Pride and Prejudice

Chapter 9

The whole of Mr. Bennet's fortune is in one estate, which earns him £[-] a year.As for the estate, it was the misfortune of his daughters, as there was no male heir in the family, and it was to be passed on to a distant relation; as for their mother's estate; although sufficient for her own life, it could not make up for his deficiency. .Her father had been a lawyer in Meryton, and had left her an inheritance of four thousand pounds.

She had a sister, who married a gentleman named Philip, who had been a clerk in her father's clerk, and had succeeded her in his business, and a brother, who lived in London, and worked as a nurse. A favored business transaction.

The village of Longbourne is only a mile from Meryton; that distance is the most convenient for the Bennet ladies, who go there three or four times a week to see their Aunt, take a look yonder at a milliner's shop, where the youngest of them, Catherine and Lydia, run more often; When they were bored, they had a walk about Meryton, and there they passed their days, and in the evening they had something to talk about; I can try to get some back from my aunt.At the present time their news and joy were actually amplified by the recent arrival of a regiment of troops; this regiment was to be stationed here all winter, and Meryton was their headquarters.

Now, every time they came back from Mrs Philip's cruise, they both brought back a lot of interesting things.Every day new officers' names and related information came to their ears.Soon the places where the officers lived ceased to be a secret to them, and later they themselves began to know them.Mr. Phillips had called on all the officers, and this had really opened up for the sisters a source of happiness which they had never known before, and Catherine and Lydia were now officers of the day; as for Mr. Bingley and his Although their mothers were still beaming with joy at the mention of a large amount of property, it was nothing in their eyes, and it couldn't be compared with the uniforms of those officers.

One morning, listening to the two young daughters eloquently on this subject, Mr. Bennet said grimly:

"From the way the two of you talk, I can see that you are the two stupidest girls in the country. I used to doubt it like this, but now, I completely believe it."

Catherine became ill at what was said, and said nothing more; but Lydia, not caring, continued to tell of her admiration for Captain Carter, whom she wished she could see during the day, for he was leaving for London to-morrow morning. up.

"My dear, you astonish me," said Mrs. Bennet, "that you are so willing to think your own children are stupid. Whoever I wish to demote, I shall not on the head of my own child."

"If my children are stupid, I must wish I were always aware of it."

"That's a good point—but, the truth is, they're pretty smart, every single one of them."

"I think that's the only difference of opinion between us. I had hoped that our opinions would agree in every respect, but so far I think our little girls are very stupid." On this point, I have to have a different opinion from you."

"Honey, you can't expect daughters to have the sense of their parents. When they get to our age, I dare say, they won't be thinking about these officers as much as we do. I remember When I was young I myself was very fond of an officer--I still like him in my heart, to be sure; I would never say no to a daughter proposing marriage; I think Colonel Forster looked very dashing in his officer's uniform at that evening party at Sir William's."

"Mother," cried Lydia, "my aunt says Colonel Forster and Captain Carter don't go to Miss Watson's as often as they did when they first came; aunt sees them standing in the Clark Library."

Before Mrs. Bennet could reply to her little daughter, a footman entered with a letter in his hand from Miss Bingley; The servant was still waiting for the reply.Mrs. Bennet's eyes beamed with joy, and seeing her eldest daughter reading the letter, she asked aloud impatiently:
"Oh, Jane, who is this letter from? What is it in? What do you say? Come, Jane, tell us quickly, hurry, my darling."

"The letter is from Miss Bingley," replied Jane, and read it aloud, ?

"My dear friend:
If you don't show kindness today and come to supper with Louisa and me, we two sisters may hate each other forever, because two women talk together all day long and never end up quarreling.Please come as soon as possible after receiving this letter.My brother and his friends are going to dinner at the officer's.

Always faithful to you, Caroline Bingley"

"Dining with the officers!" cried Lydia. "I wonder why my aunt didn't tell us about it."

"Going out to dinner," said Mrs. Bennet, "it's an unfortunate coincidence."

"Can I go by car?" Jane asked.

"No, dear, you'd better go on horseback; it looks like it's going to rain, and you can stay there at night, too."

"That's a good idea," said Elizabeth, "if you can be sure they won't offer to drive her back."

"Oh! Mr. Bingley's carriage, in which the men went to dinner at Meryton; and the Hursts had no horses or carriages."

"I'd better go by car, mother."

"But, my dear, I think your father must have horses, for the work in the field requires them, Bennet, doesn't he?"

"Horses are often needed in the fields, but not often in my turn."

"But if you will use it today," said Elizabeth, "my mother will have served her purpose."

At last Elizabeth managed to wriggle out of her father the word that the horses had their uses.So Jane was obliged to ride, and her mother sent her to the door, with many cheery wishes for bad weather.God indeed granted her mother's wish; Jane had not been gone for a long time when it began to rain heavily, and her sisters began to worry about her, and her mother was very happy.It rained without a break into the evening; Jane was sure not to come back.

"It's a good thing I came up with such a brilliant idea!" Mrs. Bennet repeated the sentence several times, as if she took all the credit for the heavy rain that day.But how much happiness had been brought about by this clever calculation of hers, she did not know until the next morning.Just after breakfast, a servant brought Elizabeth the following letter from Nicefeld: ?

"My dearest Lizzy:
When I woke up this morning, I felt very unwell, and I thought it might be because I got caught in the rain yesterday.These good friends of mine were determined not to let me go back till I was well.They also insisted on having Mr. Jones come to see me--so you won't be surprised if you hear he's been to me--except for a sore throat and head, and I'm not much troubled.

your sister"

"Oh, my dear," said Mr. Bennet to his wife, as Elizabeth read the letter aloud, "if your daughter were to be dangerously ill, if she were to die, it would be a consolation, for she was all Followed your order to pursue Mr Bingley."

"Oh! I don't think it's going to kill her at all. You don't die from a little cold, and she'll be well taken care of, and as long as she stays there, she won't die. Something to do. If only the carriage was here so I could go and see her."

Elizabeth was really anxious for her sister, and although the carriage was not there, she decided to go and see her; she couldn't ride a horse, so she could only go on foot.She made her plan known.

"How silly you child," cried her mother, "you want to walk in the mud all over this field! When you get there, how will you see people covered in mud?"

"I'm going to see Jane, and there's nothing inappropriate about it—that's my only thought now."

"Are you suggesting to me, Lizzy," said her father, "that I should send for the horse?"

"No, of course not. I'm not afraid of walking. The distance is nothing when one has a mind; it's only three miles, and I'll be back before supper."

"I applaud this act of sisterhood of yours," said Mary, "but the passions of emotion should be governed by reason; and it is my opinion that the effort should always be in proportion to what is needed." That's good."

"We will walk with you to Meryton," said Catherine and Lydia, Elizabeth assented, and the three ladies set off together.

"If we walk faster," said Lydia, as we walked, "perhaps we can catch Captain Carter before he leaves."

When they reached Meryton they parted, and the two sisters set off towards the house of an officer's wife, while Elizabeth continued on alone, trotting quickly from field to field, and over fences along the way. After bouncing and jumping through countless puddles, she finally saw the house, but at this time, her feet were already tired, her shoes and socks were splashed with mud, and her face turned red due to the effort.

She was ushered into the breakfast-room, where all but Jane happened to be, and the sight of her surprised the whole house.It seemed incredible to Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley that she should walk three miles alone on such a muddy road so early in the morning; Elizabeth felt it too, and they were watching her At that time, for the contempt shown by her behavior.Nevertheless, she was received with civility by both sisters; and there was something better than politeness, good humor and friendly concern, in their brother's manner.Mr. Darcy said nothing, and Mr. Hurst said nothing.The former was a conflicted mood; he was moved by the blush and luster on her cheeks after all the trekking, and doubted whether it was appropriate for her to come so far alone.As for the latter, he was only thinking about his breakfast.

She asked them about her sister's condition, and the answers she received were not very satisfactory.Miss Bennet didn't sleep well, and although she got up now, she still had a high fever and couldn't go out of the house. Elizabeth was soon led to her sister's room; Jane was very happy to see her sister come in, how she I hope that a relative can come here to see her, but I dare not mention it in her letter because I am afraid of causing worry or inconvenience to the family.She was too weak to speak much, and when Miss Bingley left them both she expressed some words of gratitude for the good care she had received.Elizabeth waited on her in silence.

Miss Bingley and her sister came to Jane after breakfast; and Elizabeth could not help herself, seeing the affection they showed for Jane, and the anxiety they felt about her illness. Started to like them.The doctor came, and after examining the patient's condition, he said, as people had already expected, that she had a bad cold, and asked them to take good care of the patient; advised her to go to bed and prescribed some medicine, and the doctor Her suggestion was quickly carried out, because the fever increased again, and her headache was severe.Elizabeth never left her room for a moment, nor did the Bingleys seldom; the men were out, and indeed they had nothing to do elsewhere.

When the clock struck three, Elizabeth felt that it was time for her to go home; so she said so, though with great reluctance.Miss Bingley wanted to send her off in a carriage, and when she almost accepted the offer with some excuses, Jane showed such lingering reluctance for her sister's departure that Miss Bingley had no choice but to change. He gave her the idea of ​​taking her in a carriage and invited her to stay in Nicefeld for a while.Elizabeth very gratefully assented, and a servant was sent to Longbourn to inform the family of her stay, and to bring back some change of clothes.

(End of this chapter)