Chapter 23 Chapter Twenty Two

On this day, the whole family of Bennet was invited to dinner by the Lucas family, and thanks to the kindness of Miss Lucas, they talked with Mr. Collins all day long.Elizabeth took an opportunity to thank her.She said: This will cheer him up, and I can't thank you enough.Charlotte said that she was very glad to be able to serve her friend, and although it took a little time, it was a great relief.This was very kind; but Charlotte's kindness was far from Elizabeth's expectation; it turned out that Charlotte intended to make Mr. Collins talk to herself as much as possible, so as to prevent him from paying attention to Elizabeth again.Her plan seemed to be going very well.When they parted in the evening, Charlotte felt almost sure that things would work out if Mr. Collins were not to leave Hertfordshire so soon.But her thinking like this is too ignorant of his turbulent and arbitrary character.And early next morning, Collins, in a rather cunning way, slipped out of Longbourne, and came to Lou's to make love to her.He was afraid of being caught by his cousins. He thought that if they saw him go away, they would surely guess what he was planning, and he would never let it be known until the matter was sure of success.Although he had seen Charlotte's affection for him on the spot, and felt that the matter was a sure thing to succeed, he had not dared to be too rash since Wednesday's adventure.But he was received flatteringly.Miss Lucas saw him from an upstairs window approaching her house, and hastened to meet him in the lane, again pretending to have met him by chance.She never imagined that Collins brought her inexhaustible love this time.

In a short time, Mr. Collins said so much, that everything was settled between them, and to their mutual satisfaction.As soon as he entered the house, he earnestly asked her to choose an auspicious date to make him the happiest person in the world. Although this request should be ignored for the time being, the lady did not want to play with his happiness.He was born with a stupid look, and he never won the hearts of women when he wooed, and when women met him, they always asked him to go against the wall.The reason Miss Lucas was willing to agree to him was purely for the sake of property, and she didn't care when the property would be available.

They both went at once to ask Sir William and Mrs. William's permission, which the old couple readily and cheerfully granted.They had no dowry for their daughter, and Mr. Collins was a very suitable son-in-law in his present situation, and he was sure to make a fortune in the future.Mrs. Lucas at once began, with unprecedented interest, to calculate how many years Mr. Bennet had left to live; There is great hope of seeing the emperor.All in all, the whole family was delighted by this great event.The younger daughters were full of hope, thinking that they would be able to go out to society a year or two earlier, and the boys would no longer worry that Charlotte would be an old maid.Only Charlotte herself was quite composed.She has initially succeeded now, and she still has time to think about it carefully.She thought about it and was generally satisfied.Mr. Collins, unreasonable and unlovable, was a nuisance to be with, and his love for her must have been impossible, but she wanted him to be her husband.Although she doesn't value marriage and married life very highly, marriage is her consistent goal after all. Most educated young women from poor families always regard marriage as the only decent way out .Although marriage does not necessarily make people happy, but at last she arranged for herself the most reliable storeroom in which she would not suffer from cold and hunger in the future.She now has such a storage room.She was twenty-seven years old, and she was not handsome, and the storeroom would certainly make her feel infinitely lucky.There is only one unpleasant thing and that is, Elizabeth.Bennet would have been surprised by the match, and she had always valued Elizabeth's friendship above anyone else's.Elizabeth must have been surprised, and perhaps blamed her.Although once she had made up her mind she would not be shaken, yet it would be hard for her to be criticized.She therefore resolved to tell her the matter herself, and bade Mr. Collins not to reveal a word to any of the Bennets when he returned to Longbourne to dine.Of course the other party obeyed and promised to keep a secret. In fact, it is very difficult to keep a secret, because he has been away for too long, and it will definitely arouse people's curiosity. Therefore, as soon as he returns, everyone immediately asks him about his problems. It took a lot of ability to cover up the past, and he was eager to publicize the situation of being proud of his love, so it was difficult for him to restrain himself.

He had to start early tomorrow morning, and he had no time to say goodbye to everyone, so when the ladies of the night went to bed, everyone said goodbye to each other; Mrs. Bennet said with the utmost sincerity and politeness that he would come again if he had time. It would make them so happy to come and play with them, Born. He replied: "My dear wife, I am very grateful for the invitation, and I am also hoping to accept this kindness; please rest assured, I will come to see you as soon as I am free." Everyone was taken aback, especially Mr. Bennet, who didn't expect him to come back at all, so he said hastily:

Nephew, are you not afraid that Mrs. Caitlin will disapprove?You'd better take your kinship lightly, lest you take such a big risk of offending your benefactor. Mr. Collins replied: Elder, I am very grateful to you for reminding me so kindly. Please rest assured that I will never take the liberty to engage in such an important matter without the consent of her elder. A little more care can only help.It doesn't matter anything, but you must not make her old man unhappy.If you want to come to us and she doesn't like having you (which I think is very likely), then please be quiet and stay at home, and don't worry, we won't be offended by it.

Old elders, please believe me, I am really grateful for your kind attention.You can rest assured that you will have a letter of thanks from me in a moment, thanking you for all the care you have given me in Hertfordshire.As for the cousins, though I shall not be there for many days, please forgive me for taking the time to wish them health and happiness, even Cousin Elizabeth. The ladies saluted and took their leave and went back to their rooms; everyone was surprised to hear that he intended to come back soon.Mrs. Bennet was fully expecting that he intended to propose to one of her youngest daughters, and might be able to persuade Mary to do so.Manli valued his abilities more than any of the sisters.His firmness of mind appealed to her; and though he was not so clever as herself, he would make a very agreeable companion if encouraged by an example like hers in his studies.It's a pity that by the next morning, this hope was completely shattered.Miss Lucas called immediately after breakfast, and related to Elizabeth privately the events of the previous day.

It had occurred to Elizabeth for a day or two that Mr. Collins might have wished to be in love with her friend, but it was as improbable that Charlotte would have encouraged him, as it had been impossible for her to have encouraged him. He was the same, so she could not help being so surprised to hear it now that, without even paying attention to politeness, she exclaimed: Engaged to Mr. Collins!How can it be, dear Charlotte! When Miss Lucas heard the outspoken reproach, her calm face became flustered. Fortunately, this was what she expected, so she immediately returned to normal, and said calmly:

Why are you so surprised, dear Eliza?If Mr. Collins has the misfortune of not being appreciated by you, do you not rejoice that he is appreciated by other women? Elizabeth had calmed down by this time, so she tried her best to restrain herself, and in a quite sure tone, she wished the two of them a happy marriage and boundless happiness in the future. Charlotte replied: "I understand you, and you must be surprised, and very surprised, that not so long ago Mr. Collins was thinking of marrying you.However, as long as you have time to think about this matter carefully, you will agree with my approach.You know I'm not a romantic person, I'm definitely not that kind of person.I just want to have a comfortable home.As far as Mr. Collins's character, social relations, and position are concerned, I feel that being married to him can lead to happiness no less than that which most people boast of when married.

Elizabeth replied calmly: No problem.The two of them stayed awkwardly together for a while, then sat down with the family.Charlotte went away in a short time; and Elizabeth thought over what she had just heard to herself.Such an inappropriate marriage really made her feel uncomfortable for a long time.It is strange enough that Mr. Collins proposed twice in three days, but it is even more surprising that he should be accepted now.She had always felt that Charlotte's views on the subject of marriage were quite at odds with hers, but it never occurred to her that, when the situation came to her, she would yield to worldly interests at the complete disregard of noble sentiments.Charlotte is the most disgraceful thing in the world to be the wife of Collins!Not only did she suffer from such a friend's self-deprecation and self-deprecation, but she also concluded with great pain that the lottery cast by her friend would never bring much happiness to herself.