06-03-傲慢与偏见 [8]
it’ll rain heavily，my love！’And Jane had not been gone for long before it rained hard．Elizabeth was a little worried about her sister，but Mrs Bennet was delighted．‘What a good idea of mine that was！’she said more than once， extremely pleased with herself．
Not until the next morning，however，did she realize the full extent of her success．After breakfast a servant from Nether- field arrived with a note from Jane to Elizabeth，explaining that Jane had caught cold on her wet ride， and had been invited to stay at Netherfield until she recovered．
‘Well，my dear，’said Mr Bennet，‘if your daughter should become seriously ill and die， it would be a comfort to know that she died in a good cause， and in obedience to your orders．’
‘Oh， I'm not afraid of her dying．People don't die of colds．She’ll be looked after well at Netherfield．As long as she stays there， everything will be all right．’
But Elizabeth felt really anxious，and was determined to go to her sister．As the carriage was not available， and she was not keen on riding， she decided to walk the five kilometres to Netherfield．Kitty and Lydia accompanied her as far as Mery- ton， where they went to visit one of the officers’wives．Eliza- beth continued alone， crossing field after field and jumping im- patiently over streams， in her anxiety to see her sister．
When she arrived at Netherfield，with tired feet，muddy stockings and a face healthily pink with exercise， she was shown straight into the sitting-room． The two sisters， Miss Bingley and Mrs Hurst，could hardly believe that she had come so far alone and on foot in such bad weather， but they received her politely． Their brother， however， was more than polite： he was kind and considerate towards her．Mr Darcy said very little，hesitating between admiration of her healthy good looks and doubt whether she should have come such a distance alone．Mr Hurst said nothing at all，as he was thinking only of his breakfast．
Elizabeth was glad to be taken almost immediately to her sister's room， where she found Jane delighted to see her， but very feverish and unwell．The doctor came， and after examining his patient， advised that she should stay in bed and take some medicine．Elizabeth stayed with her all day，looking after her，and the Bingley sisters also spent some time in the patient's room．However，in the afternoon， when it was time for Eliza- beth to leave，Jane seemed so upset that Miss Bingley was obliged to invite Elizabeth to stay at Netherfield for the present，and a servant was sent to Longbourn to inform the Bennet family and bring back some clothes．
That evening Elizabeth went down to dinner，leaving Jane in bed in her room．She noticed the Bingley sisters’apparent con- cern for Jane change to indifference in a few moments， and knew she had been right to dislike them at first sight． Mr Bingley， indeed， was the only one of the group whose behaviour she was satisfied with． His anxiety for Jane was evident， and his politeness towards herself most pleasing． But the others， she felt， treated her as an unwelcome guest． Miss Bingley was con- centrating all her attention on Mr Darcy， and Mrs Hurst also joined in their conversation，while Mr Hurst was only interest- ed in eating， drinking and playing cards．
When Elizabeth left the room after dinner to see if Jane needed anything，Miss Bingley at once began to criticize her．
‘What bad manners she has！She's both proud， and lacking in politeness to her superiors！She has no conversation， no ele- gance and no beauty！’
Mrs Hurst agreed， and added，‘She has no good qualities，ex- cept that she's an excellent walker． I’ll never forget her ap- pearance this morning．She really looked almost wild．’
‘She did indeed，Louisa．How silly of her to come at all！Why must she run around the countryside，just because her sis-
Not until the next morning，however，did she realize the full extent of her success．After breakfast a servant from Nether- field arrived with a note from Jane to Elizabeth，explaining that Jane had caught cold on her wet ride， and had been invited to stay at Netherfield until she recovered．
‘Well，my dear，’said Mr Bennet，‘if your daughter should become seriously ill and die， it would be a comfort to know that she died in a good cause， and in obedience to your orders．’
‘Oh， I'm not afraid of her dying．People don't die of colds．She’ll be looked after well at Netherfield．As long as she stays there， everything will be all right．’
But Elizabeth felt really anxious，and was determined to go to her sister．As the carriage was not available， and she was not keen on riding， she decided to walk the five kilometres to Netherfield．Kitty and Lydia accompanied her as far as Mery- ton， where they went to visit one of the officers’wives．Eliza- beth continued alone， crossing field after field and jumping im- patiently over streams， in her anxiety to see her sister．
When she arrived at Netherfield，with tired feet，muddy stockings and a face healthily pink with exercise， she was shown straight into the sitting-room． The two sisters， Miss Bingley and Mrs Hurst，could hardly believe that she had come so far alone and on foot in such bad weather， but they received her politely． Their brother， however， was more than polite： he was kind and considerate towards her．Mr Darcy said very little，hesitating between admiration of her healthy good looks and doubt whether she should have come such a distance alone．Mr Hurst said nothing at all，as he was thinking only of his breakfast．
Elizabeth was glad to be taken almost immediately to her sister's room， where she found Jane delighted to see her， but very feverish and unwell．The doctor came， and after examining his patient， advised that she should stay in bed and take some medicine．Elizabeth stayed with her all day，looking after her，and the Bingley sisters also spent some time in the patient's room．However，in the afternoon， when it was time for Eliza- beth to leave，Jane seemed so upset that Miss Bingley was obliged to invite Elizabeth to stay at Netherfield for the present，and a servant was sent to Longbourn to inform the Bennet family and bring back some clothes．
That evening Elizabeth went down to dinner，leaving Jane in bed in her room．She noticed the Bingley sisters’apparent con- cern for Jane change to indifference in a few moments， and knew she had been right to dislike them at first sight． Mr Bingley， indeed， was the only one of the group whose behaviour she was satisfied with． His anxiety for Jane was evident， and his politeness towards herself most pleasing． But the others， she felt， treated her as an unwelcome guest． Miss Bingley was con- centrating all her attention on Mr Darcy， and Mrs Hurst also joined in their conversation，while Mr Hurst was only interest- ed in eating， drinking and playing cards．
When Elizabeth left the room after dinner to see if Jane needed anything，Miss Bingley at once began to criticize her．
‘What bad manners she has！She's both proud， and lacking in politeness to her superiors！She has no conversation， no ele- gance and no beauty！’
Mrs Hurst agreed， and added，‘She has no good qualities，ex- cept that she's an excellent walker． I’ll never forget her ap- pearance this morning．She really looked almost wild．’
‘She did indeed，Louisa．How silly of her to come at all！Why must she run around the countryside，just because her sis-