06-03-傲慢与偏见 [31]
me very much．The whole party have left Netherfield， and are on their way back to London，probably for the winter． They may not return to Netherfield at all．She says the only thing she sincerely regrets is leaving me behind in Hertford- shire，and promises！to write very frequently．’
Elizabeth did not trust Miss Bingley's apparent affection for Jane．‘I really don't think their departure matters very much，she said．‘Mr Bingley won't be kept in London by his sisters．I'm sure he’ll be back at Netherfield soon．’
‘But perhaps he prefers to stay in London，where many of his friends are．But I haven't told you everything yet．Let me read you the part which particularly hurts me—’
Mr Darcy is impatient to see his sister，and we confess we are also eager to see her again Nobody is more beautiful，el- egant or accomplished than Georgiana Darcy．Louisa and I have great affection for her，and hope one day to call her sis- ter．My brother admires her very much．He will have frequent opportunities of seeing her，and although I am his sister I must say I think he is most capable of winning any woman's heart．
‘What do you think of this，dear Lizzy？Isn't it clear enough？ Caroline doesn't wish or expect me to become her sister-in- law；she's convinced of her brother's indifference towards me， and，perhaps because she suspects my feelings for him，she （most kindly！）warns me that he's very likely to marry some- one else！’
‘I have a totally different opinion．Miss Bingley sees her brother is in love with you，while she wants him to marry Miss Darcy．We aren't rich enough or grand enough for them，and she is eager to have a family connection with the Darcys，so that it may be easier for her to marry Mr Darcy．So she follows her brother to London，hoping to keep him there，and tries to persuade you he doesn't care about you．But of course he's in love with you！’
‘I really can't agree with you about Caroline．I think she's incapable of deceiving anyone．But Lizzy，my dear sister，even if she's wrong about her brother，and he does care for me，could I be happy in accepting a man whose sisters and friends all wish him to marry someone else？’
‘You must decide for yourself，and if you consider it more important to do what his sisters want，than to gain the happi- ness of being his wife，I certainly advise you to refuse him．’
‘How can you say that？’said Jane，smiling a little．‘You know I wouldn't hesitate，although I'd be sad if they disapproved of me．But，oh dear，if he doesn't come back to Netherfield，I’ll never have to make the decision！’
But Elizabeth was sure Mr Bingley could not be kept away from Jane by his sisters，and soon persuaded Jane to take a more hopeful view of the situation．
That day the Bennets，with Mr Collins，went to dinner with the Lucas family at Lucas Lodge．Again it was Charlotte who spent most of the evening listening to Mr Collins．Elizabeth was very relieved，and thanked her friend gratefully for the trouble she was taking．But Charlotte's kindness had a particu- lar aim，which Elizabeth was unaware of．Her plan was to en- courage Mr Collins to transfer his attentions to herself．In fact， she was managing so well that，when she said goodnight to him after dinner，she would have felt sure of success if he had been staying in Hertfordshire for another week．But she did not fully appreciate the fire and independence of his character，which caused him to get up very early the next morning and escape from Longbourn House，in a great hurry to reach Lucas Lodge and throw himself at her feet．She did not keep him waiting for an answer，and the happy couple found themselves engaged as quickly as Mr Collins’long speeches would allow．
Charlotte's parents were delighted to agree to the marriage， and Lady Lucas began to work out，with more interest than she had ever felt before，how many more years Mr Bennet
Elizabeth did not trust Miss Bingley's apparent affection for Jane．‘I really don't think their departure matters very much，she said．‘Mr Bingley won't be kept in London by his sisters．I'm sure he’ll be back at Netherfield soon．’
‘But perhaps he prefers to stay in London，where many of his friends are．But I haven't told you everything yet．Let me read you the part which particularly hurts me—’
Mr Darcy is impatient to see his sister，and we confess we are also eager to see her again Nobody is more beautiful，el- egant or accomplished than Georgiana Darcy．Louisa and I have great affection for her，and hope one day to call her sis- ter．My brother admires her very much．He will have frequent opportunities of seeing her，and although I am his sister I must say I think he is most capable of winning any woman's heart．
‘What do you think of this，dear Lizzy？Isn't it clear enough？ Caroline doesn't wish or expect me to become her sister-in- law；she's convinced of her brother's indifference towards me， and，perhaps because she suspects my feelings for him，she （most kindly！）warns me that he's very likely to marry some- one else！’
‘I have a totally different opinion．Miss Bingley sees her brother is in love with you，while she wants him to marry Miss Darcy．We aren't rich enough or grand enough for them，and she is eager to have a family connection with the Darcys，so that it may be easier for her to marry Mr Darcy．So she follows her brother to London，hoping to keep him there，and tries to persuade you he doesn't care about you．But of course he's in love with you！’
‘I really can't agree with you about Caroline．I think she's incapable of deceiving anyone．But Lizzy，my dear sister，even if she's wrong about her brother，and he does care for me，could I be happy in accepting a man whose sisters and friends all wish him to marry someone else？’
‘You must decide for yourself，and if you consider it more important to do what his sisters want，than to gain the happi- ness of being his wife，I certainly advise you to refuse him．’
‘How can you say that？’said Jane，smiling a little．‘You know I wouldn't hesitate，although I'd be sad if they disapproved of me．But，oh dear，if he doesn't come back to Netherfield，I’ll never have to make the decision！’
But Elizabeth was sure Mr Bingley could not be kept away from Jane by his sisters，and soon persuaded Jane to take a more hopeful view of the situation．
That day the Bennets，with Mr Collins，went to dinner with the Lucas family at Lucas Lodge．Again it was Charlotte who spent most of the evening listening to Mr Collins．Elizabeth was very relieved，and thanked her friend gratefully for the trouble she was taking．But Charlotte's kindness had a particu- lar aim，which Elizabeth was unaware of．Her plan was to en- courage Mr Collins to transfer his attentions to herself．In fact， she was managing so well that，when she said goodnight to him after dinner，she would have felt sure of success if he had been staying in Hertfordshire for another week．But she did not fully appreciate the fire and independence of his character，which caused him to get up very early the next morning and escape from Longbourn House，in a great hurry to reach Lucas Lodge and throw himself at her feet．She did not keep him waiting for an answer，and the happy couple found themselves engaged as quickly as Mr Collins’long speeches would allow．
Charlotte's parents were delighted to agree to the marriage， and Lady Lucas began to work out，with more interest than she had ever felt before，how many more years Mr Bennet