The residents of Bleak House search for Jo (Harry Eden), who’s disappeared during the night. But he’s been spirited away by Tulkinghorn (Charles Dance) and Bucket (Alun Armstrong) to stop him revealing anything about his meeting with them, and his earlier encounter with Lady Dedlock (Gillian Anderson).The next morning, further disaster strikes, when Esther (Anna Maxwell Martin) falls ill with smallpox. Her very life hangs in the balance. But she eventually regains consciousness and looks set to recover.In pursuit of the letters for Lady Dedlock, Guppy (Burn Gorman) heads over to Krook’s (Johnny Vegas) house. There, he finds Miss Flite (Pauline Collins) and Snagsby (Sean McGinley) worrying about the peculiar smell in the air. Venturing inside, Guppy is shocked to discover that Krook is dead.The Coroner’s (Peter Guinness) verdict is spontaneous combustion. Guppy is thwarted again, as Smallweed (Phil Davis) claims ownership of all of Krook’s property. Disappointed, Guppy tells Lady Dedlock of his failure to find the letters. As he is about to leave, they are surprised by Tulkinghorn, who senses that Guppy is up to something.Tulkinghorn and Smallweed decide that the time has come to call in Sgt George’s (Hugo Speer) debt.