05-02-大卫·科波菲尔 [50]
found some letters which appear to be from you to my daughter Dora． Are they yours？’
I looked at the letters he handed to me， blushed， and whispered，‘ Yes， sir，’ Poor little Dora！I hoped she had not been frightened by that horrible Murdstone woman． I hated to think Of Dora's unhappiness at losing my letters．
‘ I suspected something was wrong when Miss Spenlow came back from her last visit to Miss Mills，’ said Miss Murd-stone， looking very pleased with herself．‘ I always said Julia Mills was not a suitable friend for Miss Spenlow， and I was right！’
Mr Spenlow appeared to agree， but rather sadly．
‘ I am very sorry， sir，’ I said，‘ but it is all my fault． Please don't blame Dora—’
‘ Miss Spenlow to you， young man！’ said her father angrily.
‘ I know it wasn't right to keep it secret， sir， but I love your daughter，and I hope that one day—’
‘ Don't speak to me of love， Mr Copperfield！ cried Mr Spenlow．‘ You are both much too young！ We'll throw these letters in the fire， and you must promise to forget the whole thing． There is no question of your marrying Dora！’
‘ But sir，I can't forget her！I love her！’ I protested．
‘That is my last word， M Copperfield！ When you have time to consider， you'll realize it's wiser to do as I say． Now go to your work！’
I spent all day thinking of poor sweet Dora， and how she must be feeling． In the evening I hurried round to Miss Mills's house， but although she spoke wisely of love and broken hearts， she could not offer me any practical advice.
The next day， after a sleepless night， I arrived at the office at the normal time， and discovered all the clerks standing talking at the front door． This was so unusual that I stopped to ask what had happened.
‘ Why，don't you know？’ asked one of them．‘The police have found Mr Spenlow dead！’I fell back， shocked．
‘ You look very pale， Mr Copperfield！’ said another．‘Sit down here， sir！’
‘ Tell me——tell me what happened， I gasped．
‘Well， he went into town to dinner last night， and the carriage and horses came back at midnight without him. He was driving himself， you see． So the servants went to look for him， and found him dead in the road． He must have been ill，and have fallen out of the carriage． Anyway， he was dead when they found him.’
This was a terrible shock to me． Perhaps his anger with me had made him ill.In that case I was partly to blame for his death． But I am sorry to say I was also jealous of Dora's sadness． White she was crying for her dead father， she was not thinking of me， and I selfishly wanted to be the only person in her life．
In the next few weeks I became quite desperate because I could not see or speak to my sweet Dora． Miss Mills reported that Dora cried all day， and when my name was mentioned，only sobbed more loudly and said，‘Oh poor dear Father！How wicked of me to keep a secret from him！ Oh！ Oh！’ So I did not feel encouraged to visit her． Soon after her father's funeral， Dora was taken to live with her two aunts at Putney，in south London， where she seemed to be further away from me than ever.
My aunt， meanwhile， began to be seriously worried about my health， as I was getting more and more depressed． So she suggested I should go to Dover for a few days， to make sure that her house was still in good condition， and then to Canter-bury， to visit the Wickfields． I agreed willingly， as I was always happy to see Agnes． It was easy to take a few day's hoilday from my work at the lawcourts and with Dr Strong．
I was glad to find that the person who was renting my aunt's house in Dover was looking after it well． I was then free to continue my journey to Canterbury， that beautiful ancient city， which seemed very little changed since my schooldays
I looked at the letters he handed to me， blushed， and whispered，‘ Yes， sir，’ Poor little Dora！I hoped she had not been frightened by that horrible Murdstone woman． I hated to think Of Dora's unhappiness at losing my letters．
‘ I suspected something was wrong when Miss Spenlow came back from her last visit to Miss Mills，’ said Miss Murd-stone， looking very pleased with herself．‘ I always said Julia Mills was not a suitable friend for Miss Spenlow， and I was right！’
Mr Spenlow appeared to agree， but rather sadly．
‘ I am very sorry， sir，’ I said，‘ but it is all my fault． Please don't blame Dora—’
‘ Miss Spenlow to you， young man！’ said her father angrily.
‘ I know it wasn't right to keep it secret， sir， but I love your daughter，and I hope that one day—’
‘ Don't speak to me of love， Mr Copperfield！ cried Mr Spenlow．‘ You are both much too young！ We'll throw these letters in the fire， and you must promise to forget the whole thing． There is no question of your marrying Dora！’
‘ But sir，I can't forget her！I love her！’ I protested．
‘That is my last word， M Copperfield！ When you have time to consider， you'll realize it's wiser to do as I say． Now go to your work！’
I spent all day thinking of poor sweet Dora， and how she must be feeling． In the evening I hurried round to Miss Mills's house， but although she spoke wisely of love and broken hearts， she could not offer me any practical advice.
The next day， after a sleepless night， I arrived at the office at the normal time， and discovered all the clerks standing talking at the front door． This was so unusual that I stopped to ask what had happened.
‘ Why，don't you know？’ asked one of them．‘The police have found Mr Spenlow dead！’I fell back， shocked．
‘ You look very pale， Mr Copperfield！’ said another．‘Sit down here， sir！’
‘ Tell me——tell me what happened， I gasped．
‘Well， he went into town to dinner last night， and the carriage and horses came back at midnight without him. He was driving himself， you see． So the servants went to look for him， and found him dead in the road． He must have been ill，and have fallen out of the carriage． Anyway， he was dead when they found him.’
This was a terrible shock to me． Perhaps his anger with me had made him ill.In that case I was partly to blame for his death． But I am sorry to say I was also jealous of Dora's sadness． White she was crying for her dead father， she was not thinking of me， and I selfishly wanted to be the only person in her life．
In the next few weeks I became quite desperate because I could not see or speak to my sweet Dora． Miss Mills reported that Dora cried all day， and when my name was mentioned，only sobbed more loudly and said，‘Oh poor dear Father！How wicked of me to keep a secret from him！ Oh！ Oh！’ So I did not feel encouraged to visit her． Soon after her father's funeral， Dora was taken to live with her two aunts at Putney，in south London， where she seemed to be further away from me than ever.
My aunt， meanwhile， began to be seriously worried about my health， as I was getting more and more depressed． So she suggested I should go to Dover for a few days， to make sure that her house was still in good condition， and then to Canter-bury， to visit the Wickfields． I agreed willingly， as I was always happy to see Agnes． It was easy to take a few day's hoilday from my work at the lawcourts and with Dr Strong．
I was glad to find that the person who was renting my aunt's house in Dover was looking after it well． I was then free to continue my journey to Canterbury， that beautiful ancient city， which seemed very little changed since my schooldays