Pride and Prejudice; Sense and Sensibility

Chapter 23 Miss Bingley's Letter

The discussion of Mr. Collins's proposal was nearly at an end, but Elizabeth still felt somewhat displeased, and sometimes heard a murmur or two from her mother.As for the gentleman himself, he did not lose heart, nor did he appear to shun her, but remained silent with an angry face.He hardly spoke to her, and his original enthusiasm was transferred to Miss Lucas by the afternoon.Miss Lu listened to him very politely, which was a relief to everyone, especially her friend.

Mrs. Bennet remained equally unhappy until the next day, and did not recover.Mr. Collins was as angry and haughty as ever.Elizabeth thought that he would leave here as soon as possible because of his anger, but he did not change his original plan because of this. He said that he would not leave until Saturday, and would stay until Saturday.

After breakfast the ladies went to Meryton to inquire whether Mr. Wickham had returned, and to express their regret at his absence from the ball at Netherfield.They met him as soon as they were in town, and he accompanied the ladies to their aunt's house, where he had a good talk of his apologies, his troubles, and his concern for everyone.However, he automatically explained in front of Elizabeth that he himself did not want to attend the ball.

He said: "At the time, as the day approached, I thought to myself, I'd better not run into Mr. Darcy. I thought it would be a good idea to spend hours in the same room with him at the same ball. I can't stand it, and there may be some jokes that make each other unhappy."

She greatly praised his self-cultivation.When Wickham and another officer came back with them to Longbourn, he took special care of her, so that they had ample time to discuss the subject, and exchange civil compliments for a while.There are two main benefits for him to send them home: first, it can make her happy, and second, he can take advantage of this great opportunity to get to know her parents.

They had hardly reached home when Miss Bennet received a letter from Netherfield.She opened the letter at once, and found that there was a small, exquisite, and smooth-pressed letter paper inside, and the handwriting was from a young lady's graceful and fluent handwriting.Elizabeth saw her sister's face change as she read the letter, and her attention linger on certain paragraphs.In an instant, Jane calmed down again, put the letter aside, and chatted happily with everyone as usual.Elizabeth, however, was still anxious about the matter, and was therefore distracted from Wickham.

As soon as Wickham and his companion were gone, Jane gave her a wink and told her to follow upstairs.As soon as they were in their own rooms, Jane produced the letter, and said: "It is from Caroline Bingley, and I am astonished by what it says. The family have now left Netherfield for the city. I'm gone, and I don't plan to come back. You see what she said."

So she read the first sentence first, which said that they had decided to follow their brother to the city at once, and that they would rush to the famous residential area of ​​Grusswinner Street on the same day. , near Hyde Park.After dinner, it turned out that Mr. Hurst lived on that street.

What follows is this:

. . . Dear friend, I leave Hertfordshire with nothing to cherish but your friendship, though I hope some day to see each other as pleasantly as I have done before, and to correspond often and to say anything. Talk to express your feelings.Looking forward to it.

Elizabeth did not listen to these flowery words; although she was very surprised by their sudden removal this time, she did not feel that there was really anything to be sorry for.They left Netherfield, and it was not certain that Mr. Bingley would not live there any longer; as for having no association with them, she believed that Jane would be all right as long as she saw Mr. Bingley often.

After a moment's pause, Elizabeth said: "Unfortunately, you did not have time to see your friends before they left. But, since Miss Bingley thinks there will be a chance of reunion in the future, can't we hope that day Did it come earlier than she expected? Wouldn't it be more satisfying to be an aunt in the future than to be a friend today? Mr. Bingley will not be left in London by them for a long time."

"Caroline says with certainty that none of the family will be coming back to Hertfordshire this winter. Let me read it to you!

"My brother, when he took leave of us yesterday, thought he could get things done in three or four days by going to London; Immediately, so we decided to follow, so that he would not have to suffer in a lonely hotel. Many of my friends have gone to London for the winter. My dear friend, I was hoping to hear that you were going to town, but it turned out that I'm disappointed. I sincerely hope you have a very happy Christmas as usual in Hertfordshire. I hope you have a lot of cool boyfriends, so that you don't feel bad about losing three friends when we go uncomfortable."

"That obviously means," added Jane, "that he won't be back this winter."

"It just means that Miss Bingley does not want him back."

"Why do you think so? That must be his own idea. He can make his own decisions, but you don't know all about it. I must read to you the passage that particularly hurts me. I don't have to hold you back at all.

"Mr. Darcy is anxious to see his sister; and, to tell the truth, we are almost equally eager to see her again. I do not think that Georgiana Darcy has any equal in looks, manners, or talents." Yes. Both Louisa and I have the audacity to hope that she will be my sister-in-law in the future, and our interest in her has increased. I don't know if I have mentioned to you my feelings on this matter before, but here we go. In the country, I have to say these feelings, I believe you will not think it is unreasonable. My brother has fallen in love with her, he can now visit her often, and they will be more Intimacy, the families of both parties were equally eager for the success of the marriage. I think it would not be out of partiality for my sister to say that Charles was the best at wooing any woman. Since all parties were in favor of it A marriage, and nothing in the way, then, dearest Jane, can you tell me I am wrong, that I sincerely hope that this agreeable thing will come to pass?
"What do you think of that, my dear Lizzy?"

When Jane had finished reading, said: "Isn't that clear enough? Doesn't that make it plain that they don't want and don't want me to be her sister-in-law? Doesn't it show that she's completely convinced that his brother doesn't care for me? And no It also shows that if she suspects that I have feelings for him, will she persuade me (thanks to her kindness!) to be more careful? Can there be any other explanation for these words?"

"Of course there are other explanations. My explanation is completely different from yours. Would you like to hear it?"

"Very willing to."

"It only takes a few words to explain it. Miss Bingley sees that his brother is in love with you, but she wishes him to marry Miss Darcy. She followed him to the town in order to trip him up There, and trying to convince you that he doesn't like you."

Jane shook her head.

"Jane, you ought indeed to believe me. No one who has seen the two of you together will doubt his affection. I am sure Miss Bingley will not, she is no fool. If she sees Mr. Darcy treat her With this half of her love, she is about to make a dowry. But the problem is this: we are not rich enough or powerful enough in their family's opinion, and she is anxious to marry Miss Darcy to her brother. There is a plan, that is, that it will be easier for her to kiss Mr. Darcy in the future. It will certainly take her some ingenuity, and I dare say that if Miss de Bourgh did not intervene, the matter will be better. It will succeed. But dearest Jane, you must not, because Miss Bingley told you that her brother was deeply in love with Miss Darcy, you should think that Mr. Bingley, since parting from you on Tuesday, If there is any change in your love, don't think that she has the ability to make her brother not love you and fall in love with her girlfriend instead."

"If I agree with Miss Bingley," replied Jane, "I will be very much at ease in everything you think. But I know you are extreme. Caroline would not mean to To deceive anyone, I have only one hope in the matter, and that is that she must be mistaken."

"That's right. Since my thoughts can't comfort you, it's a good idea for you to come up with such a good idea yourself. You can believe that her own thinking is wrong. Now you have done her best. Responsibility, no need to worry about it anymore.”

"But, my dear sister, even with the best of intentions, if his sisters and friends wish him to marry someone else, will I be happy in marrying him?"

"It depends on your own opinion," said Elizabeth, "if you consider, when you are mature, that the pain of offending his sisters is greater than the happiness of being his wife, then I I advise you to reject him directly."

"How can you say such a thing!" Jane smiled slightly. "You have to know that even if their opposition makes me extremely uncomfortable, I still won't hesitate."

"I didn't say you would hesitate. If that's the case, I don't have to worry about you anymore."

"If he doesn't come back this winter, I don't have to think about it. What a change in six months."

Elizabeth disapproved of the so-called "he won't come back" idea.She thought it was just Caroline's wishful thinking.She thinks that whether Caroline expresses this desire blatantly or tactfully, it will never have the slightest influence on a young man who is completely unaffected by others.

She explained her opinion on the subject to her sister, and it had an immediate effect, to Jane's great satisfaction.Her temper, which would not be easily depressed, aroused hope at this moment, that Mr. Bingley would return to Netherfield Park and make her all the best, although sometimes she still had more doubts than hopes.

In the end, the two sisters agreed that it is not appropriate to say much about this matter in front of Mrs. Bennett. They only need to tell her that the family has left this place, and there is no need to explain to her the reason for his departure.But Mrs. Bennet was very disturbed when she heard this one-sided news, and she even cried, complaining that her luck was too bad, and the two ladies left just after getting acquainted with her.However, after a while of grief, she comforted herself with the thought that Mr. Bingley would soon be back, and dine at Longbourn.Finally, she said with peace of mind that although she only invited him to have a light meal, she must make some effort to invite him to eat two big dishes.

(End of this chapter)