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5 Mr Collins proposes twice
At Longbourn the next day，soon after breakfast，Mr Collins asked Mrs Bennet for permission to speak pri- vately to Elizabeth Mrs Bennet was delighted，and hurried the other girls out of the room，so that Elizabeth and Mr Collins were left alone together．Elizabeth did not want to stay，and got up to leave，but after a moment's thought，sat down again quietly，determined to listen and reply politely．
‘My dear Miss Elizabeth，said Mr Collins seriously，‘this little unwillingness to hear me，this modesty of yours，can only add to your other charms．You can hardly doubt the purpose of my speech．Almost as soon as I entered the house，I chose you as the companion of my future life．But before I am carried away by my feelings，I think I should state my reasons for marrying．
Elizabeth was trying so hard not to laugh at the idea of Mr Collins being carried away by his feelings that she was unable to reply．
‘First，’he continued，‘it is right for a priest to marry，as an example to other people Secondly，I'm sure marriage will add greatly to my happiness，and thirdly，which perhaps I should have mentioned earlier，my generous patron has advised me to marry．“Find an active，useful sort of person，”she told me，“a woman who can make a small income go a long way．Bring her to Hunsford as your wife，and I’ll visit her．”So I decided to choose a wife from among my Bennet cousins，to lessen the loss to the family when the sad event of your father's death takes place．I flatter myself that you will appreciate my motives．And now，nothing remains but to convince you of the violence of my affection．I am quite indifferent to the fact that you bring little money with you into our marringe，and promise you that I shall make no ungenerous reference to this after we are married．’
It was absolutely necessary to interrupt him now．
‘Sir，you forget I have given no answer．Accept my thanks for the compliment you are paying me，but it is impossible for me to accept your proposal．’
‘Of course I understand，’said Mr Collins，‘that young ladies often do not accept a proposal of marriage the first time． I am therefore not at all discouraged，and sincerely hope we shall be married soon．’
‘Sir，’cried Elizabeth，‘your hope is rather extraordinary after what I've said！I am perfectly serious．You could not make me happy，and I'm convinced I'm the last woman in the world who would make you happy．And I'm sure that if Lady Catherine knew me，she would find me poorly qualified for the situation．’
‘If I knew Lady Catherine thought so—’began Mr Collins，looking very worried．‘But I cannot imagine she would disapprove of you．And when I have the honour of seeing her again，I shall certainly tell her how modest，economical and practical you are．’
‘Indeed，Mr Collins，all praise of me will be unnecessary． Pay me the compliment of believing what I say．I hope you will be very happy and very rich，but I cannot accept your proposal．’She got up and was going to leave the room，but Mr Collins was speaking to her again．
‘I am far from accusing you of cruelty in refusing me，as I know it is the custom with elegant ladies in society to refuse a gentleman the first time．I hope to receive a more favourable answer next time I speak to you of marriage．’
‘Really，Mr Collins，’cried Elizabeth with some warmth，‘you do puzzle me！I do not know how to express my refusal so that it convinces you！’
‘You must allow me to flatter myself，dear cousin，that you do not intend to refuse me for long．My situation in life，my connections with the de Bourgh family，and my relationship to your own，all make my proposal a very suitable one．And you should remember that in spite of your many admirable qualities，it is not certain that you will receive any other offer of marriage，as you have very little money of your own．’
‘Sir，thank you again for the honour you have done me，but to accept your proposal is absolutely impossible．Can I speak plainer than that？Don't think of me as an elegant female，but as a thinking creature speaking the truth from her heart！’
‘You are charming！he cried，‘and I'm sure that when both your excellent parents agree，you will accept my proposal！’
Elizabeth did not reply，but left the room silently，deter- mined to ask her father，if necessary，to make her refusal clear to the self-deceiving Mr Collins．
Mrs Bennet had been waiting eagerly for the end of the in- terview，and when she saw Elizabeth leave the room，she hur- ried in to offer her congratulations to Mr Collins．He received them with pleasure，adding that he was sure his cousin's re- fusal was a natural result of her modesty and delicacy of char- acter．
‘Refusal？’repeated Mrs Bennet，shocked．‘Lizzy refused you？Do not worry，Mr Collins．I shall speak to her at once． She's a very obstinate，foolish girl，but I’ll make her accept you．
‘Pardon me，madam，’cried Mr Collins，‘but if she's really obstinate and foolish，I do not think she would be a suitable wife for a man in my situation．’
‘Sir，you quite misunderstand me，’said Mrs Bennet， alarmed．‘She's only obstinate in a matter like this．In every- thing else she is very agreeable．I’ll see Mr Bennet and we’ll arrange it with her，I'm sure．’
She did not give him time to reply，but hurried to the library，where she knew she would find her husband．
‘Oh，Mr Bennet，we need you urgently！We're all in such confusion！You must come and make Lizzy marry Mr Collins！’
Mr Bennet raised his eyes from his book as she entered，and stared at her with calm unconcern、‘I do not have the pleasure of understanding you，’he said．‘What are you talking about？’
‘Lizzy declares she won't have him，and if you don't hurry， he’ll change his mind and not have her．’
‘So what should I do？It seems a hopeless business．’
‘Speak to her about yourself．Tell her you insist on her marrying him．’
‘Call her in here．She shall hear my opinion．’
Mrs Bennet gladly rang the bell，and the servant brought Elizabeth into the library．
‘Come here，child，said her father as she appeared．‘I've sent for you on a very important matter．I understand that Mr Collins has made you an offer of marriage，and you have re- fused？’When Elizabeth nodded，he continued，Very well． Now，your mother insists on your accepting．Isn't that right， Mrs Bennet？’
‘Yes，or I’ll never see her again．’
‘You now have an unhappy choice to make，Elizabeth．From this day on，you must be a stranger to one of your parents． Your mother will never see you again if you do not marry Mr Collins，and I will never see you again if you do．’
Elizabeth could not help smiling，but Mrs Bennet，who had been sure her husband supported her，was very disappointed．
‘What do you mean，Mr Bennet？You promised me you would insist on her marrying him．’
‘My dear，’replied her husband，‘I have two small requests to make．First，that you will accept that I know what Ipromised or did not promise，and secondly，that you will all leave me in peace as soon as possible．’
That afternoon，Charlotte Lucas came to visit Elizabeth，and found the family still in great confusion．The younger girls were quite excited by the news of Mr Collins’proposal，and Mrs Bennet was most annoyed with Elizabeth．
‘Oh dear Miss Lucas，’cried Mrs Bennet，can't you per- suade Elizabeth to accept Mr Collins？Nobody else wants to help me！Oh，how ill I feel！And look at Lizzy now！She's so unconcerned！But I tell you，Miss Lizzy，if you go on refusing every offer of marriage like this，you’ll never get a husband at all！And I won't be able to provide for you when your father is dead，I warn you now．I told you in the library that I wouldn't speak to you again，and I won't．I have no pleasure in talking to an undutiful child like you．Not that I have much pleasure in talking to anybody，with my headaches．Nobody knows how I suffer！But of course those who do not complain are never pitied．’
Her daughters listened in silence，aware that any attempt to calm her would only increase her annoyance．Elizabeth，howev- er，was determined not to marry Mr Collins，and in the end Mrs Bennet was obliged to accept that fact．When Mr Collins realized that Elizabeth had meant what she said，his manner to- wards her became coldly and stiffly polite．His long speeches and flattering compliments were transferred for the rest of the day to kind Charlotte Lucas，who took on herself the trouble of listening to him，for which all the Bennets were very grateful．
The next day a letter was delivered to Jane from Netherfield Elizabeth saw her sister's expression change as she read it，and when they were alone，she asked about it．
‘It's from Caroline Bingley，’said Jane，‘and it has sur- prised me very much．The whole party have left Netherfield， and are on their way back to London，probably for the winter． They may not return to Netherfield at all．She says the only thing she sincerely regrets is leaving me behind in Hertford- shire，and promises！to write very frequently．’
Elizabeth did not trust Miss Bingley's apparent affection for Jane．‘I really don't think their departure matters very much，she said．‘Mr Bingley won't be kept in London by his sisters．I'm sure he’ll be back at Netherfield soon．’
‘But perhaps he prefers to stay in London，where many of his friends are．But I haven't told you everything yet．Let me read you the part which particularly hurts me—’
Mr Darcy is impatient to see his sister，and we confess we are also eager to see her again Nobody is more beautiful，el- egant or accomplished than Georgiana Darcy．Louisa and I have great affection for her，and hope one day to call her sis- ter．My brother admires her very much．He will have frequent opportunities of seeing her，and although I am his sister I must say I think he is most capable of winning any woman's heart．
‘What do you think of this，dear Lizzy？Isn't it clear enough？ Caroline doesn't wish or expect me to become her sister-in- law；she's convinced of her brother's indifference towards me， and，perhaps because she suspects my feelings for him，she （most kindly！）warns me that he's very likely to marry some- one else！’
‘I have a totally different opinion．Miss Bingley sees her brother is in love with you，while she wants him to marry Miss Darcy．We aren't rich enough or grand enough for them，and she is eager to have a family connection with the Darcys，so that it may be easier for her to marry Mr Darcy．So she follows her brother to London，hoping to keep him there，and tries to persuade you he doesn't care about you．But of course he's in love with you！’
‘I really can't agree with you about Caroline．I think she's incapable of deceiving anyone．But Lizzy，my dear sister，even if she's wrong about her brother，and he does care for me，could I be happy in accepting a man whose sisters and friends all wish him to marry someone else？’
‘You must decide for yourself，and if you consider it more important to do what his sisters want，than to gain the happi- ness of being his wife，I certainly advise you to refuse him．’
‘How can you say that？’said Jane，smiling a little．‘You know I wouldn't hesitate，although I'd be sad if they disapproved of me．But，oh dear，if he doesn't come back to Netherfield，I’ll never have to make the decision！’
But Elizabeth was sure Mr Bingley could not be kept away from Jane by his sisters，and soon persuaded Jane to take a more hopeful view of the situation．
That day the Bennets，with Mr Collins，went to dinner with the Lucas family at Lucas Lodge．Again it was Charlotte who spent most of the evening listening to Mr Collins．Elizabeth was very relieved，and thanked her friend gratefully for the trouble she was taking．But Charlotte's kindness had a particu- lar aim，which Elizabeth was unaware of．Her plan was to en- courage Mr Collins to transfer his attentions to herself．In fact， she was managing so well that，when she said goodnight to him after dinner，she would have felt sure of success if he had been staying in Hertfordshire for another week．But she did not fully appreciate the fire and independence of his character，which caused him to get up very early the next morning and escape from Longbourn House，in a great hurry to reach Lucas Lodge and throw himself at her feet．She did not keep him waiting for an answer，and the happy couple found themselves engaged as quickly as Mr Collins’long speeches would allow．
Charlotte's parents were delighted to agree to the marriage， and Lady Lucas began to work out，with more interest than she had ever felt before，how many more years Mr Bennet was likely to live．Charlotte herself was quite satisfied．Mr Collins， certainly，was neither sensible nor agreeable，but still he would be a husband．She did not think highly of men or of marriage， but she had always intended to marry．Although marriage might not always bring happiness，it was the only honourable way in which a well－educated woman with little income could provide a home for herself． Now twenty－seven， and lacking beauty， she felt she was lucky to have found a husband．
She knew，however，that Elizabeth，whose friendship she greatly valued， would be astonished and possibly disapproving． So she decided to go to Longbourn House to tell her friend the news herself． Elizabeth was indeed shocked at first， and could not help crying out in surprise， but when Charlotte explained her reasons for accepting Mr Collins， Elizabeth tried hard to understand．When the rest of the Bennet family heard the news，they were also astonished．Mrs Bennet was quite horrified， and could not stop complaining bitterly about Charlotte's wickedness， Mr Collins'stupidity and Elizabeth's obstinacy． Mr Bennet was much calmer， only saying he was pleased to discover that Charlotte， whom he used to consider quite sensible， was as foolish as his wife， and more foolish than his daugh－ter！
That day was Mr Collins’last at Longbourn，and he left with many speeches of thanks， as well as a promise to return very soon．Mr Bennet warned him to be careful not to offend his patron， by being absent from his duties too often，but Mr Collins，although extremely grateful for this sign of Mr Bennet's cousinly affection for him， was naturally eager to return to Hertfordshire， to see his future wife．
Only two weeks later he did，in fact，come back to stay at Longbourn， but spent most of his time at Lucas Lodge， making arrangements for the wedding．Mrs Bennet still felt very offended by him， but she was now becoming anxious about something even more important—Mr Bingley's continued absence． Day after day had passed with no news since the arrival of Car－ oline Bingley’ s letter． Elizabeth was now rather worried， and Jane feared the worst．Finally a second letter arrived from Caroline Bingley， and when Jane read it， she realized that all hope was over． The Bingley family were staying in London for the whole winter，and Georgiana Darcy was a frequent member of their circle． Miss Bingley boasted joyfully of this friendship， and looked forward to her brother's probable marriage to Miss Darcy．
Although she was deeply upset， Jane bravely tried to control her feelings．‘Do not worry，Lizzy，I shall be able to forget him in a while． I have nothing to complain of， as he made no promises to me． I just thought he cared for me， but I was wrong． Luckily， no one is hurt except myself．’
‘My dear Jane！’ said Elizabeth．‘You are too good．You al－ ways think the best of everybody．Now I think the worst of most people， and do not see much real value or common sense around me． Mr Bingley， for example． He may not be intending to hurt you， but misery can be caused by someone being just weak and indecisive．I'm convinced his sisters and his friend， Mr Darcy， are trying to influence him against you．Another ex－ ample is Charlotte．I can't understand how she could agree to marry such a self－important， proud， silly man！’
‘Dear Lizzy，’said Jane，‘we must respect Charlotte's deci－ sion．She may well be happy with Mr Collins．And as for Mr Bingley，we shouldn't expect a sociable young man to be so careful of his behaviour．Women often imagine admiration means more than it really does．’
‘And men want that to happen．’
‘I prefer to believe that I was mistaken in thinking he cared for me， and that his sisters love him and approve of his wish to marry Miss Darcy．I don't want to think badly of him or his sisters．That would be worse than anything．’
Elizabeth had to accept Jane's wishes， and from then on，Mr Bingley's name was seldom mentioned between them．
5 柯林斯先生两次求婚
第二天在浪搏恩，吃过早饭后不久，柯林斯先生请求班纳特太太允许他和伊丽莎白单独谈谈。班纳特太太满心欢喜，赶紧把其他几位姑娘轰出门去，这样伊丽莎白和柯林斯先生就可以单独在一起了。伊丽莎白不想呆在这儿，起身要走，但稍加思索之后，又静静地坐了下来，下决心听下去并作出有礼貌的回答。
“我亲爱的伊丽莎白小姐，”柯林斯先生很严肃地说，“你稍许的推却、你的怕羞害臊更增添了你的天生丽质。你对我说话的用意不会有什么疑问。我差不多一进门，就把你选做我的终生伴侣。不过，在我被感情冲昏头脑之前，我想我应当先陈述一下结婚的理由。”
听到柯林斯先生所谓的被感情冲昏头脑，伊丽莎白使劲地憋住才没有笑出声来，以至于未能答出话来。
“首先，”他继续道，“牧师应当结婚，以便给他人树立良好榜样。其二，我相信婚姻会大大促进我的个人幸福。其三，这一条也许应当早点提，就是我的慷慨的保护人建议我结婚。‘找一个活泼有用的女人，’她告诉我，‘一个能勤俭持家、细水长流的女人。把她娶到汉斯福，然后我去拜访她。’于是，我决定从班纳特家表妹中选一个做妻子，以便减轻一下令尊不幸过世后家庭所蒙受的损失。我自以为你能赞赏我的动机。现在，我没别的可说了，剩下的就是让你相信我感情的冲动了。我们结婚你没有什么嫁妆财物，我一点都不嫌弃，并向你保证，结婚后决不会小气地向你提起此事。”
现在非打断他的话不可了。
“先生，你忘了我还没有回答你。你对我的恭维，我表示感谢，但是，接受你的求婚是不可能的。”
“我当然理解，”柯林斯先生说，“年轻的小姐遇到求婚时第一次通常不接受。因此，我一点都不气馁，并真切地希望我们不久就会结婚。”
“先生，”伊丽莎白嚷道，“我拒绝你以后你的希望真是太不同寻常了！我的话是完全严肃的。你不会使我幸福，在这个世界上，我也是最不可能给你幸福的人。而且我相信，如果凯瑟琳夫人认识我，她会发现我做你妻子不合格。”
“我要是知道凯瑟琳夫人这么想——”柯林斯先生又开口道，看起来有点担忧。“可是难以想象她会不满意你。我下次有幸再见到她时，一定会告诉她你多么谦虚，多么勤俭，多么实际。”
“柯林斯先生，说实话，对我的一切称赞都是没必要的。相信我说的话才是对我的恭维。我希望你十分幸福，十分富有，但是我不能接受你的求婚。”她起身正要离开房间，可是柯林斯先生又对她说话了。
“你残酷地拒绝了我，我一点也不责怪你，因为我知道社会上高雅的小姐总是习惯于第一次拒绝先生的求婚。我希望下次同你谈起婚姻大事时能给我一个肯定的答覆。”
“柯林斯先生，”伊丽莎白有些激动地嚷道，“你真使我迷惑不解！我不知道如何表示拒绝你才能相信！”
“亲爱的表妹，我的理解是你不会长时间拒绝我的，你应当容许我这样想。我的地位，我与德·包尔家的关系以及我与你们家的关系都使得我的求婚十分合适。并且你要记住，虽然你有很多品质令人钦佩，但你能不能得到别人的求爱，还不敢肯定，因为你自己一贫如洗。”
“先生，再次感谢你对我的垂青，但是接受你的求婚是绝对不可能的。我还能说得比这更清楚吗？不要把我看成高雅的女性，把我看成一个能从心底说真话的会思考的人吧！”
“你真有魅力！”他叫道，“我相信，当你尊敬的父母都同意后，你也会接受我的求婚的！”
伊丽莎白没有回答，而是默默地离开了房间，决心去请父亲（如果有必要的话）把她的意思向这个自欺欺人的柯林斯先生说清楚。
班纳特太太一直在热切地期待着会面的结束，她看到伊丽莎白出来以后，赶忙进屋向柯林斯先生表示祝贺。他十分高兴地接受了祝贺，并补充说，他肯定表妹的拒绝是谦虚和矜持的自然结果。
“拒绝？”班纳特太太重复道，大吃一惊。“丽萃拒绝了你？柯林斯先生，别担心，我马上跟她说。她很固执，很愚蠢，可是我一定让她接受。”
“对不起，夫人，”柯林斯先生叫道，“如果她真是又固执又愚蠢，那我想她做我这样的人的妻子也不合适。”
“先生，你过于误解了我，”班纳特太太说道，感到惊慌失措。“只在这种事情上她才固执，别的事她都很随和。我去找班纳特先生，我们俩把这件事包了，我有把握。”
她没有等他回答，而是急匆匆奔向书房，她知道在那儿肯定会找到丈夫。
“噢，班纳特先生，我们十万火急，需要你帮忙！都乱套了！你必须过来让丽萃嫁给柯林斯先生！”
她进来后，班纳特先生从书上抬起眼皮，漠不关心地望着她。“对不起，我没听懂你的话。”他说。“你在说什么？”
“丽萃表示她不要柯林斯先生，如果你不快点，他也就改变主意，不要她了。”
“那我应当怎么办呢？看来这事没指望了。”
“你亲自跟她谈谈。告诉她你非要她嫁给他不可。”
“叫她过来。她会听从我的意见的。”
班纳特太太高兴地拉响了铃，仆人把伊丽莎白带到了书房。
“过来，孩子，”父亲一见她便说。“我叫你过来有件要紧的事情。我听说柯林斯先生向你求婚，你拒绝了？”伊丽莎白点了点头，父亲接着说：“很好。现在，你妈妈非让你接受不可。是吧，班纳特太太？”
“是的，否则，我后半辈子不再见她。”
“伊丽莎白，现在你面临着一个不愉快的抉择。从今天开始，你不和母亲成为陌路人，就要和父亲成为陌路人了。你要是不嫁给柯林斯先生，你妈妈就不会再见你；你要是嫁给他，我就不会再见你。”
伊丽莎白禁不住笑了，班纳特太太本来十拿九稳丈夫会支持她，可是现在感到很失望。
“你这是什么意思，班纳特先生？你答应过我你会迫使伊丽莎白嫁给他的。”
“亲爱的，”丈夫回答道，“我有两个小小的请求。首先，我答应过什么，没答应过什么，我心里清楚，这一点请你接受。第二，你们都赶快离开，让我清静一会儿。”
那天下午，夏洛特·卢卡斯来看伊丽莎白，发现全家还是乱哄哄的。几个小女儿都为柯林斯先生求婚的消息感到激动不已，而班纳特太太为伊丽莎白窝了一肚子火。
“噢，亲爱的卢卡斯小姐，”班纳特太太叫道，“你能不能说服伊丽莎白接受柯林斯先生？没有一个人愿意帮助我！噢，我真难过！你瞧那丽萃！像没事人似的！不过我告诉你，丽萃小姐，如果你继续拒绝这样的求婚，你根本就找不到丈夫！你父亲死后我也不能养活你，我警告你。我在书房告诉过你，我再也不会理你，我说到做到。跟你这样的不孝之女说话，我感到难受。我不是说跟别人说话就高兴，我的头疼。没人知道我受多大罪！当然，不抱怨就永远得不到怜悯。”
几个女儿一言不发地听着，都知道，安慰她等于火上浇油。可是，伊丽莎白下定了决心不和柯林斯先生结婚；最后，班纳特太太不得不接受这样的事实。柯林斯先生认识到伊丽莎白说话算数后，他对她的态度就变得冷若冰霜、敬而远之了。他的长篇大论和吹捧恭维之辞在这天剩下的时间里都转移到了好心的夏洛特·卢卡斯身上。卢卡斯小姐不厌其烦地听他啰嗦，班纳特全家对此都很感激。
第二天，从尼日斐给简送来了一封信。伊丽莎白看到姐姐读着信脸色变了，别人都走了以后，她问姐姐是怎么回事。
“是卡罗琳·彬格莱的来信，”简说，“我感到很奇怪。那些人全部离开了尼日斐，正在返回伦敦的路上，可能去过冬。他们可能不会再来尼日斐了。她说她唯一感到真切遗憾的是把我丢到了哈福德郡，并答应经常给我写信。”
伊丽莎白不相信彬格莱小姐对简的明显偏爱。“其实我觉得他们离开没有什么大不了的，”她说。“彬格莱先生不会被他的妹妹困在伦敦的。我相信他不久就会回到尼日斐。”
“但是，也许他更愿意留在伦敦，他的很多朋友都在那儿。我还没有给你讲完呢。我给你读一下最令我伤心的那一段——”
达西先生迫不及待地要见他的妹妹，我们承认我们也渴望再次见到她。没有人比乔治安娜·达西更漂亮、优雅、多才多艺了。露易莎和我对她很有感情，希望有一天能以姐妹相称。我哥哥十分爱慕她，他们有频繁的见面机会，我虽然是他的妹妹，可是，我得承认，我哥哥最能博得所有女人的欢心。
“你觉得这是什么意思，亲爱的丽萃？这还不够清楚吗？卡罗琳不愿意或者不期望我做她的嫂子；她深信她哥哥对我没有一点感情，而且；也许因为怀疑我爱上了她哥哥，便（十分善意地）警告我说他很有可能跟别人结婚！”
“我的看法和你完全不同。
彬格莱小姐看到她哥哥爱上了你，而她却希望哥哥娶达西小姐。对他们来说，我们不够有钱有势，所以她热衷于和达西家攀亲，这样她要嫁给达西先生就容易些。因此，她跟哥哥一块去了伦敦，希望把他留在那儿，并且企图让你相信，她哥哥根本不把你当回事。可是，他当然是爱上了你！”
“关于卡罗琳的想法，我真的不能同意你的分析。我觉得她不会欺骗任何人。可是，丽萃，我亲爱的妹妹，即便她对她哥哥的看法是错的，即便她哥哥确实把我当回事，那么，如果妹妹和朋友都希望他娶别人，那我接受他的爱会感到心安理得吗？”
“这就看你了。如果你认为与做他妻子的幸福比起来，照他妹妹的意思办更重要的话，我当然建议你还是拒绝他。”
“你怎么能这样说？”简笑了笑，说道。“你知道我是不会犹豫的，尽管她们要是不赞成的话我会感到难过。可是，天啊，如果他不回尼日斐，我就永远不用作决定了！”
可是，伊丽莎白坚信彬格莱先生不会因为妹妹而与简分手的，一会儿就说服了简对形势的估计要乐观些。
那天，班纳特一家，加上柯林斯先生，到卢卡斯府上与卢卡斯一家聚餐。这次又是夏洛特花了大半个晚上听柯林斯先生叙说。伊丽莎白感到十分轻松，对朋友这种代人受过的做法千恩万谢。但是夏洛特的和蔼可亲是别有用心的，这一点伊丽莎白一无所知。她的计划就是鼓励柯林斯先生将注意力转移到自己身上。实际上，她将局面控制得很好，晚饭后向柯林斯先生道别时，她感到，如果他在哈福德郡再呆上那么一个星期，她就有百分之百的成功把握。但是她没有完全领会到柯林斯先生性格中的热烈和独立性。这种性格促使他第二天早上起了个大早，从浪搏恩宅院逃了出去，急匆匆赶到卢卡斯府上，拜倒在卢卡斯小姐脚下。她没有让柯林斯先生等待答覆，他的长篇大论一结束，这一对幸福的伴侣就订下了终身。
夏洛特的父母很乐意地许下了这桩婚事，而卢卡斯夫人开始以极大的兴趣盘算着班纳特先生还可能活多少个年头。夏洛特本人也很满意。当然，柯林斯先生既无理智，又不随和，但做个丈夫还是可以的。她从来没有把男人或婚姻看得那么重要，但她一直打算结婚。虽然结婚并非总能带来幸福，但一个没有多少收入、受过良好教育的女人要想给自己安个家，这也算是唯一体面的方法。她现在已经27岁了，又相貌平平，她感到，找到了丈夫是件幸运的事。
不过，她知道，伊丽莎白（她十分珍视与伊丽莎白的友谊）会感到震惊，而且还可能反对。于是她决定亲自到浪搏恩府上向朋友通报这一消息。伊丽莎白开始确实吓了一跳，并且禁不住惊讶得叫了起来，可是当夏洛特解释了接受柯林斯先生求婚的理由之后，她便努力去理解她。班纳特家其他人听到这个消息后也都感到惊讶不已。班纳特太太很反感，禁不住骂夏洛特阴险，骂柯林斯先生愚蠢，骂伊丽莎白固执。班纳特先生要平静得多，只是说他很高兴地发现夏洛特像他妻子一样愚蠢，比他女儿更加愚蠢，而以前还以为她相当有理智呢。
那一天是柯林斯先生在浪搏恩呆的最后一天，他离开时说了很多表示感谢的话，并许诺不久还会再来。班纳特先生提醒他要小心谨慎，不要缺勤太多，得罪了保护人；但是，柯林斯先生虽然对班纳特先生表现出的叔侄情谊极为感激，他自然还是急于回到哈福德郡，去看他未来的妻子。
实际上，只过了两星期，他的确又来到了浪搏恩，但大部分时间都花在卢．卡斯府，为婚礼作些安排。班纳特太太仍旧对他感到不快，但现在开始对一件更为重要的事情感到焦虑——就是彬格莱先生迟迟不归。自从卡罗琳·彬格莱来信之后，日复一日，再也没有消息。伊丽莎白现在相当担忧，简最为害怕。终于，卡罗琳·彬格莱来了第二封信，简读完后，认识到一切希望都化为泡影。彬格莱全家要在伦敦度过整个冬天，乔治安娜·达西又是那个圈子的常客。彬格莱小姐兴高采烈地吹嘘这种友谊，并期待着她哥哥与达西小姐能够成婚。
简虽然感到深深的不安，但她勇敢地努力控制住自己的感情。“丽萃，别担心，我很快就会把他忘掉的。我没什么可抱怨的，他也没有向我作过许诺。我只是认为他对我有意，可是我错了。还好，除了我自己，这还没有伤害到别人。”
“我亲爱的简！”伊丽莎白说。“你太善良了。你总是把大家往好里想。现在，我认为大多数人都是坏的，在我的周围也看不到多少真正有价值或者明白事理的人。例如彬格莱先生。他可能不是故意伤害你，但一个人仅仅因为软弱无能或优柔寡断就完全可能招致痛苦。我确信他的妹妹和朋友达西先生都在企图影响他，和你作对。另外一个例子是夏洛特。我不明白她为什么会同意嫁给这样一个自高自大、愚蠢无比的男人！”
“亲爱的丽萃，”简说，“我们必须尊重夏洛特的决定。她和柯林斯先生可能会很幸福。至于彬格莱先生，我们不能期望这样善于社交的年轻人那么注意自己的行为。女人经常把爱慕想象得超出了其本身的含义。”
“而男人也想要女人那样想。”
“我倒愿意相信是我误解了他对我的意思，而且他妹妹是爱他的，并且赞成他同达西小姐结婚的愿望。我不想把他或他的妹妹想得太坏。那样做是最糟糕的事情。”
伊丽莎白不得不接受简的愿望，从那以后，彬格莱的名字在她们之间很少被提及。
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