Learn English Through Story ★ Subtitles ✦ Pride and Prejudice

chapter 1 the Bennett's new neighbour it is a truth well known to all the world that an unmarried man in possession of a large fortune must be in need of a wife and when such a man moves into a neighborhood even if nothing is known about his feelings or opinions this truth is so clear to the surrounding families that they think of him immediately as the future husband of one or other of their daughters my dear mr. Bennet said mrs. Bennet to her husband one day have you heard that someone is going to rent Netherfield Park at last no mrs. Bennet I haven't said her husband don't you want to know who is renting it cried mrs. Bennet impatiently you want to tell me and I don't mind listening mrs. Bennet needed no further encouragement well my dear I hear that he's a very rich young man from the north of England it seems he came to see Netherfield on Monday and was so delighted with it that he arranged to rent it at once of course it is the finest house in the area with the largest Gardens his servants will be here by the end of the week and he will be arriving soon afterwards what is his name asked mr. Bennet Bingley is he married or single Oh single My dear of course a single man of large fortune he has an income of four or five thousand pounds a year how wonderful for our girls why how can it affect them mr. Bennet asked my dear mr. Bennet she replied how can you be so annoying you must realize I'm thinking of his marrying one of our daughters is that his purpose in coming to the area his purpose no of course not but it's very likely that he'll fall in love with one of them and I want him to see the girls as soon as possible before our other neighbors introduce themselves so you must visit him as soon as he arrives I really don't see why I should said mr. bennet you and the girls can visit him or perhaps you should send them by themselves yes that might be better as you're as attractive as any of them and mr. Bingley might like you best my dear you flatter me replied his wife I certainly have been called beautiful in the past but I think a woman with five adult daughters should stop thinking of her own beauty mr. Bennet I beg you to visit him you know it's correct for the gentlemen of the family to visit new neighbors first I simply cannot take the girls to see him unless you have already met him surely you worry too much about the rules of polite society I'm sure mr. Bingley will be delighted to see you all and I'll write him a few lines which you can give him agreeing gladly to his marrying any of the girls although I must especially recommend my dear little Lizzy Oh mr. Bennet gasps mrs. Bennet horrified please don't do that and Lizzy is no better than the others although I know she is your favorite our daughters are all very silly ignorant girls it's true but at least Lizzy is a little more intelligent than her sisters mr. David how can you speak so unkindly of your own children how will I feel have you no pity for me don't you realize how I suffer indeed my dear I've suffered with you for the last 23 years but I think you will recover and live to see many more rich young men come into the neighborhood when he was young mr. Bennet had made the mistake of falling in love with a pretty but foolish young woman during the long years of their marriage he had had time to regret his mistake he soon realized that his wife had little intelligence or common sense and was only interested in talking shopping and finding husbands for her daughters his experience had made him rather bitter and he could not stop himself mocking his wife never understood her husband's sense of humor so when a week later mrs. Bennett discovered that her husband had in fact visited mr. Bingley at Netherfield she was surprised and very pleased but she and her daughters tried in vain to persuade mr. Bennet to describe the wealthy stranger and in the end they had to rely on another neighbors description he sounds wonderful mama cried Lydia the youngest and noisiest of the sisters sure looked Lucas's father has been to see him and says he's quite young very handsome and extremely charming and even better he loves dancing everybody knows that means he's very likely to fall in love as politeness required mr. Bingley came to visit mr. Bennet a few days later he was not however fortunate enough to see the Bennet girls who were hiding behind the curtains in an upstairs room in order to catch sight of the handsome stranger mrs. Bennet planned to invite him to dinner but in fact they met him at another social event first the Bennet's lived in the small Hut for true village of Longbourn and public dances were regularly held in the nearest town Meriton the girls were greatly looking forward to this particular dance because they had heard that mr. Bingley would be attending with a group of friends from London on the night of the dance all eyes were on mr. Bingley as he entered the room he had brought his two sisters with the husband of the elder mr. Hurst and another young man mr. Darcy mr. Bingley was indeed good-looking and gentlemanlike and his sisters were fine fashionable women however everybody was soon talking about mr. Darcy a tall handsome man who it was said had an income of ten thousand pounds a year the ladies in the room gazed at him in admiration for about the evening until they became aware of his constant frown and his unwillingness to talk or dance then there was general agreement but he was proud and disagreeable and considered himself superior to country people mr. Bingley on the other hand made himself popular with the ladies by dancing every dance and talking to everybody as there were not as many gentlemen as ladies Elizabeth Bennet did not have a partner for one of the dances and was sitting watching the dancing mr. Darcy was standing near her and when mr. Bingley came up to speak to his friend Elizabeth could not avoid hearing their conversation come Darcy said Bingley I hate to see you looking so cross why don't you dance with one of these lovely girls suddenly not replied Darcy you know how I hate dancing with a partner I don't know I would particularly dislike it at a village dance like this apart from your sisters there isn't a woman in the room I would even consider dancing with you were dancing with the only attractive girl here he was looking at mrs. Bennet's eldest daughter Jane who was waiting for Bingley to join her for the next dance oh yes she's the most beautiful creature I've ever seen but just behind you is one of her sisters she's very pretty and I'm sure she's very pleasant My partner could introduce you who do you mean and Darcy turned to look at Elizabeth for a moment no he said coldly she's not attractive enough to tempt me go back to your partner Bingley this conversation did not endear mr. Darcy to Elizabeth but she told the story very cheerfully and amusingly to her friends the evening passed very happily for everybody else and mrs. Bennet was delighted with the effect her eldest daughter had had on mr. Bingley he danced with Jane twice she told her husband later he danced with all the others only once and he really is so handsome but his friend mr. Darcy was soon rude to poor Elizabeth luckily she doesn't care she wouldn't want to please him such a horrible proud man I simply hate him when Jane and Elizabeth were alone they discussed their dancing partners I was really very flattered when mr. Bingley asked me to dance the second time said Jane blushing I didn't expect it at all didn't you said Elizabeth I did dear Jane you were five times prettier than any other woman in the room but you're too modest never to expect admiration I have to admit but I liked mr. Bingley continued Jane and her gentle voice he's so good mannered and agreeable he's also handsome added her sister which makes his character quite perfect but what did you think of his sister's very pleasant when you get to know them the younger Miss Caroline Bingley will be living at Netherfield with her brother I'm sure we'll enjoy having her as a neighbor Elizabeth listened in silence she was not convinced Jane is so kind she thought always ready to see the good side of people's characters I consider mr. Bingley's sisters too proud almost rude in fact I'm sure they feel superior to most other people like mr. Darcy but she did not say any more after the dance the Bennet and Bingley families began to visit each other every few days it became evident that mr. Bingley admired Jane very much and Elizabeth knew that her sister was close to falling in love with him she was discussing this with her good friend Charlotte Lucas one day Charlotte was a sensible intelligent young woman of 27 the eldest daughter of Sir William and Lady Lucas who were neighbors of the Bennet family it's a good thing said Elizabeth that if Jane is in love with mr. Bingley nobody will know because she always behaved so cheerfully and normally but sometimes a mistake replied Charlotte shaking her head wisely if she doesn't show her feelings at all even to the man she loves she may lose the opportunity of catching him Jane should use every moment she gets with Bingley to attract and encourage him but I consider a man should try to discover a woman's feelings not wait for her encouragement and Jane probably doesn't know what her real feelings for Bingley are yet she has only seen him a few times not often enough to understand his character or be sure that she really loves him well I wish Jane success with all my heart said Charlotte finally but I think she'd have as much chance of happiness if she married him tomorrow as if she studied his character for a whole year happiness in marriage is simply a question of chance I think it's better to know as little as possible about the person you're going to spend your life with Elizabeth laughed sure that Charlotte did not mean what she was saying while observing mr. Bingley's interest in Jane however Elizabeth had not noticed mr. Darcy's interest in herself although at first he had not even considered her pretty he now began to realize what a beautiful expression her dark eyes gave to her intelligent face and what an attractive figure she had of course she is only an unfashionable village girl he told himself but her conversation is often quite amusing whenever they met he did not speak to her but stood near her listening to her and watching her closely conscious of a wish to know her better one evening at a party at the Lucas's house Darcy was standing alone as usual away from the other guests watching the dancing his host Sir William came to speak to him mr. Darcy are you enjoying the dancing sir what a delightful entertainment it is Darcy frowned yes he said with cool disdain it's something that any uneducated person can be good at I'm sure you're good at dancing yourself sir replied Sir William cheerfully look here's Miss Elizabeth Bennet she was crossing the room at that moment let me persuade you to dance with her you cannot refuse to dance when so much beauty is in front of you indeed sir replied Elizabeth quickly in some embarrassment I have no intention of dancing you must excuse me miss Bennett please allow me the pleasure of dancing with you said mr. Darcy politely holding out his hand but with equal politeness Elizabeth refused again and turned away mr. Darcy was watching her walk away with a slight smile on his face when Caroline Bingley came up to him mr. Darcy she said I'm sure I know what you're thinking how boring all these silly little country people are not at all Miss Bingley in fact I was just thinking what pleasure a pair of fine eyes can give really and who do these fine eyes belong to may I ask Miss Elizabeth Bennet well let me be the first to congratulate you mr. Darcy when will the wedding be ah that's what I expected you to say a lady's imagination jumps from admiration to love to marriage in a moment well of course when you're married you will often have her charming mother and sisters to stay how delightful for you and Miss Bingley seeing that Darcy remained calm continued to mock the Bennet family as amusingly as she could chapter 2 Jane's illness mr. Bennett had a comfortable income of 2,000 a year and a pleasant house in Longbourn but unfortunately for his daughters after his death all his property would pass to a distant male relation mrs. Bennett's father had been a lawyer and had only left his daughter a small amount of money she had a brother who owned shops in London and she also had a sister married to a mr. Phillips he had been her father's clark and now carried on his late employers business mr. and mrs. Phillips lived in Meriton which was only a kilometre or so from the village of Longbourn it was a most convenient distance for the Bennet girls who were usually tempted there three or four times a week to visit their aunt or a dressmaker who lived opposite the youngest daughters Kitty and Lydia were particularly regular visitors their minds were more vacant than their sisters and if no better entertainment was available a walk to Meryton always provided some amusement as well as interesting local news from their aunt the latest news which delighted Kitty and Lydia was that the regiment which had recently arrived in Meryton was to stay there for the whole winter the two girls now visited their aunt every day and as mr. Phillips knew all the offices Kitty and Lydia was soon introduced to them at home they could talk of nothing but officers in their handsome uniforms even mr. Bingley's fortune now seemed hardly worth considering after listening to their praise of the officers one morning mr. Bennet said coolly from what I can see you must be two of the silliest girls in the country I've suspected it for some time but now I'm convinced kitty was embarrassed and did not reply but Lydia the youngest continued to express her admiration for a certain captain Carter with perfect indifference I am very surprised my dear said mrs. Bennet that you'll should be so ready to think your own children silly as it happens they are all very clever that is the only point I think on which we do not agree I am afraid I must say that I consider our two youngest daughters unusually foolish My dear mr. Bennet you mustn't expect such young girls to have the common sense of their father or mother I remember when I used to like a red coat myself and indeed I still do if a good-looking officer with five or six thousand a year wanted to marry one of my girls I wouldn't turn him down and I thought Colonel Forster looked very handsome last night at sir Williams in his regimental uniform just then a servant entered with a note for Jane which had come from Netherfield mrs. Bennet's eyes shone with pleasure and she called out eagerly while her daughter was reading it well Jane it's from Miss Bingley said Jane she invites me to dinner at Netherfield as she and her sister are alone it seems her brother and the gentlemen are having dinner with the officers in Meryton with the officers cried Lydia having dinner in Meryton repeated mrs. Bennet shaking her head that's very unlucky may I take the carriage asked Jane no my dear you better ride over there because it looks likely to rain and then you'll have to stay the night that would be a good plan said Elizabeth to her mother if you were sure they wouldn't offer to send her home in their carriage oh they can't the gentleman must have taken mr. Bingley's carriage to go to Meryton I'd much rather go in the carriage Jane said but my dear your father can't spare the horses I'm sure they're needed on the farm aren't they mr. Bennett mr. Bennett finally agreed that they were in fact being used that day in the fields so Jane set out on her horse while her mother called cheerfully after her I do hope it'll rain heavily my love and Jane had not been gone for long before it rained hard Elizabeth was a little worried about her sister but mrs. Bennet was delighted what a good idea of mine that was she said more than once extremely pleased with herself not until the next morning however did she realize the full extent of her success after breakfast a servant from Netherfield arrived with a note from Jane to Elizabeth explaining that Jane had caught cold on her wet ride and had been invited to stay at Netherfield until she recovered well my dear said mr. Bennet if your daughter should become seriously ill and die it would be a comfort to know that she died in a good cause and in obedience to your orders oh I'm not afraid of a dying people don't die of colds she'll be looked after well at Netherfield as long as she stays there everything will be all right but Elizabeth felt really anxious and was determined to go to her sister as the carriage was not available and she was not keen on riding she decided to walk the five kilometres to Netherfield Kitty and Lydia accompanied her as far as Meryton where they went to visit one of the officers wives Elizabeth continued alone crossing field after field and jumping impatiently over streams in her anxiety to see her sister when she arrived never filled with tired feet muddy stockings and a face healthfully pink with exercise she was shown straight into the sitting-room the two sisters Miss Bingley and mrs. Hurst could hardly believe that she had come so far alone and on foot in such bad weather but they received her politely their brother however was more than polite he was kind and considerate towards her mr. Darcy said very little hesitating between admiration of her healthy good looks and doubt whether she should have come such a distance alone mr. Hurst said nothing at all as he was thinking only of his breakfast Elizabeth was glad to be taken almost immediately to her sister's room where she found Jane delighted to see her but very feverish and unwell the doctor came and after examining his patient advised that she should stay in bed and take some medicine Elizabeth stayed with her all day looking after her and the Bingley sisters also spent some time in the patient's room however in the afternoon when it was time for Elizabeth to leave Jane seemed so upset that Miss Bingley was obliged to invite Elizabeth to stay at Netherfield for the present and a servant was sent to Longbourn to inform the Bennet family and bring back some clothes that evening Elizabeth went down to dinner leaving Jane in bed in her room she noticed the Bingley sisters apparent concern for Jane changed to indifference in a few moments and knew she had been right to dislike them at first sight mr. Bingley indeed was the only one of the group whose behavior she was satisfied with his anxiety for Jane was evident and his politeness towards herself most pleasing but the others she felt treated her as an unwelcome guest Miss Bingley was concentrating all her attention on mr. Darcy and mrs. Hurst also joined in their conversation while mr. Hurst was only interested in eating drinking and playing cards when Elizabeth left the room after dinner to see if Jane needed anything Miss Bingley at once began to criticize her what bad manners she has she's both proud and lacking in politeness to her superiors she has no conversation no elegance and no beauty mrs. Hurst agreed and added she has no good qualities except that she's an excellent Walker I'll never forget her appearance this morning she really looked almost wild she did indeed Louisa how silly of her to come at all why must she run around the countryside just because her sister has a cold her hair looked so untidy and her dress simply covered in mud I must say said Bingley I didn't know does any of that I thought she looked remarkably attractive when she arrived this morning you observed how wild appearance I'm sure mr. Darcy said Miss Bingley and I imagine you wouldn't wish your sister to make such a sure for self certainly not walking four or five kilometres whatever it was apples in mud and alone quite alone it seems to me to show a dreadful sort of Independence a country girl's indifference to what is acceptable I think it shows a very pleasing affection for her sister said Bingley I'm afraid mr. dusk whispered Miss Bingley that this adventure has rather lessened your admiration of her fine eyes not at all he replied they were brightened by the exercise after a short pause mrs. Hurst began again I have a great liking for Jane Bennet she is really a very sweet girl and I wish with all my heart she were well married but with such a father and mother and with such vulgar relations I'm afraid there's no chance of it I think the Bennet girls have an uncle who's a lawyer in Meryton yes and they have another who owns shops in Cheapside such a nice part of London both the sisters laughed if they had enough uncle's to fill Cheapside cried Bingley it wouldn't make them any less charming but it must considerably lessen their chances of marrying men of any position in the world replied Darcy Bingley did not answer but his sisters agreed enthusiastically and continued mocking their dear friends followed the relations for some time late in the evening when Elizabeth was satisfied that Jane was asleep she felt she ought to go downstairs again she found the party in the sitting-room playing cards but although they invited her to join in their game she refused politely and picked up a book to read I can fetch you more books to read if you wish offered Bingley but I'm afraid I haven't got a large library unlike you I'm too lazy to spend much time reading what a delightful library you have at Pemberley mr. Darcy said Miss Bingley and what a beautiful house it is Charles when you buy your house I hope it will be even half as lovely as Pemberley I hope so too agreed Bingley and your dear sister mr. Darcy I expect she's grown since the spring I won't say much to see her again I've never met anyone who delighted me so much such an appearance such manners and so extremely accomplished for her age I'm always surprised said Bingley to find how very accomplished all young ladies are how do they have the time and patience to learn all these skills certainly people use the word accomplished too loosely said Darcy but I am far from agreeing with you about ladies in general I cannot boast of knowing more than six who were really accomplished then said Elizabeth your idea of an accomplished woman must include a great many qualities yes a great many I'll certainly cried his faithful assistant Miss Bingley an accomplished woman must have a thorough knowledge of music singing drawing dancing and modern languages besides this a certain something in her manner of walking in her voice and in her behavior all this she must possess added Darcy and something more solid the improvement of her mind by wide reading I am no longer surprised at your knowing only six accomplished women said Elizabeth I rather wonder at your knowing any I've never seen such elegance and intelligence and knowledge as you described in one woman mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley were both protesting loudly that they knew many women like this when mr. Hurst called their attention back to the card game as this meant an end to the conversation Elizabeth soon afterwards left the room Miss Elizabeth Bennet said Miss Bingley to Darcy is one of those women who tried to appear attractive to men by undervaluing other women I think that's a mean trick it is true said Darcy that there is meanness in all the tricks used by ladies to attract men Miss Bingley was not satisfied enough with this answer to continue the conversation the next morning Elizabeth was glad to be able to inform mr. Bingley and his sisters that Jane was very much better in spite of this improvement however she asked for her mother to be sent for as she wanted mrs. Bennet's opinion of Jane's state of health soon after breakfast therefore mrs. Bennet accompanied by her two youngest daughters reached Netherfield Elizabeth although relieved to hear that her mother did not think Jane's illness serious began to regret asking her to come when she saw the Bingley sisters smiling at mrs. Bennet's remarks Elizabeth blushed for her mother who could not help showing her lack of intelligence and common sense in everything she said Kitty and Lydia made an equally bad impression they had been whispering together when suddenly Lydia who was an attractive confident well grown girl of fifteen pushed herself rudely forward she begged mr. Bingley to hold a ball at Netherfield with his usual politeness mr. Bingley promised he would but Elizabeth saw his sisters exchanging meaningful glances she was quite glad when her mother and sisters left she and Jane were to stay another night at Netherfield to allow Jane to recover completely that evening Elizabeth appeared again in the sitting-room she could not avoid noticing her frequently mr. Darcy's eyes were fixed on her but as she felt sure that so great a man could not possibly admire her she assumed that when he looked at her he was criticizing her in some way his thought did not cause her any pain as she liked him too little to care for his approval in the conversation she had with him she spoke in her usual slightly mocking manner rather expecting to offend him but was surprised by the quiet politeness of his replies Darcy had never before been so charmed by any woman he really believed that if she did not have such vulgar relations he might be in danger of falling in love with her Miss Bingley saw or suspected enough to be and her great anxiety for the recovery of her dear friend Jane was increased by her wish to get rid of Elizabeth fortunately perhaps for almost everyone at Netherfield Elizabeth and her sister who was now quite recovered were returning home the next day only mr. Bingley showed real sorrow at this and was concerned that Jane might not be fit enough to travel mr. Darcy was quite relieved and determined that no sign of admiration for Elizabeth should escape him now miss Bingley's politeness to Elizabeth as well as her affection for Jane increased rapidly as the moment of departure approached and she was able to say goodbye to them with many warm expressions of friendliness and a promise to visit them very soon mr. Bennet was glad to welcome his eldest daughter's home again as he had felt their absence from the Family Circle but mrs. Bennet would hope they would stay much longer was quite disappointed to see them come back in such a short time Chapter three mr. Collins visits Longbourn I hope my dear said mr. Bennet to his wife at breakfast the next morning that you have told the cook to send up a good dinner today as I am expecting a visitor who is it my dear I know of nobody who is coming unless Charlotte Lucas happens to call in and I hope my dinners are good enough for her the person I'm talking about is a gentleman and the stranger mrs. Bennet's eyes shone with excitement it's mr. Bingley I'm sure Jane you never mentioned it well I'll be extremely glad to see him Lydia my love ring the bell I must speak to the cook at once it is not mr. Bingley said her husband it's a person whom I have never seen before this caused general astonishment and he had the pleasure of being eagerly questioned by his wife and five daughters all at the same time having amused himself for some time with their curiosity he finally explained I have recently received a letter from my cousin mr. Collins who as you know will inherit all my property when I die and may throw you out of this house as soon as he wants Oh My dear cried his wife please don't mention that hateful man it's the hardest thing in the world to accept the fact that your property is not left to your own children and I'm sure if I were you I'd have tried to do something about it Jane and Elizabeth tried to explain the legal situation to her again they had often attempted to do this before but it was a matter which mrs. Bennet refused to understand and she continued to complain bitterly about mr. Collins it suddenly is most unjust agreed mr. Bennet and nothing can clear mr. Collins from the guilt of inheriting this house but if you listen while I read his letter to you you may perhaps be a little softened by his manner of expressing himself he read aloud the following letter dear sir the disagreement between you and my late respected father always worried me and since his death I have frequently wished to improve the relationship between our families after a long period of study and training I have recently become a priest and have been fortunate enough to gain the patronage of Lady Catherine de Bourg widow of salewa sterber this generous lady has given me the post of rector at Hunsford which was luckily vacant Hunsford is the village near her own large country house in Kent here I carry out the duties of my profession whenever necessary and I take great care to behave at all times with grateful respect towards her ladyship as a priest moreover I feel it my duty to encourage all families in my area of influence to live peacefully because of this I flatter myself that I am acting correctly in offering you my friendship I am of course concerned that when I eventually inherit all your property your daughters will doubtless be very poor and I do apologise for this I promise you I am ready to make amends in every possible way but more about this later if you do not object I propose to visit you and your family on Monday November the 18th at 4 o'clock and she'll probably stay until the following Saturday week this will cause me no inconvenience at all as Lady Catherine is far from objecting to my occasional absence from my duties I remain dear sir with respectful good wishes to your lady and your daughter's your friend William Collins so we can expect this peacemaking gentleman at 4 o'clock today said mr. Bennet as he folded up the letter he appears to be a most polite and serious young man how considerate of Lady Catherine to allow him to visit us well if he is ready to make amends to the girls in some way I shall certainly not discourage him said mrs. Bennet although it's difficult said Jane to guess how he intends to do that it's good of him to want to help us I think is peculiar said Elizabeth he sounds too pleased with himself and he speaks so politely of Lady Catherine and why does he apologize for inheriting father's property and future we know it's not his fault can he be a sensible man sir she added turning to mr. Bennet no my dear I think not I have great hopes of finding him quite the opposite there is a mixture of civility and self-importance in his letter which promises to be entertaining I am impatient to see him marry the middle daughter who spent most of her time reading and who seldom joined in family conversation now remarked that in her opinion his letter was well expressed but Kitty and Lydia did not show any interest in the letter or its writer as it was highly unlikely that their cousin would arrive in a regimental uniform they could not imagine having any pleasure in meeting him their mother however had changed her attitude towards mr. Collins after his letter and was now preparing to meet him with such calmness that had astonished her husband and daughters mr. Collins arrived punctually and was received with great politeness by the whole family mr. Bennet indeed said little but the ladies were ready enough to talk and mr. Collins did not seem in need of encouragement he was a tall heavy-looking young man of twenty-five his expression was serious and his manners very formal soon after his arrival he said to mrs. Bennet madam I must compliment you and having such a fine family of daughters I had heard much of their beauty but I find them even more beautiful than reports have stated I do not doubt you will see them all well married quite soon mrs. Bennet never quarreled with compliments and she answered he were very kind sir and indeed I do hope so because otherwise they'll have nothing at all to live on your refer perhaps to my inheriting the Bennet property oh yes sir I do you must confess it as a sad business for my poor girls I am very aware madam of the hardship to your lovely daughters and could say more about this but I am cautious of saying too much too soon but I would like to say that I have come prepared to admire the young ladies and perhaps when we know each other better the bell rang for dinner and the family moved into the dining room with their guests the girls smiled secretly at each other as mr. Collins praised the hall the dining room and all the furniture mrs. Bennet would normally have been delighted with such praise but she could not help thinking that he was perhaps admiring it all as his future property the dinner too he considered excellent and he asked which of his charming cousins was responsible for it but mrs. Bennet explained quite sharply to him that they were very well able to afford a good cook and that her daughters had nothing to do in the kitchen he begged her pardon immediately for offending her and continued to apologize for about a quarter of an hour mr. Bennet had hardly spoken up to now but he thought it was time to enter the conversation you seemed very fortunate in your patron kahlan's he said he could not have chosen a better opening remark mr. Collins spoke enthusiastically for several minutes in praise of Lady Catherine never in my life have I witnessed such considerate behavior in a person of high birth although she is such a great lady she has never treated me with disdain she talks to me almost as an equal and gives me advice for example she has recommended me to marry as soon as possible and do you know she has asked me to dinner twice at her house some people consider her proud but she has only ever been kind to me she even took the trouble to visit my small house and was thoughtful enough to suggest one or two improvements some shelves upstairs that is very correct and polite I'm sure said mrs. Bennet does she live near you sir only a small country road separates my poor house from Rosings Park her ladyship's home I think you said she's a widow has she any family she has only one daughter who will inherit Rosings and all Lady Catherine's property a most charming young lady unfortunately in weak health I often pay her some little compliment on her appearance or her accomplishments when I visit Rosings Lady Catherine appreciates these compliments to her daughter and I see it as my duty to please her ladyship I am sure you're right said mr. Bennet no doubt you are expert at flattering with delicacy may I ask how you think of these pleasing compliments some of them come to me at the time but in my spare moments I do occasionally prepare a few words which may be suitable for different occasions mr. Bennet listened to his cousin with the greatest enjoyment mr. Collins was as foolish as he had hoped but by teatime mr. Bennet had had enough and after tea asked his guests to read aloud to the ladies however when a novel was handed to mr. Collins he looked shocked and protested that he never read novels he chose a religious book instead and start reading in a slow serious voice Lydia could not hide her boredom for long and after only three pages she interrupted him rudely to ask her mother a question about one of the offices in Meryton mr. Collins was offended and refused to read anymore although mrs. Bennet and her other daughters apologized for Lydia's lack of manners mr. Collins was not a sensible man and neither education nor society had improved him the respect he felt for his patron and his very good opinion of himself and his new position made him proud and servile at the same time now that he had a home and a considerable income he had decided to marry the Bennet girls who would lose their inheritance because of him had a reputation for being attractive and charming and his idea of making amends to them was to marry one of them he considered this an excellent plan and thought himself extremely generous and unselfish and carrying it out he had known he was right when he arrived at Longbourn and saw Jane Bennet's lovely face as the eldest she should marry first and for the first evening she was his choice but the next morning after a 15-minute conversation with mrs. Bennet he had to change his mind when he explained that he was hoping to find a wife among her daughters she replied with a happy smile that her eldest daughter was very likely to be engaged soon but there are my other daughters mr. Collins she continued encouragingly mr. Collins had only to change from Jane to Elizabeth and it was soon done done while mrs. Bennet was pouring the tea next to Jane in birth and beauty Elizabeth was the obvious choice mrs. Bennet was delighted hoping that she might soon have two daughters married the man whom she had so disliked the day before was now a favorite with her Chapter four Elizabeth meets mr. Wickham when later that morning Lydia suggested walking to Meryton to see some of the offices all her sisters except Mary agreed to accompany her even mr. Collins went with them encouraged by mr. Bennet who was by now most anxious to have some time to himself during their walk the girls listened politely to mr. Collins self-important speeches but as soon as they entered Meryton the younger ones no longer even pretended to be interested in his conversation but looked eagerly around in search of the offices just then all the young ladies noticed a very gentlemanlike young man whom they'd never seen before walking down the street with an officer they knew they were all wondering who the handsome stranger could be when the officer came up to them to greet them he asked permission to introduce his friend whose name was mr. Wickham and who had apparently arrived recently from London to become an officer in the regiment this was exactly as it should be because the young man only needed an officer's uniform to become completely charming he was very good-looking with a very pleasant sociable manner and after the introductions conversation flowed most enjoyably in the little group they were still standing and talking happily together when they heard the sound of horses and saw Darcy and Bingley riding down the street the two gentlemen came straight towards the ladies to greet them Bingley was clearly most interested in Jane Bennet and started talking particularly to her Darcy however was just determining not to look at Elizabeth when he suddenly noticed the stranger by chance Elizabeth saw Darcy's and Wickham's faces at the moment when they caught sight of each other and she was astonished at the effect of the meeting both changed colour one white the other red after a few moments mr. Wickham touched his hat and mr. Darcy nodded very slightly what could this mean it was impossible to imagine and it was impossible not to wish to know in another moment mr. Bingley who did not seem to have noticed what had happened said goodbye and rode away with mr. Darcy the two offices accompanied the young ladies to mrs. Philips house but did not go in in spite of Lydia's repeated invitations mrs. Philips was always glad to see her nieces and welcomed mr. Collins most politely when he was introduced to her she did not however have any more information for the girls about the agreeable mr. Wickham but I tell you what my dears she said brightly and giving a little supper party for some of the officers tomorrow I'll ask mr. Philips to visit mr. Wickham and invite him to come too will you all come as well the girls were delighted and agreed at once to this arrangement and the whole group walked back to Longbourn happily discussing the enjoyable evening they were going to have mr. Collins had been very impressed with mrs. Philips politeness and when they reached Longbourn he complimented mrs. Bennet on her sister's elegance and charming manners the next evening the carriage took him and his five cousins to Meryton and the girls had the pleasure of hearing as they entered the hall that mr. Wickham had accepted their uncle's invitation and was at that moment in the house when mr. Collins was shown into the sitting-room and had time to look around and admire it he said immediately to mrs. Philips Madame I must compliment you on the size and furniture of this room really I could almost imagine myself in the smaller summer breakfast room at Rosings this remark did not at first pleased his hostess very much but when she heard from him what Rosings was and who its owner was and how much Lady Catherine's furniture cost she realized what a great compliment it was during the evening mr. Collins found mrs. Philips a kind and attentive listener which was fortunate as the Bennet girls could not bring themselves to listen to him any longer all the ladies were impatient to see mr. Wickham and when he came into the room he appeared far more charming and gentlemanly than any of the officers present he was the lucky man towards whom almost every female I turned and Elizabeth was the lucky woman beside whom he finally took his seat his pleasant way of making conversation made her feel that he could talk interestingly about anything as he did not play cards switch some of the party were doing he stayed talking to Elizabeth for a large part of the evening she hoped he would tell her how he knew mr. Darcy but she dared not mention that gentleman luckily however mr. Wickham himself began to talk about it although in a rather hesitating manner Netherfield is quite near Meryton I suppose how long has has mr. Darcy been staying there he has been there about a month replied Elizabeth unwilling to let the matter drop she added he is a man of very large property in Derbyshire I understand yes replied Wickham his income is ten thousand a year at least I know more about him the most people as I've been closely connected with his family since childhood Elizabeth could only look surprised you might well be surprised Miss Bennet at my saying that after noticing as you probably did a very cold manner of our meeting yesterday do you know mr. Darcy well as well as I have a wish too cried Elizabeth I've spent four days in the same house as him and I consider him very disagreeable I've known him too long and too well to judge fairly whether he's disagreeable or not but I believe most people would be astonished by your opinion he is not at all liked here in Hartford sure everybody is disgusted with his pride you won't find him praised by anyone I can't pretend to be sorry that he is valued as he deserves but with him I believe it doesn't often happen the world is blinded by his fortune and importance or frightened by his proud behavior and sees him only as he chooses to be seen after a pause we commanded I wonder if he's likely to stay at Netherfield much longer I don't know at all but I hope his presence won't stop you becoming an officer in the regiment here oh no I won't be driven away by mr. Darcy if he wishes to avoid seeing me he must go the reason I have for avoiding him is one I could easily make public to the whole world he has treated me very badly his late father Miss Bennet was one of the best men who ever lived the most faithful friend I ever had and whenever I'm with this mr. Darcy I think of his father with the most painful regret mr. Darcy has behaved wickedly towards me but I could forgive him anything except the insult to his father's memory Elizabeth was fascinated and listened eagerly but did not like to ask any questions mr. Wickham began to speak more generally about maraton and the charming people he had met there in fact that's why I was tempted to join the regiment I'd heard that merit and society is most agreeable Society I confess is necessary to me I have been a disappointed man you see I did not intend to join the army at all the church ought to be my profession and I should at this moment have a comfortable income as a Derbyshire rector if the gentleman we were speaking of just now had wished it indeed yes mr. Darcy's father had always been very fond of me and intended to give me the post of rector of Pemberley but unfortunately after his death when the post became vacant it was given to someone else no cried Elizabeth horrified but how could that happen why didn't you get legal advice and claim what was rightfully yours mr. Darcy's father had not stated his wish in writing a man of honor could not have doubted his intention but mr. Darcy chose to treat it as a recommendation only I really cannot accuse myself of having done anything to deserve to lose the post the fact is he hates me I think he was jealous of his father's affection for me which annoyed him from the beginning this is very shocking I hadn't thought mr. Darcy as bad as this although I've never liked him I assumed he felt superior to everyone else but did not suspect him of behaving in such a wicked unjust inhuman way we grew up together at Pemberley you know my father gave up all his time to take care of the Pemberley farms and was greatly appreciated as a close friend by the late mr. Darcy who promised just before my father's death to provide for me the present mr. Darcy did not choose to respect that promise how strange that mr. Darcy's pride has not made him help you surely he's too proud to wish to appear dishonest which is what I must call him he's certainly very proud proud of his position his family his father and his sister too you know what sort of a girl is Miss Darcy he shook his head it gives me pain to criticize her Darcy but she's too much like her brother very very proud she's a handsome girl about 15 or 16 and I understand extremely accomplished I am astonished at mr. Darcy's close friendship with mr. Bingley how can mr. Bingley who seems so charming and kind to be friendly with such a man I don't know mr. Bingley at all but mr. Darcy can be a pleasant companion if he thinks it worthwhile just then they were joined by some of the others and the conversation became more general when mr. Collins was talking to mrs. Philips about his patron mr. Wickham looked quickly in his direction and then asked Elizabeth does your cousin know Lady Catherine de Bourg very well I don't think he has known her for long but she has recently given him the post of rector of Hunsford perhaps you know that lady catherine is the president mr. Darcy's aunt I believe she is planning to marry her daughter who will inherit a fortune to mr. Darcy this information made Elizabeth smile she thought of poor miss Bingley's efforts to attract mr. Darcy which might all be in vain the supper party came to an end and Elizabeth went away with her head full of mr. Wickham she could think of nothing but him and what he had told her all the way home the next day she told Jane everything she had discussed with mr. Wickham Jane listened with astonishment and concern she could not believe that mr. Darcy could so little deserve mr. Bingley's friendship and yet she did not want to doubt the truthfulness of such an agreeable young man as mr. Wickham Elizabeth however felt sure that mr. Darcy was to blame that morning an invitation arrived at Longbourn mr. Bingley had fixed the date for the ball he had promised to give at Netherfield and it was to be on the following Tuesday every female in the Bennet family was looking forward to it even Mary who lifted her head from her book to say unsmiling as long as I have my mornings free for serious reading I do not mind meeting people in the evenings I consider some relaxation and amusement is good for everybody Elizabeth felt so cheerful at the thought of dancing with mr. Wickham that she made an unusual effort to speak kindly to mr. Collins will you accept mr. Bingley's invitation sir and if you do William was a priest to consider it right to dance I shall certainly accept and I am so far from objecting to dancing that I hope to have the honour of dancing with all my beautiful cousins I take this opportunity of asking you Miss Elizabeth for the first two dances especially she was very surprised and rather annoyed she had hoped that Wickham would ask her for those dances but now she would have mr. Collins instead she could not refuse however and his request also worried her in another way his manner to her seemed particularly flattering which gave her the unwelcome idea that perhaps she had been chosen from among her sisters to be the rector of Huntsman's wife as she observed the increasing number of compliments he paid to her beauty and character she felt sure that he intended to propose marriage for the moment however she decided to do nothing but wait and see on Tuesday evening when Elizabeth entered the hall at Netherfield and looked in vain for mr. Wickham among the red coats gathered there she was surprised and disappointed to see he was not present she had never doubted he would come and addressed with more than her usual care looking forward to winning his heart which she knew was already partly hers but she immediately suspected that Darcy had persuaded Bingley not to invite Wickham and although she discovered from one of the officers that in fact Wickham had been invited but had been called away on business she felt sure Wickham had wanted to avoid meeting Darcy and blamed Darcy for this as a result when Darcy greeted her she was so annoyed with him that she could hardly reply politely but she soon became more cheerful and determined to enjoy the ball in spite of Wickham's absence unfortunately the first two dances with mr. Collins were painfully embarrassing as her cousin had no idea how to dance and moved extremely awkwardly she was relieved to leave him and have the third dance with an officer who gave her great pleasure by talking about Wickham and his popularity in the regiment after this she was very surprised to be approached by mr. Darcy and invited to dance she was so astonished in fact that she accepted him without thinking and found herself standing opposite him on the dance floor what honour for me to be allowed to dance with mr. Darcy she thought they danced for some time in silence and then she made a remark he replied and was silent again after a pause she spoke again now you must say something mr. Darcy you could remark on the size of the room or the number of couples he smiled I'll say whatever you wish me to say very well that reply will do for a moment perhaps soon I'll observe that private balls are much pleasanter than public ones but now we can be silent conversation needs to be arranged in this way so that those people who don't enjoy talking are not required to make any effort are you referring to yourself or are you thinking of me both said Elizabeth smiling because I think you and I are similar we're both unsociable and unwilling to speak unless we can astonish and impress the whole room I am sure you aren't like that he answered I cannot say whether I am or not you obviously think so she said nothing do you and your sisters often go to maraton he continued we do she replied and unable to resist the temptation she added when you met us there last week we had just been introduced to someone the effect was immediate there was a new coldness in Darcy's expression after a moment he said with difficulty mr. Wickham is so agreeable that he makes friends easily whether he can keep them is less certain he has been unlucky enough to lose your friendship replied Elizabeth sharply and in a way which will cause him hardship all his life Darcy did not reply to this and there was only time for a little more conversation before the dance ended Elizabeth went to find Jane and listened with delight as she described her feelings for Bingley and her confidence in his affection for her but apart from Jane it seemed to Elizabeth that if her family had made an agreement to appear as stupid as possible during the ball they could not have been more successful first mr. Collins insisted on going to introduce himself to mr. Darcy the nephew of his respected patron and was received very coldly then during supper mrs. Bennet could not be prevented from talking very loudly to lady Lucas about her great hopes of Jane's marriage to Bingley Elizabeth blushed in embarrassment when she realized that the Bingley sisters and mr. Darcy were able to hear finally when some music was required Mary Bennett went confidently to the piano and sang and played several songs all rather badly the rest of the evening brought Elizabeth little amusement she could not even go and talk to people she knew as mr. Collins seemed determined to stay close by her side all evening fortunately her good friend Charlotte Lucas occasionally gave her some relief by kindly listening to some of mr. Collins long speeches at least Elizabeth did not have to talk to miss Darcy anymore he often stood near her quite alone but did not come close enough to speak at the end of the evening it was obvious to Elizabeth that although her family had greatly enjoyed the ball the Bingley sisters were eager for these particular guests to leave mr. Collins however was enthusiastic in his praise of the Bingley's hospitality and mrs. Bennet invited the whole Bingley family to visit Longbourn as soon as possible she was feeling very satisfied convinced that in three or four months Jane would be married to Bingley she was also sure that Elizabeth would marry mr. Collins this was a good enough marriage for Elizabeth who was her least favorite daughter but not nearly as impressive as Jane's marriage to Bingley Chapter five mr. Collins proposes twice at Longbourn the next day soon after breakfast mr. Collins asked mrs. Bennet for permission to speak privately to Elizabeth mrs. Bennet was delighted and hurried the other girls out of the room so that Elizabeth and mr. Collins were left alone together Elizabeth did not want to stay and got up to leave but after a moment's thought sat down again quietly determined to listen and reply politely My dear Miss Elizabeth said mr. Collins seriously this little unwillingness to hear me this modesty of yours can only add to your other charms you can hardly doubt the purpose of my speech almost as soon as I entered the house I chose you as the companion of my future life but before I am carried away by my feelings I think I should state my reasons for marrying Elizabeth was trying so hard not to laugh at the idea of mr. Collins being carried away by his feelings that she was unable to reply first he continued it is right for a priest to marry as an example to other people secondly I'm sure marriage will add greatly to my happiness and thirdly which perhaps I should have mentioned earlier my generous patron has advised me to marry find an active useful sort of person she told me a woman who can make a small income go a long way bring her to Hunsford as your wife and I'll visit her so I decided to choose a wife from among my Bennet cousins to lessen the loss to the family when the sad event of your father's death takes place I flatter myself that you will appreciate my motives and now nothing remains but to convince you of the violence of my affection I am quite indifferent to the fact that you bring little money with you into our marriage and promise you that I shall make no ungenerous reference to this after we are married it was absolutely necessary to interrupt him now sir you forget I have given no answer except my thanks for the compliment you are paying me but it is impossible for me to accept your proposal of course I understand said mr. Collins that young ladies often do not accept a proposal of marriage the first time I am therefore not at all discouraged and sincerely hope we shall be married soon sir cried Elizabeth your hope is rather extraordinary after what I've said I am perfectly serious you could not make me happy and I'm convinced I'm the last woman in the world it would make you happy and I'm sure that if Lady Catherine knew me she would find me poorly qualified for the situation if I knew Lady Catherine thought so began mr. Collins looking very worried but I cannot imagine she would disapprove of you and when I have the honor of seeing her again I shall certainly tell her how modest economical and practical you are indeed mr. Collins all praise of me will be unnecessary pay me the compliment of believing what I say I hope you will be very happy and very rich but I cannot accept your proposal she got up and was going to leave the room but mr. Collins were speaking to her again I am far from accusing you of cruelty in refusing me as I know it is the custom with elegant ladies in society to refuse a gentleman the first time I hope to receive a more favourable answer next time I speak to you of marriage really mr. Collins cried Elizabeth with some warmth you do puzzle me I do not know how to express my refusal so that it convinces you you must allow me to flatter myself dear cousin that you do not intend to refuse me for long my situation in life my connections with the deburr family and my relationship to your own all make my proposal of very suitable one and you should remember that in spite of your many admirable qualities it is not certain that you will receive any other offer of marriage as you have very little money of your own sir thank you again for the honor you have done me but to accept your proposal is absolute impossible can I speak plainer than that don't think of me as an elegant female but as a thinking creature speaking the truth from her heart you are charming he cried and I'm sure that when both your excellent parents agree you will accept my proposal Elizabeth did not reply but left the room silently determined to ask her father if necessary to make her refusal clear to the self-deceiving mr. Collins mrs. Bennet had been waiting eagerly for the end of the interview and when she saw Elizabeth leave the room she hurried in to offer her congratulations to mr. Collins he received them with pleasure adding that he was sure his cousin's refusal was a natural result of her modesty and delicacy of character refusal repeated mrs. Bennet shot Lucy refused you do not worry mr. Collins I shall speak to her at once she's a very obstinate foolish girl but I'll make her accept you pardon me madam cried mr. Collins but if she's really obstinate and foolish I do not think she would be a suitable wife for a man in my situation sir you quite misunderstand me said mrs. Bennet alarmed she's only obstinate in a matter like this in everything else she is very agreeable I'll see mr. Bennet and we'll arrange it with her I'm sure she did not give him time to reply but hurried to the library where she knew she would find her husband Oh mr. Bennet we need you urgently they're all in such confusion you must come and make Lizzy marry mr. Collins mr. Bennet raised his eyes from his book as she entered and stared at her with calm unconcern I do not have the pleasure of understanding you he said what are you talking about he declare she won't have him and if you don't hurry you change his mind and not have her so what should I do it seems a hopeless business speak to her about it yourself tell her you insist on her marrying him call her in here she shall hear my mrs. Bennett gladly rang the bell and the servant brought Elizabeth into the library come here child said her father as she appeared I've sent for you on a very important matter I understand that mr. Collins has made you an offer of marriage and you have refused when Elizabeth nodded he continued very well now your mother insists on your accepting isn't that right mrs. Bennet yes all I'll never see her again you now have an unhappy choice to make Elizabeth from this day on you must be a stranger to one of your parents your mother will never see you again if you do not marry mr. Collins and I will never see you again if you do Elizabeth could not help smiling but mrs. Bennet who had been sure her husband supported her was very disappointed what do you mean mr. Bennet you promised me you would insist on her marrying him my dear replied her husband I have two small requests to make first that you will accept that I know what I promised or did not promise and secondly that she will all leave me in peace as soon as possible that afternoon Charlotte Lucas came to visit Elizabeth and found the family still in great confusion the younger girls were quite excited by the news of mr. Collins proposal and mrs. Bennet was most annoyed with Elizabeth hello dear Miss Lucas cried mrs. Bennet can't you persuade Elizabeth to accept mr. Collins nobody else wants to help me but why will I feel and look at Lizzie now she's so unconcerned but I tell you miss Lizzie if you go on refusing every offer of marriage like this you'll never get a husband at all and I won't be able to provide for you when your father is dead I warn you now I told you in the library that I wouldn't speak to you again and I won't I have no pleasure in talking to an undutiful child like you not that I have much pleasure in talking to anybody with my headaches nobody knows how I suffer but of course those who do not complain are never pitied her daughter's listened in silence aware that any attempt to calm her would only increase her annoyance Elizabeth however was determined not to marry mr. Collins and in the end mrs. Bennet was obliged to accept that fact when mr. Collins realized that Elizabeth had meant what she said his manner towards her became coldly and stiffly polite his long speeches and flattering compliments were transferred for the rest of the day to kind Charlotte Lucas who took on herself the trouble of listening to him for which all the Bennets were very grateful the next day a letter was delivered to Jane from Netherfield Elizabeth saw her sister's expression change as she read it and when they were alone she asked about it it's from Caroline Bingley said Jane and it has surprised me very much the whole party of left Netherfield and are on their way back to London probably for the winter they may not return to Netherfield at all she says the only thing she sincerely regrets is leaving me behind in Hertfordshire and promises to write very frequently Elizabeth did not trust miss Bingley's apparent affection for Jane I really don't think their departure matters very much she said mr. Bingley won't be kept in London my sisters I'm sure he'll be back at Netherfield soon but perhaps he prefers to stay in London where many of his friends are but I haven't told you everything yet let me read you the part which particularly hurts me mr. Darcy is impatient to see his sister and we confess we are all so eager to see her again nobody is more beautiful elegant or accomplished than Georgiana Darcy Louisa and I have great affection for her and hope one day to call her sister my brother admires her very much he will have frequent opportunities of seeing her and although I am his sister I must say I think he is most capable of winning any woman's heart what do you think of this Dear Lizzy isn't it clear enough Caroline doesn't wish or expect me to become her sister-in-law she's convinced of her brother's indifference towards me and perhaps because she suspects my feelings for him she most kindly warns me that he's very likely to marry someone else I have a totally different opinion Miss Bingley sees her brother is in love with you while she wants him to marry miss Darcy we aren't rich enough or grand enough for them and she is eager to have a family connection with the Darcy's so that it may be easier for her to marry mr. Darcy so she follows her brother to London hoping to keep him there and tries to persuade you he doesn't care about you but of course he's in love with you I really can't agree with you about Caroline I think she's in cave of deceiving anyone but Lizzy my dear sister even if she's wrong about her brother and he does care for me could I be happy and accepting a man whose sisters and friends all wish him to marry someone else you must decide for yourself and if you consider it more important to do what his sister's want than to gain the happiness of being his wife I certainly advise you to refuse him how can you say that said Jane smiling a little you know I wouldn't hesitate although I'd be sad if they disapproved of me but if he doesn't come back to Netherfield I'll never have to make the decision but Elizabeth was sure mr. Bingley could not be kept away from Jane by his sisters and soon persuaded Jane to take a more hopeful view of the situation that day the Bennets with mr. Collins went to dinner with the Lucas family at Lucas Lodge again it was Charlotte who spent most of the evening listening to mr. Collins Elizabeth was very relieved and thanked her friend gratefully for the trouble she was taking but Charlotte's kindness had a particular aim which Elizabeth was unaware of her plan was to encourage mr. Collins to transfer his attentions to herself in fact she was managing so well but when she said good night to him after dinner she would have felt sure of success if he had been staying in Hartford sure for another week but she did not fully appreciate the fire and independence of his character which caused him to get up very early the next morning and escape from Longbourn house in a great hurry to reach Lucas Lodge and throw himself at her feet she did not keep him waiting for an answer and the happy couple found themselves engaged as quickly as mr. Collins long speeches would allow Charlotte's parents were delighted to agree to the marriage and Lady Lucas began to work out with more interests than she had ever felt before how many more years mr. Bennett was likely to live Charlotte herself was quite satisfied mr. Collins certainly was neither sensible nor agreeable but still he would be a husband she did not think highly of men or of marriage but she had always intended to marry although marriage might not always bring happiness it was the only honourable way in which a well-educated woman with little income could provide a home for herself now twenty-seven and lacking beauty she felt she was lucky to have found a husband she knew however that Elizabeth whose friendship she greatly valued would be astonished and possibly disapproving so she decided to go to Longbourn house to tell her friend the news herself Elizabeth was indeed shocked at first and could not help crying out in surprise but when Charlotte explained her reasons for accepting mr. Collins Elizabeth tried hard to understand when the rest of the Bennet family the news they were all so astonished mrs. Bennet was quite horrified and could not stop complaining bitterly about Charlotte's wickedness mr. Collins stupidity and Elizabeth's obstinacy mr. Bennet was much karma only saying he was pleased to discover that Charlotte whom he used to consider quite sensible was as foolish as his wife and more foolish than his daughter that day was mr. Collins last at Longbourn and he left with many speeches of thanks as well as a promise to return very soon mr. Bennet warned him to be careful not to offend his patron by being absent from his duties too often but mr. Collins although extremely grateful for this sign of mr. Bennet's cousinly affection for him was naturally eager to return to Hartford sure to see his future wife only two weeks later he did in fact come back to stay at Longbourn but spent most of his time at Lucas Lodge making arrangements for the wedding mrs. Bennet still felt very offended by him but she was now becoming anxious about something even more important mr. Bingley's continued absence day after day had passed with no news since the arrival of Caroline Bingley's letter Elizabeth was now rather worried and Jane feared the worst finally a second letter arrived from Caroline Bingley and when Jane read it she realized that all hope was over the Bingley family was staying in London for the whole winter and Georgiana Darcy was a frequent member of their circle Miss Bingley boasted joyfully of this friendship and looked forward to her brother's probable marriage to miss Darcy although she was deeply upset Jane bravely tried to control her feelings do not hurry Lizzy I shall be able to forget him in a while I have nothing to complain of as he made no promises to me I just thought he cared for me but I was wrong luckily no one is hurt except myself My dear Jane said Elizabeth you are too good you always think the best of everybody now I think the worst of most people and do not see much real value or common sense around me mr. Bingley for example he may not be intending to hurt you but misery can be caused by someone being just weak and indecisive I'm convinced his sisters and his friend mr. Darcy are trying to influence him against you another example is Charlotte I can't understand how she could agree to marry such a self-important proud silly man tn Lizzy said Jane we must respect Charlotte's decision she may well be happy with mr. Collins and as for mr. Bingley we shouldn't expect a sociable young man to be so careful of his behavior women often imagine admiration means more than it really does and men want that to happen I prefer to believe that I was mistaken in thinking he cared for me and that his sister's loved him and the proof of his wish to marry miss Darcy I don't want to think badly of him or his sisters that would be worse than anything Elizabeth had to accept Jane's wishes and from then on mr. Bingley's name was seldom mentioned between them Chapter six Elizabeth visits mr. and mrs. Collins the following Monday mrs. Bennet had the pleasure of receiving her brother and his wife who came as usual to spend Christmas at Longbourn mr. Gardiner was a sensible gentlemanlike man the Netherfield ladies would have had difficulty in believing that a man who lived by buying and selling could be so well-mannered and agreeable mrs. Gardiner who was several years younger than mrs. Bennet and mrs. Phillips was a pleasant intelligent elegant woman and a great favourite with her Longbourn nieces especially the two eldest who often stayed with her in London when mrs. Gardiner had given the present she had brought with her and described the newest fashions she was obliged to listen to mrs. Bennet's complaints I've suffered greatly since your last visit sister cried mrs. Bennet just imagine two of my daughters were very close to marriage and then nothing I do not blame Jane who would have got mr. Bingley if she could but Lizzy Oh sister it is hard to think she might have been mrs. Collins by now if she hadn't been so obstinate the result is that Lady Lucas will have a daughter married before me it makes me quite ill to have such a disobedient daughter and such selfish neighbours but your coming just now is a great comfort to me and I am very glad to hear what you tell us about long sleeves mrs. Gardiner made a suitably sympathetic reply to her sister-in-law and later that day found the opportunity to discuss the matter in more detail with Elizabeth alone I am sorry for Jane she said kindly but Lizzie these things happen so often a young man like mr. Bingley frequently falls in love with a pretty girl and when chance separates them he forgets her very quickly yes aunt said Elizabeth but in this case it was not chance but the young man's interfering friends who separated Jane and mr. Bingley I'm sure he was violently in love with her poor Jane she's so sensitive I'm afraid she may not get over it for some time I have to be you Lizzie you would have recovered more quickly by finding humor in the situation but do you think I could persuade Jane to come back with us to London perhaps a change of air would make her feel better Elizabeth was extremely grateful to her aunt for this kind suggestion and felt sure Jane would gladly agree I hope I did mrs. Gardiner but she will not be influenced by the hope of seeing the young man we live in such a different part of town that it is very unlikely they will meet unless he actually comes to see her and that is quite impossible because his friend mr. Darcy would not allow him to visit so unfashionable and address but despite her protest Elizabeth secretly thought that Jane might see Bingley in London and that a meeting would probably reawaken his affection for her the gardener's stayed at Longbourn for a week and mrs. Bennett made sure there was always some entertainment for her brother and sister-in-law whenever there was a dinner party at Longbourn house some of the officers were always invited mrs. Gardner who had noticed that mr. Wickham was a very frequent visitor and that Elizabeth spoke admiringly of him took care to observe them both she saw enough to make her a little anxious and decided to speak to Elizabeth about him when they were alone Lizzy she began I can see that you and mr. Wickham like each other but I must warn you not to get seriously involved with him I bet he's a most interesting young man but sadly he has no fortune you're a sensible girl and must realize that you would disappoint your father by agreeing to marry a penniless young man my dear aren't do not worry I'll take care of myself and mr. Wickham too he won't be in love with me if I can prevent it Elizabeth BAE's serious I'm sorry aunt I'll try again at present I'm certainly not in love with him but he is by far the most agreeable man I've ever met and if he really loved me but I would hate to disappoint my father or make any of you unhappy I cannot promise what I will do but I will really try to do what I think is wisest I hope you were satisfied with that her aunt replied that she was and received Elizabeth's thanks for her kind advice several days after this the gardener's returned to London taking Jane with them the day of mr. Collins wedding soon arrived and mrs. Bennett had to watch Charlotte Lucas become mrs. Collins before the bride left Longbourn four hands furred however she asked Elizabeth to come and visit her in her new home as soon as possible Elizabeth could not refuse although she did not imagine it would be an enjoyable visit it was arranged that Elizabeth would accompany Sir William Lucas and Mariah one of his other daughters on their intended visit to Hunsford in March a week after Jane's departure Elizabeth received a letter from her sister saying that she had seen Miss Bingley and hoped to continue their friendship Elizabeth shook her head over this she was not surprised to hear from Jane a few weeks later that Caroline Bingley had made no further attempts to communicate with her former dear friend Elizabeth was saddened to read of Jane's disappointment but felt more cheerful when she told herself that Jane would no longer be deceived by the sister at least all expectation from the brother was now absolutely over as a punishment for him she seriously hoped he would soon marry mr. Darcy's sister who according to Wickham would make him quickly regret what he had thrown away but this time Elizabeth also received a letter from mrs. Gardner asking about Wickham and she was able to reply quite honestly that there was no danger of her marrying him he had transferred his affections to a Miss King who had recently inherited 10,000 pounds Elizabeth saw exactly what was happening but her heart had only been slightly touched and she was able to convince herself that it was quite natural for such an agreeable young man to wish for fortune and independence January and February passed and the time for Elizabeth's visit to mr. and mrs. Collins approached she had improved the plan by arranging to spend a night in London at her uncle and aunt's house before continuing the journey into Kent she was very much looking forward to seeing Jane who was still staying with the gardener's the journey seemed long to Elizabeth because Sir William and Mariah had nothing to say worth hearing but when the coach arrived at the gardener's house at lunchtime Elizabeth was delighted to see that her sister looked as healthy and lovely as before in a private conversation with her and later however Elizabeth discovered that Jane had been suffering from periods of depression although she always tried bravely to appear cheerful the afternoon and evening passed only too quickly and the next day Elizabeth and the other travellers set off again when the coach arrived in Hunsford they were all quite excited to see on one side of the road Lady Catherine's Great Park which they had heard so much about at last on the other side they came to the rectory where they were warmly welcomed by mr. Collins and Charlotte Elizabeth was more and more pleased she had come when she found herself so affectionately received she saw instantly that marriage had not changed her cousins manners he insisted on greeting them all with formal politeness and long speeches and showed them round the house explaining its many good points in exhausting detail Elizabeth could not help thinking that perhaps he was speaking particularly to her as if wishing to make her feel what she had lost in refusing him but although everything seemed neat and comfortable she was unable to please him with a sigh of regret in fact she wondered how Charlotte could look so cheerful with such a companion but whenever mr. Collins said anything of which his wife might be ashamed which was quite often Charlotte wisely did not appear to be listening and when mr. Collins showed them proudly round his garden in which he himself enjoyed working Elizabeth admired the serious way in which Charlotte praised gardening as a most healthy exercise and admitted encouraging her husband to work outdoors as much as possible Elizabeth had to confess to herself that surprisingly Charlotte rarely appeared to be happy when mr. Collins could be forgotten the house seemed very pleasant and comfortable and from Charlotte's evident enjoyment of her home Elizabeth supposed he must often be forgotten the visitors had only been in the house for a day when a message came from Lady Catherine inviting them all to dinner at Rosings Park the next day mr. Collins was delighted and congratulated his guests on their good luck I confess that I might have expected her ladyship to invite us all to drink tea at Rosings on Sunday he said but to invite the whole party to dinner so soon after your arrival - what a generous and considerate lady she is the whole of the rest of that day and the next morning was spent discussing their visit to Rosings this made Sir William and Mariah quite nervous when the moment came to walk across the park and enter the great lady's house Elizabeth however was unimpressed by what she had heard of Lady Catherine and remained calm she was interested to see that Lady Catherine was a tall large woman who held herself stiffly and proudly and received her guests with an air of disdain she spoke loudly and decidedly on every matter and was clearly convinced of her superiority over other people her daughter Anne was completely different a small thin ill-looking lady who spoke very little and only in a whisper the dinner was very good and was highly praised by mr. Collins his repeated compliments which Elizabeth thought were embarrassing appeared to please Lady Catherine very much after dinner her ladyship talked continuously giving her opinions without any fear of contradiction or even comment she then asked Elizabeth many detailed questions about her education her sisters and her father's income although Elizabeth considered these questions extremely personal and almost rude she answered them politely and calmly at the end of the long evening the visitors were driven home in Lady Catherine's carriage while mr. collins praised his patron for her elegance intelligence and hospitality this visit was repeated twice a week but there was little other entertainment in Hunsford Elizabeth had pleasant conversations with Charlotte or read books or walked along a narrow path by Lady Catherine's Park which no one else seemed to use it was a quiet life but she was satisfied with it however two weeks after her arrival in Hunsford she heard that some visitors were coming to stay at Rosings Lady Catherine's nephew mr. Darcy was expected soon accompanied by his cousin Colonel Fitzwilliam the next day the two gentlemen arrived and came almost immediately to the rectory Colonel Fitzwilliam was about thirty not handsome but very gentlemanly and he talked pleasantly to the ladies but mr. Darcy looked as cold and proud as ever and after greeting mrs. Collins spoke only a few stiffly polite words to Elizabeth she took the opportunity of asking him if he had by any chance seen Jane in London recently and thought he looked a little confused when he answered that he had not had that pleasure soon after that the two gentlemen returned to Rosings Colonel Fitzwilliams manners were very much admired by the ladies who felt that he would add considerably to the enjoyment of their evenings at Rosings but it was not until Easter day that they received an invitation from Lady Catherine and when they arrived in her sitting-room it was clear that she was far more interested in her nephew's than in her other guests Colonel Fitzwilliam however seemed really glad to see them and he came at once to sit beside Elizabeth they talked so agreeably and amusingly together that mr. Darcy turned his eyes towards them and looked curiously at them several times when her ladyship also noticed she called loudly across the room Fitzwilliam what are you talking about with Miss Bennet let me hear what it is we're speaking of music madam he said we're no longer able to avoid a reply of music then please speak to all of us I must have my share in the car position if you are speaking of music there are few people in England I suppose who have more true enjoyment of music than myself or a better natural taste if I had ever learned to play I would have been a great musician but I often tell young ladies practice is very important I have told miss Bennett several times that she will never play really well unless she practices more and she is very welcome to come to Rosings and practice on the piano in the servants Hall she won't be in anyone's way there I can promise her mr. Darcy looked a little ashamed of his aunt's insensitive words meanwhile Colonel Fitzwilliam had persuaded Elizabeth to play some music and she sat down at the piano but when she had started playing mr. Darcy went to stand in front of the piano where he had a good view of her face at the end of her first piece of music Elizabeth said smiling you intend to frighten me mr. Darcy by coming to listen to me but I am obstinate and won't be frightened I don't think you really believe I intend to alarm you and I've had the pleasure of knowing you long enough to be aware that you occasionally enjoy stating opinions which are not your own Elizabeth laughed this picture of herself and said to Colonel Fitzwilliam your cousin will teach you not to believe a word I say indeed mr. Darcy it is very ungenerous of you to mention all my faults and perhaps rather foolish to because I may take my revenge and tell things about you which your relations will be shocked to hear I am Not Afraid of you said Darcy smiling but let me hear your accusation cried Colonel Fitzwilliam I'd like to hear how he behaves among strangers well prepare yourself for something very dreadful the first time I ever saw him was at a ball in hartfordshire and at this ball what do you think he did he danced only four dances I'm sorry to cause you pain but that is what happened he danced only four dances although gentlemen were scarce and to my certain knowledge more than one young lady was sitting down waiting for a partner mr. Darcy you must admit it I had not at that time the honour of knowing anybody at the ball apart from my own group of friends I should perhaps have asked to be introduced but I do not like to recommend myself to strangers I do not find it easy to talk to people I don't know you don't want to take the trouble to do it Darcy that's why said Colonel Fitzwilliam I cannot play this piano as well as some other women said Elizabeth but I've always assumed it is my own fault because I don't take the trouble to practice I know that I am capable of playing as well as anyone Darcy smiled and said you are perfectly right you have spent your time in a much better way no one who hears you could imagine any possible improvement we neither of us perform to strangers just then lady catherine interrupted them to comment on elizabeth playing miss Bennett would play quite well if we had a London teacher of course Anne would have been a delightful performer if her health had allowed at learn Elizabeth looked at Darcy to see his reaction to and burrs name but neither at that moment nor at any other could she observe any sign of love or even interest in his cousin Lady Catherine continued to give Miss Bennet advice on her playing but at the request of the gentleman Elizabeth stayed at the piano for the rest of the evening Chapter seven Darcy proposes marriage Elizabeth was sitting by herself the next morning writing to Jane while mrs. Collins and Mariah were shopping in the village she heard the doorbell ring and knew that meant a visitor had arrived but she was greatly surprised when mr. Darcy and mr. Darcy only were shown into the room he seemed astonished too on finding her alone I apologize for disturbing you Miss Bennet I understood that all the ladies were at home please don't apologize mr. Darcy I hope Lady Catherine and her daughter are well very well thank you he said no more as he seemed in danger of sinking into total silence Elizabeth had to think of something to say she remarked how very suddenly you all left Netherfield last November mr. Darcy I hope mr. Bingley and his sisters were well when you left London perfectly thank you that was all the answer he gave I think I have heard that mr. Bingley has not much idea of ever returning to Netherfield again it is probable that he will spend very little of his time there in future he has many friends elsewhere Elizabeth did not want to talk any longer about mr. Bingley and determined to leave the conversation to mr. Darcy she remained silent he understood and soon began to speak again mr. Collins appears very fortunate in his choice of a wife yes indeed she is one of the few sensible women who would have accepted him although I'm not sure I consider her marrying mr. Collins as the wisest thing she ever did she seems perfectly happy however and financially speaking it's a good marriage it must be very agreeable to her to be such a short distance from her own family and friends a short distance you say it is nearly 80 kilometers and what is that little more than half a day's journey on a good road yes I call it a very short distance I would never have said mrs. Collins lived near her family cried Elizabeth that shows how much you are attached to Hertfordshire anywhere outside the Longbourn area would I suppose seem far away to you as he spoke he smiled a little perhaps he supposed she was thinking of Jane and Netherfield thought Elizabeth and she blushed whether the distance seems long or short depends on many circumstances if the family's income is large enough to pay for frequent journeys then distance is not a problem but mr. and mrs. Collins will not be able to afford to travel very often despite their comfortable income I'm certain my friend does not consider Hunsford near her family mr. Darcy moved his chair a little towards her and said you cannot have a right to such a very strong local attachment you haven't spent your whole life at Longbourn I am sure Elizabeth looked surprised experiencing a change of feeling the gentleman moved his chair away again took a newspaper from the table and glancing at it said in a colder voice are you pleased with Kent they disgust Kent calmly and politely for a few minutes and were then interrupted by Charlotte and Mariah who had returned from the village mr. Darcy sat a little while longer without saying much to anybody and then went away what can be the meaning of this said Charlotte as soon as he had gone I Dear Lizzy he must be in love with you or he would never have visited us in this familiar way but when Elizabeth described his silence that did not seem likely even too hopeful Charlotte and they could only suppose that he had nothing better to do in fact from now on both mr. Darcy and Colonel Fitzwilliam called regularly at the rectory it was obvious that Colonel Fitzwilliam came because he enjoyed talking to the ladies and Elizabeth was reminded by her own satisfaction in being with him as well as by his evident admiration of her of her former favorite Wickham but it was more difficult to understand why mr. Darcy came he did not often speak and seldom appeared interested in the conversation even Charlotte who observed mr. Darcy closely was not sure whether he admired Elizabeth or not and began to hope that perhaps her friend might marry Colonel Fitzwilliam instead when she took her daily walk along the path bordering the park Elizabeth met mr. Darcy unexpectedly more than once this was the more surprising because she was careful to inform him that it was her favorite walk so that he could avoid meeting her it was also strange that although he could just have greeted her and walked on he always thought it necessary to turn back and walk with her she could not quite understand him but one day as she was walking she met Colonel Fitzwilliam not mr. Darcy and greeted him with a smile they walked back to the rectory together are you leaving Kent this Sunday she asked yes if Darcy doesn't put it off again he is fortunate to be able to arrange things as he likes well we all want to do that replied colonel fitzwilliam but he is used to doing what he likes because he is rich and many others are poor I for example I'm a youngest son you know and won't inherit my father's fortune so I shall never be rich or independent like Darcy now seriously you cannot call yourself poor when have you ever suffered because of lack of money well perhaps I haven't really suffered much yet but there are difficulties a younger son doesn't have a free choice when marrying he cannot afford to marry a girl with no fortune Elizabeth blushed thinking that he might mean her and began to talk of something else she asked him about Darcy's sister and mentioned that the Bingley sisters liked her very much Bingley yes I know them their brother is very pleasant a great friend of Darcy's answered Colonel Fitzwilliam oh yes mr. Darcy is extremely kind to mr. Bingley and takes very good care of him said Elizabeth dryly yes I believe Darcy does take care of Bingley I'm thinking of a recent situation which Darcy was telling me about on the journey here he was congratulating himself on having saved a friend from a most foolish marriage of course I'm not sure the friend was Bingley as Darcy didn't mention the name did mr. Darcy give you his reasons for interfering I understood that there were some very strong objections to the lady Elizabeth could not speak for a moment when she was able to control her anger she changed the conversation as soon as they reached the rectory she said goodbye to Colonel Fitzwilliam and went straight upstairs to her room at last she could think without interruption about what he had told her Bingley must have been the friend whom Darcy was referring she had always assumed that Darcy was involved in the plan to separate Jane and Bingley but now it appeared that he not Miss Bingley was the main cause of all that Jane had suffered and still continued to suffer the very strong objections to the lady probably consisted of having one uncle who was a country lawyer and another who was in business in London there could be no possible objections to Jane herself she was intelligent beautiful and charming nor could anyone object to mr. Bennet as a father-in-law when Elizabeth thought of her mother she felt a little less confident she was still convinced however that mr. Darcy was interested in highborn connections rather than character or common sense it was this the worst kind of pride which had destroyed for a while every hope of happiness for the most affectionate generous heart in the world thinking about all this made Elizabeth so upset and unhappy that she soon had a headache it grew so much worse in the evening and she was so unwilling to see mr. Darcy that she decided not to go to Rosings that evening with mr. and mrs. Collins instead she stayed in the rectory sitting-room rereading Jane's recent letters from London she was saddened to discover that although Jane never complained or referred to the Past in almost every line there was a lack of cheerfulness which Elizabeth had not noticed the first time and which now made her rather anxious she was relieved to think that Darcy would be leaving Rosings in two days time and she herself would be with Jane in less than two weeks Colonel Fitzwilliam would also be leaving with Darcy but he had made it clear that he had no intention of proposing to her so she did not intend to be unhappy about him just then she heard the doorbell and wondered if it might be Colonel Fitzwilliam come to inquire about her health but to her astonishment she saw mr. Darcy walk into the room in a hurried manner he began to ask how she was feeling she answered him with cold politeness he sat down for a few moments and then getting up walked about the room Elizabeth was surprised but said nothing after a silence of several minutes he came towards her with none of his usual calmness and said in vain have I struggled it is no good I cannot conquer my feelings you must allow me to tell you how warmly I admire and love you Elizabeth stared blushed doubted and was silent he considered this sufficient encouragement and confessed all that he felt and had felt for a long time for her he expressed himself well but it was not only of love that he spoke he also talked of his pride and his sense of her social inferiority which had made him struggle against his feelings for so long [Music] in spite of her dislike for him Elizabeth appreciated what a compliment such a man's affection was and was at first sorry for the pain he was about to receive but soon as she heard his references to her inferior position she lost all pity and became very angry she waited patiently however until he had finished he ended by describing the strength of his love for her which in spite of all his attempts he had been unable to concur with arguments of reason and common sense and finally he asked for her hand in marriage she could see that he had no doubt of a favourable answer which only made her angrier I believe society considers it correct in cases like this she replied to express grateful thanks so if I could feel grateful I would now thank you but I cannot I have never wanted your good opinion of me and I cannot accept it I'm sorry to hurt anyone but it has not been done deliberately and I hope the pain will not last long pride which you tell me has long prevented the expression of your affection can have little difficulty in conquering your feelings after this explanation mr. Darcy whose eyes were fixed on her face was both angry and surprised by her words his face went pale and he was clearly struggling to control himself was a dreadful pause and then he spoke in a voice of forced calmness and this is all the reply I am to have the honour of expecting I might perhaps wish to be informed why with so little attempt at politeness I am rejected I might as well ask why with so evident a wish to offend and insult me you chose to tell me that you loved me against your reason and even against your character but even if my own feelings towards you had been favorable do you think anything could tempt me to accept the man who has destroyed perhaps forever the happiness of a most dear sister as she said this mr. Darcy changed color but he listened without trying to interrupt her as she continued I have every reason in the world to think badly of you can you deny that you were the cause of Jane's separation from mr. Bingley and of her unhappiness can you deny it I have no wish to deny that I did everything I could to separate them and that I am delighted with my success towards my friend I have been kinder than to myself Elizabeth treated this last remark with disdain but its meaning did not escape her but it is not only because of Jane that I dislike you my opinion of you was decided long ago I heard all about your character from mr. Wickham now what can you have to say on this matter how can you defend yourself you take an eager interest in that gentleman said Darcy less calmly than before the color was rising in his face who can help feeling an interest in him when we hear of the unfortunate life he has had unfortunate repeated Darcy contemptuously yes unfortunate indeed and it was your fault cried Elizabeth with energy you took away his chance of a comfortable income and a good position which you knew had been intended for him you have left him poor and dependent and disappointed you have done all this and you can still treat the mention of his name with contempt and this cried Darcy as he walked with quick steps across the room is your opinion of me thank you for explaining it so fully but perhaps you might not have considered these offences of mine if your pride had not been hurt by my honest confession of my reasons for not proposing to you earlier perhaps I should have hidden my struggles and flattered you by pretending I had every reason to love you but I hate disguise of any sort nor am i ashamed of my feelings of pride which are very natural could you expect me to delight in the inferiority of your family compared to mine Elizabeth felt herself growing more angry every moment mr. Darcy you could not have made me the offer of your hand in any possible way that would have tempted me to accept it the moment I first met you I noticed your pride your sense of superiority and your selfish disdain for the feelings of others later events strengthened my dislike for you you are the last man in the world whom I could ever be persuaded to marry you have said quite enough madam I perfectly understand your feelings forgive me for having taken up so much of your time and accept my best wishes for your health and happiness with these words he hurried out of the room and the house Elizabeth felt so weak that she sat down and cried for half an hour she was so astonished to have received a proposal from mr. Darcy his affection for her must indeed have been strong to conquer all the objections he had to her family in position objections which had made him prevent his friend marrying her sister but his terrible pride his shameless confession of what he had done to separate Jane and Bingley and his cruelty towards Wickham soon removed any pity she might have felt for him Chapter eight Elizabeth learns more about Darcy and Wickham the next morning Elizabeth had still not recovered from the surprise of Darcy's proposal to her feeling in need of exercise and fresh air she decided to have a walk in order to avoid meeting mr. Darcy she kept away from her favorite path but could not resist walking a little way into Lady Catherine's Park there she was astonished to see Darcy himself approaching her and calling her name I have been walking sometime in the hope of meeting you he said will you do me the honor of reading this letter and handing her an envelope he bowed slightly and walked quickly away with no expectation of pleasure but with the strongest curiosity Elizabeth opened the letter and began to read it as she continued her walk alone do not be alarmed madam that I shall repeat the offer which so disgusted you last night I have no intention of mentioning again wishes which for the happiness of both of us cannot be too soon forgotten I would not have written but justice requires my character to be defended you accused me last night of two very different offenses the first was that I had separated mr. Bingley from your sister in spite of their mutual affection and the second was that I had destroyed mr. Wickham's chance of future wealth and happiness in spite of my father's honorable promises to him I hope that you will no longer blame me for either of these offences when you have read the explanation which follows if I am forced to describe feelings which offend you I can only say I am sorry I had not been long in hartfordshire before I noticed that Bingley preferred your elder sister Jane to any other young woman but I had often seen him in love before and it wasn't until the Netherfield ball that I realized how serious his attachment was I was careful to observe your sister closely and as her manners and appearance we're as pleasant and cheerful as ever I remained convinced that she did not feel strongly about him I was perhaps deceived by her calmness and in that case your anger has not been unreasonable but I sincerely believed that her heart had not been touched I objected to Bingley's possible marriage to her not only for those reasons of social inferiority that I mentioned to you last night but also for reasons which in my case I had tried to forget but which I must state now the behavior that evening of your mother your three younger sisters and occasionally even your father was so lacking in social correctness that I made up my mind to save my friend from what I considered would be a most unhappy marriage if you are upset by my description of your family's faults it may comfort you to consider that you and your elder sister have avoided any share of blame and deserve nothing but honorable praise for your behavior to continue when I was in London with the help of Bingley's sisters who shared my opinion I explained to him the disadvantages of marriage to your sister this alone would not have been enough to prevent the marriage if I had not also been able to convince him of your sisters indifference to him then it was easy to persuade him not to return to Hartford sure I do regret one thing however Miss Bingley and I both knew that your sister was in London but we hid the fact from Bingley in this I consider I was less than honest but I have no other apology to offer your other more serious accusation refers to mr. Wickham here again I may cause you pain only you can tell how much in order to show you his real character I must explain the whole of his connection with my family his late father worked for mine for many years helping to look after the Pemberley farms his son George Wickham received much kindness from my father who paid for him to go to school and to university my father hoped the young man would enter the church if he became a priest I was to give him the post of rector in a village near Pemberley when it became vacant but even before my father died I had discovered Wickham's weakness of character and lack of morals after my father's death Wickham wrote to inform me that he did not intend to enter the church and asked for an amount of money instead of the post of rector I knew that with his character faults he ought not to become a priest and I therefore agreed at once the business was soon arranged he resigned all claim to the church post and accepted 3,000 pounds instead I hoped that I would not see him or hear from him again but three years later he wrote again this time to ask for the rector's post informing me that his money had all gone and his situation was desperate you will hardly blame me for refusing since then he has doubtless been violent in accusing me of injustice to all who will listen to him there is one more circumstance which I would like to forget myself but which I must now mention I rely on your keeping this confidential a year ago I sent my sister who is 10 years younger than I am on holiday to Ramsgate in Kent in the care of a female companion unfortunately there was an understanding between this woman and mr. Wickham who also went to Ramsgate with her help and encouragement he spent a great deal of time with Georgiana and flattered her so much that she believed she was in love and agreed to elope with him she was only 15 at the time and I am glad to say that she confessed everything to me immediately when I arrived unexpectedly in Ramsgate just before their planned elopement naturally I dismissed the companion and wrote to Wickham who left the place at once he was doubtless most interested in my sister's fortune which is 30,000 pounds but I cannot help supposing that he was also eager to revenge himself on me I hope you will now clear me of all blame in this matter if madam you doubt the truthfulness of my description of these circumstances I suggest you speak to Colonel Fitzwilliam as my cousin and close friend he knows every detail of these events and will be happy to support what I say I will only add may God be with you William Darcy Elizabeth experienced a variety of emotions as she read the letter she was astonished to discover that Darcy was capable of any sort of apology it was with a strong prejudice against anything he might say that she began reading his explanation of what had happened at Netherfield and at first she was too angry with him to treat him with justice but when she went on to read his description of his relationship with Wickham she hesitated it was so very different from Wickham's story which she would have preferred to believe but after a few moments thought she realized that Darcy statement was much more likely to be true she began to remember several things about Wickham which now appeared strange to her on the first evening she had met him he had told the whole story about his lost fortune and the Darcy family to her a total stranger then he had boasted of having no fear of Darcy but had avoided the Netherfield ball the very next week in addition he had waited until the Bingleys and Darcy had left Netherfield before making his accusations public she reminded herself that no one in Hartford sure knew anything about Wickham's past so it was quite possible that he lacked morals as Darcy said she had to admit that Darcy himself though horribly proud had always shown himself to be a gentleman finally Darcy would certainly not have dared to refer her to Colonel Fitzwilliam if he were not certain that his cousin could prove these statements she became absolutely ashamed of herself how badly I have behaved she cried how prejudiced I have been I have always been so proud of my ability to judge people that pride has led me blindly into making a stupid mistake flattered by Wickham's interest and offended by Darcy's coolness I have misjudged both of them till this moment I never knew myself she reread what Darcy had to say about Jane and this time was forced to admit that Jane had displayed few outward signs of her feelings for Bingley Charlotte had even commented on it then when Elizabeth looked again at Darcy's comments on her family's behavior her sense of shame was very great and she could not deny the Justice of his words feeling more miserable than she had ever felt before she slowly returned to the rectory where she had difficulty in maintaining a cheerful appearance mr. Darcy and Colonel Fitzwilliam left Rosings the next day and were sadly missed by their aunt who now had so little entertainment that she invited the Collinses and their visitors several times that week as Elizabeth only had a few days left before the end of her visit she thought it fortunate that most of her time was occupied when she had a moment to herself it was a great relief to walk outside in the garden or the park alone with her thoughts she soon knew mr. Darcy's letter by heart although she was still angry with him for the proud overconfident way in which he had proposed her anger turned against herself when she considered how unjustly she had criticized and accused him she respected his character and felt pity for his disappointment but did not for a moment regret her refusal or have the slightest desire to see him ever again she was saddened when she thought of her family her father enjoyed laughing at kitty's and lydia's foolishness so much that he never attempted to control his two youngest daughters and her mother whose own behavior was far from correct was completely unaware that anything was wrong and poured Jane it now appeared that Bingley's affection had been sincere and Janes disappointment had been indirectly caused by the behavior of her own near relations on Saturday morning Elizabeth said goodbye to her friend Charlotte feeling sorry to leave her with such a husband but Charlotte although regretting the departure of her visitors appeared quite content with her domestic arrangements mr. Collins took care to say to Elizabeth before she left I do hope my dear Miss Elizabeth that you will be as happy in marriage as I am my dear Charlotte and I have one mind and one way of thinking we seem to be made for each other it is most fortunate when that is the case was all that Elizabeth could safely reply by midday she had arrived in London where she had arranged to stay a few days at her aunt's house there was however no opportunity to discuss mr. Darcy's letter with Jane until they both reached Longbourn again at the end of the week it was pleasant to be at home again but Elizabeth was very conscious of her younger sisters silliness they were full of the sad news they had just heard that the regiment was leaving maraton in two weeks time and would be staying for the summer in Brighton a holiday town on the south coast Lydia and her mother were trying hard to persuade mr. Bennet to take them to Brighton too for several months as the summer would be so miserable in hartfordshire without the officers fortunately Elizabeth felt sure her father would not agreed this foolish idea when she and Jane were alone she told her sister about Darcy's proposal of marriage Jane was astonished but soon her sisterly feelings made her think it quite natural and her kind heart felt pity for Darcy's disappointment however when she heard about George Wickham's wickedness as explained in Darcy's letter she was deeply shocked after some discussion the sisters decided not to tell anyone what they knew about Wickham as he would soon be leaving Merritt and in any case Elizabeth felt greatly relieved by this conversation she had got rid of two of her secrets and was certain of a willing listener in Jane whenever she might wish to talk again of either but she dared not tell the third and explained to Jane how sincere Bingley's feelings for her had been she could see that Jane was not happy because of her continued warm affection for Bingley however there seemed little chance of Bingley marrying her now and Elizabeth did not want to deepen Jane's feelings of regret for her lost happiness chapter 9 Elizabeth in Derbyshire during the week before the regiment's departure all the young ladies in the Meriton area became extremely depressed only the two elder miss Bennet's were still able to eat drink sleep and lead a normal life they were often scolded by Kitty and Lydia who could not understand such hard-heartedness how shall we manage without the officers they cried miserably how can you smile like that Liddy their affectionate mother shared all their sadness I remember when Colonel Miller's regiment went away 25 years ago she said I thought my heart was broken I'm sure mine will be broken said Lydia if we could only go to Brighton said mrs. Bennet I'm certain a little sea-bathing would be good for me oh yes but is so disagreeable about it Elizabeth tried not to listen but could not help seeing the Justice of Darcy's objections to her family but soon Lydia's bitterness changed to absolute delight when she received an invitation from Colonel Forster's wife to accompany her to Brighton with the regiment mrs. Forster was a very young woman only recently married and is cheerful and sociable as Lydia with whom she had been friendly for two months poor Kitty was very upset at not being included in the invitation but Lydia cared nothing for her sister's feelings she ran wildly through the house calling for everyone's congratulations and laughing and talking more loudly than ever Elizabeth could not share her sisters happiness and felt it was her duty to advise her father secretly to refuse permission for Lydia to go but she could not convince him that Lydia would be in any real danger and so all the arrangements were made for her sister's departure Elizabeth thought her father was wrong however and was still worried about how Lydia would behave in an atmosphere of greater freedom and among the temptations of a fashionable seaside town like Brighton Elizabeth had seen mr. Wickham regularly since her return from Kent at family parties and visits she no longer thought him so agreeable as the rich miss King had left Meryton to stay with her uncle mr. Wickham appeared eager to transfer his affections back to Elizabeth his confidence in his own charm and ability to please annoyed Elizabeth very much so that when she met him for the last time before the regiment's departure she spoke quite coldly to him in reply to a polite question of his about her Huntford visit she could not stop herself mentioning her frequent meetings with mr. Darcy and her favourable opinion of that gentleman's character Wickham looked a little embarrassed and made no further attempt to charm Elizabeth they separated at last with mutual politeness and possibly a mutual desire never to meet again when Lydia left for bride Elizabeth had to put up with mrs. Bennet's and Kitty's constant complaints that Longbourn had become very dull fortunately she was able to look forward to a trip which would soon be taking with mr. and mrs. Gardiner they had planned to visit the Lake District but mrs. Gardner had recently written to say that as her husband's business made it necessary to shorten their holiday to three weeks they would not have time to visit the whole of the Lake District comfortably instead she suggested visiting Derbyshire an area with a particularly strong attraction for her as she had spent a large part of her early life there Elizabeth was disappointed but accepted the new plan at once although it was impossible to hear of Derbyshire without thinking of Pemberley and its owner she felt sure she could avoid meeting mr. Darcy there four weeks later mr. and mrs. Gardiner arrived at Longbourn where they had arranged to leave their children in Jane's care the next day they set out with Elizabeth on their journey the three of them made excellent travelling companions sharing an intelligent interest in the people and places they saw on their way and a strong affection for each other after visiting Oxford Blenheim Warwick Kenilworth and Birmingham they arrived in Derbyshire and decided to stay in the small town of Lambton where mrs. Gardiner had lived before her marriage Elizabeth discovered that mr. Darcy's house Pemberley was only eight kilometers away from Lambton I often used to go to Pemberley when I was younger said mrs. Gardiner wouldn't you like to see it Lizzie we could go tomorrow it's a beautiful place Wickham spent his youth there you know I I am rather tired of large country houses aunt said Elizabeth forced to pretend how dreadful it would be to meet mr. Darcy while viewing his house but when she asked a servant at the hotel one or two careful questions that evening she was told that mr. Darcy was not at home at the moment greatly relieved she felt able to agree to her aunt's suggestion when it was repeated the next morning and mr. Gardner ordered a carriage immediately in a short time they entered the gates of Pemberley Park and drove through an extensive and beautiful wood at the top of a hill they had their first view of Pemberley house situated on the other side of a valley with a line of high wooded hills behind the house was a large handsome stone building which appeared to fit naturally into the scenery mr. and mrs. Gardiner were warm in their admiration and Elizabeth was delighted at that moment she felt that to be mistress of Pemberley might be worthwhile they drove up to the front door and asked to be allowed to visit the house the Pemberley housekeeper a respectable elderly woman showed them round all the rooms were of a good size and elegantly yet sensibly furnished from every window there was an attractive view Elizabeth began to admire the owners taste in everything she saw and I might have been mistress of this place she thought instead of viewing these rooms as a stranger I might be welcoming my uncle and aunt as visitors but no she suddenly remembered that could never be I wouldn't have been able to invite my uncle an aunt or any other of my vulgar family connections this was a lucky thought which saved her from something like regret she longed to inquire if the housekeeper whether her master were really absent but luckily her uncle asked the question instead it was quite alarming to hear that mr. Darcy was expected to arrive the next day with a large group of friends how glad Elizabeth was that their own journey had not been delayed a day mr. and mrs. Gardiner were enjoying their conversation with the housekeeper who seemed content to talk about her master mr. Darcy is a very handsome gentleman as you will see from the painting upstairs his sister is most attractive - and so accomplished she plays and sings the whole day my master has just sent a new piano from London for her he's such a kind brother he'll do anything for Miss Georgiana does mr. Darcy spend much time at Pemberley asked Mr Gardiner not as much as I'd like so if your master married he might spend more time here yes sir but I don't know when that'll be I don't know who is good enough for him mr. and mrs. Gardiner smiled and Elizabeth listened with increasing astonishment as the housekeeper continued it's no more than the truth everybody who knows him says the same he's never spoken a cross word to me and I've known him since he was a baby some people call him proud but I've never seen any of that he's the best master that ever lived Elizabeth almost stared at her canvas feet mr. Darcy she wondered this was the most extraordinary praise for the man she had always thought so disagreeable and proud especially with people he considered inferior to himself she longed to hear more but now the housekeeper was leading them upstairs soon Elizabeth found herself in front of the painting of mr. Darcy he was smiling at her just as she remembered him smiling sometimes when he looked at her she looked at the picture silently for several minutes before going downstairs with the others at that moment Elizabeth certainly felt more warmly towards mr. Darcy than at any time since their first meeting she was beginning to realize that she had underestimated his character his housekeepers opinion of him was totally favorable and what praise is more valuable than the praise of an intelligent servant as she stood in front of his picture she gratefully remembered the warmth of his feelings for her and began to forget the way in which he had expressed them as they had now seen all the rooms which were open to the public the housekeeper called the gardener who was going to show them the park and Gardens they were just walking away from the house when Elizabeth turned to have one last look and saw the owner of Pemberley comes suddenly forward from behind the house they were within 20 meters of each other and Elizabeth could not avoid his seeing her their eyes instantly met and they both blushed he appeared very surprised but recovering quickly approached and spoke to Elizabeth if not calmly at least with perfect politeness astonished and Confused she received his greetings with embarrassment soon he could find no more to say and left her to return to the house mr. and mrs. Gardiner who had been watching from a distance expressed their admiration of his appearance but Elizabeth could only think of her feelings how unfortunate that she had come she blushed again it might seem as if she had planned this meeting with him and his behavior was so different never before had she heard him speak so politely and so gently what could it mean her head full of these thoughts she joined her uncle and aunt in their walk through the gardens they were walking slowly beside an attractive stream when they noticed mr. Darcy coming towards them this time Elizabeth was able to control herself better and she returned his greetings politely she hid a smile when he asked her to do him the honor of introducing him to her friends as she felt sure he was not expecting the well-mannered gardeners to be some of her lowborn relations he certainly seemed surprised when she introduced her uncle and aunt but took care to talk for some time to mr. Gardiner with every appearance of interest Elizabeth was delighted that these relations at least could not be criticized for their poor behavior or lack of intelligence on their way back to the house mr. Darcy walked beside Elizabeth there was a short silence before she spoke your housekeeper informed us you would not arrive until tomorrow so I had not expected to find you here it is true I came early on business the rest of the party will be here tomorrow among them are mr. Bingley and his sisters whom you know he continued after a pause and there is one other person who particularly wishes to meet you will you allow me or do I ask too much to introduce my sister to you surprised but flattered by this great compliment Elizabeth gave her permission when they arrived at the house mr. Darcy offered them some refreshment but they politely refused mr. Darcy helped the ladies into the carriage and as it drove away from Pemberley Elizabeth watched him walking slowly back towards the house mr. and mrs. Gardiner were loud in their praise of him but Elizabeth said very little the very next morning mr. Darcy brought his sister to visit Elizabeth and the Gardiners at the hotel in Lambton mr. and mrs. Gardiner were astonished by the honor they were receiving but Elizabeth's obvious embarrassment and Darcy's haste in making the visit so immediately soon provided them with an explanation they observed their niece and Darcy carefully during the visit and could not doubt that the gentleman was in love although they were not certain of the lady's feelings Elizabeth was delighted to discover that Georgiana Darcy far from being proud as Wickham had said was just very shy with quiet gentle manners it was clear that she greatly admired her brother and had every intention of liking Miss Bennet as Darcy had spoken of her so favorably Elizabeth was also satisfied to see that Bingley who was with the Darcy's did not seem particularly interested in Georgiana in spite of Caroline Bingley's wishes and she had to admit that she had never seen mr. Darcy behavior so sociably and pleasantly not only to herself but also to the relations to whom he had referred with such disdain during that last conversation in hunts for directory Elizabeth herself was more than usually anxious to make herself agreeable to everybody and she succeeded because Bingley was ready Georgiana was eager and Darcy determined to be pleased miss Darcy encouraged by her brother invited Elizabeth and the Gardiners to dinner at Pemberley in two days time and when this invitation had been accepted the Darcy's and mr. Bingley left with many warm expressions of politeness on both sides mr. and mrs. Gardiner were very curious about their nieces feelings for mr. Darcy but were careful not to question her that evening Elizabeth lay awake for two whole hours trying to understand how she felt about him she now thought of him with respect and a certain admiration and was deeply grateful to him not only for having once loved her but for still loving her enough to forgive her bitter rejection of him as well as all her unjust accusations the change she had noticed in a man who was once so proud must be caused by his love for her now since she was almost sure that if she wanted she could encourage him to propose to her again she only had to decide how far she wished to be involved in his future happiness in which she already felt a real interest chapter 10 Lydia and Wickham on the third morning of her visit to Lambton Elizabeth received two letters from Jane the first had been badly addressed and sent he'll swear then redirected her aunt and uncle were out walking so she sat down to read them at once the first had been written five days before and started just as expected with a description of Longbourn dinner parties and visits but the second half of this letter was dated a day later and was evidently written in a great hurry this is what it said since writing the above Dear Lizzy something most unexpected and serious has happened but I do not wish to alarm you we are all well it concerns poor Lydia an express letter came at midnight last night when we were all in bed from Colonel Forster to inform us that she had run away to Scotland with one of his officers with Wickham in fact there of course she can marry without her parents approval imagine our surprise what a foolish marriage for both of them but at least he is not interested in her money as he must know my father can give her almost nothing kitty admits that she knew about Lydia's attachment to Wickham from Lydia's letters our poor mother is very upset I must finish now as I cannot stay away from her for long I hope you can read this I hardly know what I have written without allowing herself time to think Elizabeth opened the second letter dated a day later and read impatiently my dearest sister I am so confused I cannot write properly I have bad news for you foolish though a marriage between mr. Wickham and our poor Lydia might be we are now only too anxious to hear that it has taken place there is reason to fear they have not gone to Scotland Colonel Forster arrived here yesterday he tells us that one of the offices a close friend of Wickham believes that Wickham never intended to go to Scotland or to marry Lydia at all the colonel followed the couple as far as London but they have not been seen leaving the capital our anxiety My Dear Lizzy is very great my father and mother believe the worst and the colonel fears Wickham is not a man to be trusted but I cannot believe him to be so wicked and his Lydia's so completely lacking in morals that she could live with a man without being married impossible now my poor mother is really ill my father is angry for perhaps the first time in his life and Kitty is being scolded for keeping the attachment a secret while I am glad dearest Lizzy that you have been spared some of the confusion and worry we have been experiencing I cannot help begging you all to come home as soon as possible my father is going to London with the colonel to try to find Lydia I think he is too upset to achieve results in the best and safest way and my uncle's advice and help would be everything in the world I rely on his goodness oh where is my uncle cried Elizabeth running to the door but just as she reached it mr. Darcy came in her pale face and strange manner prevented him from speaking and she who could think of nothing except Lydia said hurriedly excuse me but I must leave you I must find mr. Gardiner immediately there is not a moment to lose Oh God what is the matter he cried then added let me all let the servant go to find mr. and mrs. Gardiner you are not well enough you cannot go yourself Elizabeth hesitated but her legs were trembling and she realized he was right after giving the servant her message she sat down looking so ill that Darcy could not leave her or stop himself saying gently let me call someone to look after you shall I get you a glass of wine you are very ill no thank you she replied I am quite well I am only upset by some dreadful news I've just received from Longbourn she burst into tears and for a few minutes could not speak another word Darcy watched her miserably in sympathetic silence at last she spoke again it cannot be hidden from anyone my youngest sister has eloped with with mr. Wickham you know him too well to doubt what will happen she has no money no connections nothing that can tempt him to marry her she is most forever and I could have prevented it I knew how bad his character was if only I had told my family what I knew about him but it is all too late now Darcy looked at her in astonishment I am shocked he said and sad very sad what has been done to find her and bring her back my father has gone to London and I hope my uncle will go too we shall leave lamped and I hope in half an hour but I know very well that nothing can be done how can such a man be persuaded how can we even find them I have not the smallest hope it is horrible Darcy made no answer he was walking up and down with a serious thoughtful expression on his face Elizabeth soon observed and instantly understood it she was losing her influence over him this proof of moral weakness in her family was driving him away from her never before had she so honestly believed she could have loved him as now when mutual affection must be impossible but she could not think for long of herself when Lydia's situation was so desperate mr. Darcy left almost immediately politely regretting that Elizabeth and her aunt and uncle would not in the circumstances be able to come to dinner at Pemberley that day and again expressing his sympathy when mr. and mrs. Gardiner entered the room Elizabeth hurriedly explained everything to them and was greatly relieved when they agreed to leave at once to return to Longbourn their packing was done at great speed and soon they were in the carriage driving south lizzie began mrs. Gardiner I cannot believe that Wickham's character is so bad that he would run away with Lydia and not marry her do you really think he is capable of that idea hunt Jane and I both know that he has neither honesty nor honour he has falsely accused mr. Darcy and has lied wickedly about the whole Darcy family you saw it a shy gentle girl mr. Darcy's but he had described her as proud disagreeable and disdainful but does Lydia know nothing of this Oh No that is the worst of all I didn't know the truth myself until my visit to Kent and when I returned and told Jane she and I decided not to make our knowledge public now I know that was a mistake I never thought that Lydia could be in any danger from him when they arrived Longbourn Elizabeth and her aunt were able to help Jane in looking after the children they also attempted to calm mrs. Bennet who however refused to be calmed and blamed everyone except herself for the disaster if only I had been allowed to take the family to Brighton this would not have happened poor dear Lydia had no one to take care of her why did those foresters ever let her go out of her sight I am sure they neglected her of course I did not want her to go to Brighton but nobody took any of me as usual and now mr. Bennet has gone to London and I'm sure you fight Wickham you may killed and then the Collinses will turn us out of the house before his gold in his grave do not worry sister said Mr Gardiner kindly I'm going to London tomorrow to help my brother-in-law oh thank you my dear brother replied mrs. Bennet make sure you find Lydia and Wickham and if they are not married yet make them marry and tell Lydia they mustn't wait for wedding clothes but she shall have as much money as she wants to buy them after they are married and keep mr. Bennet from fighting tell him what a dreadful state I am in so ill that I can get no rest by night or by day and tell Lydia not to buy any clothes until she's seen me because she doesn't know the best shops oh brother how kind you are I hope you will manage everything the next day mr. Gardiner travelled to London as he had promised now began a painful period of waiting for those left at Longbourn they became even more anxious as news came from Meriton of Wickham's lies debts and secret attachments to most of the servant girls in the town everybody declared that he was the wickedest young man in the world and protested that they had always distrusted his great charm and appearance of goodness although Elizabeth did not believe half of these stories she believed enough to feel sure that her sisters reputation was already lost and even Jane almost despaired of receiving good news in a few days time they were relieved to receive a letter from mr. Gardiner but unfortunately it only informed them that Wickham and Lydia had not yet been found apparently Wickham had left gambling debts of over a thousand pounds behind him in Brighton mr. Bennett was returning home the following day leaving his brother-in-law in London to continue the search when she heard this mrs. Bennett did not show as much satisfaction as her children expected considering the anxiety she had previously expressed for her husband's safety she cried mrs. gardiner took the opportunity of mr. Bennett's return to go back to London herself with her children she was still longing to know how Elizabeth's relationship with Darcy had developed but Elizabeth had not once mentioned his name so her aunt did not dare to ask any direct questions when mr. Bennet arrived home he appeared as calm as ever but in a conversation with Elizabeth he admitted that he felt to blame for Lydia's elopement I know I should have had more control over her he said and Lizzie you were right I should never have let her go to Brighton Kitty who was listening said the PAR if I ever went to Brighton I'd behave much better than Lydia has done you go to Brighton cried her father I would not trust you within 20 kilometres of the place for fifty pounds no kitty I have at last learnt to be cautious and you will feel the effects of it no officer may ever enter the house again or even pass through the village and balls will be absolutely forbidden unless you dance only with your sisters Kitty taking these threats seriously began to cry well well said he don't make yourself unhappy if you are a good girl for the next ten years I'll take you to the theatre at the end of that time two days later the news for which they had all been waiting so anxiously arrived mr. Gardiner's letter informed them that Wickham and Lydia had been found but that they were not married however certain financial arrangements had been made with Wickham mr. Bennet was asked to pay Lydia 100 pounds a year as well as arranging for her to inherit her equal share of the five thousand pounds which the Bennet girls would inherit after their parents death if these reasonable conditions were agreed Wickham had promised to marry Lydia but first Elizabeth and Jane were delighted that their sisters reputation would be saved through marriage even to such a man as Wickham but then their father explained that Wickham would never have agreed to marry Lydia unless he had been paid a considerable amount of money immediately they began to worry that it will be difficult to repay mr. Gardiner who must have bribed Wickham in this way mrs. Bennet however had no such worries he's her own uncle after all she cried happily why shouldn't he pay my dear dear Lydia married at 16 how I long to see her and dear Wickham too but the wedding clothes I'll write to my sister in noir about them at once I'm so happy in a short time I'll have a daughter matter--it mrs. Wickham how well it sounds now that Lydia was going to be married Elizabeth greatly regretted telling Darcy of her fears for her sister but even if Lydia had been married in the most honorable way it was extremely unlikely that mr. Darcy would wish to connect himself with a family in which there was a close relationship with Wickham the man he most justly disliked she could not expect him to go on caring for her as she felt certain he had done when they met in Derbyshire but now that she was sure he could not love her she was convinced they could have been happy together he seemed to be exactly the man who would have suited her they could have usefully influenced each other his mind might have been softened and his manners improved by her sociability and she might have learnt from his greater judgment and knowledge of the world but no such relationship could now teach an admiring world what happiness in marriage was really like instead Wickham would marry Lydia with little chance of happiness for either of them mr. and mrs. Gardiner had arranged for Lydia to be married quietly in London from their house at first mr. Bennet had refused to allow his youngest daughter ever to enter his house again but eventually Jay and Elizabeth persuaded him to receive Lydia and her husband after the wedding it would only be a short visit as almost immediately she and Wickham would be moving north to Newcastle where he had accepted a new army post when the carriage containing the young couple arrived at Longbourn house the two elder Bennet sisters was shocked to see how unashamed Lydia was she entered the house laughing and joking and asked all her sisters to congratulate her Wickham was no more embarrassed than she was and spoke to everyone in his usual flattering agreeable manner they seemed to have no idea of the anxiety they had caused by their shameless and wicked behavior Elizabeth was quite disgusted by their relaxed confident appearance and determined not to show any interest when Lydia insisted on describing every detail of her wedding day she could not help reacting with astonishment however when Lydia let slip the name of mr. Darcy he had apparently been present at the ceremony why would mr. Darcy Elizabeth wondered attend the wedding of two people he must hold in the greatest contempt she could not discover the reason from Lydia who suddenly remembered it was supposed to be a secret and she could not rest without knowing the truth so she hurriedly sent a note to her aunt in London asking urgently for an explanation chapter 11 Bingley returns to Netherfield Elizabeth had the satisfaction of receiving a reply from her aunt in the shortest time possible she sat down eagerly to read it my dear niece I must confess I am astonished by your request for information about mr. Darcy's share in arranging Lydia's marriage I assumed that you would know all about it your uncle is as surprised as I am but if you are really innocent and ignorant I must tell you all the details on the day I returned to London from Longbourn your uncle had a most unexpected visitor mr. Darcy came to tell us he had discovered where your sister and Wickham was staying the reason he gave for wanting to help was his belief that he was to blame for not making Wickham's worthlessness more public and that therefore it was his duty to assist us in every possible way if he had another motive I am sure it would be justice honourable he knew that Wickham had a close friend in London a woman who had once been companion to miss Darcy and had been dismissed for some reason so mr. Darcy found this woman and bribed her to give him Wickham's present address he went to see Wickham and insisted on seeing Lydia hoping to persuade her to return to her family however Lydia told him she only cared for Wickham and had no intention of leaving him rather he married her or not Wickham privately told mr. Darcy that he had left the regiment because of his gambling debts not because he intended to marry Lydia and that he was still hoping to find and marry a woman of fortune in order to have a comfortable income it was clearly necessary to persuade him to marry Lydia as soon as possible and mr. Darcy had several meetings with Wickham to arrange financial matters with him finally mr. Darcy was able to visit your uncle as I have said to explain the whole business and to insist that he alone should be responsible for paying Wickham the promised amount your uncle argued with him for a long time but our visitor was so obstinate that Mr Gardiner event she had to agree I think Lizzy that obstinacy is mr. Darcy's real fault rather than any of the other faults of which he has been accused he payed Wickham several thousand pounds for past debts and future expenses and attended the wedding to make a final payment and in spite of mr. Darcy's declared motives My Dear Lizzy you may be sure that your uncle would never have given in if we had not assumed that mr. Darcy had another interest in the matter will you be very angry with me my dear Lizzy if I take this opportunity of saying how much I like him his behaviour to us has always been as agreeable as when we were in Derbyshire I think that if he marries the right woman his wife may teach him to become more sociable please forgive me if I have assumed too much or at least do not punish me by not inviting me to Pemberley I shall never be happy until I have been all the way round the park but I must go to my children now yours very sincerely M Gardiner Elizabeth read this letter with a mixture of pleasure and pain mr. Darcy had thought so little of his pride that he had spent considerable time effort and money on two people for whom he must feel the greatest disdain he had even had to bargain with Wickham she could not believe he had done all this for her a woman who had already rejected him but the fact remained that she and her family owed him everything how bitterly she now regretted criticizing and mocking him in the past she was ashamed of herself but she was proud of him proud that in a matter of honour he had been able to conquer his own pride she was even rather pleased if a little regretful that her aunt and uncle had felt sure that there was mutual affection between mr. Darcy and herself mrs. Bennet was quite depressed when Lydia and Wickham left Longbourn to travel north to Newcastle but soon mrs. Phillips brought the happy news that mr. Bingley was expected to return to Netherfield in a day or two and mrs. Bennet became very excited she made preparations to invite him to dinner and counted the days that must pass before she could send the invitation however unknown Lee the third morning after his arrival she caught sight of him from her bedroom window riding towards Longbourn house with another gentleman also on horseback girls quickly she cried mr. Bingley is coming and who's that with him it must be mr. Darcy that tall proud man well as he is mr. Bingley's friend we must be polite to him but I must say I hate the sight of him both Jane and Elizabeth felt uncomfortable and sympathized with each other Jane was nervous about meeting Bingley again and determined not to show her feelings Elizabeth was uneasy at the thought of seeing Darcy as she was the only one who knew how much the whole family owed him in spite of their general dislike of him she was astonished that he had come to see her and for a moment she allowed herself to hope that his affection and wishes might still be the same she was disappointed however by the visit mr. Darcy said scarcely anything to her and appeared more thoughtful and less anxious to please than in Derbyshire she wondered bitterly why he had come in addition she was highly embarrassed by her mother's behavior with flattering smiles mrs. Bennet concentrated all her conversation on mr. Bingley while throwing the occasional unpleasant remark in mr. Darcy's direction the only positive effect of the gentlemen's visit was the way in which Jane's charm and beauty appeared to excite mr. Bingley's admiration all over again which Elizabeth was relieved and delighted to see the Bennet family did not see the two gentlemen again until Tuesday when they came to dinner at Longbourn it was a great pleasure to Elizabeth to watch Bingley sitting beside Jane and talking happily to her but this was the only enjoyment she gained from the party mr. Darcy was unfortunately sitting a long way from her next to mrs. Bennet Elizabeth could see how seldom they spoke to each other and how cold and formal their behavior to each other was she would have given anything to be able to tell him that his kindness was appreciated by at least one of the family all through the long dinner she desperately hoped there would be an opportunity for her to have some real conversation with him later but the evening passed without any more than a short exchange of politeness between them and Elizabeth lost all hope of immediate happiness two days after this mr. Bingley called at Longbourn house again this time he was alone as mr. Darcy had gone to London he sat with the ladies for over an hour talking cheerfully and agreeably to them he came the next morning and again in the evening mrs. Bennet took every opportunity to leave him alone with Jane by calling her other daughters out of the room for some reason or other she was hoping to encourage him to propose but in spite of her efforts Bingley remained charming and agreeable and unattached but on the third day Bingley came in the morning to go shooting with mr. Bennet he stayed for lunch and was still there in the evening and when Elizabeth entered the sitting-room unexpectedly to her surprise she saw Jane and Bingley standing close together near the fire they turned hurriedly when they heard her and moved awkwardly away from each other Bingley whispered something to Jane and ran out of the room Jane could not keep her secret from her sister and kissing her cried I am the happiest creature in the world Oh Lizzy I do not deserve this why isn't everybody as happy as I am Elizabeth congratulated her sister most warmly and sincerely at last she thought the end of all mr. Darcy's anxious advice the end of all Caroline Bingley's lies and plans the happiest wisest most reasonable end I must can't tell my mother continued Jane as he has just gone to ask my father's permission Oh Lizzy what happiness it was a joyful evening for all of them Jane looked more beautiful than ever and Bingley was clearly very much in love mrs. Bennet could not say enough to describe her delight although she talked of nothing else all evening and mr. Bennet was evidently very pleased before the two eldest sisters went to bed that night Elizabeth listened willingly to Jane's long description of Bingley's good qualities at the end Jane added Oh Lizzie if only I could see you as happy as I am if only there were another man like Bingley for you dear Jane I can never be as happy as you because I'm not as good as you no no let me find my own husband perhaps if I'm very lucky I may meet another mr. Collins one day the engagement was not kept a secret for very long mrs. Bennett whispered the news to mrs. Phillips who told all her neighbors in Meriton everybody soon agreed that the Bennett's were the luckiest family in the world although only a few weeks before when Lydia had run away they had been considered the most unfortunate chapter 12 Elizabeth and Darcy one morning about a week after Bingley had proposed to Jane a carriage arrived outside Longbourn house Elizabeth Kitty and their mother were in the sitting room when suddenly the door was thrown open and their visitor entered it was Lady Catherine de Bourg they were all extremely astonished mrs. Bennet flattered to have such an important visitor received her with great politeness after sitting for a moment in silence Lady Catherine said very stiffly to Elizabeth I hope you are well Miss Bennet that lady I suppose is your mother and that I suppose is one of your sisters Elizabeth replied that she was correct in thinking so Lady Catherine rose and said I would like to have a walk in your garden Miss Bennet if you would accompany me oh girl my dear cried mrs. Bennet show her ladyship the different walks I'm sure she will like them as they passed through the hall Lady Catherine opened the doors into the different rooms looked in and declared them to be reasonable looking rooms they went into the garden in silence Elizabeth was determined to make no effort at conversation with a woman who was being more than usually rude and disagreeable Lady Catherine began speaking when she was sure they were alone you must know Miss Bennet why I have come Elizabeth looked surprised indeed you are mistaken madam I have no idea why you were honoring us with a visit Miss Bennet replied her ladyship angrily however in sincere you maybe you shall not find me so a most alarming report reached me two days ago I was told that you Miss Elizabeth Bennet would soon be engaged to my nephew my own nephew mr. Darcy although I knew it must be a shameful lie and I would not offend him by supposing it to be possible I decided once to come here to let you know my feelings if you believed it to be impossible said Elizabeth was disdain I wonder why your ladyship took the trouble of coming so far I came to insist on having this report contradicted tell me is it true your ladyship may ask questions which I shall not choose to answer this is too much Miss Bennet I insist on an answer has my nephew made you an offer of marriage your ladyship is declared it to be impossible it ought to be impossible but your skilful charms may have made him forget in a moment of foolishness what he owes to himself and his family you must tell me I am almost his nearest relation and I have a right to know his plans but you have no right to know mine let me speak plainly this marriage would you dare to hope for can never take place because mr. Darcy is engaged to my daughter his mother and I planned their marriage when they were still children they are an ideal couple both from respectable honourable ancient families with an excellent fortune on both sides what can possibly divide them the desperate ambitions of a young woman without family connections or fortune it cannot be and I warn you Miss Bennet if you marry him do not expect to be noticed by his family or friends your name will never even be mentioned by any of us these are heavy misfortunes but the wife of mr. Darcy must necessarily be so happy that she could not regret her marriage bobstine girl tell me are you engaged to him Elizabeth could not avoid saying after a moment's thought I have not Lady Catherine seemed pleased and will you promise me never to enter into such an engagement I will make no such promise you have totally misunderstood my character if you think I can be persuaded by such threats I do not know whether your nephew would approve of your interference in his life but you certainly have no right to interfere in mine to all the objections I have mentioned I add one more I am aware of your younger sisters elopement it's such a girl to be my nephew's sister-in-law and bring shame on the ancient name of Darcy you can now have nothing more to say Elizabeth said coldly you have insulted me in every possible way she rose and started walking back to the house Lady Catherine also rose and walked with her unfeeling selfish girl so you are determined to have him I have not said that I am only determined to do what in my opinion will bring me happiness without reference to you do not imagine Miss Bennet that you will ever achieve your ambition when they arrived at her carriage she added I send no compliments to your mother you do not deserve such politeness I am most seriously displeased Elizabeth did not answer and entered the house while Lady Catherine drove away in her carriage she had to tell a little lie to her mother to explain Lady Catherine's unexpected visit and speedy departure and then she shut herself in her room to consider what it all meant perhaps the Collinses had imagined after the news of Jane's engagement to Bingley that Darcy might marry her they must have told Lady Catherine who had made a special journey to Longbourn in order to break off this supposed engagement Elizabeth began to feel depressed if I seemed likely Lady Catherine now went straight to London to talk to her nephew she might easily convince him of the inferiority of Elizabeth social position he would probably feel that his aunt's objections which to Elizabeth appeared laughably weak contained much common sense in that case he might make up his mind not to marry her under any circumstances and to keep away from Longbourn altogether the next morning mr. Bennet called Elizabeth into the library in his hand he had a letter which he had just received Lizzy I did not know I had two daughters about to be married I congratulate you on a very important conquest Elizabeth blushed thinking that Darcy himself had written you seem to know what I mean but I think even you will not be able to guess your admirers name this letter is from mr. Collins and he first congratulate Smee on Jane's engagement of which the gossiping Lucases have told him apparently the lucas's also think that my daughter Elizabeth might soon be marrying one of the great gentlemen in the country mr. Darcy in fact Oh Lizzy I think I have surprised you could he have chosen anyone we know as a more unlikely husband for you mr. Darcy who never praises only criticizes women and who probably never looked at you in his life what an admirable choice Elizabeth tried to share her father's amusement but had never appreciated his humor so little he goes on to say that when he dutifully gave this news to her ladyship she made many objections and stated that she would never agree to the marriage he kindly gives us this information he says to prevent his cousin Elizabeth and her admirer from rushing into a marriage not approved by their families well Lizzy what do you think of that I do enjoy mr. Collins's letters and I am delighted the Lucas's thought of mr. Darcy his perfect indifference to you and your strong dislike of him make it so extremely amusing don't you agree Elizabeth had great difficulty in pretending to be amused by the letter it was necessary to laugh when she would rather have cried her father had most cruelly hurt her by speaking of Darcy's indifference and she began to wonder whether perhaps instead of his seeing too little she might have imagined too much in spite of Elizabeth's doubts however mr. Darcy returned to Netherfield a few days later and he and mr. Bingley came to Longbourn soon afterwards Bingley suggested they should all go for a walk and while he and Jane concentrated on their own private conversation some distance away Elizabeth found herself alone with mr. Darcy taking a deep breath she said bravely mr. Darcy I can no longer stop myself from thanking you for your extraordinary kindness to my poor sister if the rest of my family knew of it they would add their grateful thanks to mine I had hoped to keep it a secret he answered but if you must thank me let it be for yourself alone I shall not attempt to deny that wishing to give happiness to you was one of my reasons for helping your sister but your family owe me nothing much as I respect them I believe I thought only of you Elizabeth was too embarrassed to say a word after a short pause he added you are too generous to play with my feelings if you still feel as you did last April tell me so at once my affections and wishes are unchanged but one word from you will prevent me from ever mentioning them again Elizabeth forced herself to speak and immediately though hesitatingly gave him to understand that her feelings had changed so considerably since that time that she was now grateful and pleased to accept his proposal when Darcy heard this he was probably happier than he had ever been before and he expressed himself as warmly and sensibly as a man violently in love can they walked on without noticing in which direction there was so much to be thought and felt and said she soon learnt that his aunt had indeed seen him in London after her disappointing visit to Longbourn but unluckily for her ladyship her critical comments and description of her conversation with Elizabeth produced exactly the opposite result to what she had intended it talked me to hope Darcy explained as I had hardly ever allowed myself to hope before I knew that if you had decided never to marry me you would have admitted it to Lady Catherine openly and honestly Elizabeth blushed and laughed as she replied yes you have experienced my honesty after scolding you so rudely to your face I was obviously quite capable of Critias sizing you to all your relations I certainly deserved all your accusations as an only Son I was brought up to be selfish and proud and to consider myself superior to others I would have continued like that if you dearest loveliest Elizabeth had not taught me a lesson I owe you a great deal for that and I how soon I thought better of you when I read the letter you sent me when I realized your description of events must be true all my prejudices against you were removed they talked to their unexpected meeting at Pemberley which had renewed their interest in each other of Georgiana Darcy's immediate liking for Elizabeth and of the engagement between Jane and Bingley I guessed smiled Elizabeth that you had given your permission for their marriage my permission no but I must admit I confessed to Bingley that I had made a mistake in supposing that your sister was indifferent to him and I encouraged him to return to Netherfield to see if she still cared for him I am delighted to hear of their engagement he will be one of the happiest men in the world when he marries your sister only I shall be happier than him when I am fortunate enough to marry you their conversation continued in this way until they suddenly became aware of the lateness of the hour they returned to Longbourn house where they separated that evening Elizabeth could not help telling Jane her news however she almost regretted doing so when she saw the astonishment on Jane's face at first Jane could not believe that her sister was engaged to a man she had so disliked and she wondered if Elizabeth could really be happy with him but when she had been convinced by Elizabeth's explanations and promises she was delighted and congratulated her sister with all her heart the next day mr. Darcy came to ask mr. Bennet officially for Elizabeth's hand in marriage mr. Bennet also had to be persuaded that his favourite daughter could really be happy with such a proud disdainful man only mrs. Bennet did not need to be convinced although she was most unusually speechless was shocked when she heard the news when she recovered a little she cried mr. Darcy such a charming man so handsome so tall I am so sorry I disliked him before 10,000 Oh Lizzie during the weeks of her engagement Elizabeth was glad to see that all her family were beginning to appreciate mr. Darcy's good qualities determined to protect him from her mother's over-familiarity she was relieved to see that mrs. Bennet respected her future son-in-law too much to say more than a few words to him in spite of this Elizabeth looked happily forward to the time when she and Darcy would leave Longbourn and move to all the comfort and elegance of their own home at Pemberley mrs. Bennet was a happy mother indeed on the day when she got rid of her two most deserving daughters it may be guessed with what delighted pride she afterwards visited mrs. Bingley and talked of mrs. Darcy mr. Bennet missed his second daughter very much and greatly enjoyed going to Pemberley to visit her mr. Bingley and Jane stayed only a year at Netherfield before buying a large house in the North only fifty kilometers from Pemberley in this way the two sisters were permitted their dearest wish and were able to visit each other frequently Mary was the only sister who remained at home as Kitty spent most of her time with her two elder sisters which greatly improved her behavior character and intelligence Lydia and Wickham were always moving from one place to another in search of cheap rooms and always spending more than they should his affection for soon became indifference while hers for him lasted a little longer they were not too proud to ask Lydia's sisters for financial help during every crisis and Elizabeth and Jane both sent them regular gifts of money to pay their bills Caroline Bingley was deeply offended by Darcy's marriage but she did not show her bitterness and was always extremely polite to Elizabeth Georgiana Darcy on the other hand became greatly attached to Elizabeth and had the highest opinion of her Lady Catherine however was so rude about Elizabeth to her nephew that he broke off communication completely with her for a time in the end Elizabeth persuaded him to forgive his aunt who eventually forgot her pride enough to visit them at Pemberley they remained a close relationship between the Darcy's and the Gardiners Darcy and Elizabeth were both warmly grateful to the two people who by inviting her to Derbyshire and taking her to visit Pemberley had brought them together

Channel: Story English with Subtitles

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Keywords: english story, learn english through stories, learn english, english stories, story in english, learn english through story, bedtime stories, listen english story, listening english through story, english story with subtitle, english language, english conversation, english, learn to english, english for beginner, learning english, learn english for beginner, esl, pdf, Pride and Prejudice, pride and prejudice level 6, pride and prejudice level 5

Id: u8qKPRR5y_w

Length: 193min 47sec (11627 seconds)

Published: Sat Oct 20 2018