- Carton wanders through the streets of Paris, contemplating life.
- He’s trying to work out his plan in his mind. Finally, he decides it will be best if the Defarges know what he looks like.
- Accordingly, he scouts out the wine-shop in Saint Antoine.
- Once he finds it, he has dinner and takes a nap. At seven, he heads over to the wine-shop.
- Madame Defarge, of course, is sitting at the till.
- Carton heads over to the bar and asks for some wine.
- His French is suddenly really bad.
- Wait…didn’t he speak almost perfect French a few chapters ago? What’s going on here?
- Madame Defarge stares at him curiously and asks if he’s English.
- He says that he is.
- As she pours out the wine, he overhears her muttering to herself that he looks just like Evrémonde.
- Defarge enters the shop; he apparently thinks the same thing.
- He starts when he sees Carton at the counter, then walks over to confer with his wife.
- She and Jacques Three are discussing when the revolution will be over.
- Defarge notes that the violence will have to stop somewhere. The question, of course, is where.
- Madame Defarge has an answer to that: they’ll stop when all of the aristocrats are exterminated.
- Defarge doesn’t quite agree. After all, they all saw how Dr. Manette suffered when his son-in-law’s verdict was read.
- Come to think of it, Madame Defarge is not so sure that Dr. Manette is a true patriot.
- Defarge says Dr. Manette’s daughter, that sweet, innocent girl, was devastated by the trial today.
- Madame Defarge snaps at her husband. She’s been watching Lucie.
- In fact, all she has to do is lift her finger...and Lucie’s life would be over.
- Jacques Three thinks that Madame Defarge is magnificent.
- Apparently power (of any sort) always attracts followers.
- Madame Defarge goes on an angry tirade. As she says, she was with Defarge when he found Dr. Manette’s letter.
- Moreover, she is the younger sister of the woman who was raped and kidnapped.
- She’ll never stop pursuing her revenge against the Evrémondes.
- Her listeners are fascinated by the deadly heat of her wrath. Even Defarge stops trying to talk her into being merciful.
- Sydney Carton listens to all of the conversation, then leaves.
- It’s almost nine. He meets Mr. Lorry at his office.
- They wait until midnight, but Dr. Manette still doesn’t return.
- Finally, he walks into the office.
- He’s a broken man. He asks immediately where his workbench is: he’s been looking for it all afternoon.
- Dismayed, Mr. Lorry rushes to help him.
- Carton agrees that Dr. Manette should be taken to Lucie. Before he lets them go, though, he tells Mr. Lorry about the conversation he overheard.
- Lucie and Dr. Manette are no longer safe in Paris.
- Quickly, Carton lays out his plans: Mr. Lorry will gather money and traveling papers for the Manettes.
- He should also arrange for a coach to take them to the border.
- Carton hands Mr. Lorry his own traveling papers. He says that Mr. Lorry should only wait until Carton’s place in the coach is filled.
- As soon as that happens, the entire family must leave at once.
- He makes Mr. Lorry promise that they won’t stop for any reason.
- Once Mr. Lorry promises, Carton goes out into the night.