Who was Mr Brooks of Sheffield? - Well, Mr Brooks is Murdstones code word/name for David ! He does not want David to know he is talking about him.
Things begin to get darker as the chapter moves on. Murdstone has a sort of business meeting with some of his colleagues where there is a running joke about Mr Brooks of Sheffield which is code for them to use when referring to David
Later that evening when David is put to bed, Clara asks him about the meeting and the child David tells her that them men thought she was young, pretty and bewitching. Clara does not understand neither does David that those words were not spoken as a compliment but more likely out of lewdness
It is sad to see the naivety of Clara as she keeps wanting David to repeat those words and when he asks her did she know who Mr Brooks of Sheffield was.
This is her reply: "she supposed he must be a manufacturer in the knife and fork way." 
Am I alone or does everyone else understand the joke?
When I was a small boy in England, every knife and fork I picked up had the inscription "Made in Sheffield" Now every knife and fork I pick up has the inscription "Made in China"
Andrew
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