Woodcourt, who reveals that Richard’s health is questionable.

At Snagsby’s house, a girl is loudly sobbing. Bucket says this is Guster and questions her for information. While Woodcourt and Snagsby fetch Guster, Bucket criticizes Mrs. Snagsby for her paranoia and jealousy. Woodcourt appears with a letter; Esther confirms that the writing belongs to Lady Dedlock. In the letter, Lady Dedlock admits to receiving help from Jenny and says that she must “die of terror and [her] conscience” (833). Guster says that the letter was given to her by a woman heading toward the “poor burying ground” (835). Bucket, Esther, and Woodcourt rush to the graveyard. They spot a woman on the ground in front of Captain Hawdon’s grave. At first, Esther suspects this is Jenny. However, Bucket reveals that Jenny and Lady Dedlock exchanged clothes to throw off pursuers. Confused, Esther approaches the woman. The woman is Lady Dedlock. She is dead.

Esther does not want to dwell on her sadness. After finding Lady Dedlock, she says that she was sick a short while. She stayed in London and was helped by Woodcourt’s mother. Jarndyce hoped that being near Ada in London would help Esther’s recovery. Richard remains estranged from Jarndyce, but Jarndyce is still concerned about Richard and Ada. Jarndyce asks Esther about Mrs. Woodcourt; Esther says that she is “more agreeable than she used to be” (840), but she does not understand the purpose of Jarndyce’s questions. Jarndyce says that Woodcourt may take a job in Yorkshire rather than return to sea.

Esther and Ada see each other every day. Richard is greatly changed, and Vholes is now entirely in charge of Richard’s finances. Esther worries that Ada does not comprehend the degree to which Richard is destroying himself. Miss Flite puts Richard in charge of her estate. Since she is old and he spends so much time at the court, he seems to be her best option. However, she does not like Vholes. Esther has dinner with Ada and Richard. They are joined by Vholes, who admits privately to Esther that his financial interests—and, by extension, Richard’s interests—are “in a very bad way” (847). After Vholes’s departure, the overwrought way in which Richard praises him makes Esther think that he has come to doubt his advisor. Woodcourt visits and takes Richard on a private walk. While they are alone, Ada confesses to Esther that she knew exactly what would happen when she married Richard. She had hoped to influence her husband for the better. Now, she is pregnant. She had hoped the news might prompt Richard to change, but she is now terrified that her husband will die before the child is born.