Pride and Prejudice

Chapter 50 (2)
The uncle and aunt came forward, and praised Mr. Darcy's appearance; but Elizabeth heard nothing, and, absorbed in her own thoughts, followed them in silence.All she felt now was shame and annoyance.Her coming here this time is really the most unfortunate and blundering thing she has ever done!How strange it would strike him!With such a proud person like him, how would he look down on her behavior!This seems to be her intention to send herself to someone's door!ah!Why is she coming!In other words, why did he come back one day earlier?If they had walked ten minutes sooner, Mr. Darcy would not have seen them, for he had evidently just come back, had just jumped off his horse or just stepped out of his carriage.Thinking of this ill-fated meeting, she really blushed again and again.What could it mean that the change in his demeanor had become so pronounced?How strange that he should still talk to her!And she asked about her family so politely!During this chance encounter, she would never have expected his attitude to be so sincere and his conversation so gentle. Compared with the attitude when he handed the letter into her hands at Rosings Manor, it was a world of difference. !She didn't know what to think about it, or how to explain it.

They now came to a pretty path, which bordered the river, where the ground gradually lowered, and beyond which lay a green wood; for some time Elizabeth was quite unconscious of the sight; though She also casually agreed to her uncle and aunt's repeated greetings, and seemed to turn her eyes to the sights they pointed out to her, but she didn't seem to see anything.All her thoughts were concentrated on the part of the Pemberley house where Mr. Darcy was now staying.She longed to know what he was thinking at this moment; how he saw her, whether he still loved her after all that had happened.Perhaps he could only be polite to her because he was completely at peace; yet there was something in his voice that did not seem to be at peace.She did not know whether he was pained or glad to see her, but it was certain that he had not been so calm when he saw her.

It wasn't until later that her uncle and aunt mentioned why she was absent-minded, which woke her up. She felt that she had to maintain her normal state so as not to arouse suspicion.

They walked into the woods, left the river for a while, and set foot on a higher ground; looking out from the gaps in the woods, they could see the charming scenery in various parts of the valley, and the opposite hillside was covered with a whole piece of grass. The woods and the river that sometimes come into view.Mr. Gardiner said he wished he could walk all over the garden, but was afraid he couldn't.The gardener told them with a smug smile that the area was more than ten miles away.So it was obliged to give up; and after wandering for a while along the usual path, they returned to a lowland near the river, where the channel was at its narrowest.They crossed the river on a crude little bridge, which was in harmony with the surrounding scenery; Accommodates the stream and a rugged bush-lined trail.Elizabeth really wanted to follow this path to explore Hunting; but once she crossed the bridge, she saw that she was getting farther and farther away from the house, and Mrs. Gardiner, who was not good at traveling long distances, could not go any further. She just wanted to go back to There is their car.

Her niece was compelled to obey her, and they took the shortest road across the river towards the house; but they proceeded slowly, for Mr. Gardiner seldom had time to enjoy his fishing habit. , but I still love fishing very much. Now I see trout swimming in the water, I am very interested, and I am talking about fish with the gardener, but I can't take this step.While they were walking so slowly, they were surprised again, especially Elizabeth, who was almost as surprised as before, when they saw Mr. Darcy approaching again, It's not far from here.The path on this side is not as densely covered by forests as on the other side, so it is convenient to see him from a distance.

No matter how surprised Elizabeth felt, after all, she was more prepared than the unexpected encounter just now, determined to face him calmly and talk to him, if he really wanted to come to see them.For a moment she really thought he might be turning into another road, for at the bend he disappeared from their sight for a moment; .Elizabeth saw at a glance that he was still as polite as before, so she assumed a polite look, and began to praise the beauty of the place; Some unlucky thoughts welled up in her mind as she uttered some ordinary words, and she wondered if her compliments to Pemberley might not be misinterpreted, as if she had other motives?Her face turned red and she stopped talking.

Mrs. Gardiner stood a little behind, and while Elizabeth was silent, he asked if she would do her the honor of introducing him to her friends.She had not expected this courtesy of his; and she could not help smiling at the thought that he should ask for the acquaintance of the same people whom he had arrogantly objected to when he wooed her. "How surprised will he be?" she thought, "when he knows who they are! He thinks they're gentlemen now."

She introduced him at once, however; while she was telling their relation to her, she cast a furtive glance at him to see how he would react; friends.He was evidently surprised by this familiarity between them; but he survived it, and was not frightened away, but walked back with them, and fell into conversation with Mr. Gardiner.Elizabeth could not help feeling both joy and pride.It was comforting to know that she, too, had relatives to be proud of.She listened intently to their conversation, and Elizabeth was really honored by the intelligence, taste, and manner of his uncle in everything he said.

The conversation soon turned to fishing, and she heard Mr. Darcy say to his uncle very politely that he would come fishing any time so long as he lived in the neighbourhood, and at the same time promised to lend him his tackle, and show him Look at the places in the river where there are usually the most fish.Mrs. Gardiner, who was walking arm in arm with Elizabeth, gave Elizabeth a wink.Expressed her astonishment.Although Elizabeth said nothing, she felt a great satisfaction in her heart; but at the same time, her surprise was indescribable; she silently asked herself repeatedly: "Why has he changed so much? What is the cause of this? It cannot be because of me, it cannot be because of me that his manner has become so gentle. My scolding at Hansford could not have brought him so much change. It is impossible for him to still love me."

They walked like this for a while, with the two women in front and the two men behind, and then they stepped down to the river to look at some rare aquatic plants. At this time, their order changed a bit.It turned out that Mrs. Gardiner was exhausted from the morning's trek, and felt that Elizabeth's arm could no longer support her, so she preferred to walk with her husband's arm.Then Mr. Darcy took her niece's arm in her stead, and they came together.After a little silence, it was the young lady who spoke first.She wished him to know that she had really thought he was not at the estate when she had come here, and went on to say that his coming was very unexpected to her—"Because of your steward," she added, "Tell us you won't be back until tomorrow; we found out when we left Buckwell that you wouldn't be coming back to the country at once." Mr. Darcy admitted all this to be true; If something happened, they arrived a few hours earlier than those who came with them. "They will be here early tomorrow morning," he went on. "Among these are some you know—Mr. Bingley and his sisters."

Elizabeth only nodded slightly in reply.Her thoughts returned at once to the last time when they had last mentioned Bingley; and if she had looked up at his expression then, she could have judged that he was thinking of that same thing now.

"There is one more of these people," he went on after a pause, "who would like to know you in particular—would you like me to introduce my sister to you during your stay at Lamb? My Isn't that too much to ask?"

The astonishment of this request was indeed no small one; it left her at a loss as to how to answer it.It occurred to her at once that it must have been her brother's instigation to Miss Darcy's wish to make her acquaintance, and that alone was enough to satisfy her; , I feel very relieved.

The two of them walked in silence, each thinking about their own concerns.It was impossible to say that Elizabeth was now in a good mood; but she felt a certain satisfaction and joy.He wished to introduce her to his sister, and that was the highest compliment he could pay her.The two of them passed the others quickly, and the Gardiners were still half a mile away when they reached the car.

Mr. Darcy asked her to come in now--but she said she was not tired, and they stood together on the lawn and waited.At this time, both parties could have a lot to say, and silence is the most embarrassing.She wanted to find something to say, but it seemed that every topic was difficult to talk about.At last it occurred to her that she was traveling, and they talked a great deal about Matlock and Pigeon Hollow.But both time and her aunt's movements seemed to die at a deadly slow pace—her patience and wits were nearly exhausted before this nonsense was over.When Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner caught up, Mr. Darcy repeatedly invited them all to come in and rest; they were all declined, and at last they all took their leave of each other with the utmost civility.Mr. Darcy helped the ladies into the carriage, and after the carriage had moved, Elizabeth saw him and walked slowly towards the house.

Her uncle and aunt now opened their mouths; and each of them declared that Mr. Darcy was infinitely better than they had imagined. "His manners were decent, courteous without affectation," said her uncle.

"There is, indeed, something akin to dignity in him," said his aunt, "but that is only in his manners, and it cannot be said to be inappropriate. I now agree with the housekeeper; though some People say he's proud, but I can't see it at all."

"It was beyond my imagination that he would treat us like that. It was more than polite, it could be said to be a consideration for us; in fact, it was unnecessary for him to give us such attention. He and Elizabeth only knew each other in a general way. "

"To tell the truth, Lizzy," said her aunt, "he is not as handsome as Wickham, or rather he has not Wickham's genial expression, for his features are also impeccable. Yes. But why are you telling us he's such a nuisance?"

Elizabeth did her best to excuse herself; by saying that she had liked him better than ever when she met him in Kent, and that she had found him to be quite agreeable this morning.

"His courtesies, however, may be a little unreliable," replied her uncle, "as is often the case with such nobles; so I do not intend to take his offer to fish seriously, for he may very well be another day." Changed my mind and forbade me to go into his manor."

Elizabeth felt that they had completely misunderstood his character, but did not try to explain it.

"From what we have just seen of him," continued Lady Gardiner, "I really cannot believe he could treat a man so cruelly as he did to poor Wickham. He is not a bad-looking person. And when he speaks, the expression on the corner of his mouth is very pleasing. There is a kind of dignity in his expression, so that people will not have a bad opinion of him. However, The housekeeper who kindly showed us around the house certainly praised his personality too much! Sometimes, I could hardly hold back my laughter. I think he must be a generous man Master, in the eyes of the servants, all virtues are contained in it."

Elizabeth felt that it was time for her herself to come forward and do some justice to Mr. Darcy's conduct towards Wickham; and she carefully related to them what Mr. Darcy had told him in Kent, To show them that Mr. Darcy's conduct in the matter might well have been interpreted differently; his personality was by no means so hypocritical as the Hertfordshire people make it out to be, nor was Wickham so much. Think so kind.In order to prove this point, she told the details of the money transaction between the two of them. Although she didn't tell the source of her news, she also stated that her words were reliable.

Mrs. Gardiner was amazed, and at the same time concerned with Elizabeth's feelings; only that they were now in the place which had formerly given her pleasure, and that she was immersed in fond memories, and all else was lost. There was no time for thinking; she showed her husband all the interesting places around here, and had no time for anything else.Although she was tired from the morning's walk, she set out to visit her old friends after dinner, and spent the whole evening in the satisfaction of reconnecting with old friends.

The events of the day were simply too important to Elizabeth to make any new acquaintance; What is the reason for being polite, especially why he wants her to know his sister.

(End of this chapter)