On October the 12th, 1912, when Agatha was twenty-two, she went to a dance at the home of Lord and Lady Clifford. They lived near Chudleigh, twelve miles from Torquay, and there were many young people there for Agatha to talk to.
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晚上的时候一位年轻军官走到她面前。
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During the evening a young army officer came up to her.
He was tall and good-looking, with friendly blue eyes, and his name was Archibald Christie. Agatha liked him immediately. They danced together many times that evening, and Archie told her his plans.
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“我想做一名飞行员,”他说,“我正努力进入皇家航空队。”
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’I want to fly,’ he said, ’and I’m trying to get into the Royal Flying Corps.’
’Come home, will you, Agatha?’ said Clara. ’There’s a young man here. He’s just arrived and I’m giving him tea. I don’t know him, and I think he wants to see you.’
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阿加莎只得告别朋友赶快回家,心里不太高兴,但是到家后,她发现等着她的那个人是阿奇·克里斯蒂。
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Agatha had to leave her friends and hurry home, so she was not very pleased. But when she got home, she found Archie Christie waiting for her.
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“您好。”他说,“我路过托基,所以——所以我想最好能见见您。”他的脸变得通红,低头看着自己的鞋。
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’Hello,’ he said. ’I was in Torquay and—and I thought that perhaps it would be nice to see you.’ His face was red and he looked at his shoes.
Archie stayed for the rest of the afternoon, and for supper that evening. When it was time for him to leave, he said, ’Will you come to a concert in Exeter with me, Agatha? We can go to the Redcliffe Hotel for tea after the concert.’
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“好的。”阿加莎说,然后看看母亲,“妈妈,我可以去吗?”
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’I’d love to,’ said Agatha, then looked at Clara. ’Can I, mother?’
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“阿加莎,你可以去听音乐会,”克拉拉说,“但是在旅馆喝茶?不行,我想不可以。旅馆可不行。”
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’A concert, yes, Agatha,’ said Clara. ’But tea at a hotel? No, I don’t think so. Not a hotel.’
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“或许我可以带阿加莎去——去埃克塞特车站的一家餐馆喝茶!”阿奇说。
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’Perhaps I could take Agatha to tea in—in the restaurant at Exeterrailway station!’ said Archie.
But when Archie came to the New Year’s dance he was very quiet and did not seem happy. He seemed to be worried about something, but Agatha said nothing. Two days later, on the 4th of January, 1913, they went to another concert together. Archie was still very quiet, and after the concert Agatha asked, ’What’s wrong, Archie?’
’The Royal Flying Corps have said "yes" to me,’ said Archie. ’I have to leave Exeter in two days’ time. I have to go to Salisbury.’ He looked at her. ’Agatha, you’ve got to marry me! There will never be anyone for me, only you! I’ve known that since our first evening together, at the Cliffords’ dance.’
Clara was very surprised. ’You must wait,’ she told them both. ’I like you, Archie, but you are only twenty-three years old, and neither of you has any money.’
So Archie went to Salisbury, and he and Agatha waited. Agatha wrote to Reggie Lucy. It was a difficult letter to write, but Reggie wrote a very kind letter back to her. ’Don’t worry about it,’ he told her. ’I understand.’
In August 1914, England was suddenly at war with Germany. Archie went to France with the Royal Flying Corps, and Agatha went to work as a volunteer nurse at the Torbay Hospital in Torquay.
Archie came back to England for five days in December, and Agatha went up to London to meet him. Then the two of them went down to Bristol, where Archie’s mother lived. They could not wait any longer. They wanted to get married.
Archie’s mother was not happy about this, but Clara thought differently. ’Yes, get married now,’ she said. ’There’s a war on. Who knows what will happen? Be happy while you can.’
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于是1914年12月24日,阿加莎和阿奇终于结婚了。两天后,阿奇返回了战场,这一分离便是六个月。
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So Agatha and Archie were married at last on the 24th of December, 1914. Two days later, Archie went back to the war, and Agatha did not see him again for six months.
During the summer of 1915, Agatha was ill and could not do any nursing work at the hospital for three or four weeks. Then, when she returned, she went to work in the hospital dispensary. And here she learned something which was very useful for a writer of detective stories. She learned about poisons.