06-03-傲慢与偏见 [73]
She was disappointed，however，by the visit．Mr Darcy said scarcely anything to her，and appeared more thoughtful and less anxious to please than in Derbyshire．She wondered bitter- ly why he had come．In addition，she was highly embarrassed by her mother's behaviour．With flattering smiles Mrs Bennet concentrated all her conversation on Mr Bingley，while throw- ing the occasional unpleasant remark in Mr Darcy's direction． The only positive effect of the gentlemen's visit was the way in which Jane's charm and beauty appeared to excite Mr Bing- ley's admiration all over again，which Elizabeth was relieved and delighted to see．
The Bennet family did not see the two gentlemen again until Tuesday，when they came to dinner at Longbourn．It was a great pleasure to Elizabeth to watch Bingley sitting beside Jane，and talking happily to her，but this was the only enjoy- ment she gained from the party．Mr Darcy was unfortunately sitting a long way from her，next to Mrs Bennet．Elizabeth could see how seldom they spoke to each other，and how cold and formal their behaviour to each other was．She would have given anything to be able to tell him that his kindness was ap- preciated by at least one of the family．All through the long dinner，she desperately hoped there would be an opportunity for her to have some real conversation with him later．But the evening passed without any more than a short exchange of po- liteness between them，and Elizabeth lost all hope of immediate happiness．
Two days after this，Mr Bingley called at Longbourn House again．This time he was alone，as Mr Darcy had gone to Lon- don．He sat with the ladies for over an hour，talking cheerfully and agreeably to them．He came the next morning，and again in the evening．Mrs Bennet took every opportunity to leave him alone with Jane，by calling her other daughters out of the room for some reason or other．She was hoping to encourage him to propose，but in spite of her efforts Bingley remained charming， and agreeable，and unattached．
But on the third day Bingley came in the morning to go shooting with Mr Bennet．He stayed for lunch，and was still there in the evening．And when Elizabeth entered the sitting- room unexpectedly，to her surprise she saw Jane and Bingley standing close together near the fire．They turned hurriedly when they heard her，and moved awkwardly away from each other．Bingley whispered something to Jane，and ran out of the room．Jane could not keep her secret from her sister，and， kiss- ing her，cried，‘I am the happiest creature in the world！Oh， Lizzy！I do not deserve this！Why isn't everybody as happy as I am！’
Elizabeth congratulated her sister most warmly and sincerely．‘At last！’she thought．‘The end of all Mr Darcy's anxious advice！The end of all Caroline Bingley's lies and plans！The happiest，wisest，most reasonable end！’
‘I must go and tell my mother，’continued Jane，‘as he has just gone to ask my father's permission．Oh，Lizzy！What happiness！’
It was a joyful evening for all of them．Jane looked more beautiful than ever，and Bingley was clearly very much in love． Mrs Bennet could not say enough to describe her delight，al- though she talked of nothing else all evening，and Mr Bennet was evidently very pleased．
Before the two eldest sisters went to bed that night，Eliza- beth listened willingly to Jane's long description of Bingley's good qualities．At the end，Jane added，‘Oh，Lizzy！If only I could see you as happy as I am！If only there were another man like Bingley for you！’
‘Dear Jane，I can never be as happy as you，because I'm not as good as you．No，no，let me find my own husband．Perhaps， if I'm very lucky，I may meet another Mr Collins one day．’
The engagement was not kept a secret for very long．Mrs Bennet whispered the news to Mrs Philips，who told all her neighbours in Meryton．Everybody soon agreed that the Ben- nets