In Which the History Is Further Continued
- Squire Allworthy asks Partridge to explain himself.
- How can he keep pretending not to be Tom's father? How can he pass himself off as Tom's servant?
- Partridge swears that he is not Tom's dad.
- Mr. Partridge says that, once he lost his job as a teacher (thanks to that paternity trial), everything started to go south.
- He also lost his job as a clerk, so the only work he had left was as a barber.
- But being a barber in the countryside is not a great living.
- He had been receiving an anonymous pension of 12 pounds ($2,000 in today's money) a year.
- (Partridge guesses that the money probably came from Squire Allworthy, as indeed it did.)
- But once his wife died, even that pension stopped.
- So he left the area.
- Mr. Partridge keeps going into great detail about his misfortunes between the time he left Somersetshire and the time he met Tom.
- Squire Allworthy tells him to hurry up already.
- So Mr. Partridge skips lightly over the seven years he spent in Winchester jail (and we can't believe poor Partridge has actually done hard time!)
- He tells Squire Allworthy that he was in Gloucester for about two months practicing as a barber before Tom met him.
- Partridge swears again that he is not Tom's father.
- And then he can't hold it in any longer: he tells Squire Allworthy all about Tom and Mrs. Waters/Jenny Jones.
- Squire Allworthy is totally horrified to hear that Tom has committed incest.
- And then, Mrs. Waters comes rushing in.
- She asks to speak to Squire Allworthy.
- Partridge leaves the two of them alone.