Chapter 33 Chapter Thirty-Two

The next morning, when Mrs. Collins and Maria were away on business in the village, and Elizabeth was sitting alone at home writing to Jane, she was startled suddenly, for the bell rang, indicating that there must be some visitor.She did not hear the carriage, and thought it might be Lady Catelyn, and anxiously put the half-written letter aside lest she ask some rash question.At that moment the door opened, and she was startled, never expecting that it was Mr. Darcy, and Darcy alone, who entered. Darcy, too, was surprised to see her alone, and made a quick apology that he had taken the liberty of intruding in, as he thought none of the ladies had gone out.

They sat down, and after she had asked him a few words about Rosings, both parties seemed to have nothing to say, and there was great danger of an impasse.It was therefore imperative to think of something to say; and at this critical moment, recalling the last time she had seen him in Hertfordshire, she aroused a pang of curiosity to hear his account of that hasty conversation. What is the opinion of parting, so she said: How suddenly you left Netherfield last November, Mr. Darcy!Mr. Bingley must have been quite surprised to see you all follow him at once; I seem to remember that he went only a day before you.I suppose he and his sisters were in good health when you left London?

Excellent, thank you. She realized that the other party had nothing else to say to her, so after a while she said again: Mr. Bingley, I suppose, does not intend to return to Netherfield again? I've never heard him say that; but probably he doesn't intend to live there long.He had many friends, and at his age, of course, there were more and more social occasions every day. If he does not intend to live long at Netherfield, then, for the sake of the neighbors, he had better give up the lease altogether, so that we can have a regular neighbor, but Mr. Bingley may only rent the house for himself. Convenience, and no consideration for the neighbors. I think his principle is the same whether he keeps the house or cancels the lease.

Mr. Darcy said: "I expect him to quit the lease as soon as he buys the right house. Elizabeth did not answer.She dreaded to speak of his friend again; and having nothing else to say, she resolved to let him use his brains, and find some other subject of conversation. He took her meaning, and said after a while: Mr. Collins seems to have a very comfortable house.I believe Mrs. Catelyn must have put a great deal of thought into this when he first came to Hunsford. I also believe that she took a lot of thought, and I dare say that her kindness was not in vain, because there is no one in the world who is more grateful than him.

Mr. Collins was very lucky to have such a wife. Yes, it is indeed a blessing; his friends should be happy for him, for there is a woman so clear-headed who will marry him, and make him happy by marrying him. My girlfriend is a very clever person, but she I don't think it would be wise to marry Mr. Collins.She seemed extremely happy, and, in ordinary eyes, her marriage was certainly going well. It must have pleased her that she was so near her family and her friends. Did you say it's close?Almost fifty miles. As long as the road is convenient, is fifty miles considered a distance?It only takes half a day to get there, I think it's very close.

Elizabeth cried: I never thought that the distance of the road was one of the advantages of this marriage, and I never said that Mrs. Collins lived very close to home. It shows that you yourself are too attached to Hertfordshire.I think you are too far away if you only take one step out of Longbourne. He smiled as he said this, and Elizabeth felt that she understood his meaning: he must have thought she was thinking of Jane and Netherfield, and she blushed and replied: I'm not saying that a woman's family is not allowed to marry too close to her mother's family.Far and near are relative, and it depends on various situations to decide.As long as you can afford the trouble, it doesn't matter if it's farther away.Not so here.Although the Collinses have a good income, they cannot afford to travel frequently; even if the present distance is reduced to a half, I believe my friends will not think that they are near their natal home.

Mr. Darcy moved his chair closer to her, and said: You mustn't have such a country idea.You can't stay at Longbourn all your life. Elizabeth looked a little surprised.Darcy also felt that he was in a different mood, so he dragged his chair back a little, picked up a newspaper from the table, glanced at it, and said in a calmer voice: Do you like Kent? So the two of them talked briefly about the village, calmly and succinctly.Presently Charlotte returned from her walk with her sister, and the conversation was terminated.The Charlottes were surprised to see them talking together.Mr. Darcy explained the reason why he had just entered by mistake and met Miss Bennet, and then sat down for a few minutes and left without talking to anyone.

When he was gone, Charlotte said: "What's the meaning of that?"Dear Eliza, he must be in love with you, or he would never have come to see us so casually. Elizabeth told her of his speechless state, and Charlotte felt that, in spite of her good intentions, it did not appear to be the case.They guessed and guessed, and the result was that he came out to visit relatives and friends because he was bored this time. This kind of argument is reasonable, because in this season, all outdoor activities are outdated. You can talk to Mrs. Catelyn, read a book, and play billiards, but the men can't stay out of the house all the time; since the vicarage is so close, it is also very pleasant to take a walk there to have fun, besides The family was very interesting and ambiguous, so the two cousins ​​couldn't help going there almost every day during their visit.They always go in the morning, not necessarily sooner or later, sometimes they go separately, sometimes they go together, and sometimes their aunt goes with them.The women saw very well that Fitzwilliam came because he liked their company, which of course made him like him more, and Elizabeth was content with him, and he evidently admired her, both of which made Elizabeth She remembered her former sweetheart, George.Wickham; though comparing the two she found Fitzwilliam's manner less gentle and charming than Wickham's, yet she believed he had more tricks in his head.

But why Mr. Darcy came so often to the parsonage was still not easy to understand.He couldn't have done it for the fun of it, because he'd sit there for ten minutes without saying a word, and speak as if he had to, not as if he had something to say as if he were compelled to be polite, but Not out of inner joy.He was seldom really in high spirits.Mrs. Collins simply did not understand him.Fitzwilliam sometimes laughed at him for being stupid, but he wasn't usually like that, and of course Mrs. Collins couldn't figure out what was going on.She hoped that this change in him was effected by love, and that the object of love was her friend Eliza, and she set to work solemnly to make the matter clear.Whenever they went to Rosings, and whenever he came to Hunsford, she kept watching him, but to no avail.It was true that he often looked at her friend, but the meaning of that look was debatable.He looked at her dully, sincerely indeed, but Mrs. Collins could not tell how much adoration was in his gaze, and sometimes it was quite absent-minded.

Once or twice she had suggested to Elizabeth that he might be interested in her, but Elizabeth always laughed it off; Disappointment; and, in her opinion, if Elizabeth herself felt that she had him in her hands, there would be no doubt that all dislike of him would disappear of itself.She has good intentions for Elizabeth, and sometimes plans to marry her to Fitzwilliam. He is really the most interesting person, no one can compare with him; of course he loves her, and his social position is very appropriate. No more; but Mr. Darcy had a great deal of power in the church, and his cousin had none, and these advantages were of little importance in comparison.