Steerforth never shows up, David waits, then finally goes over to Highgate to his mother's home. He has gone to Oxford, but David is invited to dine with Mrs. Steerforth and Miss Dartle. In his loneliness, he imagines feelings for Miss Dartle.
Soon enough, Steerforth returns, with two friends. David insists on entertaining them in his new lodgings. They get drunk, particularly David. They go to the theatre, he sits near Agnes, unexpectedly. Makes an ass of himself. She tells him to leave, he has enough wits about him to do that. Steerforth gets him home. He spends the next day hungover and in a state of remorse. Receives a letter from Agnes, goes to meet her. She invites him to a dinner where she is staying. He goes. Traddles from school, shows up. Uriah is there, lurking. In both meetings with Agnes, she warns him of Steerforth being his "bad angel." He tries to convince her otherwise. She is his "good angel," he recognizes this this without any prompt.
At the end of the evening, he invites Uriah home for coffee, Uriah spills his intention to marry Agnes. David wants to attack him, but thinking of Agnes' influence, does not. It's late, Uriah can't go home, sleeps on David's floor. David is horrified and fascinated with him, can not sleep with him there.
His feelings for Steerforth ebb in this time when Agnes' influence is still so strong and Steerforth is absent (supposedly at Oxford.)
He is articled at work. His boss, Mr. Spenlow, invites him home for dinner. His daughter, Dora, is there. She has a "companion" to keep her out of trouble, none other than Miss Murdstone. David and Miss M greet one another coolly, neither giving away their true past together. David falls in love, in earnest, with Dora. This is his future wife.
I am now caught up to where I last left off.
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