Chapter 46 Chapter Forty-Five

Elizabeth now believed that Miss Bingley's constant dislike for her had been due to jealousy.Now that she had thought this way, she could not help feeling that Miss Bingley would not welcome her to Pemberley; nevertheless, she wished to see whether the lady would be more or less sympathetic on this reunion. When they arrived at Pemberley's mansion, the family led them through the hall and into the living room. The view to the north of the living room was very moving. The Spanish chestnut tree is such a refreshing summer scenery. Miss Darcy received them in this room, with Mrs. Hurst, Miss Bingley, and the lady who lived with Miss Darcy in London.Georgiana was very polite to them, but her attitude was quite unnatural. This was certainly because she was a bit shy and afraid of being rude, but in the eyes of those who thought they were lower than her, it was easy to misunderstand her. Haughty and reserved, fortunately Mrs. Gardiner and her niece never misunderstood her but sympathized with her.

Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley curtseyed them only.After they sat down, there was no conversation between the host and guest for a long time, which was really awkward.It was Mrs. Agnesley who spoke first afterward.This lady was a very nice lady, and you could tell that she was much better educated than the other two, just by looking at her trying to find words for conversation.It was only because she and Mrs. Gardiner struck up a conversation first, and Elizabeth interjected here and there to add to the fun, that the conversation was not dull.Miss Darcy seemed to want to speak but lacked courage, and only faltered a few times out of hearing, which was a rare occurrence.

Elizabeth was at once aware that Miss Bingley was watching her carefully, paying attention to her words, and especially to her conversation with Miss Darcy.If Elizabeth and Miss Darcy were seated so close together that it would be convenient for her to talk to her, she would not have been afraid of Miss Bingley to stop talking to Miss Darcy; , so I don't feel sorry.She was always looking forward to the male guests coming in together, but although she was looking forward to it, she was also afraid. Whether she was looking forward to it urgently or was terribly afraid, she could hardly tell.Elizabeth sat thus for a quarter of an hour, not hearing a word from Miss Bingley, when she was suddenly startled by Miss Bingley's icy greeting of her family's well-being.She also said a few perfunctory words indifferently and simply, and stopped talking to the convenience.

Not long after they arrived, the servants brought cold meat, snacks, and various seasonal fruits.Miss Darcy had been forgetting to ask for it, but Mrs. Agnesley's frequent winks and smiles reminded her of her responsibilities as host.Now everyone has something to do.Not everyone is talkative, but everyone can eat; and as soon as they see the beautiful piles of grapes, nectarines and peaches, everyone gathers and sits down around the table.Mr. Darcy came in while they were eating, and Elizabeth took advantage of this opportunity to judge whether she wished for his presence, or dreaded his presence.As a result of the discrimination, although she thought she was more hopeful than fearful, but within less than a minute after he came in, she thought it was better for him not to come in.

It is said that Darcy and two or three members of his own family accompanied Mr. Gardiner to fish by the river, and when he heard that Mrs. Gardiner and her niece were coming to visit Georgiana that morning, he immediately left them and came home. .When Elizabeth saw him come in, she reacted accordingly, made up her mind, and urged herself to behave calmly and gracefully.It was necessary for her to make up her mind, but it was a pity that it was not easy to do, because she saw the suspicion of both of them in the whole audience; when Darcy came in, there was hardly an eye that was not watching his behavior. .Curiosity is common to all, but no one is so open as Miss Bingley, who smiles when she speaks to either of them, because she is not yet jealous enough to be unscrupulous. He did not completely give up on Mr. Darcy.Miss Darcy, seeing her brother coming, talked as much as she could; Elizabeth saw that Darcy was desperately looking forward to her becoming acquainted with his sister, and he did his best to promote more conversation between them.Miss Bingley was so indignant at seeing these circumstances, that, without being abrupt or polite, she said sarcastically at every opportunity:

Pray, Miss Elizabeth, have not the Meryton militia departed?The family must feel that this is a great loss. She was only afraid to mention Wickham's name openly in Darcy's presence, but Elizabeth knew at once that she meant that man, and could not help thinking of some of her past associations with him, and feeling momentarily sad.It was a malicious attack, and Elizabeth was obliged to give her a severe blow, and she immediately answered her words in a tone of indifference.As she spoke, she cast a glance at Darcy involuntarily. Darcy blushed and looked at her earnestly. Darcy's sister was extremely flustered and bowed her head in silence.Had Miss Bingley known the pain to which such nonsense would cause her own lover, she would never have spoken of it.She just wanted to disturb Elizabeth's mind. She thought that Elizabeth had fallen in love with that man in the past, so she said it on purpose, so that she would make a fool of herself, make Darcy look down on her, and even remind Darcy that her sisters had done it for him. How many absurd jokes were made by that militia.As to Miss Darcy's desire to elope, she knew nothing of it, for Mr. Darcy kept it as secret as possible, and never disclosed it to anyone but Miss Elizabeth.She was especially careful to conceal it from Bingley's relatives and friends, because he thought he would marry them later, which Elizabeth expected.He had indeed intended to do so long ago; perhaps it was for this reason that his interest in Bingley's welfare was all the greater, but it was not for this reason that he made every effort to separate Bingley and Miss Bennet.

Darcy was relieved when he saw that Elizabeth was calm.Miss Bingley, in distress and disappointment, dared not speak of Wickham again, and Georgiana soon recovered her normal demeanor, though for a moment she was ashamed to speak.She was afraid to meet her brother's eyes, and in fact her brother did not notice that she was involved in this matter.Miss Bingley had arranged a clever plan this time to make Darcy change his mind and no longer be attached to Elizabeth, but it made him miss Elizabeth more and more affectionately. After this question and answer, the guests took their leave not long after.While Mr. Darcy was seeing them into the carriage, Miss Bingley took the opportunity to complain in front of her sister, and sent Elizabeth's character, manners, and dress one by one.Georgiana didn't answer, because since her brother admired Elizabeth so much, of course she also liked her.My brother was never wrong; he called Elizabeth Georgiana and found her only sweet and lovable.When Darcy returned to the drawing-room, Miss Bingley repeated to him what she had just said to his sister.

She said aloud: "Mr. Darcy, this morning Eliza.How ugly Miss Bennet looked!She's grown so much since last winter that I've never seen anyone like her in all my life.Her skin became so dark and rough that Louisa and I hardly knew her anymore. Although this remark did not please Darcy, he still put her off coldly, saying that he could not see any change in her, but her skin was a little darker, which was the result of summer travel, which is not surprising. . Miss Bingley replied: "To tell the truth, I don't think there is any beauty in her at all.Her face is too thin, her skin is dull, and her eyebrows are not delicate.Her nose was nothing more than mediocre; and as for her eyes, they were sometimes said to be so beautiful, I couldn't see what mattered.There was something sharp and malicious in her eyes, which I did not like; and her whole demeanor, which was utterly pretentious, was unbearably unrefined.

Since Miss Bingley had already made up her mind that Darcy was in love with Elizabeth, it was not wise to use this method to win his favor; but people often fail to calculate in a moment of anger.Seeing that Darcy was finally made to look somewhat troubled, she fancied that her wish had been succeeded.Darcy clenched her teeth, and said nothing; and, in order to compel him to say a few words, she went on: I remember, when we first met her in Hertfordshire, how strange it was to us to be told of her as a famous beauty; and I particularly remember one evening after they had dined at Netherfield. , You said: She can also be regarded as a beauty!Then her mother can be considered a genius!But you have an impression of her since then, and there was a period when you thought she was pretty.

Darcy could bear it no longer, and had to reply: "It's true, but that was when I first met her; and for the last few months I've considered her the prettiest girl friend I've ever known." one. Having said this, he went away, leaving Miss Bingley alone.She forced him to say these few words, thinking that she could take advantage of it, but in the end she only ended up making fun of herself. When Mrs. Gardiner and Elizabeth returned to their lodgings, they talked at length about all the incidents of their visit, except the one which interested everyone; , They all commented on each of them, and talked about everyone's expressions and behaviors one by one, but it was a pity that they didn't talk about the person they paid special attention to.They talked about his sister, his friends, his house, the fruit he invited guests to eat, everything, but they didn't talk about him himself. In fact, the niece really hoped that my aunt would talk about her impression of that person, my aunt. I also very much hope that my niece will bring up this topic first.