06-03-傲慢与偏见 [2]
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？’
‘Certainly not，’replied Darcy．‘You know how I hate dancing with a partner I don't know．I would particularly dis- like 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 are 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 so rude to poor Eliza- beth！ 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 a 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 ever to expect admiration．’
‘I have to admit that I liked Mr Bingley，’continued Jane in 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 sisters？’
‘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 neighbour．’
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 considered 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 twenty-seven， the eldest daughter of Sir William and Lady Lucas， who were neighbours 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 be- haves so cheerfully and normally．’
‘That's 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
‘Come， Darcy，’said Bingley，‘I hate to see you looking so cross！Why don't you dance with one of these lovely girls？’
‘Certainly not，’replied Darcy．‘You know how I hate dancing with a partner I don't know．I would particularly dis- like 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 are 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 so rude to poor Eliza- beth！ 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 a 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 ever to expect admiration．’
‘I have to admit that I liked Mr Bingley，’continued Jane in 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 sisters？’
‘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 neighbour．’
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 considered 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 twenty-seven， the eldest daughter of Sir William and Lady Lucas， who were neighbours 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 be- haves so cheerfully and normally．’
‘That's 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