Pride and Prejudice

Chapter 52

Since Elizabeth now believed that Miss Bingley's dislike was motivated by jealousy, she could not help thinking how much Miss Bingley would in fact dislike her presence at Pemberley; How much courtesy can the young lady show her.

At Pemberley House, Elizabeth and her aunt were led from the hall into the drawing-room, which, with its north-facing windows, made it very pleasant in the present summer day.There was a clearing beyond the windows, and the back of the house was wooded and hilly, and the lawn was dotted with beautiful oaks and Spanish chestnuts.

Miss Darcy received them in the drawing-room, and with Miss Darcy were Mrs Hurst, Miss Bingley, and the lady who lived with Miss Darcy in London.Georgiana treated them both with great civility; only with a certain reserve of shyness and fear of being offended, which might easily appear haughty and reserved to those who considered themselves inferior.Mrs. Gardiner and her niece had a good eye, and found Miss Darcy worthy of sympathy.

Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley only curtseyed to them; and after they sat down, no one said anything for some awkward minutes.The first to break the silence was Mrs. Agnesley, a quiet, kindly woman who, you could tell by the way she was trying to find something to talk about, was more educated than the other two. Much; it was only because of the conversation between her and Mrs. Gardiner, and Elizabeth's interruptions from time to time, that there was no silence.Miss Darcy seemed to wish she could summon up enough courage to join in; and she did say a short sentence or two sometimes, when she thought no one would hear her.

Elizabeth soon found that Miss Bingley's eyes were fixed upon her, and that nothing she said, especially to Miss Darcy, demanded her attention.This discovery could not have prevented her conversation with Miss Darcy, which was only prevented by the distance between them, but she was not sorry that she had said so little.Because she has a lot of things to think about.She was hoping desperately that some men would come in.In the middle, she hoped to have Mr. Darcy, but she was afraid of Mr. Darcy; whether she was looking forward to it or was afraid of it, she couldn't tell herself.Elizabeth sat thus for a quarter of an hour, without hearing a word on Miss Bingley's part, when suddenly Miss Bingley asked icily about her family.She answered with the same indifference, and then fell silent again.

What changed the situation was the arrival of several servants, who brought cold meats, pastries, and all kinds of fresh and delicious fruits in season; Miss Xi reminded her of her responsibilities as a master.Everyone had something to do now; though they were not congenial in their conversation, they all ate; and the piles of grapes, nectarines, and peaches brought everyone quickly round the table.

While thus chewing, Elizabeth had time to decide whether she dreaded or wished Mr. Darcy's presence, and finally felt that she wished him to be here; But she thought it was better for him not to come, even though she believed she was still looking forward to seeing him a minute ago.

It is said that Darcy and two or three gentlemen left home to the river, and accompanied Mr. Gardiner to fish by the river, and then heard that Mrs. Gardiner and her niece were going to visit Georgiana this morning, so they hurried back. Elizabeth wisely resolved, as soon as he entered, to appear very calm and relaxed; a resolution which, of course, was necessary in order to deceive, but which was not so easy to do as it was imagined, for It was only then that she realized that everyone present had become suspicious of the two of them. As soon as Darcy came in, there was almost no pair of eyes that did not watch his every move.In no one, however, was the expression of curiosity and preoccupation so evident as in Miss Bingley's, though she could speak to either of them with a broad smile; She can laugh because her jealousy has not yet made her despair, and she is far from giving up on Mr. Darcy.Miss Darcy, seeing her brother approaching, talked as much as she could; and Elizabeth saw that Mr. Darcy was eager to make his sister acquainted with her, and he did everything he could to create opportunities for them both to be acquainted. Talk to each other more.Miss Bingley, of course, saw all these things; in a fit of rage, she lost all manners, and soon found an opportunity to sneer:
"Excuse me, Miss Elizabeth, have the militia from the county left Meryton? It must have been a great loss to your family."

Miss Bingley dared not mention Wickham's name in Darcy's presence; but Elizabeth at once realized that she was referring chiefly to this gentleman; She felt uncomfortable for a moment; but she still tried to calm herself to deal with this malicious attack, and then answered the question in a tone of indifference.When she opened her mouth to answer, Elizabeth unconsciously glanced at Darcy. Darcy blushed and was looking at her eagerly, while his sister was even more flustered, not even daring to raise her eyes. .

If Miss Bingley had known in advance how much pain she would now cause the man she loved, she would no doubt have given this hint; To the one whom she thought Elizabeth was attached to, to make her show her feelings, to make Mr. Darcy look down on her, or even to remind Darcy of the absurdities her sisters had made over that vigilante joke.Where did Miss Bingley know that Miss Darcy had been tricked into elopement.Except for Elizabeth, Mr. Darcy has always kept the secret as much as possible, and has not told anyone; especially as for Bingley's relatives and friends, her brother is more careful to conceal it, because he wants his sister to marry their family in the future. Elizabeth had already guessed it.It was true that he had long since intended to do so, but this was not the reason why he tried so hard to break up the affair between Bingley and Miss Bennet, but perhaps he was more interested in his friend's happiness for this purpose.

Elizabeth's self-possession soon calmed Darcy's mind; and as Miss Bingley, disappointed and discouraged, made no further mention of Wycoham, Georgiana gradually recovered, though she could no longer Have the courage to talk.It did not occur to her brother that she was involved in this matter, although she was afraid of meeting his eyes at this moment.This scene, which was meant to drive a wedge between Darcy and Elizabeth, seemed to make him think more about her, and think more passionately about her.

Shortly after the above-mentioned question and answer, Elizabeth and her aunt rose to take their leave; and while Mr. Darcy accompanied them to the carriage, Miss Bingley continued to comment on Elizabeth's looks, manners, and dress. , to vent her personal anger.But Georgiana did not speak for her.Her brother's recommendation was enough to endear her to Elizabeth: he was infallible in his judgment, and he said so many good things about Elizabeth that Georgiana felt nothing but kindness and loveliness in her. what.When Mr. Darcy returned to the drawing-room, Miss Bingley could not help repeating what she had said to her sister.

"How ugly Elizabeth Bennet is this morning, Mr. Darcy," she said aloud, "I have never seen anyone so changed in one winter as she was. Her complexion became Dark and rough! Louisa and I both felt we should never have gotten to know her this time around."

In spite of how much Mr. Darcy disliked the remark, he answered her with the utmost calmness and indifference that he could see no change in her except that she was a little tanned--no wonder , is a natural consequence of summer travel.

"In my opinion," she replied, "I don't see any beauty in her at all. Her face is too thin, her skin is dull, her features are not at all beautiful, and her nose is featureless. , the lines are very vague. Her teeth are tolerable, but only so-so; and as for her eyes, which are sometimes said to be so beautiful, I have never seen them to be anything particularly attractive. There was a sharp, sly look in her eyes, which I did not like at all; and as for her manner, it was so pretentious, so devoid of elegance, that it was almost intolerable."

Although Miss Bingley also understood that Mr. Darcy loved Elizabeth, and she could not win him much favor by doing so; but people are often not so shrewd when they are angry; Thought she was done.Darcy, however, made an effort to keep silent; and in order to compel him to speak, she went on:

"I remember that, when we first met her in Hertfordshire, we all wondered how she could be such a beauty as everyone said; After dinner, you said 'If she's a beauty, then I'd call her mother a little genius.' But since then, you seem to have changed your mind about her, and I think you thought she was older for a while. It's very beautiful."

"Yes," replied Darcy.He couldn't restrain himself any longer, "I said that only when I first met her, and for many months after that I thought she was the most beautiful woman I've ever known. "

With that he went away, leaving Miss Bingley alone to savor the words which she forced upon others, which brought her pain only.

When Mrs. Gardiner and Elizabeth returned, they talked of everything that had happened during their visit, except that which had particularly interested them both.They also talked about the behavior and expression of everyone they saw there, except for the one person they cared about the most.They spoke of his sister, his friends, his house, his fruit, everything, but not of himself; but Elizabeth longed to know her aunt's opinion, and Lady Gardiner would be greatly appreciated Satisfied, if her niece brought up the subject first.

(End of this chapter)