Herbert and Pip fall deeper into debt. He has been looking forward to his twenty-first birthday, thinking his guardian would say something definitive on that occasion. He receives a summons to Mr. Jaggers’ office, which convinces him something is about to be revealed.
Mr. Jaggers asks Pip what he believes he is spending on his lifestyle. Pip admits he doesn’t know. Pip asks if his benefactor is to be known to him today, and Jaggers says no. Pip asks if he is to receive anything.
Jaggers asks Pip if he is in debt, and Pip admits this is so. Jaggers gives him five hundred pounds. Pip is to live on that until his benefactor appears to him. He can withdraw one hundred twenty five pounds per quarter.
When Pip offers his gratitude, Jaggers says he is not paid to be a messenger. He reiterates that it may be years before Pip’s guardian appears to him. When the person appears to Pip, they will settle their affairs and Jaggers will no longer be needed. Pip invites Jaggers to dine with him, and Jaggers accepts.
Pip goes to Wemmick and asks his advice. He wants to help a friend make a beginning. Wemmick tells him he might as well throw his money away. A man who invests in a friend will lose the friendship and the money. That is his opinion at the office. At home, it might be different. Pip agrees to call on him.
Mr. Jaggers is not jovial company. When he leaves, Pip and Herbert feel like they are both guilty of some felony they don’t’ remember committing.