MR. Wickham was so perfectly satisfied with this conversation that he never again distressed himself, or provoked his dear sister Elizabeth, by introducing the subject of it; and she was pleased to find that she had said enough to keep him quiet.?
The day of his and Lydia's departure soon came, and Mrs. Bennet was forced to submit to a separation, which, as her husband by no means entered into her scheme of their all going to Newcastle, was likely to continue at least a twelvemonth.?
"Oh! my dear Lydia," she cried, "when shall we meet again?"
"Oh, lord! I don't know. Not these two or three years, perhaps."
"Write to me very often, my dear."
"As often as I can. But you know married women have never much time for writing. My sisters may write to me. They will have nothing else to do."
Mr. Wickham's adieus were much more affectionate than his wife's. He smiled, looked handsome, and said many pretty things.
"He is as fine a fellow," said Mr. Bennet, as soon as they were out of the house, "as ever I saw. He simpers, and smirks, and makes love to us all. I am prodigiously proud of him. I defy even Sir William Lucas himself to produce a more valuable son-in-law."
The loss of her daughter made Mrs. Bennet very dull for several days.
"I often think," said she, "that there is nothing so bad as parting with one's friends. One seems so forlorn without them."
"This is the consequence, you see, Madam, of marrying a daughter," said Elizabeth. "It must make you better satisfied that your other four are single."
"It is no such thing. Lydia does not leave me because she is married, but only because her husband's regiment happens to be so far off. If that had been nearer, she would not have gone so soon."
But the spiritless condition which this event threw her into was shortly relieved, and her mind opened again to the agitation of hope, by an article of news which then began to be in circulation. The housekeeper at Netherfield had received orders to prepare for the arrival of her master, who was coming down in a day or two, to shoot there for several weeks. Mrs. Bennet was quite in the fidgets. She looked at Jane, and smiled and shook her head by turns.
"Well, well, and so Mr. Bingley is coming down, sister," (for Mrs. Phillips first brought her the news). "Well, so much the better. Not that I care about it, though. He is nothing to us, you know, and I am sure I never want to see him again. But, however, he is very welcome to come to Netherfield, if he likes it. And who knows what may happen? But that is nothing to us. You know, sister, we agreed long ago never to mention a word about it. And so, is it quite certain he is coming?"
"You may depend on it," replied the other, "for Mrs. Nicholls was in Meryton last night; I saw her passing by, and went out myself on purpose to know the truth of it; and she told me that it was certain true. He comes down on Thursday at the latest, very likely on Wednesday. She was going to the butcher's, she told me, on purpose to order in some meat on Wednesday, and she has got three couple of ducks just fit to be killed."
Miss Bennet had not been able to hear of his coming without changing colour. It was many months since she had mentioned his name to Elizabeth; but now, as soon as they were alone together, she said,
"I saw you look at me to-day, Lizzy, when my aunt told us of the present report; and I know I appeared distressed. But don't imagine it was from any silly cause. I was only confused for the moment, because I felt that I should be looked at. I do assure you that the news does not affect me either with pleasure or pain. I am glad of one thing, that he comes alone; because we shall see the less of him. Not that I am afraid of myself, but I dread other people's remarks."
Elizabeth did not know what to make of it. Had she not seen him in Derbyshire, she might have supposed him capable of coming there with no other view than what was acknowledged; but she still thought him partial to Jane, and she wavered as to the greater probability of his coming there with his friend's permission, or being bold enough to come without it.
"Yet it is hard," she sometimes thought, "that this poor man cannot come to a house which he has legally hired, without raising all this speculation! I will leave him to himself."
In spite of what her sister declared, and really believed to be her feelings in the expectation of his arrival, Elizabeth could easily perceive that her spirits were affected by it. They were more disturbed, more unequal, than she had often seen them.
The subject which had been so warmly canvassed between their parents, about a twelvemonth ago, was now brought forward again.
"As soon as ever Mr. Bingley comes, my dear," said Mrs. Bennet, "you will wait on him of course."
"No, no. You forced me into visiting him last year, and promised, if I went to see him, he should marry one of my daughters. But it ended in nothing, and I will not be sent on a fool's errand again."
His wife represented to him how absolutely necessary such an attention would be from all the neighbouring gentlemen, on his returning to Netherfield.
"'Tis an etiquette I despise," said he. "If he wants our society, let him seek it. He knows where we live. I will not spend my hours in running after my neighbours every time they go away and come back again."
"Well, all I know is, that it will be abominably rude if you do not wait on him. But, however, that shan't prevent my asking him to dine here, I am determined. We must have Mrs. Long and the Gouldings soon. That will make thirteen with ourselves, so there will be just room at table for him."
Consoled by this resolution, she was the better able to bear her husband's incivility; though it was very mortifying to know that her neighbours might all see Mr. Bingley, in consequence of it, before they did. As the day of his arrival drew near,
"I begin to be sorry that he comes at all," said Jane to her sister. "It would be nothing; I could see him with perfect indifference, but I can hardly bear to hear it thus perpetually talked of. My mother means well; but she does not know, no one can know, how much I suffer from what she says. Happy shall I be, when his stay at Netherfield is over!"
"I wish I could say any thing to comfort you," replied Elizabeth; "but it is wholly out of my power. You must feel it; and the usual satisfaction of preaching patience to a sufferer is denied me, because you have always so much."
Mr. Bingley arrived. Mrs. Bennet, through the assistance of servants, contrived to have the earliest tidings of it, that the period of anxiety and fretfulness on her side might be as long as it could. She counted the days that must intervene before their invitation could be sent; hopeless of seeing him before. But on the third morning after his arrival in Hertfordshire, she saw him, from her dressing-room window, enter the paddock and ride towards the house.
Her daughters were eagerly called to partake of her joy. Jane resolutely kept her place at the table; but Elizabeth, to satisfy her mother, went to the window -- she looked, -- she saw Mr. Darcy with him, and sat down again by her sister.
"There is a gentleman with him, mamma," said Kitty; "who can it be?"
"Some acquaintance or other, my dear, I suppose; I am sure I do not know."
"La!" replied Kitty, "it looks just like that man that used to be with him before. Mr. what's-his-name. That tall, proud man."
"Good gracious! Mr. Darcy! -- and so it does, I vow. Well, any friend of Mr. Bingley's will always be welcome here, to be sure; but else I must say that I hate the very sight of him."
Jane looked at Elizabeth with surprise and concern. She knew but little of their meeting in Derbyshire, and therefore felt for the awkwardness which must attend her sister, in seeing him almost for the first time after receiving his explanatory letter. Both sisters were uncomfortable enough. Each felt for the other, and of course for themselves; and their mother talked on, of her dislike of Mr. Darcy, and her resolution to be civil to him only as Mr. Bingley's friend, without being heard by either of them. But Elizabeth had sources of uneasiness which could not be suspected by Jane, to whom she had never yet had courage to shew Mrs. Gardiner's letter, or to relate her own change of sentiment towards him. To Jane, he could be only a man whose proposals she had refused, and whose merit she had undervalued; but to her own more extensive information, he was the person to whom the whole family were indebted for the first of benefits, and whom she regarded herself with an interest, if not quite so tender, at least as reasonable and just as what Jane felt for Bingley. Her astonishment at his coming -- at his coming to Netherfield, to Longbourn, and voluntarily seeking her again, was almost equal to what she had known on first witnessing his altered behaviour in Derbyshire.
The colour which had been driven from her face, returned for half a minute with an additional glow, and a smile of delight added lustre to her eyes, as she thought for that space of time that his affection and wishes must still be unshaken. But she would not be secure.
"Let me first see how he behaves," said she; "it will then be early enough for expectation."
She sat intently at work, striving to be composed, and without daring to lift up her eyes, till anxious curiosity carried them to the face of her sister as the servant was approaching the door. Jane looked a little paler than usual, but more sedate than Elizabeth had expected. On the gentlemen's appearing, her colour increased; yet she received them with tolerable ease, and with a propriety of behaviour equally free from any symptom of resentment or any unnecessary complaisance.
Elizabeth said as little to either as civility would allow, and sat down again to her work, with an eagerness which it did not often command. She had ventured only one glance at Darcy. He looked serious, as usual; and, she thought, more as he had been used to look in Hertfordshire, than as she had seen him at Pemberley. But, perhaps he could not in her mother's presence be what he was before her uncle and aunt. It was a painful, but not an improbable, conjecture.
Bingley, she had likewise seen for an instant, and in that short period saw him looking both pleased and embarrassed. He was received by Mrs. Bennet with a degree of civility which made her two daughters ashamed, especially when contrasted with the cold and ceremonious politeness of her curtsey and address to his friend.
Elizabeth, particularly, who knew that her mother owed to the latter the preservation of her favourite daughter from irremediable infamy, was hurt and distressed to a most painful degree by a distinction so ill applied.
Darcy, after enquiring of her how Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner did, a question which she could not answer without confusion, said scarcely any thing. He was not seated by her; perhaps that was the reason of his silence; but it had not been so in Derbyshire. There he had talked to her friends, when he could not to herself. But now several minutes elapsed without bringing the sound of his voice; and when occasionally, unable to resist the impulse of curiosity, she raised he eyes to his face, she as often found him looking at Jane as at herself, and frequently on no object but the ground. More thoughtfulness and less anxiety to please, than when they last met, were plainly expressed. She was disappointed, and angry with herself for being so.
"Could I expect it to be otherwise!" said she. "Yet why did he come?"
She was in no humour for conversation with any one but himself; and to him she had hardly courage to speak.
She enquired after his sister, but could do no more.
"It is a long time, Mr. Bingley, since you went away," said Mrs. Bennet.
He readily agreed to it.
"I began to be afraid you would never come back again. People did say you meant to quit the place entirely at Michaelmas; but, however, I hope it is not true. A great many changes have happened in the neighbourhood, since you went away. Miss Lucas is married and settled. And one of my own daughters. I suppose you have heard of it; indeed, you must have seen it in the papers. It was in the Times and the Courier, I know; though it was not put in as it ought to be. It was only said, "Lately, George Wickham, Esq. to Miss Lydia Bennet," without there being a syllable said of her father, or the place where she lived, or any thing. It was my brother Gardiner's drawing up too, and I wonder how he came to make such an awkward business of it. Did you see it?"
Bingley replied that he did, and made his congratulations. Elizabeth dared not lift up her eyes. How Mr. Darcy looked, therefore, she could not tell.
"It is a delightful thing, to be sure, to have a daughter well married," continued her mother, "but at the same time, Mr. Bingley, it is very hard to have her taken such a way from me. They are gone down to Newcastle, a place quite northward, it seems, and there they are to stay I do not know how long. His regiment is there; for I suppose you have heard of his leaving the ----shire, and of his being gone into the regulars. Thank Heaven! he has some friends, though perhaps not so many as he deserves."
Elizabeth, who knew this to be levelled at Mr. Darcy, was in such misery of shame, that she could hardly keep her seat. It drew from her, however, the exertion of speaking, which nothing else had so effectually done before; and she asked Bingley whether he meant to make any stay in the country at present. A few weeks, he believed.
"When you have killed all your own birds, Mr. Bingley," said her mother, "I beg you will come here, and shoot as many as you please on Mr. Bennet's manor. I am sure he will be vastly happy to oblige you, and will save all the best of the covies for you."
Elizabeth's misery increased, at such unnecessary, such officious attention! Were the same fair prospect to arise at present as had flattered them a year ago, every thing, she was persuaded, would be hastening to the same vexatious conclusion. At that instant, she felt that years of happiness could not make Jane or herself amends for moments of such painful confusion.
"The first wish of my heart," said she to herself, "is never more to be in company with either of them. Their society can afford no pleasure that will atone for such wretchedness as this! Let me never see either one or the other again!"
Yet the misery, for which years of happiness were to offer no compensation, received soon afterwards material relief, from observing how much the beauty of her sister re-kindled the admiration of her former lover. When first he came in, he had spoken to her but little; but every five minutes seemed to be giving her more of his attention. He found her as handsome as she had been last year; as good natured, and as unaffected, though not quite so chatty. Jane was anxious that no difference should be perceived in her at all, and was really persuaded that she talked as much as ever. But her mind was so busily engaged, that she did not always know when she was silent.
When the gentlemen rose to go away, Mrs. Bennet was mindful of her intended civility, and they were invited and engaged to dine at Longbourn in a few days time.
"You are quite a visit in my debt, Mr. Bingley," she added, "for when you went to town last winter, you promised to take a family dinner with us, as soon as you returned. I have not forgot, you see; and I assure you, I was very much disappointed that you did not come back and keep your engagement."
Bingley looked a little silly at this reflection, and said something of his concern at having been prevented by business. They then went away.
Mrs. Bennet had been strongly inclined to ask them to stay and dine there that day; but, though she always kept a very good table, she did not think any thing less than two courses could be good enough for a man on whom she had such anxious designs, or satisfy the appetite and pride of one who had ten thousand a year.
--正文
維克漢姆對這段談話十分滿意，再也不提之前的事情了，他現(xiàn)在也不想給自己找罪受，也不去激怒自己的好姐姐伊麗莎白了。而伊麗莎白也很高興，自己也透了底給維克漢姆，能讓他閉嘴了。
他和莉迪亞離開的日子很快就到了，本內(nèi)特太太不得不跟他們分別，這次分開至少要一年后才能再見了。她一開始還想著跟他們一起去紐斯卡爾，但是本內(nèi)特老爺無論如何也不同意。
“哦！我可憐的莉迪亞，”她大聲地說，“我們什么時候能再見面？”
“哦！老天！我不知道。最近兩三年可能見不到了。”
“經(jīng)常寫信給我，親愛的。”
“我會盡量的。但是你也知道結(jié)了婚的女兒沒多少時間寫信。姐姐妹妹們可以寫給我，反正她們也沒什么事情做。”
維克漢姆的告別就比他老婆的要動情多了。他笑著，看起來很帥，說著很多漂亮話。
“他是我見過的最俊的后生，”他們兩個人一走，本內(nèi)特先生就說，“他一會傻笑，一會又自鳴得意，跟我們一起調(diào)笑。我對他真是無比驕傲！我覺得甚至威廉姆.盧卡斯爵士也找不到這樣高級的女婿。”
失去了女兒讓本內(nèi)特太太愁悶了好幾天。
“我經(jīng)常想，”她說，“沒什么比跟朋友道別更糟糕的事情了。一個人沒了朋友就總是顯得孤零零的。”
“太太，你看這就是嫁女兒的后果，”伊麗莎白說，“你還有四個女兒單身，這樣想就會滿意多了。”
“沒有這回事。莉迪亞不是因為結(jié)了婚才離開我們的，而只是因為她丈夫的部隊太遠(yuǎn)了。如果部隊要是近點的話，她也不會離開那么久的。”
但是這種無精打采的情況也沒持續(xù)幾天，很快她的頭腦就又被希望占滿了，最近村子里有消息開始到處穿。耐熱屯的女傭收到了命令要她準(zhǔn)備好迎接主人，她主人這兩天就要過來待幾個星期。本內(nèi)特太太十分坐立不安，她會看著簡，笑一下，然后又搖搖頭，然后又笑一笑，再搖搖頭，就這樣不停重復(fù)。
“嗯，賓利先生就要來村子里了，姐姐，”因為是菲利普太太首先帶來的這個消息，“嗯，這樣更好。雖然說，其實我也不在乎。你也知道，他對我們來說不算啥，我肯定不想再見到他了。但是如果他喜歡的話，我們還是歡迎他來耐熱屯的。誰知道會怎么樣呢？但是不管怎么樣，對我們來說是不怎么樣。你也知道的，姐姐，我們很久之前就同意了決口不提這件事。所以，能確定他會來了嗎？”
“你可以放心，”另一個回復(fù)說，“因為昨晚尼科爾來了梅屯，我看到她從門前路過，于是就跟上去問問真相到底是怎樣。她告訴我說肯定是真的。賓利最晚也就周四到，很可能周三就回到。她跟我說正要去賣肉的地方，要為了周三備點肉，而且她已經(jīng)準(zhǔn)備了六只鴨子，就等著殺了。”
本內(nèi)特小姐聽說賓利要來，就一陣陣臉紅。她上次跟伊麗莎白提起賓利的名字，還是在好幾個月值錢了。但是現(xiàn)在一到身邊沒人的時候，她就說：“
利茲，今天小姨說賓利要來的時候，我看到你瞧著我看了。我知道自己看起來挺緊張的。但是你可別以為我在犯傻呢。我當(dāng)時只是有點迷糊，因為我覺得有人盯著我看了。我可以向你保證這件事沒有讓我高興，也沒讓我痛苦。我只高興一件事——他是一個人來的，這樣我們就不會經(jīng)常見到他。我不怕自己應(yīng)付不了，但是我害怕別人的閑言碎語。”
伊麗莎白不知道該怎么回答。之前在德比郡要是沒見到賓利，她可能覺得賓利此番過來就是為了簡。但是她仍然覺得賓利是喜歡簡的，她懷疑賓利此番前來極有可能是經(jīng)過達西允許的，要不就是他自己膽子大，達西沒同意也主動過來了。
“賓利也挺難的，”她有時候想，“這個可憐人來趟自己合法租的房子，就要被這樣無端揣測。這事還是讓他自己作主吧。”
伊麗莎白不相信她姐姐說的話，她覺得簡其實是很想賓利過來的，伊麗莎白很容易就能猜出她很容易就被這件事情影響。相比以前，現(xiàn)在的簡比之前更心不在焉，更加心力不支。
她們父母一年之前熱情討論過的問題，現(xiàn)在又被放到桌面上來了。
“不管賓利先生什么時候過來，親愛的閨女，”本內(nèi)特太太說，“你都要拜訪她的。”
“不，不，去年是你強迫我去拜訪他的，還跟我承諾說，如果我過去見他，他就會娶我們一個閨女。但最后還是白忙一場，這次我可不會為傻子跑腿了。”
而本內(nèi)特太太就跟本內(nèi)特老爺說，賓利一回到耐熱屯，周圍的街坊鄰居都去拜訪，自己一家不去很不好。
“我才瞧不上這種禮節(jié)呢，”他說，“他要是想要我們的禮節(jié)，就讓他自己找去。他知道我們住在哪。我可不想花時間跟在我們的鄰居后面，一會兒迎接他們，一會兒又送他們走。”
“哎，我只知道你要是不拜訪他就很沒有禮貌，而且也不會阻止我叫他過來吃飯的。我已經(jīng)下決心了。我們也得邀請隆夫人還有古爾丁一家，到時候我們這邊就有十三個人了，所以就只有桌子前有位置留給賓利了。”
想到這個方法本內(nèi)特太太心里舒服了點，她也能更好地應(yīng)對失禮的丈夫了。要是害怕本內(nèi)特老爺不去的話，鄰居們會搶在前頭見到賓利。隨著賓利到來的日子越來越近，
“我感覺他干脆不要來得了，”簡跟她妹妹說，“也就沒有那么多麻煩。我見到他心里也不會有任何波動，但是我無法忍受大家沒完沒了的談起他。我母親的心是好的。但是她不知道，別人也不知道，她說得話讓我有多難受。哪天他離開耐熱屯了，我才真是開心了呢！”
“我希望能說點什么安慰你，”伊麗莎白說，“但是這已經(jīng)超出我的能力范圍了。你應(yīng)該也知道。通常我都會勸人耐心一點，但是這次我不想這么做，因為你耐心太多了。”
賓利先生終于到了。通過仆人的幫助，本內(nèi)特太太最早聽到了消息，她焦急等待的時間也就更長。由于無望提前見到他，本內(nèi)特就數(shù)著日子哪天送請?zhí)５窃谫e利來赫特福德之后的第三天早上，本內(nèi)特太太從客廳窗戶看到了他，穿過小圍場，一路向著房子騎了過去。
本內(nèi)塔太太感覺叫來閨女們分享這份喜悅。簡則決心坐在桌子邊不動。但是伊麗莎白為了滿足自己的母親，還是走到了窗戶前，她就看到達西跟賓利走在一起，就也跟著姐姐一起坐了下來。
“有位先生跟他在一起，媽媽，”凱蒂說，“這會是誰呢？”
“也許是哪個熟人吧，寶貝閨女。我也不知道”
“哎！”凱蒂說，“那好像是之前跟他在一起的那個男人。叫什么先生來著？那個高個子，很高傲的男人。”
“老天！是達西先生！確實是他，我發(fā)誓。嗯，賓利先生的朋友我這里都?xì)g迎。但是我也得說我很討厭看到他。”
簡驚訝又關(guān)心地看著伊麗莎白。她知道一點點伊麗莎白與達西之前在德比郡已經(jīng)見過一面，因此覺得自己妹妹在收到達西的解釋信后，頭一回見到他會有點尷尬。大姐二姐都很不舒服。每個人都同情著另一個人，但也都同情自己。而她們的母親正滔滔不絕得說著，自己有多么不喜歡達西，自己只是因為把他當(dāng)賓利得朋友對待，才會對他客氣一點，而姐妹倆都沒聽到。但是伊麗莎白此刻神情緊張，但又不能被簡察覺，她還沒有勇氣把加德納夫人的信給簡看，也不敢跟她說自己對達西的情感變化。對于簡來說，達西只能是個曾被自己拒絕過的男人，一個品德被她所低估的男人。但是只有她自己知道，達西是整個家庭都欠了大人情的人，而她對達西的感情，就算沒那么溫柔，至少也像簡對賓利的感情那樣理性和公平。見到達西來耐熱屯，來蘑菇屯，而且主動找她，伊麗莎白就跟之前在德比郡第一次見到達西行為大變的驚奇一樣大。
她之前臉紅剛下去，又紅了半分鐘，現(xiàn)在還有些發(fā)光，而她的臉上露出一抹微笑，讓她的眼睛里也多出一分光彩，她心里想著這么短的時間里，達西對自己的感情應(yīng)該不會動搖的。但是她也不能確定。
“讓我先瞧瞧他的行為，”伊麗莎白說，“到時候再期待也不遠(yuǎn)。”
她專心致志地干著活，努力表現(xiàn)地震驚，甚至都不敢抬起眼睛，直到她忍不住好奇地看向簡，這時候正好仆人朝著門這邊走。簡看起來比平時更加蒼白，但是比伊麗莎白想象地要鎮(zhèn)定多了。賓利已出現(xiàn)，簡的臉就更加紅了。但是簡還是很平和地接待了他們，而且也看不出有憎恨或者抱怨的意思。
伊麗莎白也只是出于禮節(jié)跟人說了幾句話，然后就坐下繼續(xù)干著活了，但是比平時要著急多了。她只敢抬眼看了一眼達西。他跟平時一樣，看起來很嚴(yán)肅。她心里想，達西現(xiàn)在更像之前在赫特福德的樣子，而不像他在彭伯里的樣子，也許在伊麗莎白的母親面前，達西沒法像在伊麗莎白叔叔嬸嬸面前那樣放松吧。這個猜想讓人難受，但也不是不可能。
伊麗莎白也瞧瞧看了眼賓利，看到他既有點高興也有點尷尬。本內(nèi)特太太接待賓利有些過于熱情，以至于自己的兩個女兒有點羞愧了，尤其是跟她對達西那種冷冷的，形式化的禮貌相對比的情況下。
達西問了下加德納夫婦怎么樣，之后就沒怎么說話了，而這問題伊麗莎白回答地迷迷糊糊。他沒有坐在伊麗莎白旁邊。也許這就是他沒說話的原因吧。但是在德比郡的時候不是這樣，在那兒他不能跟伊麗莎白說話的時候，也是跟她的朋友聊天的。但是現(xiàn)在他都好幾分鐘不說話。然后有時候伊麗莎白無法控制自己的好奇心，也會抬起眼睛看他，發(fā)現(xiàn)達西一會看著簡，一會看著她自己，但更多的時候只是望著地面。跟他們上次見面相比，達西看著若有所思，而且不那么急于討好伊麗莎白。伊麗莎白有點失望，但是又跟自己較勁，覺得不應(yīng)該這樣。
“我能選另外一個達西嗎？”她說，“都這樣他還來干什么？”
除了達西，她跟誰都不想說話，但是她又沒膽子跟別人說話。
伊麗莎白問候了達西的妹妹，但是也沒有別的話題說了。
“賓利先生，你這一走可是有些年頭了啊。”本內(nèi)特太太說。
賓利欣然同意。
“我都開始害怕你不回來了呢。別人都說你打算在米迦勒節(jié)的時候就完全離開了呢。到那時我希望這不是真的。你走了之后，我們這屯子可是發(fā)生了不少事情。盧卡斯小姐結(jié)了婚并搬到別的地方去了。我自己有個閨女也結(jié)了婚。我想你也應(yīng)該聽說過了。確實，你應(yīng)該早就在報紙上見到了，我知道，就刊在《時代與信使》報上。但是這報紙上面寫得很簡短。它只是說了：“最近，喬治.維克漢姆將和莉迪亞.本內(nèi)特小姐成婚。”這聲明一點也沒提她父親，也沒提她住的地方，什么都沒有。這是我兄弟加德納草擬的，我真奇怪他是咋辦事情辦成這樣的。你看到這份聲明了嗎？“
賓利說自己見過，然后向她表示祝賀。伊麗莎白都不敢抬眼看。因此，達西到底是什么表情她也不知道。
”能給女兒嫁個好人家確實是件讓人開心的事情，“本內(nèi)特老娘說，”但是呢，賓利先生，她就這么離開我也很艱難。他們現(xiàn)在去了紐斯卡爾，那么靠北的地方，而且我也不知道他們會在那待多久。他的部隊在那兒。我想你應(yīng)該聽說他離開之前那個民兵團了，現(xiàn)在要去參加正規(guī)軍。感謝老天！他有些朋友能幫忙，但是他應(yīng)該值得更多的朋友。“
伊麗莎白知道這話是有意說給達西聽的，此刻羞愧難當(dāng)，幾乎坐不住了。但是這倒逼著她開始說話了，而之前她怎么也不肯開口。她問賓利現(xiàn)在是否打算在村里待著。他估計待幾個星期。
”賓利先生，哪天你把自己的鳥都捕完了，我懇請你來我這兒，就在這個莊子上隨便你怎么捕。我肯定他會很樂意效勞的，而且會把最好的康威鳥留給你。“
本內(nèi)特太太此刻廢話連篇，討好賣乖，讓伊麗莎白更加覺得難看。如果此刻談及的事情，本內(nèi)特老娘還是一年前那樣奉承討好，伊麗莎白確實又會得到跟之前一樣的結(jié)果。在那一刻，她覺得幾年的幸福也沒法彌補簡或者她自己此刻的難堪。
”我的首要愿望，“她跟自己說，”就是不跟這兩個人再次來往。跟他們在一起，就算再有意思，也抵不上這種悲慘的事情。再也不要讓我這兩個人了！“
盡管這種幸福幾年也無法彌補的凄慘，卻很快被事實化解了，因為簡的美貌很快又俘獲了賓利的心。賓利一開始剛進來的時候，沒跟簡說幾句話，但是每過五分鐘賓利就對她越上心。他覺得簡就跟去年一樣漂亮。一樣脾氣溫柔，一樣真摯，但是不像之前那么健談。簡此刻十分緊張，其實她沒有什么變化，而且她覺得自己跟之前一樣健談。但是她腦子很亂，所以她也不知道自己什么時候沒說話。
當(dāng)先生們提出要走的時候，本內(nèi)特太太就照計劃獻上殷勤，邀請他們這幾天來蘑菇屯吃飯。
”賓利先生，你可是欠我一次拜訪呢，“她說，”因為去年冬天你來村里的時候，你可是答應(yīng)我等你回來的時候，跟我們一家吃飯的。你看我可沒忘了啊，你要是不來我可會很失望的啊。“
賓利呆呆地回憶著這件事情，然后說有事耽擱了才沒過來。然后他們就走了。
本內(nèi)特太太本來強烈像邀請他們當(dāng)天就留下吃飯的。但是盡管她桌子總是收拾的井井有條，但是對于這樣一個她有所啟圖的男人，怎么也得安排不少于兩道硬菜，也算對得起別人一年一萬磅收入的臉面，也能讓人吃得慣。
