傲慢与偏见13 A Young Man Changed
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
A Young Man Changed
Elizabeth's excitement was very high as shewatched for the first appearance of Pemberley Woods.Finally they turned toward the house.
The park was very large and had a great variety oftrees and plants. They entered it at one of its lowestpoints and drove for some time through a beautifulwood. Slowly, about a half a mile, they were at the topof a hill. The wood stopped here, and their eyes wereinstantly caught by Pemberley House. It was located onthe opposite side of a valley. It was a large, handsome,stone building that stood on high ground and wasbacked by high woody hills. A river ran in front of it,with trees lined on its banks. Elizabeth was delighted.At that moment she thought what it would be like to bethe mistress of Pemberley. She thought it would indeedbe something to be proud of !
They came down the hill and drove to the door.When they asked to see the place, they were let intothe hall. The housekeeper came - she was arespectable-looking elderly lady who was more politethan Elizabeth had expected. They followed her intothe dining room. It was a large room with handsomefurniture. From its windows, the hill, upon whichwere many trees, was very beautiful. All the rooms inthe house had high ceilings. This added to the beauty ofthe house. The furniture and decorations had greatstyle and from every window there were beauties to beseen .
Elizabeth really wanted to ask the housekeeperwhether the master was really absent. but she was notbrave enough. Finally, her uncle asked her if themaster was present. The servant. Mrs. Reynolds,replied that he was not, but then added, "but weexpect him tomorrow with a party of friends. "
"Is your master here at Pemberley much of theyear?" Mr. Gardiner asked.
"Not so much as I could wish, sir. "
"If he were to marry, you might see more ofhim," suggested Mrs. Gardiner.
"Yes. madam - but I don't know when this willhappen. I do not know who is good enough for him. "
Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner smiled. Elizabeth said,"I'm sure your opinion of him makes him respect youvery much. "
"I say no more than what is true," replied theservant. "He is the best landlord and the best masterthat ever lived. There is not one of his servants thatwill complain about him. Some people call him proud,but l don't think I've ever seen him this way. "
"Can this be the same Mr. Darcy?" Elizabethwondered .
They entered the picture room. Here there weremany paintings of the family, and Elizabeth stopped infront of a particular painting. It was a painting thatlooked like Mr. Wickham, and it was hung amongseveral other pictures. The housekeeper approachedElizabeth and told her that it was not a picture ofsomeone related to the family. Instead, it was thepicture of a young gentleman who had been brought upby her late master. The late master had used his ownmoney in raising the child.
"That man is now in the army, " she added, "butl am afraid that his character has turned out to be verywild . "
Elizabeth walked on to look for another face thatshe knew. Finally she stopped in front of a paintingthat looked like Mr. Darcy. She stood looking at it formany minutes, and then she returned to it again beforethey left the gallery .
Having seen all parts of the house that were opento the public, they thanked the housekeeper and saidgoodbye. Then the gardener met them to show themthe grounds around the house. As they walked throughthe garden towards the river, Elizabeth turned to lookback. She saw Mr. Darcy approaching from anotherroad that led to where the horses were kept. Hisappearance was so sudden that it was impossible to misshim. Their eyes instantly met, and both of their cheeksbecame deep red. He stood, not moving from surprise.Then he came forward and spoke to Elizabeth calmlyand politely.
Both Mrs. Gardiner and her husband stood a littleaway while they were talking. Elizabeth, who wassurprised and confused, could hardly lift her eyes tolook at his face. She was hardly able to answer all thequestions which he asked about her family. Finally,after standing a few moments without saying a word,he bowed to her and said goodbye.
Her aunt and uncle then joined her and told herthey greatly admired his appearance, but Elizabethherself could not hear a word. She felt both ashamedand worried. She thought he would consider her moststrange, as if she had come to Pemberley on purpose.Oh, why did she come? She asked herself. Or, whyhad he come back a day before he was expected? Andhis behavior and manner was so different than before -what could it mean? She was amazed that he had evendecided to speak to her! - but to speak with suchpoliteness, to ask after her family! Never had she heardhim speak with such gentleness as on this unexpectedmeeting .
Then they entered a beautiful walk by the side ofthe river. Soon they were again surprised by the sightof Mr. Darcy approaching.
He asked Elizabeth if she would introduce him toher friends. He stated that it would be his honor. Hebegan a conversation with Mr. Gardiner and started toaccompany them back to the house. Elizabeth felt quitepleased. She wanted Darcy to know that she had somerelations which were not as embarrassing as her motherand younger sisters. She felt pride every time her uncleshowed his intelligence and good manners.
The party stopped to look at some unusual water-plants, and Mrs. Gardiner took her husband's arm.Mr. Darcy then took his place beside Elizabeth andthey walked on together. After a short silence,Elizabeth told him that she had been told that he wouldnot be there when they came to Pemberley. Heexplained that business had brought him ahead of theparty that was arriving the next day. "Mr. Bingley andhis sisters will come, " he said.
Elizabeth answered only by making a slight bow.
"There is another person in the party that arrivestomorrow, " he continued after a short while, "whom Ishould like you to meet. Will you allow me to introducemy sister to you while you are staying at Lambton?"
Elizabeth was very surprised at his request. Shefelt he was quite generous. It was good to know thather earlier bad feelings toward him had not made himthink wrongly of her. Elizabeth was both flattered andpleased .
When they reached their carriage, Darcy politelyasked them to come inside the house for some tea.However, they did not accept this offer because theywished to reach Lambton before dark. They left Mr.Darcy with much politeness. When the carriage droveoff, Elizabeth turned and saw him walking slowlytowards the house.
Her uncle and aunt began to speak about the goodfeelings they had toward Mr. Darcy. They felt that hewas a man of good manners and attentiveness.Elizabeth herself felt that she liked him better than everbefore .
Elizabeth had arranged with Darcy that he wouldbring his sister to visit her the day after the partyreached Pemberley, but instead these visitors arrivedthe very next morning.
When the introduction took place, Elizabeth sawto her surprise that Miss Darcy was almost asembarrassed as she was. She had heard from Wickhamthat Miss Darcy was very proud. Instead, she foundthat Miss Darcy was extremely shy. She was taller thanElizabeth, and less handsome than her brother. But herface was full of good humor and her manners weregentle.
They had not been together very long before Darcytold her that Bingley was also coming to join them.Soon they heard footsteps on the stair and Bingleyentered the room. All of Elizabeth's anger went awayonce she saw him, and she was, once again surprised byhis friendliness. He asked her about her family, andlooked and spoke with the same goodhumor that he hadalways done .
She could not be fooled by his behavior towardMiss Darcy. There was nothing between them thatshowed they had any special feelings for each other.When the others were talking together, he toldElizabeth that it was a very long time since he had hadthe pleasure of seeing her. Before she could reply, headded, "It is about eight months. We have not metsince the 26th November when we were all dancingtogether at Netherfield. "
It pleased her to see that his memory was soexact. After waiting a moment, Bingley asked whetherall of her sisters were at Longbourn. Though it was asimple question, Elizabeth understood the specialmeaning behind it.
When everyone was ready to leave, Mr. Darcyand his sister expressed their wish of having Mr. andMrs. Gardiner and Miss Bennet to dinner atPemberley. It was decided that they would meet fordinner the day after the next.
When the visitors had gone, Elizabeth thoughtthat their visit had been one of great satisfaction. Shewanted to be alone, because she was fearful of questionsfrom her uncle and aunt. She stayed with them onlylong enough to hear that they thought most highly ofBingley .
Her thoughts were of Pemberley all that evening.The evening was not long enough for her to decide howshe felt about Darcy. Her hatred toward him haddisappeared long ago, and she now felt ashamed aboutever disliking him. Above all, she felt very grateful;not because he had once loved her, but because he lovedher enough to forgive the way that she had not acceptedhis offer. He might have tried to avoid meeting her,but it seemed, on this accidental meeting, that hewanted to keep the friendship. Indeed, he tried tomake her relations have a good opinion of him, and hewanted to introduce her to his sister. She wonderedhow much happiness it would bring to both of them ifshe were to encourage his feelings of love for her.
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