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第124章（第1页）

Darcy，afterinquiringofherhowMr。andMrs。Gardinerdid，aquestionwhichshecouldnotanswerwithoutconfusion，saidscarcelyanything。Hewasnotseatedbyher;perhapsthatwasthereasonofhissilence;butithadnotbeensoinDerbyshire。Therehehadtalkedtoherfriends，whenhecouldnottoherself。Butnowseveralminuteselapsedwithoutbringingthesoundofhisvoice;andwhenoccasionally，unabletoresisttheimpulseofcuriosity，sheraisedhereyestohisface，sheasoftenfoundhimlookingatJaneasatherself，andfrequentlyonnoobjectbuttheground。Morethoughtfulnessandlessanxietytoplease，thanwhentheylastmet，wereplainlyexpressed。Shewasdisappointed，andangrywithherselfforbeingso。

“CouldIexpectittobeotherwise!”saidshe。“Yetwhydidhecome?”

Shewasinnohumourforconversationwithanyonebuthimself;andtohimshehadhardlycouragetospeak。

Sheinquiredafterhissister，butcoulddonomore。

“Itisalongtime，Mr。Bingley，sinceyouwentaway，”saidMrs。Bennet。

Hereadilyagreedtoit。

“Ibegantobeafraidyouwouldnevercomebackagain。PeopledidsayyoumeanttoquittheplaceentirelyatMichaelmas;but，however，Ihopeitisnottrue。Agreatmanychangeshavehappenedintheneighbourhood，sinceyouwentaway。MissLucasismarriedandsettled。Andoneofmyowndaughters。Isupposeyouhaveheardofit;indeed，youmusthaveseenitinthepapers。ItwasinTheTimesandTheCourier，Iknow;thoughitwasnotputinasitoughttobe。Itwasonlysaid，Lately，GeorgeWickham，Esq。toMissLydiaBennet，withouttherebeingasyllablesaidofherfather，ortheplacewhereshelived，oranything。ItwasmybrotherGardinersdrawinguptoo，andIwonderhowhecametomakesuchanawkwardbusinessofit。Didyouseeit?”

Bingleyrepliedthathedid，andmadehiscongratulations。Elizabethdarednotliftuphereyes。HowMr。Darcylooked，therefore，shecouldnottell。

“Itisadelightfulthing，tobesure，tohaveadaughterwellmarried，”continuedhermother，“butatthesametime，Mr。Bingley，itisveryhardtohavehertakensuchawayfromme。TheyaregonedowntoNewcastle，aplacequitenorthward，itseems，andtheretheyaretostay，Idonotknowhowlong。Hisregimentisthere;forIsupposeyouhaveheardofhisleavingthe—shire，andofhisbeinggoneintotheregulars。ThankHeaven!hehassomefriends，thoughperhapsnotsomanyashedeserves。”

Elizabeth，whoknewthistobelevelledatMr。Darcy，wasinsuchmiseryofshame，thatshecouldhardlykeepherseat。Itdrewfromher，however，theexertionofspeaking，whichnothingelsehadsoeffectuallydonebefore;andsheaskedBingleywhetherhemeanttomakeanystayinthecountryatpresent。Afewweeks，hebelieved。

“Whenyouhavekilledallyourownbirds，Mr。Bingley，”saidhermother，“Ibegyouwillcomehere，andshootasmanyasyoupleaseonMr。Bennetsmanor。Iamsurehewillbevastlyhappytoobligeyou，andwillsaveallthebestofthecoveysforyou。”

Elizabethsmiseryincreased，atsuchunnecessary，suchofficiousattention!Werethesamefairprospecttoariseatpresentashadflatteredthemayearago，everything，shewaspersuaded，wouldbehasteningtothesamevexatiousconclusion。Atthatinstant，shefeltthatyearsofhappinesscouldnotmakeJaneorherselfamendsformomentsofsuchpainfulconfusion。

“Thefirstwishofmyheart，”saidshetoherself，“isnevermoretobeincompanywitheitherofthem。Theirsocietycanaffordnopleasurethatwillatoneforsuchwretchednessasthis!Letmeneverseeeitheroneortheotheragain!”

Yetthemisery，forwhichyearsofhappinessweretooffernocompensation，receivedsoonafterwardsmaterialrelief，fromobservinghowmuchthebeautyofhersisterre-kindledtheadmirationofherformerlover。Whenfirsthecamein，hehadspokentoherbutlittle;buteveryfiveminutesseemedtobegivinghermoreofhisattention。Hefoundherashandsomeasshehadbeenlastyear;asgoodnatured，andasunaffected，thoughnotquitesochatty。Janewasanxiousthatnodifferenceshouldbeperceivedinheratall，andwasreallypersuadedthatshetalkedasmuchasever。Buthermindwassobusilyengaged，thatshedidnotalwaysknowwhenshewassilent。

Whenthegentlemenrosetogoaway，Mrs。Bennetwasmindfulofherintendedcivility，andtheywereinvitedandengagedtodineatLongbourninafewdaystime。

“Youarequiteavisitinmydebt，Mr。Bingley，”sheadded，“forwhenyouwenttotownlastwinter，youpromisedtotakeafamilydinnerwithus，assoonasyoureturned。Ihavenotforgot，yousee;andIassureyou，Iwasverymuchdisappointedthatyoudidnotcomebackandkeepyourengagement。”

Bingleylookedalittlesillyatthisreflection，andsaidsomethingofhisconcernathavingbeenpreventedbybusiness。Theythenwentaway。

Mrs。Bennethadbeenstronglyinclinedtoaskthemtostayanddinetherethatday;but，thoughshealwayskeptaverygoodtable，shedidnotthinkanythinglessthantwocoursescouldbegoodenoughforamanonwhomshehadsuchanxiousdesigns，orsatisfytheappetiteandprideofonewhohadtenthousandayear。