Pip, Herbert, Drummle, and Startop meet Jaggers at his office because he has invited them to his house for dinner. Pip has previously seen Jaggers' cleaning ritual of meticulously washing his hands between court cases or clients. Today before heading home, the ritual is expanded. Jaggers not only washes his hands but also his face, gargles his throat, and uses a penknife to scrape under his nails. His home is stately but in need of paint and the windows need cleaning. Although it is quite large, he uses only three rooms. Everything is of fine quality, official, and solid, but nothing is fancy or ornamental.
Jaggers gets into the heads of his dinner guests, extracting their personalities from them during the course of dinner, wine, and conversation, like he might extract a confession from a suspect. He is especially interested in Drummle, and refers to him as the "Spider" or the "blotchy, sprawly, sulky fellow." Jaggers personally attends to his guests' drinks and condiments — the only other help is from his maid, who brings in the food for him to serve. Pip remembers Wemmick's mention of the strange maid and he observes that her face is disturbed. The young men drink too much and quarrel, revealing their personal differences. Promptly at nine-thirty, Jaggers announces he has work left to do and then proceeds to "wash off" his dinner guests.
