Pride and Prejudice

Chapter 43

The two gentlemen left Rosings next morning; Mr. Collins had been waiting near the door to give his farewell; He suffered the pain of parting when he came out from Sri Lanka, but he seemed to be in good health and in good spirits.Having said that, he hurried to Rosings again to comfort Lady Catherine and her daughter; and when he returned he triumphantly brought back a message from Lady Catherine, saying that she felt very dull, and wanted very much to have the whole family dine with her.

When Elizabeth saw Lady Catherine, she could not help thinking that, if she wished, she would have appeared before her at this time as the future niece of the lady; and she could not help thinking how angry the lady would be. "What will she say? How will she act?" These questions amused her.

The first topic that the guests and hosts discussed after meeting was that Rosings lost several nobles. "To tell the truth, I am very sorry for it," said Lady Catherine, "and I am sure no one felt their departure as strongly as I. I liked these two young men very much; and knew that they too Liked me very much--they were very sad when they left! They always are. The lovely Colonel managed to pull himself together at the end; but Darcy always seemed to be so miserable, I think he is more miserable than when he left last year. Much more painful. His attachment to Rosings has undoubtedly grown stronger every year."

Mr. Collins put in a compliment at this moment, which made both mother and daughter smile approvingly.

After lunch, Lady Catherine noticed that Miss Bennet was not in a very good mood, which she thought was due to Elizabeth's reluctance to go home so soon, and she said:
"If you don't want to go back so soon, write to your mother and ask her to let you stay a little longer. I'm sure Mrs. Collins will be very pleased with your staying a little longer."

"I am very grateful for your kindness in retaining you," said Elizabeth, "but I cannot accept it—I must hurry back to London next Saturday."

"Well, you're only here six weeks, then. I was hoping you'd stay two months, as I told Mrs. Collins before you came. You needn't be so soon." Go away. Mrs. Bennet will certainly allow you to stay for another fortnight."

"But my father disagrees—he wrote last week urging me to go back."

"Oh! As long as your mother agrees, your father will have no objection - daughters have never been so important to father. If you can stay another month, I can take one of you back by the way. London, for I shall be there for a week at the beginning of June; Dawson has no objection to carriages, and it would be ample to take one of you—and , if the weather is cooler, I am willing to take both of you back, but fortunately you are not too big."

"It is very kind of you, ma'am; but we must go back as planned."

Lady Catherine seemed unwilling to force her to stay any longer.

"Mrs. Collins, you will send a servant to see them off. You know I say what comes to mind, and I cannot bear to have two young girls travel so far by themselves. It looks so indecent. You must be Finding ways to send someone to send them off is what I don't like the most-young ladies should always be given proper care and protection according to their status. Last summer when my aunt and niece Georgiana was coming At Ramsgate I must have her accompanied by two footmen--this Miss Darcy, the daughter of Mr. and Lady Anna Pemberley, would be disrespectful to do otherwise. —I am very careful about such things. You must send John to see the two ladies, Mrs. Collins. I am glad I thought of it and told you, because if they were to go away by themselves, they would It's embarrassing for you too."

"My uncle will send for us."

"Oh! your uncle! Does he have a manservant? I'm glad you've got someone to think of these things for you. Where are you going to change your horses? Oh! Bromley, of course. You just have to mention it at Bell's Inn My name, and you will be taken care of."

Lady Catherine said many other things about their journey, for not all the questions she could ask and answer, which required your attention, which Elizabeth was glad to hear; She is always thinking about her own thoughts, and it is inevitable that she will be distracted.These thoughts must be reserved for her alone time; whenever she is alone, she thinks them over and over; among these unpleasant thoughts.

This letter from Mr. Darcy soon became familiar to her.She pondered over every word of the letter, and her feelings for the writer fluctuated wildly.When she remembered his tone of voice, she was still filled with indignation; became the object of her sympathy.His love aroused her gratitude, his personality aroused her respect; but it was impossible to make her admire him; she never regretted for a moment the refusal of his courtship, and she never thought of seeing him again. to his wish.She was often distressed and regretful of her own past behaviour; the depressing shortcomings of her family were a cause of deep guilt.There is no cure for their disease.Her father was content to laugh at these faults, and never bothered to trouble the frivolities of his younger daughters; .Elizabeth was often with Jane, and tried to check the insolence of Catherine and Lydia, but it was not easy for them to improve because of her mother's indulgence.Catherine is cowardly and easily agitated, completely under the control of Lydia, and feels offended when she hears the advice of her two sisters;The two younger sisters are both lazy and ignorant, but also vain.

They flirted with Meryton whenever officers came; and they never ceased to run there as long as Meryton and Longbourne were within a short distance.

Worrying about Jane is another big concern of hers. Mr. Darcy's explanation made her restore her previous impression of Bingley, but it also made her feel more deeply the great loss of Jane.Bingley's affections proved to be sincere, and his conduct deserved no reproach, except that he was said to have trusted his friend a little too much.It pained Elizabeth to think that it was the ignorance and indiscretion of her own family that had ruined Jane's engagement, so ideal, so superior, and so promising of happiness in every respect!

When added to these thoughts the question of the character of the man Wickham, how much would Elizabeth's cheerful frame of mind, which had so seldom been depressed, be now affected (so that she could not keep up her apparent A kind of joy in the world), it is conceivable.

During the week before her departure, their visits to Rosings were as frequent as they had been when they first arrived.Even the last evening was spent there; once again the nobleman asked them in detail about the details of their journey, and instructed them how to pack their luggage, especially how their clothes should be placed. These instructions were like orders, After Maria came back, she opened and rearranged the boxes that had been packed in the morning.

Lady Catherine condescendingly wished them a pleasant journey, and invited them to come to Hansford next year, at their farewell; Miss de Bauer even curtsied to them, and shook hands with them both. hand.

(End of this chapter)