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第141章（第1页）

Elizabethsspiritssoonrisingtoplayfulnessagain，shewantedMr。Darcytoaccountforhishavingeverfalleninlovewithher。“Howcouldyoubegin?”saidshe。“Icancomprehendyourgoingoncharmingly，whenyouhadoncemadeabeginning;butwhatcouldsetyouoffinthefirstplace?”

“Icannotfixonthehour，orthespot，orthelook，orthewords，whichlaidthefoundation。Itistoolongago。IwasinthemiddlebeforeIknewthatIhadbegun。”

“Mybeautyyouhadearlywithstood，andasformymanners—mybehaviourtoyouwasatleastalwaysborderingontheuncivil，andIneverspoketoyouwithoutratherwishingtogiveyoupainthannot。Nowbesincere;didyouadmiremeformyimpertinence?”

“Forthelivelinessofyourmind，Idid。”

“Youmayaswellcallitimpertinenceatonce。Itwasverylittleless。Thefactis，thatyouweresickofcivility，ofdeference，ofofficiousattention。Youweredisgustedwiththewomenwhowerealwaysspeaking，andlooking，andthinkingforyourapprobationalone。Iroused，andinterestedyou，becauseIwassounlikethem。Hadyounotbeenreallyamiable，youwouldhavehatedmeforit;butinspiteofthepainsyoutooktodisguiseyourself，yourfeelingswerealwaysnobleandjust;andinyourheart，youthoroughlydespisedthepersonswhosoassiduouslycourtedyou。There—Ihavesavedyouthetroubleofaccountingforit;andreally，allthingsconsidered，Ibegintothinkitperfectlyreasonable。Tobesure，youknewnoactualgoodofme—butnobodythinksofthatwhentheyfallinlove。”

“WastherenogoodinyouraffectionatebehaviourtoJanewhileshewasillatNetherfield?”

“DearestJane!whocouldhavedonelessforher?Butmakeavirtueofitbyallmeans。Mygoodqualitiesareunderyourprotection，andyouaretoexaggeratethemasmuchaspossible;and，inreturn，itbelongstometofindoccasionsforteasingandquarrellingwithyouasoftenasmaybe;andIshallbegindirectlybyaskingyouwhatmadeyousounwillingtocometothepointatlast?Whatmadeyousoshyofme，whenyoufirstcalled，andafterwardsdinedhere?Why，especially，whenyoucalled，didyoulookasifyoudidnotcareaboutme?”

“Becauseyouweregraveandsilent，andgavemenoencouragement。”

“ButIwasembarrassed。”

“AndsowasI。”

“Youmighthavetalkedtomemorewhenyoucametodinner。”

“Amanwhohadfeltless，might。”

“Howunluckythatyoushouldhaveareasonableanswertogive，andthatIshouldbesoreasonableastoadmitit!ButIwonderhowlongyouwouldhavegoneon，ifyouhadbeenlefttoyourself。Iwonderwhenyouwouldhavespoken，ifIhadnotaskedyou!MyresolutionofthankingyouforyourkindnesstoLydiahadcertainlygreateffect。Toomuch，Iamafraid;forwhatbecomesofthemoral，ifourcomfortspringsfromabreachofpromise?forIoughtnottohavementionedthesubject。Thiswillneverdo。”

“Youneednotdistressyourself。Themoralwillbeperfectlyfair。LadyCatherinesunjustifiableendeavourstoseparateuswerethemeansofremovingallmydoubts。Iamnotindebtedformypresenthappinesstoyoureagerdesireofexpressingyourgratitude。Iwasnotinahumourtowaitforanyopeningofyours。Myauntsintelligencehadgivenmehope，andIwasdeterminedatoncetoknoweverything。”

“LadyCatherinehasbeenofinfiniteuse，whichoughttomakeherhappy，forshelovestobeofuse。Buttellme，whatdidyoucomedowntoNetherfieldfor?WasitmerelytoridetoLongbournandbeembarrassed?orhadyouintendedanymoreseriousconsequence?”

“Myrealpurposewastoseeyou，andtojudge，ifIcould，whetherImighteverhopetomakeyouloveme。Myavowedone，orwhatIavowedtomyself，wastoseewhetheryoursisterwerestillpartialtoBingley，andifshewere，tomaketheconfessiontohimwhichIhavesincemade。”

“ShallyoueverhavecouragetoannouncetoLadyCatherinewhatistobefallher?”

“Iammorelikelytowantmoretimethancourage，Elizabeth。Butitoughttobedone，andifyouwillgivemeasheetofpaper，itshallbedonedirectly。”

“AndifIhadnotalettertowritemyself，Imightsitbyyouandadmiretheevennessofyourwriting，asanotheryoungladyoncedid。ButIhaveanaunt，too，whomustnotbelongerneglected。”

FromanunwillingnesstoconfesshowmuchherintimacywithMr。Darcyhadbeenover-rated，ElizabethhadneveryetansweredMrs。Gardinerslongletter;butnow，havingthattocommunicatewhichsheknewwouldbemostwelcome，shewasalmostashamedtofindthatheruncleandaunthadalreadylostthreedaysofhappiness，andimmediatelywroteasfollows:

“Iwouldhavethankedyoubefore，mydearaunt，asIoughttohavedone，foryourlong，kind，satisfactory，detailofparticulars;buttosaythetruth，Iwastoocrosstowrite。Yousupposedmorethanreallyexisted。Butnowsupposeasmuchasyouchoose;givealoosereintoyourfancy，indulgeyourimaginationineverypossibleflightwhichthesubjectwillafford，andunlessyoubelievemeactuallymarried，youcannotgreatlyerr。Youmustwriteagainverysoon，andpraisehimagreatdealmorethanyoudidinyourlast。Ithankyou，againandagain，fornotgoingtotheLakes。HowcouldIbesosillyastowishit!Yourideaoftheponiesisdelightful。WewillgoroundtheParkeveryday。Iamthehappiestcreatureintheworld。Perhapsotherpeoplehavesaidsobefore，butnoonewithsuchjustice。IamhappiereventhanJane;sheonlysmiles，Ilaugh。Mr。Darcysendsyoualltheloveintheworldthathecansparefromme。YouarealltocometoPemberleyatChristmas。Yours，etc。”

Mr。DarcyslettertoLadyCatherinewasinadifferentstyle;andstilldifferentfromeitherwaswhatMr。BennetsenttoMr。Collins，inreplytohislast。

“DearSir，

“Imusttroubleyouoncemoreforcongratulations。ElizabethwillsoonbethewifeofMr。Darcy。ConsoleLadyCatherineaswellasyoucan。But，ifIwereyou，Iwouldstandbythenephew。Hehasmoretogive。

“Yourssincerely，etc。”