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6 Elizabeth visits Mr and Mrs Collins
The following Monday Mrs Bennet had the pleasure of receiving her brother and his wife， who came as usual to spend Christmas at Longbourn． Mr Gardiner was a sensible， gentlemanlike man．The Netherfield ladies would have had dif－ ficulty in believing that a man who lived by buying and selling could be so well－mannered and agreeable． Mrs Gardiner， who was several years younger than Mrs Bennet and Mrs Philips， was a pleasant，intelligent，elegant woman，and a grest favourite with her Longbourn nieces，especially the two eldest， who often stayed with her in London．
When Mrs Gardiner had given the presents she had brought with her， and described the newest fashions， she was obliged to listen to Mrs Bennet's complaints．
‘I've suffered greatly since your last visit， sister！’cried Mrs Bennet．‘Just imagine！Two of my daughters were very close to marriage—and then—nothing！I do not blame Jane， who would have got Mr Bingley if she could， but Lizzy！Oh， sister！ It is hard to think she might have been Mrs Collins by now，if she hadn't been so obstinate！The result is that Lady Lucas will have a daughter married before me． It makes me quite ill， to have such a disobedient daughter and such selfish neighbours． But your coming just now is a great comfort to me，and I am very glad to hear what you tell us，about long sleeves．’
Mrs Gardiner made a suitably sympathetic reply to her sister－in－law， and later that day found the opportunity to dis－ cuss the matter in more detail with Elizabeth，alone．
‘I am sorry for Jane，’she said kindly，‘but，Lizzy，these things happen often！A young man like Mr Bingley fre－ quently falls in love with a pretty girl， and when chance sepa－ rates them， he forgets her very quickly．’
‘Yes， aunt，’said Elizabeth，‘but in this case it was not chance，but the young man's interfering friends，who separated Jane and Mr Bingley． I'm sure he was violently in love with her．’
‘Poor Jane！She's so sensitive．I'm afraid she may not get over it for some time．Now，if it had been you，Lizzy， you would have recovered more quickly， by finding humour in the situation．But do you think I could persuade Jane to come back with us to London？ Perhaps a change of air would make her feel better．’
Elizabeth was extremely grateful to her aunt for this kind suggestion，and felt sure Jane would gladly agree．
‘I hope，’added Mrs Gardiner，‘that she will not be influenced by the hope of seeing the young man． We live in such a different part of town that it is very unlikely they will meet， unless he actually comes to see her．’
‘that is quite impossible，because his friend Mr Darcy would not allow him to visit so unfashionable an address！’But despite her protest，Elizabeth secretly thought that Jane might see Bingley in London and that a meeting would probably reawaken his affection for her．
The Gardiners stayed at Longbourn for a week，and MrsBennet made sure there was always some entertainment for her brother and sister－in－law．Whenever there was a dinner party at Longbourn House， some of the officers were always invited．Mrs Gardiner，who had noticed that Mr Wickham was a very frequent visitor and that Elizabeth spoke admiringly of him， took care to observe them both．She saw enough to make her a little anxious， and decided to speak to Elizabeth about him when they were alone．
‘Lizzy，’she began，‘I can see that you and Mr Wickham like each other．But I must warn you not to get seriously in－ volved with him．I admit he's a most interesting young man， but sadly he has no fortune．You are a sensible girl， and must realize that you would disappoint your father by agreeing to marry a penniless young man．’
‘My dear aunt， do not worry．I’ll take care of myself， and Mr Wickham too．He won't be in love with me，if I can pre－ vent it．’
‘Elizabeth，be serious．’
‘I'm sorry，aunt，I’ll try again．At present I'm certainly not in love with him．But he is by far the most agreeable man I've ever met， and if he really loved me… But I would hate to dis－ appoint my father or make any of you unhappy．I cannot promise what I will do，but I will really try to do what I think is wisest．I hope you are satisfied with that．’
Her aunt replied that she was， and received Elizabeth's thanks for her kind advice． Several days after this， the Gardiners returned to London， taking Jane with them．
The day of Mr Collins’wedding soon arrived，and Mrs Bennet had to watch Charlotte Lucas become Mrs Collins．Before the bride left Longbourn for Hunsford，however，she asked Eliza－ beth to come and visit her in her new home as soon as possible． Elizabeth could not refuse， although she did not imagine it would be an enjoyable visit．It was arranged that Elizabeth would accompany Sir William Lucas and Maria，one of his oth－ er daughters，on their intended visit to Hunsford in March．
A week after Jane's departure， Elizabeth received a letter from her sister， saying that she had seen Miss Bingley， and hoped to continue their friendship．Elizabeth shook her head over this．She was not surprised to hear from Jane a few weeks later that Caroline Bingley had made no further attempts to communicate with her former dear friend．Elizabeth was sad－ dened to read of Jane's disappointment， but felt more cheerful when she told herself that Jane would no longer be deceived， by the sister at least．All expectation from the brother was now absolutely over． As a punishment for him， she seriously hoped he would soon marry Mr Darcy's sister，who，according to Wickham，would make him quickly regret what he had thrown away．
At about this time，Elizabeth also received a letter from Mrs Gardiner， asking about Wickham， and she was able to reply quite honestly that there was no danger of her marrying him． He had transferred his affections to a Miss King， who had re－ cently inherited ten thousand pounds． Elizabeth saw exactly what was happening，but her heart had only been slightly touched，and she was able to convince herself that it was quite natural for such an agreeable young man to wish for fortune and independence．
January and February passed， and the time for Elizabeth's visit to Mr and Mrs Collins approached．She had improved the plan， by arranging to spend a night in London at her uncle and aunt's house，before continuing the journey into Kent． She was very much looking forward to seeing Jane，who was still stay－ ing with the Gardiners．
The journey seemed long to Elizabeth，because Sir William and Maria had nothing to say worth hearing．But when the coach arrived at the Gardiners house’ at lunch－time，Elizabeth was delighted to see that her sister looked as healthy and lovely as before． In a private conversation with her aunt later， howev－ er， Elizabeth discovered that Jane had been suffering from peri－ ods of depression， although she always tried bravely to appear cheerful．
The afternoon and evening passed only too quickly， and the next day Elizabeth and the other travellers set off again．When the coach arrived in Hunsford， they were all quite excited to see，on one side of the road，Lady Catherine's great park， which they had heard so much about． At last， on the other side， they came to the Rectory， where they were warmly wel－ comed by Mr Collins and Charlotte．
Elizabeth was more and more pleased she had come， when she found herself so affectionately received．She saw instantly that marriage had not changed her cousin's manners． He in－ sisted on greeting them all with formal politeness and long speeches，and showed them round the house，explaining its many good points in exhausting detail．Elizabeth could not help thinking that perhaps he was speaking particularly to her，as if wishing to make her feel what she had lost in refusing him．But although everything seemed neat and comfortable， she was un－ able to please him with a sigh of regret． In fact， she wondered how Charlotte could look so cheerful， with such a companion． But whenever Mr Collins said anything of which his wife might be ashamed， which was quite often， Charlotte wisely did not appear to be listening．And when Mr Collins showed them proudly round his garden，in which he himself enjoyed working，Elizabeth admired the serious way in which Charlotte praised gardening as a most healthy exercise， and admitted en－ couraging her husband to work outdoors as much as possible．
Elizabeth had to confess to herself that， surprisingly，Char－ lotte really appeared to be happy．When Mr Collins could be forgotten， the house seemed very pleasant and comfortable，and from Charlotte's evident enjoyment of her home，Elizabeth supposed he must often be forgotten．
The visitors had only been in the house for a day when a message came form Lady Catherine，inviting them all to dinner at Rosings Park the next day． Mr Collins was delighted， and congratulated his guests on their good luck．‘I confess that I might have expected her ladyship to invite us all to drink tea at Rosings on Sunday，’he said．‘But to invite the whole party to dinner！So soon after your arrival，too！What a generous and considerate lady she is！’
The whole of the rest of that day and the next morning were spent discussing their visit to Rosings．This made Sir William and Maria quite nervous when the moment came to walk across the park and enter the great lady's house．Elizabeth，however， was unimpressed by what she had heard of Lady Catherine， and remained calm．
She was interested to see that Lady Catherine was a tall， large woman， who held herself stiffly and proudly， and received her guests with an air of disdain． She spoke loudly and decided－ ly on every matter， and was clearly convinced of her superiority over other people． Her daughter， Anne，was completely differ－ ent—a small， thin， ill－looking lady，who spoke very little， and only in a whisper．
The dinner was very good，and was highly praised by Mr Collins．His repeated compliments，which Elizabeth thought were embarrassing， appeared to please Lady Catherine very much． After dinner her ladyship talked continuously， giving her opinions without any fear of contradiction or even comment． She then asked Elizabeth many detailed questions about her ed－ ucation， her sisters，and her father's income．Although Eliza－ beth considered these questions extremely personal and almost rude，she answered them politely and calmly．At the end of the long evening，the visitors were driven home in Lady Catherine's carriage，while Mr Collins praised his patron for her elegance，intelligence and hospitality．
This visit was repeated twice a week，but there was little other entertainment in Hunsford． Elizabeth had pleasant con－ versations with Charlotte， or read books， or walked along a narrow path by Lady Catherine's park， which no one else seemed to use．It was a quiet life， but she was satisfied with it．
However， two weeks after her arrival in Hunsford， she heard that some visitors were coming to stay at Rosings．Lady Catherine's nephew， Mr Darcy， was expected soon， accompa－ nied by his cousin， Colonel Fitzwilliam．The next day， the two gentlemen arrived，and came almost immediately to the Rectory． Colonel Fitzwilliam was about thirty， not handsome， but very gentlemanly，and he talked pleasantly to the ladies．But Mr Darcy looked as cold and proud as ever， and after greeting Mrs Collins， spoke only a few stiffly polite words to Elizabeth． She took the opportunity of asking him if he had by any chance seen Jane in London recently， and thought he looked a little confused when he answered that he had not had that pleasure． Soon after that， the two gentlemen returned to Rosings．
Colonel Fitzwilliam's manners were very much admired by the ladies， who felt that he would add considerably to the enjoyment of their evenings at Rosings．But it was not until Easter Day that they received an invitation from Lady Catherine， and when they arrived in her sitting－room，it was clear that she was far more interested in her nephews than in her other guests．Colonel Fitzwilliam，however，seemed really glad to see them，and he came at once to sit beside Elizabeth．They talked so agreeably and amusingly together that Mr Darcy turned his eyes towards them and looked curiously at them several times． When her ladyship also noticed， she called loudly across the room，‘Fitzwilliam，what are you talking about with Miss Ben－ net？ Let me hear what it is．’
‘We're speaking of music，madam，’he said，when no longer able to avoid a reply．
‘Of music！Then please speak to all of us．I must have my share in the conversation，if you are speaking of music．There are few people in England，I suppose， who have more true enjoyment of music than myself，or a better natural taste． If I had ever learnt to play，I would have been a great musician． But I often tell young ladies，practice is very important．I have told Miss Bennet several times that she will never play really well unless she practises more．And she is very welcome to come to Rosings and practise on the piano in the servants’hall． She won't be in anyone's way there，I can promise her．’
Mr Darcy looked a little ashamed of his aunt’ s insensitive words． Meanwhile， Colonel Fitzwilliam had persuaded Elizabeth to play some music， and she sat down at the piano．But when she had started playing， Mr Darcy went to stand in front of the piano，where he had a good view of her face．At the end of her first piece of music， Elizabeth said，smiling，‘You intend to frighten me， Mr Darcy， by coming to listen to me？ But I'm obstinate， and won't be frightened．’
‘I don't think you really believe I intend to alarm you，and I've had the pleasure of knowing you long enouph to be aware that you occasionally enjoy stating opinions which are not your own．
Elizabeth laughed at this picture of herself，and said to Colonel Fitzwilliam，‘Your cousin will teach you not to believe a word I say．Indeed，Mr Darcy，it is very ungenerous of you to mention all my faults， and perhaps rather foolish too， because I may take my revenge， and tell things about you which your re－ lations will be shocked to hear．’
‘I am not afraid of you，’said Darcy，smiling．
‘But let me hear your accusation，’cried Colonel Fitzwilliam．‘I'd like to hear how he behaves among strangers．’
‘Well， prepare yourself for something very dreadful．The first time I ever saw him was at a ball in Hertfordshire， and at this ball， what do you think he did？ He danced only four dances！I'm sorry to cause you pain，but that is what hap－ pened．He danced only four dances，although gentlemen were scarce，and to my certain knowledge，more than one young lady was sitting down， waiting for a partner Mr Darcy， you must admit it．’
‘I had not at that time the honour of knowing anybody at the ball， apart from my own group of friends．I should perhaps have asked to be introduced， but I do not like to recommend myself to strangers．I do not find it easy to talk to people I don't know．’
‘You don't want to take the trouble to do it， Darcy，that’ s why！’said Colonel Fitzwilliam．
‘I cannot play this piano as well as some other women，’said Elizabeth，‘but I've always assumed it is my own faultbecause I don't take the trouble to practise．I know that I am capable of playing as well as anyone．’
Darcy smiled and said，‘You are perfectly right．You have spent your time in a much better way．No one who hears you could imagine any possible improvement．We neither of us perform to strangers．’
Just then Lady Catherine interrupted them，to comment on Elizabeth's playing．‘Miss Bennet would play quite well，if she had a London teacher．Of course，Anne would have been a delightful performer，if her health had allowed her to learn．’
Elizabeth looked at Darcy to see his reaction to Anne de Bourgh's name， but neither at that moment nor at any other could she observe any sign of love or even interest in his cousin．Lady Catherine continued to give Miss Bennet advice on her playing， but at the request of the gentlemen， Elizabeth stayed at the piano for the rest of the evening．
6 伊丽莎白拜访柯林斯先生和夫人
下一个星期一，班纳特太太的弟弟和弟媳照例到浪搏恩过圣诞节，她甚为欣喜。嘉丁纳先生通情达理，颇有绅士风度。尼日斐的小姐们可能会很难相信，做买卖出身的人竟会如此文雅而和善。嘉丁纳太太比班纳特太太和菲力普斯太太年轻几岁，和蔼聪慧，举止优雅，深得浪搏恩几个外甥女的喜爱，尤其是经常到伦敦和她呆在一起的两位大些的外甥女。
嘉丁纳太太分发完带来的礼品，讲述完最新服装款式之后，便不得不听听班纳特太太的牢骚话了。
“弟妹，自从你上次来过以后，我可遭了大罪了！”班纳特太太嚷道。“你想想看！两个女儿马上就要嫁出去了，可是接下来却成了一场空！我不怪简，如果有可能，她会得到彬格莱先生的，可是丽萃！哎呀，弟妹，真是难以想象，她如果不是那么固执，现在可能已经成了柯林斯太太了！结果呢，倒成了卢卡斯太太比我先嫁出一个女儿。遇到这样不听话的女儿和这样自私的邻居，真使我感到难受。可是你来得正是时候，对我是莫大的安慰，我非常喜欢听你讲新潮时装，长袖子啦什么的。”
嘉丁纳太太的回答对大姑子表示出适当的同情，那天晚些时候，她找到一个机会与伊丽莎白单独详细地谈了这件事。
“我为简感到难过，”她温和地说，“可是，丽萃，这种事太常见了！像彬格莱那样的年轻人很容易爱上漂亮女孩，而一旦碰巧两人分开，他就很快把她忘了。”
“是的，舅妈，”伊丽莎白说，“可是这次不是碰巧分开的，都怨那年轻人爱管闲事的朋友，是他们把简和彬格莱先生拆开的。我相信，彬格莱先生狂热地爱着她。”
“可怜的简！她太敏感了。我恐怕她一下子难以从中恢复过来。丽萃，这件事如果发生在你身上，你会很快把它淡忘的，因为你会苦中找乐。可是你觉得我会说服简跟我们一块回伦敦吗？也许到那里换换空气会使她好受些。”
伊丽莎白对舅妈的这种建议极为感激，她觉得简肯定会乐意去的。
“我希望，”嘉丁纳太太补充说，“她不会受到希望见到那个年轻人的影响。我们在城里住得那么远，碰上是不大可能的，除非他专程来看她。”
“这不太有可能，因为他的朋友达西先生不会允许他拜访这样一个不入流的地方！”可是，尽管伊丽莎白嘴上说得那么肯定，她心里还是暗自认为简在伦敦可能见到彬格莱，这样的会面还可能重新唤起他对她的感情。
嘉丁纳夫妇在浪搏恩呆了一个星期，班纳特太太作了各种安排，确保弟弟和弟媳总有得玩。一旦浪搏恩府上举办晚宴，总要请一些军官来。嘉丁纳太太注意到韦翰先生是位常客，伊丽莎白说起他又带着爱慕之情，于是就开始留心观察他们俩。她所看到的足以引起她的焦虑，她决定单独跟伊丽莎白谈谈。
“丽萃，”她开口道，“我看得出你喜欢韦翰先生，他也喜欢你。不过，我必须警告你不要跟他太认真。我承认他这个人很有意思，可是不幸的是他没有财产。你是有脑筋的，必须认识到嫁给一个身无分文的人会使你爸爸失望的。”
“亲爱的舅妈，别担心。我会把握好自己的，韦翰先生也一样。他不会爱上我的，如果我能预防的话。”
“伊丽莎白，严肃点儿。”
“对不起，舅妈，我再努把力。现在我当然还没有爱上他。可是他是我迄今为止见到的最随和的人，如果他真的爱上了我……可是我不愿意辜负父亲的期望或让你们哪个人不高兴。我不能保证我会怎么样，不过，我真地会按我认为最明智的方法去做。我希望我的想法你会满意。”
她舅妈说她感到满意，接受了伊丽莎白对她的建议表示的谢意。几天之后，嘉丁纳夫妇回到伦敦，把简也带了过去。
柯林斯先生的大喜日子很快来临，班纳特太太不得不眼睁睁地看着夏洛特·卢卡斯成为柯林斯太太。不过，新娘在离开浪搏恩前往汉斯福之前，请伊丽莎白尽快来参观她的新家。虽然伊丽莎白想象得出这次拜访不会有多大乐趣，但她无法拒绝。按照安排，伊丽莎白将于三月份在威廉·卢卡斯爵士和他的另一个女儿玛利亚按计划去汉斯福进行拜访时陪他们一块去。
简离开后一个星期，伊丽莎白收到了她的来信，上面说她见到了彬格莱小姐，并且希望将友谊保持下去。伊丽莎白对此摇了摇头。几周后，她收到了简的来信，说卡罗琳·彬格莱没有进一步努力与先前的好友保持联系，对此，伊丽莎白一点都不感到奇怪。读到简的失望的信，伊丽莎白感到悲伤，但一想到至少简现在已不再受到他妹妹的蒙蔽，她便高兴许多。对她哥哥的一切期望现在都化为泡影了。作为对他的惩罚。伊丽莎白真心希望他不久就跟达西先生的妹妹结婚，因为据韦翰先生讲，这个女人会使他很快后悔自己一脚踢开了简。
大约在同时，伊丽莎白还收到了嘉丁纳太太寄来的信，问韦翰的情况。她老老实实地回答说，她还没有嫁给他的危险。他已把感情转移到了金小姐身上。金小姐最近刚继承了一万英镑。所发生的一切伊丽莎白都看得清清楚楚，但她的心只是稍微受到些震动，而且她能自圆其说地认为像这样随和的年轻人希望获得财产和独立是很自然的事情。
1月和2月过去了，伊丽莎白拜访柯林斯夫妇的日子越来越近。她把计划作了更好的改动，安排在伦敦舅舅家停留一夜，然后继续往肯特郡去。她急切地盼望着见到简，她现在还呆在嘉丁纳家里。
伊丽莎白感到旅途漫漫，因为威廉爵士和玛利亚说的话没什么值得听的。但是，午饭时分马车到达嘉丁纳家以后，伊丽莎白看到姐姐和以前一样健康可爱，心里很高兴。不过，在与舅妈的一次私下谈话中，伊丽莎白得知简时不时地会出现精神沮丧，虽然她总是勇敢地装出高兴的样子。
下午和晚上过得太快了，第二天，伊丽莎白和另外两位旅行者又上路了。马车到达汉斯福以后，他们在路的一边看到了久闻大名的凯瑟琳夫人的大庄园，感到无比激动。最后，他们来到了位于另一边的教区长住宅，在那里受到了柯林斯先生和夏洛特的热情欢迎。
伊丽莎白看到自己受到如此真挚的接待，对自己的到来也感到越来越高兴。她马上看到，婚姻并没能改变她表兄的习惯。他坚持非常死板客套地接待他们，讲起话来长篇大论，又领着他们参观房子，极为细致地介绍它的很多优点。伊丽莎白禁不住想，也许他是专门冲她讲的，好像希望让她感到拒绝他给她带来了多大损失。但是，虽然一切看起来都井井有条，舒舒服服，她还是不能以表示后侮的一声叹息让他得意。实际上，她不明白夏洛特跟这样的人相处，为什么显得那样兴高采烈。不过，只要柯林斯先生说的哪句话使他妻子感到丢脸（这也是常事），夏洛特就很聪明地装作自己没在听。柯林斯先生自豪地带着他们在花园里观看时（他喜欢在那儿劳动），夏洛特一本正经地称赞搞园艺是很有益于健康的锻炼，并且承认自己鼓励丈夫尽可能多地在室外劳动，伊丽莎白听了心里直乐。
伊丽莎白心里必须承认，虽然有点奇怪，但夏洛特确实显得很幸福。只要不想起柯林斯先生，整个房子似乎非常舒适宜人；根据夏洛特对家园明显的得意之情，伊丽莎白设想，夏洛特一定不常想起他。
客人在那里才呆了一天，就接到凯瑟琳夫人的口信，邀请他们所有的人第二天全部到罗新斯庄园聚餐。柯林斯先生很得意，祝贺客人们交上了好运。“我得承认，我本来期望尊敬的夫人会邀请我们大家星期天到罗新斯喝茶，”他说，“但没想到会邀请所有的人赴宴！而且你们才刚来！夫人多么慷慨大方，多么关怀备至啊！”
那天剩下的全部时间和第二天上午都被用来讨论对罗新斯的拜访。当穿越庄园、进入夫人宅第的那一刻来临时，威廉爵士和玛利亚还真为此感到紧张。但是，伊丽莎白对于有关凯瑟琳夫人的传闻并不感到有很深的印象，所以还保持平静。
她看到凯瑟琳夫人觉得很有趣。她长得又高又大，举止傲慢，盛气凌人，接待客人时带着几分鄙夷。她嗓门很高，说一不二，显然自以为高人一等。她的女儿安与她截然不同——身材瘦小，愁容满面，很少开口，说起话来也低声细语。
晚饭很丰盛，柯林斯先生大加赞扬。他接连不断的赞美使伊丽莎白都觉得难为情，但凯瑟琳夫人似乎很高兴。晚饭后，夫人开始滔滔不绝地高谈阔论，也不怕自相矛盾甚至让别人说三道四。然后她就问了伊丽莎白很多具体的问题：受过什么教育，姐妹怎样，父亲收入多少。虽然伊丽莎白认为这些问题都是属于自家的事儿，别人无权过问，而且问题问得可以说很唐突，但她还是——有礼貌地、心平气和地作了回答。漫长的晚会结束后，客人们都坐着凯瑟琳夫人的马车回家了，而柯林斯先生又称赞了夫人的优雅、英明和好客。
这种拜访两周重复一次，但是在汉斯福几乎没有别的娱乐活动。伊丽莎白或者和夏洛特进行愉快的交谈，或者读书，或者沿着凯瑟琳夫人庄园旁一条小径散步，这条小径似乎没人走过。生活很平静，可她感到很满意。
但是，她到汉斯福两周后，听说有些客人要进住罗新斯。凯瑟琳夫人的外甥达西先生不久就要过来，陪他来的是表兄费茨威廉上校。第二天，两位先生到了，几乎马上就去了教区长住宅。费茨威廉上校三十来岁，相貌平平，但很有绅士风度，和小姐们谈笑风生。而达西先生还像先前那样冷漠傲慢，同柯林斯太太打过招呼以后，只与伊丽莎白呆板地客套了几句。伊丽莎白借此机会问他最近在伦敦是否碰到了简，他回答说无此殊荣，这时她觉得他有点糊涂。又过了一会儿，两位先生便返回罗新斯了。
费茨威廉上校的言谈举止十分受女士们爱戴，她们感到，他会大大增添她们在罗新斯晚会上的乐趣。但直到复活节他们才收到凯瑟琳夫人的邀请，他们来到她的起居室后，发现夫人显然对自己的外甥们更感兴趣，而不管其他客人。但是，费茨威廉上校似乎真地很高兴见到她们，他马上过来坐到了伊丽莎白身边。他们谈得十分融洽，妙趣横生，惹得达西先生好几次转过头来好奇地打量他们。夫人也注意到了，便从屋子另一头大声喊道：“费茨威廉，你和班纳特小姐在谈什么？让我也听听。”
“夫人，我们在谈音乐，”看到不回答不行了，他才说。
“谈音乐！那就跟我们大家讲讲。如果你们在谈音乐，我必须和你们一块谈。我想，在英格兰没有多少人能像我这样欣赏音乐，或者说有我这样的天赋。如果我学过演奏，我一定是个伟大的音乐家。但是，我经常告诉年轻的小姐，练习很重要。我和班纳特小姐说过几次，她要想真正地弹好，非多练不可。欢迎她到罗新斯来，在仆人的大厅里练习钢琴。我可以向她保证，在那儿她不会妨碍任何人的。”
达西先生对姨妈这种无礼的话感到有点儿脸上挂不住。同时，费茨威廉说服了伊丽莎白弹几首乐曲，她在钢琴旁坐下。可是，她开始弹奏时，达西先生起身站到了钢琴前，在那儿，他可以看清她的脸庞。第一首曲子结束后，伊丽莎白笑着说：“达西先生，你来听我弹琴，是想吓唬我吗？但是，我很犟，不害怕。”
“我想，你不会真地认为我想吓唬你，而且我有幸认识你已经够久了，知道你偶尔喜欢说些言不由衷的话。”
伊丽莎白对这种场面不由得笑了起来，对费茨威廉上校说：“你表弟在教导你不要相信我说的一切。说实在的，达西先生，你揭我的短处很不够有气量，也许还有点愚蠢，因为我可能报复，讲一讲你的事情，你的亲戚们听到会大吃一惊的。”
“我不怕你，”达西笑着说。
“可是，让我听听你的指责，”费茨威廉上校喊道。“我倒想听一听他在陌生人中表现如何。”
“那好吧，准备好听一听那可怕的事吧。我第一次见到他是在哈福德郡的舞会上，在这次舞会上，你想他都干了什么？他只跳了四次舞！我很抱歉使你难受，但这是事实。虽然先生们很少，而且据我所知，坐着等舞伴的小姐不止一个，他却只跳了四支曲子。达西先生，你得承认。”
“当时在舞会上除了自己的一圈朋友外，我还不认识任何人。我也许应当让人介绍一下，可是我不喜欢向陌生人毛遂自荐。和不认识的人谈话令我觉得不安。”
“达西，不过是你不想去找麻烦罢了，这才是原因！”费茨威廉上校说。
“这架钢琴我不像其他女人弹得那样好，”伊丽莎白说，“但是我总设想那是我自己的过错——因为我没有自找麻烦去练习。我知道我是有能力弹得像别人那样好的。”
达西笑了笑说：“你完全正确。你利用时间的方式要好得多。听到你弹奏的人想象不出该作如何改进。我们两人都不喜欢在生人面前现眼。”
正在这时，凯瑟琳夫人插了进来，评论伊丽莎白的琴艺。“班纳特小姐如果有位伦敦老师的话，一定会弹得很好。当然，安的身体如果允许她学习的话，也会成为令人愉快的演奏家。”
伊丽莎白注意看达西对安·德·包尔这个名字的反应，但此时此刻或其他任何时刻，她都观察不到他对表妹有丝毫的爱慕甚至兴趣。凯瑟琳夫人继续给班纳特小姐的弹奏提出意见，但在先生们的请求下，伊丽莎白在晚上剩下的时间里一直在弹琴。
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