06-03-傲慢与偏见 [22]
very fond of me， and intended to give me the post of rector of Pemberley．But unfortunately，after his death，when the post became vacant，it was given to someone else．’
‘No！’cried Elizabeth，horrified．‘But how could that hap- pen？Why didn't you get legal advice，and claim what was rightfully yours？’
Mr Darcy's father had not stated his wish in writing．A man of honour could not have doubted his intention，but Mr Darcy chose to treat it as a recommendation only．I really can not accuse myself of having done anything to deserve to lose the post．The fact is，he hates me．I think he was jealous of his father's affection for me，which annoyed him from the begin- ning．
‘This is very shocking！I hadn't thought Mr Darcy as bad as this，although I've never liked him．I assumed he felt superi- or to everyone else，but did not suspect him of behaving in such a wicked，unjust，inhuman way！’
‘We grew up together at Pemberley，you know．My father gave up all his time to take care of the Pemberley farms，and was greatly appreciated as a close friend by the late Mr Darcy， who promised just before my father's death to provide for me． The present Mr Darcy did not choose to respect that promise．’
‘How strange that Mr Darcy's pride has not made him help you！Surely he's too proud to wish to appear dishonest— which is what I must call him．’
‘He's certainly very proud—proud of his position，his family，his father，and his sister，too，you know．’
‘What sort of a girl is Miss Darcy？’
He shook his head．‘It gives me pain to criticize a Darcy．But she's too much like her brother—very，very proud．She's a handsome girl of about fifteen or sixteen，and，I understand， extremely accomplished．’
‘I am astonished at Mr Darcy's close friendship with Mr Bingley！How can Mr Bingley，who seems so charming and kind，be friendly with such a man？’
‘I don't know Mr Bingley at all，but Mr Darcy can be a pleasant companion if he thinks it worthwhile．’
Just then they were joined by some of the others，and the conversation became more general．When Mr Collins was talk- ing to Mrs Philips about his patron，Mf Wickham looked quickly in his direction，and then asked Elizabeth，‘Does your cousin know Lady Catherine de Bourgh very well？’
‘I don't think he has known her for long，but she has re- cently given him the post of rector of Hunsford．’
‘Perhaps you know that Lady Catherine is the present Mr Darcy's aunt？I believe she is planning to marry herdaughter，who will inherit a fortune，to Mr Darcy．’
This information made Elizabeth smile，as she thought of poor Miss Bingley's efforts to attract Mr Darcy，which might all be in vain．The supper party came to an end，and Elizabeth went away with her head full of Mr Wickham．She could think of nothing but him，and what he had told her，all the way home．
The next day she told Jane everything she had discussed with Mr Wickham．Jane listened with astonishment and con- cern．She could not believe that Mr Darcy could so little deserve Mr Bingley's friendship，and yet she did not want to doubt the truthfulness of such an agreeable young man as Mr Wickham． Elizabeth，however，felt sure that Mr Darcy was to blame．
That morning an invitation arrived at Longbourn．Mr Bing- ley had fixed the date for the ball he had promised to give at Netherfield，and it was to be on the following Tuesday．Every female in the Bennet family was looking forward to it，even Mary，who lifted her head from her book to say，unsmiling，‘As long as I have my mornings free for serious reading，I do not mind meeting people in the evenings．I consider some relax- ation and amusement is good for everybdy．’
Elizabeth felt so cheerful at the thought of dancing with Mr Wickham that she made an unusual effort to speak kindly to Mr Collins．
‘Will you accept
‘No！’cried Elizabeth，horrified．‘But how could that hap- pen？Why didn't you get legal advice，and claim what was rightfully yours？’
Mr Darcy's father had not stated his wish in writing．A man of honour could not have doubted his intention，but Mr Darcy chose to treat it as a recommendation only．I really can not accuse myself of having done anything to deserve to lose the post．The fact is，he hates me．I think he was jealous of his father's affection for me，which annoyed him from the begin- ning．
‘This is very shocking！I hadn't thought Mr Darcy as bad as this，although I've never liked him．I assumed he felt superi- or to everyone else，but did not suspect him of behaving in such a wicked，unjust，inhuman way！’
‘We grew up together at Pemberley，you know．My father gave up all his time to take care of the Pemberley farms，and was greatly appreciated as a close friend by the late Mr Darcy， who promised just before my father's death to provide for me． The present Mr Darcy did not choose to respect that promise．’
‘How strange that Mr Darcy's pride has not made him help you！Surely he's too proud to wish to appear dishonest— which is what I must call him．’
‘He's certainly very proud—proud of his position，his family，his father，and his sister，too，you know．’
‘What sort of a girl is Miss Darcy？’
He shook his head．‘It gives me pain to criticize a Darcy．But she's too much like her brother—very，very proud．She's a handsome girl of about fifteen or sixteen，and，I understand， extremely accomplished．’
‘I am astonished at Mr Darcy's close friendship with Mr Bingley！How can Mr Bingley，who seems so charming and kind，be friendly with such a man？’
‘I don't know Mr Bingley at all，but Mr Darcy can be a pleasant companion if he thinks it worthwhile．’
Just then they were joined by some of the others，and the conversation became more general．When Mr Collins was talk- ing to Mrs Philips about his patron，Mf Wickham looked quickly in his direction，and then asked Elizabeth，‘Does your cousin know Lady Catherine de Bourgh very well？’
‘I don't think he has known her for long，but she has re- cently given him the post of rector of Hunsford．’
‘Perhaps you know that Lady Catherine is the present Mr Darcy's aunt？I believe she is planning to marry herdaughter，who will inherit a fortune，to Mr Darcy．’
This information made Elizabeth smile，as she thought of poor Miss Bingley's efforts to attract Mr Darcy，which might all be in vain．The supper party came to an end，and Elizabeth went away with her head full of Mr Wickham．She could think of nothing but him，and what he had told her，all the way home．
The next day she told Jane everything she had discussed with Mr Wickham．Jane listened with astonishment and con- cern．She could not believe that Mr Darcy could so little deserve Mr Bingley's friendship，and yet she did not want to doubt the truthfulness of such an agreeable young man as Mr Wickham． Elizabeth，however，felt sure that Mr Darcy was to blame．
That morning an invitation arrived at Longbourn．Mr Bing- ley had fixed the date for the ball he had promised to give at Netherfield，and it was to be on the following Tuesday．Every female in the Bennet family was looking forward to it，even Mary，who lifted her head from her book to say，unsmiling，‘As long as I have my mornings free for serious reading，I do not mind meeting people in the evenings．I consider some relax- ation and amusement is good for everybdy．’
Elizabeth felt so cheerful at the thought of dancing with Mr Wickham that she made an unusual effort to speak kindly to Mr Collins．
‘Will you accept