Our Mutual Friend

Later, Riah visits Jenny Wren. She tells Riah about her father’s recent drinking and says that she feels “solitary and helpless” without Lizzie (435). They visit Abbey together and show her the letter that exculpates Gaffer Hexam, as Lizzie asked them to do. Abbey realizes that she judged Hexam incorrectly and says Lizzie will always be welcome in her pub. The conversation is interrupted when a body found in the river is brought into the pub. Abbey identifies the man as Riderhood and sends messages to his family and to the doctor.

A witness explains that Riderhood’s boat collided with a passing steamer. The doctor believes that he may be able to save Riderhood, who wakes up shortly after Pleasant arrives. Any “sympathy and interest” for Riderhood predicated on his assumed death is quickly forgotten once he wakes up (445). People begin to dislike him again.

When the Wilfers celebrate their wedding anniversary, Bella goes back home. The day is marked by difficulty and awkwardness, including the presence of a man named George Sampson. Walking with her father, Bella tells him that Sampson proposed to marry her. She turned him down, as she is still concerned with amassing as great a fortune as possible. Now George is spending time with her sister, Lavinia. Bella also confides that she has noticed a change in Boffin. She sees Boffin be very rude to his secretary in front of Mrs. Boffin and fears that he has been “spoilt by prosperity” (460).

Alone with his wife, Boffin defends himself by insisting that employees must be taught to respect authority. In the following days, Boffin takes an increased interest in stories of miserly old men. Meanwhile, Bella is growing closer with Mrs. Lammle. Mrs. Lammle introduces Bella to a string of rich men, but Bella finds fault with them all. She tells Mrs. Lammle that she is immune to romance, as money is her only factor in deciding whom to marry; she reveals that she rejected George Sampson for this exact reason. Privately, Mrs. Lammle sees Bella as selfish, so she does not feel guilty about conning her.

Bella becomes increasingly dismayed by Boffin’s greedy behavior. When he demands that his secretary take up residence in his house, she is even more concerned.

Rather than invite Silas to his new home, Boffin has taken to visiting the Bower so that Silas can read to him. Any time he does not do so, Silas is joined by Venus, who is rapidly losing interest in their efforts to search the dust heaps for documents. One evening, Boffin arrives late and finds Silas and Venus together. Boffin has heard the name Venus and wonders whether Venus ever bought anything from the deceased Harmon. Venus insists that he did not. Boffin listens to Silas read books about reclusive misers who left their homes filled with hidden treasure. The stories excite Venus and Silas, who take it as a confirmation that there is something hidden in the Bower. Afterward, Boffin takes a solo walk around the property. Silas wants to follow him in case Boffin reveals the location of the valuables. He and Venus secretly do so, watching as Boffin digs a bottle from a dust heap and fills in the hole. They later pretend to have seen nothing. They make small talk, and Boffin becomes irritated when asked about what he was doing. He leaves. Silas wants to chase after him to steal the bottle, which he believes must be connected to the hidden fortune, but Venus forcefully stops him.

After their tussle, Silas accepts Venus’s reasoning. He reveals that he has found a metal box buried in the dust heaps. A label on the box claimed that it contained the late Harmon’s will. Silas has opened the box, and he believes the will inside to be genuine and of a later date than the will that is publicly known: It leaves Boffin one of the dust heaps and the rest of Harmon’s property to the Crown. Silas believes that Boffin knows that he was not the intended recipient of Harmon’s estate. At Venus’s shop, Silas shows the will to Venus. Silas suggests that they could cut the paper in two, each keeping a half. Instead, Venus recommends that he keep the document and Silas keep the box. They will maintain their watch of the dust heaps for more valuables, and if they uncover anything, they will use the will to blackmail Boffin into giving it to them. Silas now believes that he is the rightful owner of anything found in the dust heaps, including the bottle that Boffin took away, and wants to stop Boffin from taking anything else. When questioned, Venus admits that his attempts to court Pleasant Riderhood are progressing but declines to share much information. Silas leaves feeling frustrated. He regrets bringing Venus into his scheme. Standing outside the Boffin mansion, he imagines himself its owner.

Betty Higden has left London and spent her time selling knitted items from town to town. She is very poor and sad, as well as worried that she will be sent to a workhouse. Any money she makes is spent paying off the officials who drag itinerant people to the workhouse. She becomes very sick and collapses. Lizzie Hexam finds and stays with the dying Betty, promising to notify the people at the address “sewn in the breast of her gown” (511).