Roses in Winter
By Laura Schiller
Based on: Bleak House
Copyright: Charles Dickens' estate/BC
"Some people want diamond rings,
some just want everything -
but everything ain't nothing
if I ain't got you."
- "If I Ain't Got You", by Alicia Keys
Ada has never understood Richard's drive to settle their court case. She has never been one to dream of diamond rings or roses in winter; all she has ever wanted is a small house or flat, enough money to live on, a few children, and Richard, always Richard, with his laughing brown eyes, gentle hands and sunny optimism to brighten her days. Richard as she first knew him in the old days at Bleak House, taking delight in everything, gardens and city streets and Esther's cooking and her own poor attempts at the pianoforte. Richard, before Mr. Skimpole and Mr. Vholes made a meal of him between them.
She has never understood him, but at the same time, she does. He believes in the justice of his cause with his whole heart, just as he believes in her and in their love. It is his endless optimism, the very quality she loves most in him, that is slowly driving him to ruin.
Even if he does win her a fortune in court, it will be worth nothing to her if he loses himself in the process. How in Heaven's name is she to make him understand?