Pride and Prejudice; Sense and Sensibility

Chapter 42 Sharing a Secret with My Sister

Elizabeth made sure to tell Jane that, and she could bear it no longer.So, she decided not to mention anything involving her sister.The next morning, she picked out the main plot of the scene where Mr. Darcy proposed to her, and she expected that Jane would be very surprised when she heard it.

Miss Bennet's brotherly affection for Elizabeth, and her feeling that it was a matter of course for her sister to be loved by anyone, was surprising at first, but not surprising afterwards.She felt sorry for Mr. Darcy, and felt that he should not express his heart in that unseemly manner.She was even more upset, though, about how her sister's refusal would embarrass him.

She said: "His attitude of being sure that he will succeed is really bad. He should never have done it, at least he shouldn't let you see this attitude, but think about how disappointed he will be in this way." Woolen cloth."

Elizabeth replied: "I am indeed very sorry for him. However, since he still has so many worries, his affection for me may soon disappear completely. You will not blame me for rejecting him, will you?"

"Blame you? Oh, no."

"But do you blame me for being so good at speaking for Wickham?"

"I don't blame you, I don't see anything wrong with what you say."

"When I tell you what happened the next day, you will surely see that there is a mistake."

So she talked about the letter, and told everything about George Wickham.How surprised poor Jane heard!Even if she traveled all over the world, she would never believe that there are so many crimes in the world, and now these many crimes are concentrated on such a person.Although Darcy's confession satisfied her.However, since she found out that there was such a secret in it, she didn't feel comforted anymore.She sincerely wanted to explain that this matter might be different from the facts, and she tried her best to clear up one wrong, but she didn't want to let the other suffer wrong.

Elizabeth said: "How can this work? You can't have the best of both worlds. You can only choose one of the two. There are only so many good things in the two of them that they can barely meet the standard of a good person. These good things have recently been separated between the two. It moves from moment to moment, very violently. For me, I prefer Mr. Darcy, and I feel that these advantages are all his, and you can do what you want."

After a while, Jane forced a smile on her face.

She said: "Nothing has surprised me more than this, that Wickham turned out to be so bad! It is almost unbelievable. Poor Mr. Darcy! My dear Lizzy, just think how miserable he must be. He has suffered such a disappointment! And he knows you despise him! And having to tell such private things about his own sister! It hurts him so much indeed, and I think you will feel the same."

"It's nothing, seeing you feel so sorry and sympathetic to him, I feel at ease. I know you will try your best to speak for him, so I don't take it seriously. Your boldness caused me He is stingy with his feelings, if you feel sorry for him any more, I will be so relaxed and happy that I will fly."

"Poor Wickham! He has such a good face, and such gentle manners."

"Those two young people must have a lot of deficiencies in their upbringing. The advantages of one are hidden inside, and the advantages of the other are all exposed."

"You think Mr. Darcy is only lacking in appearance. I never think so."

"However, I think you hate him so deeply. Although there is no reason for it, you are very smart. This kind of hatred is enough to stimulate people's nature and inspire people's wisdom. For example, if you keep cursing people, of course you can't say a good word; If you're always making fun of people, you're more likely to hit upon a good line."

"Lizzy, when you first read that letter, I am sure you looked at the matter differently than you do now."

"Of course it was different. I was very distressed, I was very distressed--very unhappy, I might say. I had many emotions in my heart, but I had no one to talk to, and no Jane to comfort me that I was not like me. How cowardly, vain, and absurd I imagined myself! Oh, I can't do without you!"

"How unfortunate that you spoke of Wickham in such a forceful tone in the presence of Mr. Darcy! Those words are evidently inappropriate when it now appears."

"Indeed, I really shouldn't have said it so harshly, but since I have a prejudice in advance, it is inevitable. There is something I want to ask you. Do you think I should speak out about Wickham's character? Do all your friends know?"

Miss Bennet thought for a moment before she said: "Of course there is no need to embarrass him. What do you think?"

"I don't think it necessary either. Mr. Darcy did not allow me to make his remarks public and public. Instead, he directed me to keep everything that concerned his sister as private as possible; and as to other matters of Wickham If I were to tell everyone the truth, who would believe me? People have such deep prejudices against Mr. Darcy that half the people in Meryton would not die if you wanted to make others feel good about him. I can't help it. Fortunately, Wickham is going away soon, and it's no one's business what he really is. Someday the truth will come out, and then we can laugh at why people are so stupid, no I've known it earlier. For now, I won't say anything about it."

"Your words are absolutely right. To expose his mistakes may ruin his life. Maybe he has regretted it now and has made up his mind to be a new man. We must not force him into desperation."

After this conversation, Elizabeth's troubled mind calmed down a little.These two secret thoughts, which had been oppressing her mind for a fortnight, were at last relieved, and she was sure that if they were ever brought up again, Jane would listen to either of them.But there is still something strange in it, for the sake of prudence, she dare not say it.She dared not speak of the other half of Mr. Darcy's letter, nor of explaining to her sister how wholeheartedly his friend valued her.No one should know about this matter, and she felt that this last bit of secret should not be revealed until all aspects of the situation were clarified inside and out.

She thought: "Then, if the improbable fact should ever come to pass, I shall be able to tell the secret, though Mr. Bingley himself will perhaps speak more eloquently then. To say It will not be my turn to reveal this secret, until the time has passed and the situation has changed!"

Now that she is home, she has the leisure time to observe her sister's real mood.Jane was not happy.She still couldn't forget her love for Bingley.She had not even imagined that she would love him before, so her tenderness was as passionate as first love, and because of her age and character, she was more steadfast than first loves.She hoped fondly that he would remember her, and she regarded him as superior to any man in the world.Fortunately, she is very knowledgeable about current affairs and has seen the thoughts of his friends, so she didn't have too much sorrow or hatred, otherwise it would definitely ruin her health and disturb her peace of mind.

One day Mrs. Bennet said: "Well, Lizzy, what do you think of Jane's sorrow? I've made up my mind never to mention it to anyone. I told my sister the other day, I know Jane never saw a shadow of him in London. Oh, he's an unlovable young man, and I don't think she'll ever marry him. And no one ever hears of him coming back to Netherfield in the summer. Come on, I have asked everyone who might know something."

"I don't think he will live at Netherfield any more."

"Well, as he pleases. Nobody asked him to come, I just think he's done my daughter too much, and I couldn't bear it if I were Jane. Well, I have a consolation at last: I believe Jane will be so sad that she will die, and at that time, he will regret that he shouldn't be so cruel."

Elizabeth made no answer, for she was not comforted by such wild hopes.

Before long, her mother went on: "Then, Lizzy, the Collinses have a very comfortable life, don't they? Very well, and may they last forever. How's their daily meal?" Lottie must be a great housekeeper. She only needs to be half as shrewd as her mother to be thrifty enough. Nothing is wasted in their daily life."

"Of course, nothing wasted."

"They must be very good stewards. Yes, yes. They are careful not to let their expenses exceed their incomes, and they are never without money. Well, God bless them! I suppose they There must be much talk of receiving Longbourne after your father's death. If that day comes, I think they'll really think of it as their own property."

"It's certainly not convenient for them to mention this in front of my face."

"Of course it's inconvenient, and it would be strange to mention it. But I'm sure they'll talk about it often. Well, it'd be nice if they could feel at ease with this illegal fortune. If I'd be ashamed to accept this court-imposed estate."

(End of this chapter)