Pride and Prejudice

Chapter 49 (1)
When the three of them were about to arrive there by car, the trees of Pemberley first came into their eyes. At this time, Elizabeth's mood couldn't help feeling a little uneasy; when she entered the manor, her spirit became even more uneasy.

The manor is very large, and its terrain is well-proportioned.They walked in from the lowest place, and drove for a while in a rather vast and beautiful wood.

Elizabeth was full of thoughts and rarely spoke, but she couldn't help admiring from the bottom of her heart when she saw the beauty of every place and place.They walked slowly uphill for half a mile, and then they came to a high ground where the woods stopped abruptly. They saw the huge house of Pemberley on the opposite hillside, and there was a rather steep road. To get there in a crooked way.This is a large and beautiful stone building, standing on a high ridge, with a rolling wooded hill behind the house; No traces of manual ax chiseling.The embellishments on the weir are neither rigid nor artificial.Elizabeth cheered up.She had never seen a place fuller of natural interest, nor a place where its beauty was so unimpaired by artificial taste.Everyone was full of praise, and Elizabeth suddenly felt that being the housewife of the Pemberley family was pretty cool!

They went down the hill, crossed a bridge, and arrived at the door of the house; while enjoying the view in front of the house, Elizabeth's fear of meeting the owner returned.She was afraid that the information about the maid in the hotel was inaccurate.They begged to come in, and the servants at once showed them into the drawing-room; and while they waited for the housekeeper to arrive, Elizabeth wondered privately at how she should come to Mr. Darcy's.

The housekeeper came. She was a dignified and rich old woman, not as glamorous and glamorous as Elizabeth imagined, but more thoughtful and polite than she imagined.They followed her into the restaurant.It was a spacious and comfortable room, and it was also beautifully furnished. After surveying the room briefly, Elizabeth went to a window to admire the outside view.The wooded hill upon which they had just passed, appeared steeper from a distance, and formed a beautiful sight.Everything has been tidied up and arranged properly; she looked at the whole place from a distance, and saw a curved river, green trees on both sides, and valleys winding and stretching out into the distance, which really made her feel happy.When they went to other rooms and looked out of the windows, the scenery would always be different; but from every window there was beauty to feast the eyes.These rooms were high and handsome, furnished with the best furniture for the worth of their owner, but neither gaudy nor excessively luxurious, and possessed a true elegance compared with Rosings's, Elizabeth could not help seeing. Admire the taste of the master.

"This is the place," she thought to herself, "and I almost became its mistress! If it hadn't been for this, I would have known these houses by now! I don't visit the sights as a stranger, but as a The master came to enjoy it all, and welcomed the uncle and aunt as honored guests. But no," she suddenly remembered, "it will never be possible: my uncle and aunt will not see me by then, and he will never see me again. I will not be allowed to invite them here."

It was a good thing that occurred to her--it spared her any regrets she might have had for refusing the marriage.

She would have liked to ask the housekeeper if it was true that her master was away, but she could not muster up the courage.At last it was her uncle who asked; Mrs. Reynolds replied that he was not at home, "but he will be back to-morrow, and he will have many friends." Elizabeth heard the beating of her heart, and hastily turned away. go.

At the same time, she felt thankful that they didn't come here one day later!
Elizabeth's aunt sent her to see a portrait.Going up, she saw that it was Wickham's portrait, hanging with several other smaller portraits over the mantelpiece.My aunt smiled and asked her if she liked the portrait.The housekeeper came forward and told them that the young man in the portrait was the son of the old master's accountant, and that he had been brought up by the old master alone. "He's in the army now," she went on, "but I think he's gotten pretty loose."

Mrs. Gardiner smiled and glanced at her niece, but Elizabeth could not laugh.

"This one," said Mrs. Reynolds, pointing to the portrait, "is a portrait of my little master. It was painted at about the same time as that one, about eight years ago."

"I have heard of your master's stately appearance," said Mrs. Gardiner, looking at the portrait. "It is a handsome face. But, Elizabeth, can you tell me whether it is like him?"

Madame Reynolds seemed to respect her all the more when she heard that Elizabeth was acquainted with her master.

"The lady knew Mr. Darcy?"

Elizabeth blushed unconsciously, and said, "I only know a little bit."

"Do you think he is handsome, miss?"

"Yes, very beautiful."

"I dare say I never saw a better-looking young man; and there is a larger and finer portrait upstairs in the array room. This room was a favorite place of the old master's, These portraits are still from that time. He likes these small portraits."

From these words, Elizabeth heard the reason why Mr. Wickham's portrait would hang here together.

Mrs. Reynolds then invited them to see a portrait of Miss Darcy, which she had had her painted when she was eight years old.

"Is Miss Darcy as handsome as her brother?" asked Mr. Gardiner. "Oh! yes--the most beautiful and talented girl I ever saw! She plays and sings all day long. In the next room there is a piano just bought for her--a present from my master ; she will come back tomorrow with her brother."

Mr. Gardiner's manner was agreeable, and Mrs. Reynolds was ready to answer his questions; and she herself, whether from pride or affection, was more than happy to speak of the two brothers and sisters.

"Your master has been at Pemberley for more than a year and a half?"

"Not so long as I would have liked, sir; but I dare say he spends half the year here; and Miss Darcy always spends her summers here."

Elizabeth thought: "Except when she goes to Ramsgate for the summer."

"If your master is married, you can see him more."

"Yes, sir; but I don't know when that day will come. I don't know of a girl good enough to be worthy of him."

Mrs. Gardiner laughed when she heard this, and Elizabeth couldn't help but said: "You can think that way, which shows that you praise him very much."

"I'm only telling the truth, as everyone who knew him would say," replied the housekeeper.Elizabeth felt that this was a bit too much; when the housekeeper said, "I have never heard him say a serious word in my life. I have been with him since he was four years old." is surprised.

Compared with other compliments, this compliment was completely contrary to her opinion.He has a bad temper, which is what she always thinks.Now her intense curiosity was whetted; she longed to hear more, and was very grateful when her uncle said the following.

"There are very few people who can deserve such praise. You are so lucky to have such a master."

"Yes, sir, and I know that too well. If I had traveled all over the world, I could never have met a better master. I have often said that those who are kind-hearted when they are children must be good-hearted when they grow up." Good-natured; and Mr. Darcy was the kindest, most bearing boy ever brought up."

Elizabeth almost stared at her with wide-eyed eyes. "Could this be Mr. Darcy?" she thought privately.

"His father was a very respectable man," said Mrs. Gardiner.

"Yes, ma'am, he is a very good man; and his son is just like him--a compassionate concern for the poor."

Elizabeth listened, wondering, then doubting, longing to hear more.Nothing else Madame Reynolds said interested her in any way.She spoke of portraits, of the size of the room, of the price of the furniture, and Elizabeth could not hear them.Mr. Gardiner, amused by the housekeeper's admiration of her master's partiality, presently returned to the subject; and while she spoke vigorously of his many virtues, she led them on a long course. stairs.

"He was the best of the estates, and the best of masters," she said, "not at all like the rambunctious young men of today, who don't care about anyone but themselves. Not a single tenant or servant does not praise him. Yes. Some say he's proud; but I dare say I've never seen anything like it in him. As far as I can see, it's only because he doesn't talk like other young men."

"Then that's another of his strengths!" thought Elizabeth.

"This praise of him," said her aunt softly, as they walked, "is not in keeping with his conduct to our poor friend."

"Perhaps we were deceived."

"It's impossible, our friend is not like that."

When they reached the spacious hall upstairs, they were led into a very handsome sitting room, even more exquisite and pleasant than the downstairs room, which was said to have just been packed for Miss Darcy's use. , when she was at Pemberley last year, she had her eye on the house.

"He's such a good brother," said Elizabeth, walking up to a window of the house.

Mrs. Reynolds said Miss Darcy would be pleasantly surprised when she entered the room. "He's always been like that," she added, "if it pleases his sister, he's going to do it right away. There's nothing in the world he wouldn't do for her."

All that remained to be seen was the studio and two or three principal bedrooms.The studio was lined with many fine oil paintings; but Elizabeth knew nothing of art; it seemed to them no different from those downstairs, and she preferred to turn her head to some of Miss Darcy's chalk drawings, for The subjects of these paintings were easier to understand and more interesting to her.

There were also many portraits of members of their family in the studio, but these were unlikely to be of much interest to a stranger.Elizabeth searched among them for the only face she knew.At last she saw a portrait very much like Mr. Darcy himself, and saw him smiling just as he had looked at her.She stood before the portrait for several minutes, contemplating it carefully, and before they left the studio she turned back to take another look.Madame Reynolds told them that this portrait of the young master had been painted by his father during his lifetime.

For a moment Elizabeth could not help feeling a tenderness for the pictured figure; a feeling which they had never known before in their acquaintance.Madame Reynolds' compliments on him were not to be underestimated.What praise is more valuable than the praise of a sensible servant?As an elder brother, as a manor, as a master, how many people's happiness Elizabeth wanted to hold in his hands!How many people can be happy and how many people can be made miserable by the power in his hands!How much good he could do, and how much evil he could do!Everything the housekeeper mentioned is enough to show his good character.Standing in front of this man's portrait, looking at his eyes staring at her, from the bottom of her heart she couldn't help feeling a kind of gratitude for him that she had never felt before; The ardor of his affection excused his insolence in expressing his affection.

When all the houses that could be seen had been visited, they came downstairs again, said good-bye to the housekeeper, and were led out by the gardener who was waiting at the hall door.

They walked across the grass to the river, and Elizabeth turned her head to look at it again. Her uncle and aunt also stopped, but when her uncle was speculating about the construction period of the house, suddenly the owner of the house came from a road leading to the stable. the way to come.

They were not more than twenty yards apart, and his appearance was so sudden that there was no time to duck.Their eyes immediately met, and their cheeks flushed instantly.Mr. Darcy was so startled that he seemed for a moment to remain motionless; but he soon recovered his mind, and approaching them spoke to Elizabeth, if not quite calmly. , at least be very polite.

As soon as Elizabeth saw him, she walked back involuntarily, but stopped when she saw him approaching, and accepted his greeting with great embarrassment.As for the uncle and aunt, if the first meeting with Mr. Darcy, or his resemblance to the portrait they had just seen, had not been enough to convince them that it was Mr. Darcy, they had never The surprised expression on the gardener's face when he saw the owner could be seen immediately.While he was talking to their niece, the uncle and aunt stood a little away; Elizabeth was too frightened to raise her eyes to look at him, and she did not know how to answer the polite greetings to her family. something happened.Surprised by the change in his manner since the last time they had parted, she was more embarrassed by every word he said; Decently, the few minutes they were together turned out to be the worst of her life.Mr. Darcy's condition was not much better; and when he spoke, his usual composure was missing from his tone; How long he had been talking about the topic, and asked back and forth, and asked so quickly, it was obvious how flustered he was.

Finally, he seemed to have nothing to say, and after standing silently for a while, he collected himself and left suddenly.

(End of this chapter)