06-03-傲慢与偏见 [20]
伊丽莎白，不一会儿就定了下来——班纳特太太沏茶时他做出了决定。伊丽莎白在年龄和姿色上都仅次于简，选她是很显然的。
班纳特太太乐滋滋的，满心希望不久将有两个女儿嫁出去。前一天她还感到厌恶的那个男人一下子成了她的掌上明珠。
■ 4 Elizabeth meets Mr Wickham
When later that morning Lydia suggested walking to Meryton to see some of the officers，all her sisters ex- cept 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 eved pretended to be interested in his conversation，but looked eagerly around in search of the officers．
Just then all the young ladies noticed a very gentleman-like young man，whom they had 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 regi- ment．This was exactly as it should be，because the young man only needed an officer's uniform to become completely charm- ing．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 talk- ing 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．Bin- gley was clearly most interested in Jane Bennet，and started talking particuarly to her．Darcy，however，was just determin- ing 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 officers accompanied the young ladies to Mrs Philips’house，but did not go in，in spite of Lydia's re- peated invitations．Mrs Philips was always glad to see her nieces，and welcomed Mr Collins most politely when he was in- troduced to her．She did not，however，have any more informa- tion for the girls about the agreeable Mr Wickham．
‘But I tell you what，my dears，’she said brightly，‘I'm 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 arrange- ment，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 Ben- net 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，‘Madam，I must compliment you on the size and furni- ture of this room Really，I could almost imagine myself in the smaller summer breakfast-room at Rosings！’
班纳特太太乐滋滋的，满心希望不久将有两个女儿嫁出去。前一天她还感到厌恶的那个男人一下子成了她的掌上明珠。
■ 4 Elizabeth meets Mr Wickham
When later that morning Lydia suggested walking to Meryton to see some of the officers，all her sisters ex- cept 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 eved pretended to be interested in his conversation，but looked eagerly around in search of the officers．
Just then all the young ladies noticed a very gentleman-like young man，whom they had 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 regi- ment．This was exactly as it should be，because the young man only needed an officer's uniform to become completely charm- ing．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 talk- ing 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．Bin- gley was clearly most interested in Jane Bennet，and started talking particuarly to her．Darcy，however，was just determin- ing 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 officers accompanied the young ladies to Mrs Philips’house，but did not go in，in spite of Lydia's re- peated invitations．Mrs Philips was always glad to see her nieces，and welcomed Mr Collins most politely when he was in- troduced to her．She did not，however，have any more informa- tion for the girls about the agreeable Mr Wickham．
‘But I tell you what，my dears，’she said brightly，‘I'm 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 arrange- ment，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 Ben- net 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，‘Madam，I must compliment you on the size and furni- ture of this room Really，I could almost imagine myself in the smaller summer breakfast-room at Rosings！’