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第126章（第1页）

Thegentlemencame;andshethoughthelookedasifhewouldhaveansweredherhopes;but，alas!theladieshadcrowdedroundthetable，whereMissBennetwasmakingtea，andElizabethpouringoutthecoffee，insocloseaconfederacythattherewasnotasinglevacancynearherwhichwouldadmitofachair。Andonthegentlemensapproaching，oneofthegirlsmovedclosertoherthanever，andsaid，inawhisper:

“Themenshantcomeandpartus，Iamdetermined。Wewantnoneofthem;dowe?”

Darcyhadwalkedawaytoanotherpartoftheroom。Shefollowedhimwithhereyes，enviedeveryonetowhomhespoke，hadscarcelypatienceenoughtohelpanybodytocoffee;andthenwasenragedagainstherselfforbeingsosilly!

“Amanwhohasoncebeenrefused!HowcouldIeverbefoolishenoughtoexpectarenewalofhislove?Isthereoneamongthesex，whowouldnotprotestagainstsuchaweaknessasasecondproposaltothesamewoman?Thereisnoindignitysoabhorrenttotheirfeelings!”

Shewasalittlerevived，however，byhisbringingbackhiscoffeecuphimself;andsheseizedtheopportunityofsaying:

“IsyoursisteratPemberleystill?”

“Yes，shewillremaintheretillChristmas。”

“Andquitealone?Haveallherfriendslefther?”

“Mrs。Annesleyiswithher。TheothershavebeengoneontoScarborough，thesethreeweeks。”

Shecouldthinkofnothingmoretosay;butifhewishedtoconversewithher，hemighthavebettersuccess。Hestoodbyher，however，forsomeminutes，insilence;and，atlast，ontheyoungladyswhisperingtoElizabethagain，hewalkedaway。

Whenthetea-thingswereremoved，andthecard-tablesplaced，theladiesallrose，andElizabethwasthenhopingtobesoonjoinedbyhim，whenallherviewswereoverthrownbyseeinghimfallavictimtohermothersrapacityforwhistplayers，andinafewmomentsafterseatedwiththerestoftheparty。Shenowlosteveryexpectationofpleasure。Theywereconfinedfortheeveningatdifferenttables，andshehadnothingtohope，butthathiseyesweresooftenturnedtowardshersideoftheroom，astomakehimplayasunsuccessfullyasherself。

Mrs。BennethaddesignedtokeepthetwoNetherfieldgentlementosupper;buttheircarriagewasunluckilyorderedbeforeanyoftheothers，andshehadnoopportunityofdetainingthem。

“Wellgirls，”saidshe，assoonastheywerelefttothemselves，“Whatsayyoutotheday?Ithinkeverythinghaspassedoffuncommonlywell，Iassureyou。ThedinnerwasaswelldressedasanyIeversaw。Thevenisonwasroastedtoaturn—andeverybodysaidtheyneversawsofatahaunch。ThesoupwasfiftytimesbetterthanwhatwehadattheLucaseslastweek;andevenMr。Darcyacknowledged，thatthepartridgeswereremarkablywelldone;andIsupposehehastwoorthreeFrenchcooksatleast。And，mydearJane，Ineversawyoulookingreaterbeauty。Mrs。Longsaidsotoo，forIaskedherwhetheryoudidnot。Andwhatdoyouthinkshesaidbesides?Ah!Mrs。Bennet，weshallhaveheratNetherfieldatlast。Shedidindeed。IdothinkMrs。Longisasgoodacreatureaseverlived—andherniecesareveryprettybehavedgirls，andnotatallhandsome:Ilikethemprodigiously。”

Mrs。Bennet，inshort，wasinverygreatspirits;shehadseenenoughofBingleysbehaviourtoJane，tobeconvincedthatshewouldgethimatlast;andherexpectationsofadvantagetoherfamily，wheninahappyhumour，weresofarbeyondreason，thatshewasquitedisappointedatnotseeinghimthereagainthenextday，tomakehisproposals。

“Ithasbeenaveryagreeableday，”saidMissBennettoElizabeth。“Thepartyseemedsowellselected，sosuitableonewiththeother。Ihopewemayoftenmeetagain。”

Elizabethsmiled。

“Lizzy，youmustnotdoso。Youmustnotsuspectme。Itmortifiesme。IassureyouthatIhavenowlearnttoenjoyhisconversationasanagreeableandsensibleyoungman，withouthavingawishbeyondit。Iamperfectlysatisfied，fromwhathismannersnoware，thatheneverhadanydesignofengagingmyaffection。Itisonlythatheisblessedwithgreatersweetnessofaddress，andastrongerdesireofgenerallypleasing，thananyotherman。”

“Youareverycruel，”saidhersister，“youwillnotletmesmile，andareprovokingmetoiteverymoment。”

“Howharditisinsomecasestobebelieved!”

“Andhowimpossibleinothers!”

“ButwhyshouldyouwishtopersuademethatIfeelmorethanIacknowledge?”

“ThatisaquestionwhichIhardlyknowhowtoanswer。Wealllovetoinstruct，thoughwecanteachonlywhatisnotworthknowing。Forgiveme;andifyoupersistinindifference，donotmakemeyourconfidante。”