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第131章（第1页）

“Thisisnottobeborne。MissBennet，Iinsistonbeingsatisfied。Hashe，hasmynephew，madeyouanofferofmarriage?”

“Yourladyshiphasdeclaredittobeimpossible。”

“Itoughttobeso;itmustbeso，whileheretainstheuseofhisreason。Butyourartsandallurementsmay，inamomentofinfatuation，havemadehimforgetwhatheowestohimselfandtoallhisfamily。Youmayhavedrawnhimin。”

“IfIhave，Ishallbethelastpersontoconfessit。”

“MissBennet，doyouknowwhoIam?Ihavenotbeenaccustomedtosuchlanguageasthis。Iamalmostthenearestrelationhehasintheworld，andamentitledtoknowallhisdearestconcerns。”

“Butyouarenotentitledtoknowmine;norwillsuchbehaviourasthis，everinducemetobeexplicit。”

“Letmeberightlyunderstood。Thismatch，towhichyouhavethepresumptiontoaspire，cannevertakeplace。No，never。Mr。Darcyisengagedtomydaughter。Nowwhathaveyoutosay?”

“Onlythis;thatifheisso，youcanhavenoreasontosupposehewillmakeanoffertome。”

LadyCatherinehesitatedforamoment，andthenreplied:

“Theengagementbetweenthemisofapeculiarkind。Fromtheirinfancy，theyhavebeenintendedforeachother。Itwasthefavouritewishofhismother，aswellasofhers。Whileintheircradles，weplannedtheunion:andnow，atthemomentwhenthewishesofbothsisterswouldbeaccomplishedistheirmarriage，tobepreventedbyayoungwomanofinferiorbirth，ofnoimportanceintheworld，andwhollyunalliedtothefamily!Doyoupaynoregardtothewishesofhisfriends?TohistacitengagementwithMissdeBourgh?Areyoulosttoeveryfeelingofproprietyanddelicacy?Haveyounotheardmesaythatfromhisearliesthourshewasdestinedforhiscousin?”

“Yes，andIhadhearditbefore。Butwhatisthattome?Ifthereisnootherobjectiontomymarryingyournephew，IshallcertainlynotbekeptfromitbyknowingthathismotherandauntwishedhimtomarryMissdeBourgh。Youbothdidasmuchasyoucouldinplanningthemarriage。Itscompletiondependedonothers。IfMr。Darcyisneitherbyhonournorinclinationconfinedtohiscousin，whyisnothetomakeanotherchoice?AndifIamthatchoice，whymaynotIaccepthim?”

“Becausehonour，decorum，prudence，nay，interest，forbidit。Yes，MissBennet，interest;fordonotexpecttobenoticedbyhisfamilyorfriends，ifyouwilfullyactagainsttheinclinationsofall。Youwillbecensured，slighted，anddespised，byeveryoneconnectedwithhim。Youralliancewillbeadisgrace;yournamewillneverevenbementionedbyanyofus。”

“Theseareheavymisfortunes，”repliedElizabeth。“ButthewifeofMr。Darcymusthavesuchextraordinarysourcesofhappinessnecessarilyattachedtohersituation，thatshecould，uponthewhole，havenocausetorepine。”

“Obstinate，headstronggirl!Iamashamedofyou!Isthisyourgratitudeformyattentionstoyoulastspring?Isnothingduetomeonthatscore?Letussitdown。Youaretounderstand，MissBennet，thatIcameherewiththedeterminedresolutionofcarryingmypurpose;norwillIbedissuadedfromit。Ihavenotbeenusedtosubmittoanypersonswhims。Ihavenotbeeninthehabitofbrookingdisappointment。”

“Thatwillmakeyourladyshipssituationatpresentmorepitiable;butitwillhavenoeffectonme。”

“Iwillnotbeinterrupted。Hearmeinsilence。Mydaughterandmynephewareformedforeachother。Theyaredescended，onthematernalside，fromthesamenobleline;and，onthefathers，fromrespectable，honourable，andancient—thoughuntitled—families。Theirfortuneonbothsidesissplendid。Theyaredestinedforeachotherbythevoiceofeverymemberoftheirrespectivehouses;andwhatistodividethem?Theupstartpretensionsofayoungwomanwithoutfamily，connections，orfortune。Isthistobeendured!Butitmustnot，shallnotbe。Ifyouweresensibleofyourowngood，youwouldnotwishtoquitthesphereinwhichyouhavebeenbroughtup。”

“Inmarryingyournephew，Ishouldnotconsidermyselfasquittingthatsphere。Heisagentleman;Iamagentlemansdaughter;sofarweareequal。”

“True。Youareagentlemansdaughter。Butwhowasyourmother?Whoareyourunclesandaunts?Donotimaginemeignorantoftheircondition。”

“Whatevermyconnectionsmaybe，”saidElizabeth，“ifyournephewdoesnotobjecttothem，theycanbenothingtoyou。”

“Tellmeonceforall，areyouengagedtohim?”