05-02-大卫·科波菲尔 [43]
see we would be discussing family matters．Peggotty made some more tea for my aunt，who had sat down heavily on her cases．
‘Dear aunt！’I said．‘Make yourself more comfortable！Sit in an armchair，or sit on the sofa！’
‘Why do you think I'm sitting on my cases？she asked，looking seriously at me．
I shook my head，unable to guess．
‘Because what I'm sitting on is all I have！Because I've lost all my money，my dear！’
I couldn't have been more shocked if the house and all of us in it had fallen into the River Thames．
‘Yes，’continued my aunt，putting her head calmly on my shoulder．‘I'll tell you all about it tomorrow，David，but tonight we must find a bed for Mr Dick，and I'll sleep here，to save money．’So that night，my aunt agreed to take my bed，while I planned to sleep on the sitting-room sofa，and I took Mr Dick to a neighbour's house to rent a room．When I returned，I found my aunt walking up and down in front of the sitting-room fire．
‘That Peggotty woman is very fond of you，David！’ she said．‘ She's been offering to give us some of her money—the money she inherited from her husband！Of course I refused at once．But she's a good woman．And she's been telling me about the trouble at Yarmouth—’
‘Yes，poor Emily！’I could not stop myself saying．
‘Silly Emily，you mean！But I'm sorry for you，because you cared for her once．And now Peggotty tells me you're in love again！’
I blushed．‘I love Dora with all my heart，aunt！’
‘I suppose the little thing is very lovely，is she？’
‘No one can imagine how lovely she is！’
‘She isn't at all silly，is she？’asked my aunt．
I had never considered this possibility before，and could only repeat what my aunt had said．‘Silly， aunt？’
‘Well，well，I only ask，’replied my aunt gently．‘David，you're very loving，like your poor mother，and you need a good，serious，sensible person to love．’
‘Aunt，if you only knew how sensible Dora is！’I replied．
‘Oh David！’she answered．‘Blind，blind，blind！’
This made me feel a little uncomfortable，but I was glad she knew my secret．I thought perhaps she was rather tiredt，so I said goodnight．She went to my bedroom，and I lay down on the sofa．
How miserable I was that night！I knew I should be thinking of my poor aunt's situation，but I could not prevent myself from thinking of Dora．How could I marry her if I had no money，no expensive clothes to wear，no handsome white horse to ride or flowers to give her？
The next morning I got up early to have a walk in the fresh air，and on the way home，a carriage stopped beside me，and Agnes Wickfield got out．I immediately felt better when I saw her beautiful calm face smiling at me．She had heard that my aunt was in trouble，and had come to London to see her．We walked together to my flat．
‘You know that Uriah Heep is my father's partner now？'she said quietly．‘His influence over my father is far too great．Father is much，much worse．He looks years older，and I'm afraid that，encouraged by Uriah，he drinks more than ever．Uriah and his old mother live with us now，so I can't always be with Father—to—to protect him from whatever Uriah is planning．I just hope that love and truth will always be stronger than evil！’
I could not give her my opinion of Uriah，because by then we had arrived at the flat．My aunt was very pleased to see Agnes again，and made us sit down on the sofa next to Peggotty．
‘Now let me explain to you all what happened to my money，’said my aunt firmly．I was surprised to see that Agnes was pale and trembling．Betsey Trotwood continued，‘I saved a lot of money over the years，and my lawyer，Mr Wickfield，used to help me invest it in the right companies．But recently I thought he wasn't such a good
‘Dear aunt！’I said．‘Make yourself more comfortable！Sit in an armchair，or sit on the sofa！’
‘Why do you think I'm sitting on my cases？she asked，looking seriously at me．
I shook my head，unable to guess．
‘Because what I'm sitting on is all I have！Because I've lost all my money，my dear！’
I couldn't have been more shocked if the house and all of us in it had fallen into the River Thames．
‘Yes，’continued my aunt，putting her head calmly on my shoulder．‘I'll tell you all about it tomorrow，David，but tonight we must find a bed for Mr Dick，and I'll sleep here，to save money．’So that night，my aunt agreed to take my bed，while I planned to sleep on the sitting-room sofa，and I took Mr Dick to a neighbour's house to rent a room．When I returned，I found my aunt walking up and down in front of the sitting-room fire．
‘That Peggotty woman is very fond of you，David！’ she said．‘ She's been offering to give us some of her money—the money she inherited from her husband！Of course I refused at once．But she's a good woman．And she's been telling me about the trouble at Yarmouth—’
‘Yes，poor Emily！’I could not stop myself saying．
‘Silly Emily，you mean！But I'm sorry for you，because you cared for her once．And now Peggotty tells me you're in love again！’
I blushed．‘I love Dora with all my heart，aunt！’
‘I suppose the little thing is very lovely，is she？’
‘No one can imagine how lovely she is！’
‘She isn't at all silly，is she？’asked my aunt．
I had never considered this possibility before，and could only repeat what my aunt had said．‘Silly， aunt？’
‘Well，well，I only ask，’replied my aunt gently．‘David，you're very loving，like your poor mother，and you need a good，serious，sensible person to love．’
‘Aunt，if you only knew how sensible Dora is！’I replied．
‘Oh David！’she answered．‘Blind，blind，blind！’
This made me feel a little uncomfortable，but I was glad she knew my secret．I thought perhaps she was rather tiredt，so I said goodnight．She went to my bedroom，and I lay down on the sofa．
How miserable I was that night！I knew I should be thinking of my poor aunt's situation，but I could not prevent myself from thinking of Dora．How could I marry her if I had no money，no expensive clothes to wear，no handsome white horse to ride or flowers to give her？
The next morning I got up early to have a walk in the fresh air，and on the way home，a carriage stopped beside me，and Agnes Wickfield got out．I immediately felt better when I saw her beautiful calm face smiling at me．She had heard that my aunt was in trouble，and had come to London to see her．We walked together to my flat．
‘You know that Uriah Heep is my father's partner now？'she said quietly．‘His influence over my father is far too great．Father is much，much worse．He looks years older，and I'm afraid that，encouraged by Uriah，he drinks more than ever．Uriah and his old mother live with us now，so I can't always be with Father—to—to protect him from whatever Uriah is planning．I just hope that love and truth will always be stronger than evil！’
I could not give her my opinion of Uriah，because by then we had arrived at the flat．My aunt was very pleased to see Agnes again，and made us sit down on the sofa next to Peggotty．
‘Now let me explain to you all what happened to my money，’said my aunt firmly．I was surprised to see that Agnes was pale and trembling．Betsey Trotwood continued，‘I saved a lot of money over the years，and my lawyer，Mr Wickfield，used to help me invest it in the right companies．But recently I thought he wasn't such a good