06-03-傲慢与偏见 [58]
be broken，’said Lydia．
‘If we could only go to Brighton！’said Mrs Bennet．‘I'm certain a little sea－bathing would be good for me．’
‘Oh yes！ But Papa is so disagreeable about it．’
Elizabeth tried not to listen， but could not help seeing the justice of Darcy's objections to her family．
But soon Lydia's bitterness changed to absolute delight，when she received an invitation from Colonel Forster's wife， to accompany her to Brighton with the regiment． Mrs Forster was a very young woman， only recently married， and as cheerful and sociable as Lydia， witn whom she had been friendly for two months． Poor Kitty was very upset at not being included in the invitation， but Lydia cared nothing for her sister's feelings． She ran wildly through the house， calling for everyone's congratulations， and laughing and talking more loudly than ever．
Elizabeth could not share her sister's happiness， and felt it was her duty to advise her father secretly to refuse permission for Lydia to go．But she could not convince him that Lydia would be in any real danger， and so all the arrangements were made for her sister's departure． Elizabeth thought her father was wrong，however， and was still worried about how Lydia would behave in an atmosphere of greater freedom， and among the temptations of a fashionable seaside town like Brighton．
Elizabeth had seen Mr Wickham regularly since her return from Kent， at family parties and visits． She no longer thought him so agreeable． As the rich Miss King had left Meryton to stay with her uncle， Mr Wickham appeared eager to transfer his affections back to Elizabeth． His confidence in his own charm and ability to please annoyed Elizabeth very much， so that when she met him for the last time before the regiment’ s departure， she spoke quite coldly to him． In reply to a polite question of his about her Hunsford visit， she could not stop herself mentioning her frequent meetings with Mr Darcy， and her favourable opinion of that gentleman's character． Wickham looked a little embarrassed，and made no further attempt to charm Elizabeth．They separated at last with mutual politeness， and possibly a mutual desire never to meet again．
When Lydia left for Brighton， Elizabeth had to put up with Mrs Bennet's and Kitty's constant complaints that Longbourn had become very dull． Fortunately， she was able to look for-ward to a trip which she would soon be taking with Mr and Mrs Gardiner．They had planned to visit the Lake District，but Mrs Gardiner had recently written to say that as her husband's business made it necessary to shorten their holiday to three weeks， they would not have time to visit the whole of the Lake District comfortably．Instead，she suggested visiting Derbyshire， an area with a particularly strong attraction for her， as she had spent a large part of her early life there．Eliza-beth was disappointed， but accepted the new plan at once．Al-though it was impossible to hear of Derbyshire without think－ing of Pemberley and its owner， she felt sure she could avoid meeting Mr Darcy there．
Four weeks later， Mr and Mrs Gardiner arrived at Long-bourn，where they had arranged to leave their children in Jane's care．The next day they set out with Elizabeth on their journey．The three of them made excellent travelling compan－ions，sharing an intelligent interest in the people and places they saw on their way， and a strong affection for each other．After visiting Oxford， Blenheim， Warwick， Kenilworth and Birmingham， they arrived in Derbyshire， and decided to stay in the small town of Lambton， where Mrs Gardiner had lived be-fore her marriage． Elizabeth discovered that Mr Darcy's house，Pemberley，was only eight kilometres away from Lambton．
‘I often used to go to Pemberley when I was younger，’said Mrs Gardiner．‘Wouldn't you like to see it，Lizzy？ We could go tomorrow．It's a beautiful place．Wickham
‘If we could only go to Brighton！’said Mrs Bennet．‘I'm certain a little sea－bathing would be good for me．’
‘Oh yes！ But Papa is so disagreeable about it．’
Elizabeth tried not to listen， but could not help seeing the justice of Darcy's objections to her family．
But soon Lydia's bitterness changed to absolute delight，when she received an invitation from Colonel Forster's wife， to accompany her to Brighton with the regiment． Mrs Forster was a very young woman， only recently married， and as cheerful and sociable as Lydia， witn whom she had been friendly for two months． Poor Kitty was very upset at not being included in the invitation， but Lydia cared nothing for her sister's feelings． She ran wildly through the house， calling for everyone's congratulations， and laughing and talking more loudly than ever．
Elizabeth could not share her sister's happiness， and felt it was her duty to advise her father secretly to refuse permission for Lydia to go．But she could not convince him that Lydia would be in any real danger， and so all the arrangements were made for her sister's departure． Elizabeth thought her father was wrong，however， and was still worried about how Lydia would behave in an atmosphere of greater freedom， and among the temptations of a fashionable seaside town like Brighton．
Elizabeth had seen Mr Wickham regularly since her return from Kent， at family parties and visits． She no longer thought him so agreeable． As the rich Miss King had left Meryton to stay with her uncle， Mr Wickham appeared eager to transfer his affections back to Elizabeth． His confidence in his own charm and ability to please annoyed Elizabeth very much， so that when she met him for the last time before the regiment’ s departure， she spoke quite coldly to him． In reply to a polite question of his about her Hunsford visit， she could not stop herself mentioning her frequent meetings with Mr Darcy， and her favourable opinion of that gentleman's character． Wickham looked a little embarrassed，and made no further attempt to charm Elizabeth．They separated at last with mutual politeness， and possibly a mutual desire never to meet again．
When Lydia left for Brighton， Elizabeth had to put up with Mrs Bennet's and Kitty's constant complaints that Longbourn had become very dull． Fortunately， she was able to look for-ward to a trip which she would soon be taking with Mr and Mrs Gardiner．They had planned to visit the Lake District，but Mrs Gardiner had recently written to say that as her husband's business made it necessary to shorten their holiday to three weeks， they would not have time to visit the whole of the Lake District comfortably．Instead，she suggested visiting Derbyshire， an area with a particularly strong attraction for her， as she had spent a large part of her early life there．Eliza-beth was disappointed， but accepted the new plan at once．Al-though it was impossible to hear of Derbyshire without think－ing of Pemberley and its owner， she felt sure she could avoid meeting Mr Darcy there．
Four weeks later， Mr and Mrs Gardiner arrived at Long-bourn，where they had arranged to leave their children in Jane's care．The next day they set out with Elizabeth on their journey．The three of them made excellent travelling compan－ions，sharing an intelligent interest in the people and places they saw on their way， and a strong affection for each other．After visiting Oxford， Blenheim， Warwick， Kenilworth and Birmingham， they arrived in Derbyshire， and decided to stay in the small town of Lambton， where Mrs Gardiner had lived be-fore her marriage． Elizabeth discovered that Mr Darcy's house，Pemberley，was only eight kilometres away from Lambton．
‘I often used to go to Pemberley when I was younger，’said Mrs Gardiner．‘Wouldn't you like to see it，Lizzy？ We could go tomorrow．It's a beautiful place．Wickham