06-03-傲慢与偏见 [59]
spent his youth there， you know．’
‘I—I am rather tired of large country houses，aunt，’said Elizabeth，forced to pretend．How dreadful it would be to meet Mr Darcy， while viewing his house！But when she asked a servant at the hotel one or two careful questions that evening， she was told that Mr Darcy was not at home at the moment．Greatly relieved， she felt able to agree to her aunt's sugges-tion， when it was repeated the next morning， and Mr Gardiner ordered a carriage immediately．
In a short time they entered the gates of Pemberley park，and drove through an extensive and beautiful wood．At the top of a hill they had their first view of Pemberley House，situated on the other side of a valley， with a line of high， wooded hills behind． The house was a large，handsome， stone building，which appeared to fit naturally into the scenery．Mr and Mrs Gardiner were warm in their admiration， and Elizabeth was de-lighted．At that moment she felt that to be mistress of Pember－ley might be worthwhile！
They drove up to the front door， and asked to be allowed to visit the house．The Pemberley housekeeper，a respectable，el－derly woman，showed them round．All the rooms were of a good size， and elegantly yet sensibly furnished．From every window there was an attractive view．Elizabeth began to admire the owner's taste in everything she saw．
‘And I might have been mistress of this place！’she thought．‘Instead of viewing these rooms as a stranger， I might be welcoming my uncle and aunt as visitors．But no，’she sud－denly remembered， ‘that could never be．I wouldn't have been able to invite my uncle and aunt，or any other of my vulgar family connections．’This was a lucky thought， which saved her from something like regret．
She longed to enquire of the housekeeper whether her mas-ter were really absent， but luckily her uncle asked the question instead．It was quite alarming to hear that Mr Darcy was ex－pected to arrive the next day， with a large group of friends．How glad Elizabeth was that their own journey had not been delayed a day！
Mr and Mrs Gardiner were enjoying their conversation with the housekeeper， who seemed content to talk about her master．
‘Mr Darcy is a very handsome gentleman， as you will see from the painting upstairs．His sister is most attractive too，and so accomplished！She plays and sings the whole day．My master has just sent a new piano from London for her． He's such a kind brother，he’ll do anything for Miss Georgiana．’
‘Does Mr Darcy spend much time at Pemberley？’asked Mr Gardiner．
‘Not as much as I'd like， sir．’
‘If your master married，he might spend more time here！’
‘Yes，sir， but I don't know when that’ll be． I don't know who is good enough for him．’Mr and Mrs Gardiner smiled，and Elizabeth listened with increasing astonishment as the housekeeper continued．‘It's no more than the truth．Every-body who knows him says the same． He's never spoken a cross word to me， and I've known him since he was a baby． Some people call him proud， but I've never seen any of that． He's the best master that ever lived．’
Elizabeth almost stared at her．‘Can this be Mr Darcy？’she wondered．This was the most extraordinary praise for the man she had always thought so disagreeable and proud， especially with people he considered inferior to himself．She longed to hear more， but now the housekeeper was leading them upstairs．Soon Elizabeth found herself in front of the painting of Mr Darcy．He was smiling at her， just as she remembered him smiling sometimes when he looked at her． She looked at the picture silently for several minutes before going downstairs with the others．At that moment Elizabeth certainly felt more warmly towards Mr Darcy than at any time since their first meeting．She was beginning to realize that she had underestimated his character
‘I—I am rather tired of large country houses，aunt，’said Elizabeth，forced to pretend．How dreadful it would be to meet Mr Darcy， while viewing his house！But when she asked a servant at the hotel one or two careful questions that evening， she was told that Mr Darcy was not at home at the moment．Greatly relieved， she felt able to agree to her aunt's sugges-tion， when it was repeated the next morning， and Mr Gardiner ordered a carriage immediately．
In a short time they entered the gates of Pemberley park，and drove through an extensive and beautiful wood．At the top of a hill they had their first view of Pemberley House，situated on the other side of a valley， with a line of high， wooded hills behind． The house was a large，handsome， stone building，which appeared to fit naturally into the scenery．Mr and Mrs Gardiner were warm in their admiration， and Elizabeth was de-lighted．At that moment she felt that to be mistress of Pember－ley might be worthwhile！
They drove up to the front door， and asked to be allowed to visit the house．The Pemberley housekeeper，a respectable，el－derly woman，showed them round．All the rooms were of a good size， and elegantly yet sensibly furnished．From every window there was an attractive view．Elizabeth began to admire the owner's taste in everything she saw．
‘And I might have been mistress of this place！’she thought．‘Instead of viewing these rooms as a stranger， I might be welcoming my uncle and aunt as visitors．But no，’she sud－denly remembered， ‘that could never be．I wouldn't have been able to invite my uncle and aunt，or any other of my vulgar family connections．’This was a lucky thought， which saved her from something like regret．
She longed to enquire of the housekeeper whether her mas-ter were really absent， but luckily her uncle asked the question instead．It was quite alarming to hear that Mr Darcy was ex－pected to arrive the next day， with a large group of friends．How glad Elizabeth was that their own journey had not been delayed a day！
Mr and Mrs Gardiner were enjoying their conversation with the housekeeper， who seemed content to talk about her master．
‘Mr Darcy is a very handsome gentleman， as you will see from the painting upstairs．His sister is most attractive too，and so accomplished！She plays and sings the whole day．My master has just sent a new piano from London for her． He's such a kind brother，he’ll do anything for Miss Georgiana．’
‘Does Mr Darcy spend much time at Pemberley？’asked Mr Gardiner．
‘Not as much as I'd like， sir．’
‘If your master married，he might spend more time here！’
‘Yes，sir， but I don't know when that’ll be． I don't know who is good enough for him．’Mr and Mrs Gardiner smiled，and Elizabeth listened with increasing astonishment as the housekeeper continued．‘It's no more than the truth．Every-body who knows him says the same． He's never spoken a cross word to me， and I've known him since he was a baby． Some people call him proud， but I've never seen any of that． He's the best master that ever lived．’
Elizabeth almost stared at her．‘Can this be Mr Darcy？’she wondered．This was the most extraordinary praise for the man she had always thought so disagreeable and proud， especially with people he considered inferior to himself．She longed to hear more， but now the housekeeper was leading them upstairs．Soon Elizabeth found herself in front of the painting of Mr Darcy．He was smiling at her， just as she remembered him smiling sometimes when he looked at her． She looked at the picture silently for several minutes before going downstairs with the others．At that moment Elizabeth certainly felt more warmly towards Mr Darcy than at any time since their first meeting．She was beginning to realize that she had underestimated his character