Pride and Prejudice

Chapter 46

Elizabeth could no longer restrain her desire to tell Jane; at last, after she had resolved not to speak of all details concerning her sister, she related to Jane the next morning what had happened to Mr. Darcy and herself. What happened, thinking that Jiying must be surprised.

The amazement felt by the Bennet group was quickly tempered by a strong love for her sister, a partiality which made Elizabeth feel quite natural whatever other people might feel for Elizabeth; Then other emotions took the place of wonder.She felt sorry for Mr. Darcy, and felt that he should not express his heart in a manner so incompatible with courtship; but she was still more sorry for how much pain his sister's refusal had caused him.

"He is wrong to be so confident that you will accept him," said Jane. "He certainly ought not to have shown it; but what a disappointment he must be on account of it!"

"Yes," replied Elizabeth, "I am very sorry for him; but his other affections will soon dilute his love for me. You will not blame me for rejecting him?"

"Blame you? Oh, no."

"But you must blame me for speaking to Wickham so hard."

"No—I don't see anything wrong with what you're saying."

"But you'll see it when I tell you what happened the next day."

So she came to the letter, and told everything about George Wickham.What a blow to good Jane!She would never in her life believe that there could be as much evil among us as there is in this man.Although the revelation to Mr. Darcy gave her some comfort, it did not soothe the trauma of this wicked discovery. She tried her best to prove that there might be a misunderstanding, and she tried to do her best for a person. Excuse, without involving the other person.

"It's impossible," said Elizabeth, "you'll never be able to say that both of them are innocent. Make a choice, and choose only the one you are more satisfied with. There are only so many of them." Merits; just enough for one; these have been alternating between the two of them these days. It seems to me that I am now inclined to believe that Mr. Darcy is right. But you can have your own choose."

It was only after a while that a smile appeared on Jiying's face.

"It was the most shocking moment in my life," she said.

"Wickham is so bad! It's almost unbelievable. Poor Mr. Darcy! My dear Lizzy, just imagine how much he must suffer. Such a disappointment! To learn that you are so I look down on him so much! And I have to reveal his sister's privacy! This is indeed a bit tormenting him. I believe you must feel this too."

"Ah! No, seeing you treat them both like this, I have no remorse or sympathy. I know you will do him justice, so I am becoming less and less concerned and indifferent. Your overflowing sympathy saves mine; if you go on sighing for him like this, my heart will fly as light as a feather.

"Poor Wickham; his countenance looks so good! His manners are so open and gentle."

"There must have been some big mistakes in the education of these two young people. One is that all the advantages are hidden inside, and the other is that they are all on the surface."

"You were used to thinking that Mr. Darcy was lacking in appearance. I never thought so."

"However, I thought that I didn't like him so much for no reason before, because I wanted to show a kind of extraordinary intelligence. Disliking a person like this can stimulate a person's talent and open a person's mind. A man's intellect. Of course nothing justice can be said of a man who goes on abusing; but when you are always joking with a man, you may sometimes come across a word that hits the nail on the head."

"Lizzy, when you first read that letter, I am sure you must not treat it as you do now."

"Indeed, I could not. I was in a bad enough mood. Very unhappy, I might say. I had many feelings in my heart, but I had no one to talk to, no Jane to comfort me, that I was not like me. Cowardly, vain, and absurd as I know it! Ah! how I needed you then!"

"How unfortunate that you used so many violent words when speaking of Wickham to Mr. Darcy! For they now appear to be quite inappropriate."

"Indeed. I was speaking so viciously as the most natural consequence of the connivance I had been having with the prejudices in my head. Here is a point I would like to hear from you. Do you think I should put Willaham Tell our friends about your conduct."

Miss Bennet said after a moment's thought: "There is certainly no reason for exposing him here. What do you think?"

"I don't think it right, either. Mr. Darcy has not allowed me to publish his words. On the contrary, he has told me not to reveal anything about his sister; if I only speak of Wickham Who would believe me if I were persuaded by other qualities of character? The prejudice against Mr. Darcy is so deep that half the people in Meryton would not die if you tried to change their opinion of him. I did not Way to convince everybody. Wickham will be gone soon; who he really is doesn't matter much to anyone here. After a while it will all come out and we can laugh. People don't know it beforehand. I'd rather not say a word at the moment."

"You're quite right that making his mistakes public would ruin his life forever. Now, he probably regrets what he did and longs to be a man again. We don't have to make him despair .

Elizabeth's troubled mind was greatly calmed by this conversation.She had got rid of the secret which had been weighing on her mind for the last fortnight, and she was sure that if she should try to speak of these two subjects again, Jane would be willing to listen.But there was one more thing hidden in her heart, which she dared not say out of prudence.She had not yet ventured to mention the other half of Mr. Darcy's letter, nor to explain to her sister how much that friend of his valued her, which she could not share with anyone; Only when there was a complete understanding between the parties, she could shake off the burden of this last secret. "By that time," she thought, "if the improbable event (referring to Jane and Bingley's marriage——Translator's Note) should turn out to be a fact, I shall be able to tell the secret. , but perhaps it would be more pleasant then for Mr. Bingley to speak for himself. I must not let this secret lightly pass before it loses its usefulness."

Now that she was home, she had time to observe her sister's true mood.Jane was not happy, and she still had a tender affection for Bingley.Because she has never tasted the taste of love before, her feelings have all the enthusiasm of first love, and because of her age and personality, she has greater persistence than other people's first love; she often indulges in In her memory of him, she regarded him better than any other man in the world, and it was for this reason that it took all her reason, all the utmost respect for her friends' feelings, to hold her back. That flood of melancholy, this total repression, must have done something to her own health and her peace of mind.

"Oh, Lizzy," said Mrs. Bennet one day, "what do you think of this sad case of Jane's? For my part, I am determined not to mention it to anyone. I am in I told my sister the same the other day. I know Jane never saw a shadow of him in London. Well, he's a dishonorable young man—I don't think Jane can ever hope for him again in her life. There's no talk of him coming back to Netherfield in the summer; I've asked people who might know."

"I don't think he'll ever come back to Seefeld for any reason."

"Oh! let him have his way, no one wants to call him back. Still, I say, he's done too much to my daughter; and if I were Jane, I'd have nothing to do with him. Well, give me something now The only consolation is that if Jane dies of a broken heart, he will then regret what he has done."

But Elizabeth could not take comfort from her mother's expectation, so she said nothing.

"Oh, Lizzy," continued her mother, "the Collinses are doing well, aren't they? I hope they always are. How is their daily meal? I dare say, Carlotta. She's a good housekeeper. If she's half as smart as her mother, she'll save a little. They don't have any high expenses in the house, I suppose."

"No, not at all."

"Definitely conscientious housekeeping. Yes, that's what it is. Careful that they don't spend more than they take in. They never bother to have money to spend. I think they must often talk about getting it back when your father dies." About the Longbourne property. If that day comes, I daresay they'll keep it for themselves."

"This topic, they have not discussed in front of me."

"Yes. It would seem strange if they mentioned it. But I have no doubt that they must have talked about it a lot in private. Well, if they can be honest with this illegal fortune, then Let them take it. I would be ashamed to accept such a fortune if it was offered to me."

(End of this chapter)