06-03-傲慢与偏见 [38]
it．’
‘Elizabeth，be serious．’
‘I'm sorry，aunt，I’ll try again．At present I'm certainly not in love with him．But he is by far the most agreeable man I've ever met， and if he really loved me… But I would hate to dis－ appoint my father or make any of you unhappy．I cannot promise what I will do，but I will really try to do what I think is wisest．I hope you are satisfied with that．’
Her aunt replied that she was， and received Elizabeth's thanks for her kind advice． Several days after this， the Gardiners returned to London， taking Jane with them．
The day of Mr Collins’wedding soon arrived，and Mrs Bennet had to watch Charlotte Lucas become Mrs Collins．Before the bride left Longbourn for Hunsford，however，she asked Eliza－ beth to come and visit her in her new home as soon as possible． Elizabeth could not refuse， although she did not imagine it would be an enjoyable visit．It was arranged that Elizabeth would accompany Sir William Lucas and Maria，one of his oth－ er daughters，on their intended visit to Hunsford in March．
A week after Jane's departure， Elizabeth received a letter from her sister， saying that she had seen Miss Bingley， and hoped to continue their friendship．Elizabeth shook her head over this．She was not surprised to hear from Jane a few weeks later that Caroline Bingley had made no further attempts to communicate with her former dear friend．Elizabeth was sad－ dened to read of Jane's disappointment， but felt more cheerful when she told herself that Jane would no longer be deceived， by the sister at least．All expectation from the brother was now absolutely over． As a punishment for him， she seriously hoped he would soon marry Mr Darcy's sister，who，according to Wickham，would make him quickly regret what he had thrown away．
At about this time，Elizabeth also received a letter from Mrs Gardiner， asking about Wickham， and she was able to reply quite honestly that there was no danger of her marrying him． He had transferred his affections to a Miss King， who had re－ cently inherited ten thousand pounds． Elizabeth saw exactly what was happening，but her heart had only been slightly touched，and she was able to convince herself that it was quite natural for such an agreeable young man to wish for fortune and independence．
January and February passed， and the time for Elizabeth's visit to Mr and Mrs Collins approached．She had improved the plan， by arranging to spend a night in London at her uncle and aunt's house，before continuing the journey into Kent． She was very much looking forward to seeing Jane，who was still stay－ ing with the Gardiners．
The journey seemed long to Elizabeth，because Sir William and Maria had nothing to say worth hearing．But when the coach arrived at the Gardiners house’ at lunch－time，Elizabeth was delighted to see that her sister looked as healthy and lovely as before． In a private conversation with her aunt later， howev－ er， Elizabeth discovered that Jane had been suffering from peri－ ods of depression， although she always tried bravely to appear cheerful．
The afternoon and evening passed only too quickly， and the next day Elizabeth and the other travellers set off again．When the coach arrived in Hunsford， they were all quite excited to see，on one side of the road，Lady Catherine's great park， which they had heard so much about． At last， on the other side， they came to the Rectory， where they were warmly wel－ comed by Mr Collins and Charlotte．
Elizabeth was more and more pleased she had come， when she found herself so affectionately received．She saw instantly that marriage had not changed her cousin's manners． He in－ sisted on greeting them all with formal politeness and long speeches，and showed them round the house，explaining its many good points in exhausting detail．Elizabeth could not help thinking that perhaps he was speaking particularly
‘Elizabeth，be serious．’
‘I'm sorry，aunt，I’ll try again．At present I'm certainly not in love with him．But he is by far the most agreeable man I've ever met， and if he really loved me… But I would hate to dis－ appoint my father or make any of you unhappy．I cannot promise what I will do，but I will really try to do what I think is wisest．I hope you are satisfied with that．’
Her aunt replied that she was， and received Elizabeth's thanks for her kind advice． Several days after this， the Gardiners returned to London， taking Jane with them．
The day of Mr Collins’wedding soon arrived，and Mrs Bennet had to watch Charlotte Lucas become Mrs Collins．Before the bride left Longbourn for Hunsford，however，she asked Eliza－ beth to come and visit her in her new home as soon as possible． Elizabeth could not refuse， although she did not imagine it would be an enjoyable visit．It was arranged that Elizabeth would accompany Sir William Lucas and Maria，one of his oth－ er daughters，on their intended visit to Hunsford in March．
A week after Jane's departure， Elizabeth received a letter from her sister， saying that she had seen Miss Bingley， and hoped to continue their friendship．Elizabeth shook her head over this．She was not surprised to hear from Jane a few weeks later that Caroline Bingley had made no further attempts to communicate with her former dear friend．Elizabeth was sad－ dened to read of Jane's disappointment， but felt more cheerful when she told herself that Jane would no longer be deceived， by the sister at least．All expectation from the brother was now absolutely over． As a punishment for him， she seriously hoped he would soon marry Mr Darcy's sister，who，according to Wickham，would make him quickly regret what he had thrown away．
At about this time，Elizabeth also received a letter from Mrs Gardiner， asking about Wickham， and she was able to reply quite honestly that there was no danger of her marrying him． He had transferred his affections to a Miss King， who had re－ cently inherited ten thousand pounds． Elizabeth saw exactly what was happening，but her heart had only been slightly touched，and she was able to convince herself that it was quite natural for such an agreeable young man to wish for fortune and independence．
January and February passed， and the time for Elizabeth's visit to Mr and Mrs Collins approached．She had improved the plan， by arranging to spend a night in London at her uncle and aunt's house，before continuing the journey into Kent． She was very much looking forward to seeing Jane，who was still stay－ ing with the Gardiners．
The journey seemed long to Elizabeth，because Sir William and Maria had nothing to say worth hearing．But when the coach arrived at the Gardiners house’ at lunch－time，Elizabeth was delighted to see that her sister looked as healthy and lovely as before． In a private conversation with her aunt later， howev－ er， Elizabeth discovered that Jane had been suffering from peri－ ods of depression， although she always tried bravely to appear cheerful．
The afternoon and evening passed only too quickly， and the next day Elizabeth and the other travellers set off again．When the coach arrived in Hunsford， they were all quite excited to see，on one side of the road，Lady Catherine's great park， which they had heard so much about． At last， on the other side， they came to the Rectory， where they were warmly wel－ comed by Mr Collins and Charlotte．
Elizabeth was more and more pleased she had come， when she found herself so affectionately received．She saw instantly that marriage had not changed her cousin's manners． He in－ sisted on greeting them all with formal politeness and long speeches，and showed them round the house，explaining its many good points in exhausting detail．Elizabeth could not help thinking that perhaps he was speaking particularly