05-02-大卫·科波菲尔 [42]
question in the world，and only Dora could give me the answer to it．
So，two days later，I dressed in my finest clothes and went to the address Miss Mills had given me．The servant took me to the sittingroom，where I found Julia Mills learning a song，and Dora painting the flowers I had given her！After a short conversation Miss Mills made an excuse and left the room，and Dora and I were alone together．
‘I hope your poor horse wasn't tired the other night，’said Dora，raising her beautiful eyes to mine．‘It was a long way for him，to and from the picnic place．’
I must ask her today！I thought．My whole body was trembling．‘It was a long way for him，’I answered．‘For me it seemed very short，because of my happiness in being so near you．’
There was a moment's silence．Then Dora said，‘You didn't seem to care for that happiness earlier in the day，when you were sitting with the lady in pink．But I expect you don't mean what you say．And of course you're quite free to do whatever you like！’
I don't know how I did it．It happened so quickly．Suddenly I had Dora in my arms and I couldn't stop speaking．I told her how I loved her．I told her I would die without her．And when she blushed and cried a little，I said I had loved her day and night since the moment I had first seen her．I told her that nobody had ever loved or could ever love as much as I loved her．
Somehow I found myself sitting quietly next to Dora on the sofa，holding her little hand．We were engaged！I suppose we realized that one day we would get married，but for the moment we were going to keep our engagement secret from Mr Spenlow．When Miss Mills came in，she was delighted to hear our news，and promised to help us as much as possible．
Now began one of the happiest times of my life．When I look back，I see how foolish I was，but how loving and sincere！I visited Dora every day，and I did not have time for anyone or anything else．But in the middle of my excitement I suddenly thought of Agnes，of her clear calm eyes and her gentle face，and I sat down immediately to write to her，and tell her all about Dora．I knew that as my adopted sister she would share my happiness，and I wanted her approval．
One day when Peggotty and I were having tea in my flat，Tommy Traddles came to visit me．‘My dear Copperfield！’he cried．‘I've been several times before，but you've been out．’
‘My dear Traddles，’I replied，‘yes，I'm very sorry， I've been visiting my—Miss，D，you know．’
‘I expect she lives in London，doesn't she？Mine—that's Sopby—beautiful name，isn't it？Mine lives in Devon，I think I told you．So I don't see her very often．She really is the dearest girl！She's very busy at home，you know，looking after the other nine children．And her mother，who's unable to walk．’
‘What a wonderful girl she must be！’I agreed politely．‘And tell me，Traddles，how is Mr Micawber？’
‘I'm not living in his house at the moment，’said Traddles，‘because his creditors demanded payment of his debts recently，and he had to move to another house．To avoid these unpleasant men，he's even changed his name to Mortimer，and he only comes out of the house after dark，wearing glasses．’
‘So nothing has turned up for him yet？And what abut the money you lent him，Traddles？’
‘I'm afraid I may not get it back．But Mr Micawber promises to give it back one day．He's a fine，honest man，isn't he？’And Traddles looked hopefully at me．
Before I could reply，we heard footsteps on the stairs．I was very surprised to see my aunt coming upstairs．She was carrying two cases and her cat，and was followed closely by Mr Dick，carrying two more cases．
‘My dear aunt！’I cried．‘What an unexpected pleasure！’We kissed each other，and I shook hands with Mr Dick．Traddles left quietly，as he could
So，two days later，I dressed in my finest clothes and went to the address Miss Mills had given me．The servant took me to the sittingroom，where I found Julia Mills learning a song，and Dora painting the flowers I had given her！After a short conversation Miss Mills made an excuse and left the room，and Dora and I were alone together．
‘I hope your poor horse wasn't tired the other night，’said Dora，raising her beautiful eyes to mine．‘It was a long way for him，to and from the picnic place．’
I must ask her today！I thought．My whole body was trembling．‘It was a long way for him，’I answered．‘For me it seemed very short，because of my happiness in being so near you．’
There was a moment's silence．Then Dora said，‘You didn't seem to care for that happiness earlier in the day，when you were sitting with the lady in pink．But I expect you don't mean what you say．And of course you're quite free to do whatever you like！’
I don't know how I did it．It happened so quickly．Suddenly I had Dora in my arms and I couldn't stop speaking．I told her how I loved her．I told her I would die without her．And when she blushed and cried a little，I said I had loved her day and night since the moment I had first seen her．I told her that nobody had ever loved or could ever love as much as I loved her．
Somehow I found myself sitting quietly next to Dora on the sofa，holding her little hand．We were engaged！I suppose we realized that one day we would get married，but for the moment we were going to keep our engagement secret from Mr Spenlow．When Miss Mills came in，she was delighted to hear our news，and promised to help us as much as possible．
Now began one of the happiest times of my life．When I look back，I see how foolish I was，but how loving and sincere！I visited Dora every day，and I did not have time for anyone or anything else．But in the middle of my excitement I suddenly thought of Agnes，of her clear calm eyes and her gentle face，and I sat down immediately to write to her，and tell her all about Dora．I knew that as my adopted sister she would share my happiness，and I wanted her approval．
One day when Peggotty and I were having tea in my flat，Tommy Traddles came to visit me．‘My dear Copperfield！’he cried．‘I've been several times before，but you've been out．’
‘My dear Traddles，’I replied，‘yes，I'm very sorry， I've been visiting my—Miss，D，you know．’
‘I expect she lives in London，doesn't she？Mine—that's Sopby—beautiful name，isn't it？Mine lives in Devon，I think I told you．So I don't see her very often．She really is the dearest girl！She's very busy at home，you know，looking after the other nine children．And her mother，who's unable to walk．’
‘What a wonderful girl she must be！’I agreed politely．‘And tell me，Traddles，how is Mr Micawber？’
‘I'm not living in his house at the moment，’said Traddles，‘because his creditors demanded payment of his debts recently，and he had to move to another house．To avoid these unpleasant men，he's even changed his name to Mortimer，and he only comes out of the house after dark，wearing glasses．’
‘So nothing has turned up for him yet？And what abut the money you lent him，Traddles？’
‘I'm afraid I may not get it back．But Mr Micawber promises to give it back one day．He's a fine，honest man，isn't he？’And Traddles looked hopefully at me．
Before I could reply，we heard footsteps on the stairs．I was very surprised to see my aunt coming upstairs．She was carrying two cases and her cat，and was followed closely by Mr Dick，carrying two more cases．
‘My dear aunt！’I cried．‘What an unexpected pleasure！’We kissed each other，and I shook hands with Mr Dick．Traddles left quietly，as he could