06-03-傲慢与偏见 [39]
to her，as if wishing to make her feel what she had lost in refusing him．But although everything seemed neat and comfortable， she was un－ able to please him with a sigh of regret． In fact， she wondered how Charlotte could look so cheerful， with such a companion． But whenever Mr Collins said anything of which his wife might be ashamed， which was quite often， Charlotte wisely did not appear to be listening．And when Mr Collins showed them proudly round his garden，in which he himself enjoyed working，Elizabeth admired the serious way in which Charlotte praised gardening as a most healthy exercise， and admitted en－ couraging her husband to work outdoors as much as possible．
Elizabeth had to confess to herself that， surprisingly，Char－ lotte really appeared to be happy．When Mr Collins could be forgotten， the house seemed very pleasant and comfortable，and from Charlotte's evident enjoyment of her home，Elizabeth supposed he must often be forgotten．
The visitors had only been in the house for a day when a message came form Lady Catherine，inviting them all to dinner at Rosings Park the next day． Mr Collins was delighted， and congratulated his guests on their good luck．‘I confess that I might have expected her ladyship to invite us all to drink tea at Rosings on Sunday，’he said．‘But to invite the whole party to dinner！So soon after your arrival，too！What a generous and considerate lady she is！’
The whole of the rest of that day and the next morning were spent discussing their visit to Rosings．This made Sir William and Maria quite nervous when the moment came to walk across the park and enter the great lady's house．Elizabeth，however， was unimpressed by what she had heard of Lady Catherine， and remained calm．
She was interested to see that Lady Catherine was a tall， large woman， who held herself stiffly and proudly， and received her guests with an air of disdain． She spoke loudly and decided－ ly on every matter， and was clearly convinced of her superiority over other people． Her daughter， Anne，was completely differ－ ent—a small， thin， ill－looking lady，who spoke very little， and only in a whisper．
The dinner was very good，and was highly praised by Mr Collins．His repeated compliments，which Elizabeth thought were embarrassing， appeared to please Lady Catherine very much． After dinner her ladyship talked continuously， giving her opinions without any fear of contradiction or even comment． She then asked Elizabeth many detailed questions about her ed－ ucation， her sisters，and her father's income．Although Eliza－ beth considered these questions extremely personal and almost rude，she answered them politely and calmly．At the end of the long evening，the visitors were driven home in Lady Catherine's carriage，while Mr Collins praised his patron for her elegance，intelligence and hospitality．
This visit was repeated twice a week，but there was little other entertainment in Hunsford． Elizabeth had pleasant con－ versations with Charlotte， or read books， or walked along a narrow path by Lady Catherine's park， which no one else seemed to use．It was a quiet life， but she was satisfied with it．
However， two weeks after her arrival in Hunsford， she heard that some visitors were coming to stay at Rosings．Lady Catherine's nephew， Mr Darcy， was expected soon， accompa－ nied by his cousin， Colonel Fitzwilliam．The next day， the two gentlemen arrived，and came almost immediately to the Rectory． Colonel Fitzwilliam was about thirty， not handsome， but very gentlemanly，and he talked pleasantly to the ladies．But Mr Darcy looked as cold and proud as ever， and after greeting Mrs Collins， spoke only a few stiffly polite words to Elizabeth． She took the opportunity of asking him if he had by any chance seen Jane in London recently， and thought he looked a little confused when he answered that he had not had that pleasure
Elizabeth had to confess to herself that， surprisingly，Char－ lotte really appeared to be happy．When Mr Collins could be forgotten， the house seemed very pleasant and comfortable，and from Charlotte's evident enjoyment of her home，Elizabeth supposed he must often be forgotten．
The visitors had only been in the house for a day when a message came form Lady Catherine，inviting them all to dinner at Rosings Park the next day． Mr Collins was delighted， and congratulated his guests on their good luck．‘I confess that I might have expected her ladyship to invite us all to drink tea at Rosings on Sunday，’he said．‘But to invite the whole party to dinner！So soon after your arrival，too！What a generous and considerate lady she is！’
The whole of the rest of that day and the next morning were spent discussing their visit to Rosings．This made Sir William and Maria quite nervous when the moment came to walk across the park and enter the great lady's house．Elizabeth，however， was unimpressed by what she had heard of Lady Catherine， and remained calm．
She was interested to see that Lady Catherine was a tall， large woman， who held herself stiffly and proudly， and received her guests with an air of disdain． She spoke loudly and decided－ ly on every matter， and was clearly convinced of her superiority over other people． Her daughter， Anne，was completely differ－ ent—a small， thin， ill－looking lady，who spoke very little， and only in a whisper．
The dinner was very good，and was highly praised by Mr Collins．His repeated compliments，which Elizabeth thought were embarrassing， appeared to please Lady Catherine very much． After dinner her ladyship talked continuously， giving her opinions without any fear of contradiction or even comment． She then asked Elizabeth many detailed questions about her ed－ ucation， her sisters，and her father's income．Although Eliza－ beth considered these questions extremely personal and almost rude，she answered them politely and calmly．At the end of the long evening，the visitors were driven home in Lady Catherine's carriage，while Mr Collins praised his patron for her elegance，intelligence and hospitality．
This visit was repeated twice a week，but there was little other entertainment in Hunsford． Elizabeth had pleasant con－ versations with Charlotte， or read books， or walked along a narrow path by Lady Catherine's park， which no one else seemed to use．It was a quiet life， but she was satisfied with it．
However， two weeks after her arrival in Hunsford， she heard that some visitors were coming to stay at Rosings．Lady Catherine's nephew， Mr Darcy， was expected soon， accompa－ nied by his cousin， Colonel Fitzwilliam．The next day， the two gentlemen arrived，and came almost immediately to the Rectory． Colonel Fitzwilliam was about thirty， not handsome， but very gentlemanly，and he talked pleasantly to the ladies．But Mr Darcy looked as cold and proud as ever， and after greeting Mrs Collins， spoke only a few stiffly polite words to Elizabeth． She took the opportunity of asking him if he had by any chance seen Jane in London recently， and thought he looked a little confused when he answered that he had not had that pleasure