06-03-傲慢与偏见 [60]
． His housekeeper's opinion of him was totally favourable， and what praise is more valuable than the praise of an intelligent servant？ As she stood in front of his picture， she gratefully remembered the warmth of his feelings for her， and began to forget the way in which he had expressed them．
As they had now seen all the rooms which were open to the public， the housekeeper called the gardener， who was going to show them the park and gardens．They were just walking away from the house， when Elizabeth turned to have one last look，and saw the owner of Pemberley come suddenly forward from behind the house．
They were within twenty metres of each other， and Eliza-beth could not avoid his seeing her．Their eyes instantly met，and they both blushed． He appeared very surprised， but， recov-ering quickly，approached and spoke to Elizabeth，if not calmly， at least with perfect politeness． Astonished and con-fused，she received his greetings with embarrassment．Soon he could find no more to say， and left her to return to the house．Mr and Mrs Gardiner， who had been watching from a distance， expressed their admiration of his appearance， but Eliz-abeth could only think of her feelings． How unfortunate that she had come！She blushed again．It might seem as if she had planned this meeting with him．And his behaviour was so different！ Never before had she heard him speak so politely and so gently．What could it mean？
Her head full of these thoughts， she joined her uncle and aunt in their walk through the gardens．They were walking slowly beside an attractive stream， when they noticed Mr Dar-cy coming towards them． This time Elizabeth was able to con-trol herself better， and she returned his greetings politely． She hid a smile when he asked her to do him the honour of intro－ducing him to her friends， as she felt sure he was not expecting the well－mannered Gardiners to be some of her low－born rela－tions．He certainly seemed surprised when she introduced her uncle and aunt， but took care to talk for some time to Mr Gar－diner， with every appearance of interest．Elizabeth was delight－ed that these relations，at least，could not be criticized for their poor behaviour or lack of intelligence．On their way back to the house，Mr Darcy walked beside Elizabeth．There was a short si-lence before she spoke．
‘Your housekeeper informed us you would not arrive until tomorrow，so I had not expected to find you here．’
‘It is true．I came early on business．The rest of the party will be here tomorrow．Among them are Mr Bingley and his sisters， whom you know．’He continued after a pause，‘And there is one other person who particularly wishes to meet you．Will you allow me，or do I ask too much， to introduce my sister to you？’
Surprised but flattered by this great compliment，Elizabeth gave her permission． When they arrived at the house， Mr Darcy offered them some refreshment，but they politely refused．Mr Darcy helped the ladies into the carriage，and as it drove away from Pemberley，Elizabeth watched him walking slowly back towards the house．Mr and Mrs Gardiner were loud in their praise of him， but Elizabeth said very little．
The very next morning Mr Darcy brought his sister to visit Elizabeth and the Gardiners at the hotel in Lambton．Mr and Mrs Gardiner were astonished by the honour they were receiving， but Elizabeth's obvious embarrassment， and Darcy's haste in making the visit so immediately， soon provided them with an explanation．They observed their niece and Darcy care－fully during the visit， and could not doubt that the gentleman was in love， although they were not certain of the lady's feel－ings．
Elizabeth was delighted to discover that Georgiana Darcy，far from being proud，as Wickham had said，was just very shy，with quiet，gentle manners．It was clear that she greatly ad－mired her brother，and had every intention of liking Miss
As they had now seen all the rooms which were open to the public， the housekeeper called the gardener， who was going to show them the park and gardens．They were just walking away from the house， when Elizabeth turned to have one last look，and saw the owner of Pemberley come suddenly forward from behind the house．
They were within twenty metres of each other， and Eliza-beth could not avoid his seeing her．Their eyes instantly met，and they both blushed． He appeared very surprised， but， recov-ering quickly，approached and spoke to Elizabeth，if not calmly， at least with perfect politeness． Astonished and con-fused，she received his greetings with embarrassment．Soon he could find no more to say， and left her to return to the house．Mr and Mrs Gardiner， who had been watching from a distance， expressed their admiration of his appearance， but Eliz-abeth could only think of her feelings． How unfortunate that she had come！She blushed again．It might seem as if she had planned this meeting with him．And his behaviour was so different！ Never before had she heard him speak so politely and so gently．What could it mean？
Her head full of these thoughts， she joined her uncle and aunt in their walk through the gardens．They were walking slowly beside an attractive stream， when they noticed Mr Dar-cy coming towards them． This time Elizabeth was able to con-trol herself better， and she returned his greetings politely． She hid a smile when he asked her to do him the honour of intro－ducing him to her friends， as she felt sure he was not expecting the well－mannered Gardiners to be some of her low－born rela－tions．He certainly seemed surprised when she introduced her uncle and aunt， but took care to talk for some time to Mr Gar－diner， with every appearance of interest．Elizabeth was delight－ed that these relations，at least，could not be criticized for their poor behaviour or lack of intelligence．On their way back to the house，Mr Darcy walked beside Elizabeth．There was a short si-lence before she spoke．
‘Your housekeeper informed us you would not arrive until tomorrow，so I had not expected to find you here．’
‘It is true．I came early on business．The rest of the party will be here tomorrow．Among them are Mr Bingley and his sisters， whom you know．’He continued after a pause，‘And there is one other person who particularly wishes to meet you．Will you allow me，or do I ask too much， to introduce my sister to you？’
Surprised but flattered by this great compliment，Elizabeth gave her permission． When they arrived at the house， Mr Darcy offered them some refreshment，but they politely refused．Mr Darcy helped the ladies into the carriage，and as it drove away from Pemberley，Elizabeth watched him walking slowly back towards the house．Mr and Mrs Gardiner were loud in their praise of him， but Elizabeth said very little．
The very next morning Mr Darcy brought his sister to visit Elizabeth and the Gardiners at the hotel in Lambton．Mr and Mrs Gardiner were astonished by the honour they were receiving， but Elizabeth's obvious embarrassment， and Darcy's haste in making the visit so immediately， soon provided them with an explanation．They observed their niece and Darcy care－fully during the visit， and could not doubt that the gentleman was in love， although they were not certain of the lady's feel－ings．
Elizabeth was delighted to discover that Georgiana Darcy，far from being proud，as Wickham had said，was just very shy，with quiet，gentle manners．It was clear that she greatly ad－mired her brother，and had every intention of liking Miss