David Copperfield

Chapter 93 Dora's Aunts (2)
Chapter 41 Dora's Aunts (2)
Miss Clarissa opened her arms for the first time, took the letter, and read the memorandum.

"Mr. Copperfield, if it's convenient, we'd be glad to have you come and dine with us every Sunday. Our dinner time is three o'clock."

I bow to her.

"The rest of the day," said Miss Clarissa, "we welcome Mr. Copperfield for tea. Our tea time is at 06:30."

I bow again.

"Twice a week," said Miss Clarissa, "but, generally speaking, no more."

I bow again.

"Miss Trowood, whom Mr. Copperfield refers to," said Miss Clarissa, "may come to the cottage. We welcome visitors, if reciprocal association is conducive to happiness in all respects, and And return visits. But if it’s the other way around, it’s a completely different story.”

I said that my aunt would feel honored to know them, but I can't guarantee that they get along very satisfactorily.The conditions have been finished, and I am delighted to express my gratitude to them.Then I kissed Miss Clarissa's hand and Miss Lavinia's hand.

At this point Miss Lavinia said, Mr. Traddles would be kind enough to leave us for a minute, and then let me go out with her.Trembling, I followed her and was ushered into another room.I saw my lovely Dora, with her ears plugged and her little face facing the wall, standing behind the door, and Kip was lying in a warmer with a towel tied around her head.

How beautiful she was in her black gown! She whimpered and wept as soon as she saw me.How happy I was when I took the jeep out of the warmer and the three of us saw each other again!

"My dearest Dora! You are now, truly, mine forever!"

"Oh, don't!" pleaded Dora, "please!"

"Aren't you mine forever, Dora?"

"Of course I am!" cried Dora, "but I'm afraid!"

"Fear?"

"Yes! I hate him," said Dora. "Why doesn't he go?"

"Who, my lifeblood?"

"That friend of yours," said Dora, "has nothing to do with him, he must be a fool."

"He's such a nice guy!"

"But we don't want him!" said Dora.

"Honey," I advised her, "you'll know and like him in a few days, and my aunt, who'll be here in a few days. If you get to know her well, Will love her very much."

"No, please don't bring her here!" said Dora, folding her hands together. "Don't you. I know she's a naughty old trickster! Don't let her come here, David!"

It was no use persuading her! So I laughed with joy, and was amazed with joy, and my heart was full of love and joy.She showed me Kip's new trick of standing in a corner on his hind legs--in fact, he only stood for a moment and stopped--if Miss Lavinia hadn't come to take me Go away, I don't know how long I shall stay there, and forget Traddles.Miss Lavinia loved Dora very much (she said she was very much like Dora herself at Dora's age--she must have changed a lot) and treated Dora like a toy.I tried to persuade Dora, but she locked herself in the room, so I was obliged to go to Traddles alone, and take my leave with him.

"Things never went so well," said Traddles. "They are very pleasant old ladies, and if you had married years before I did, Copperfield, I would not would feel weird."

"Can your Sophie play something, sing something?" I asked.

"She can only teach her little sisters to play the piano," said Traddles.

"Can she sing at all?" I asked.

"She sometimes sings a folk song or something to make people happy when she sees people upset," said Traddles. "She has no formal training."

"She can't sing along to the guitar?" I said.

"She won't!" said Traddles.

"What about painting?"

"Not at all," said Traddles.

I promised Traddles that he would listen to Dora's songs, and see her pictures of flowers.He said he must really like it.So we went home happily.On the way, I kept teasing him to talk about Sophie. When he talked about her, he loved her and depended on her, which made me very envious.Sophie, too, was, in my mind, an extraordinary girl worthy of Traddles.

Of course, I immediately told my aunt about the successful outcome of this meeting and what was done and said during it.She was so glad to see me that she too was infected, and promised me to visit Dora's two aunts without delay.But when I wrote to Agnes that night, she was pacing up and down our house for such a long time that I began to think that she probably meant to stay until next morning.

My letters to Agnes were effusive and full of gratitude, and I described the satisfactory results of my actions on her advice.Her reply came in the next post.Her letters were earnest and joyful.She is always happy.

I am busier than ever.Putney was a long way off in terms of my daily journey to Hygate, and I naturally wished to go there as often as possible.Miss Lavinia's tea-time was difficult to manage, so I made a compromise: I asked her to allow me to visit her every Saturday afternoon, without thereby interfering with my chartered Sunday.In this way, every weekend, I have my blissful time, and the rest of the week is spent looking forward to it.

My aunt and Dora's aunts got on, on the whole, much better than I had expected, and this pleased me.My aunt made her promised visit a few days after my meeting with them.In a few days, Dora's aunt also paid a return visit in full dress.From now on, about every three or four weeks, there will be contacts in the same way, so the friendship will become deeper.In complete disregard of personal ostentation, my aunt walked to Putney on foot instead of a carriage, and often at unexpected times, as shortly after breakfast, or just before tea.These circumstances embarrass Dora's two aunts.But Dora's two aunts soon agreed that my aunt was an odd, rational, manly woman.Although, at times, my aunt offended Dora's aunts by expressing heretical views on various manners, she was so fond of me that she could not do without sacrificing some of her petty eccentricities in order to obtain Harmony for all.

In our small group, Kip was the only member who refused to adapt to the new situation.Every time it sees my aunt, it always glares angrily, crawls under the chair, growls uncontrollably, occasionally mixed with a miserable wail or two, as if its feelings really can't stand my aunt like.Everything was tried with him, coaxed, scolded, beaten, taken to Buckingham Street; but he would not live in peace with my aunt.Sometimes it seems to subdue its hatred and be tame and gentle for a few minutes, but then it raises its flat nose and barks vigorously, so it has to cover its eyes and put it in the warmer. inside.At last, whenever Dora heard that my aunt was coming, she gagged his mouth with a towel, and shut him up in the warmer.

When everything was stable and stable, there was one thing that bothered and disturbed me.Everyone used to think of Dora as a lovable toy or plaything, and my aunt always called her Little Flower when she got to know her better; Perm her hair, make her decorations and treat her like a pampered child.What Miss Lavinia did, her sister was bound to do also.I feel this is very strange.

I made up my mind to talk to Dora about it.So one day, when the two of us were out for a walk, I said to her that I wished she could make them treat her differently.

"My dear," I persuaded, "you are no longer a child."

"Look!" said Dora, "are you going to lose your temper now?"

"Tanter? Honey!"

"They all treated me well," said Dora, "and I was very happy."

"Yes!" said I, "but you can be very happy if you ask them to treat you reasonably."

Dora gave me a coquettish look--the loveliest look--and sobbed, and said, if I didn't love her, why must I be begging to be engaged to her? If I couldn't bear her, why didn't I just leave?

So what else can I do but kiss her tears dry and let her know how much I love her?

"I believe I'm a very soft-hearted man," said Dora, "and you shouldn't be so cruel to me."

"Cruel, my darling! In any case, I would not—be cruel to you!"

"Then you won't find fault with me any more," said Dora, pursing her lips. "I'll learn."

Immediately afterwards, she automatically asked me to give her the cookbook, which I had mentioned to her once before, and she asked me to teach her accounting, which I had promised her once before, which made me very happy.The next time I went to see her, I took the cookbook with me; when we went for walks together in the country, I showed her an old family ledger of my aunt's, and asked her to imitate it.

But the cookbook frightened Dora, and the numbers upset her.She said that those figures cannot be added together.She wiped them off and drew little flower balls and me and Kip all over the paper.

Then, one Saturday afternoon, when we were out for a walk, I tried to verbally teach home economics, in a playful manner.For example, when we walked by a butcher shop, I asked:

"Now, suppose we were married, and you went to buy a shoulder of lamb for supper. Do you know how to buy it?"

Little Dora immediately dropped her face, and pursed her lips again, as if she wanted to seal my mouth with a kiss.

"Do you want to know how to buy it?" I said again.

Dora then thought for a moment, and said:

"The butcher knows how to sell it, so I don't need to. You foolish boy!"

Like this, when I wanted Dora to delve into cooking, I asked her what would she do if we were married and I told her I wanted Irish lamb stew? She said she would let the servants do it .Then suddenly she grabbed me by her little hands and laughed with such vivacity that she was cuter than ever.

Later, the cookbook was used for nothing but in the corner for Kip to stand on.Dora was so happy when she trained Jip to stand on it without the bait, with the pencil case in her mouth, that I was glad I bought the book.

Then we started playing the guitar and painting flowers.Singing that never-ending, clattering song, we were so happy we were as happy as the length of that week.I sometimes feel that I would do well to hint to Miss Lavinia that she treats my love a little like a plaything; Falling into the same trouble as everyone else, and treating her like a plaything—but, I don't always do that.

(End of this chapter)