DAY 24

 7 Darcy proposes marriage （7-2）

1. But one day, as she was walking, she met Colonel Fitzwilliam, not Mr. Darcy, and greeted him with a smile. They walked back to the Rectory together.

‘Are you leaving Kent this Sunday?’ she asked.

‘Yes, if Darcy doesn't put it off again.’

‘He is fortunate to be able to arrange things as he likes.’

‘Well, we all want to do that,’ replied Colonel Fitzwilliam.

‘But he is used to doing what he likes, because he is rich, and many others are poor. I, for example--I'm a younger son, you know, and won't inherit my father's fortune, so I shall never be rich or independent, like Darcy.’

‘Now seriously, you cannot call yourself poor. When have you ever suffered because of lack of money?’

‘Well, perhaps I haven't really suffered much yet. But there are difficulties. A younger son doesn't have a free choice when marrying. He cannot afford to marry a girl with no fortune.’

2. Elizabeth blushed, thinking that he might mean her,  and began to talk of something else. She asked him about Darcy's sister, and mentioned that the Bingley sisters liked her very much.

‘Bingley--yes, I know them. Their brother is very pleasant--a great friend of Darcy’ s,’ answered Colonel Fitzwilliam.

‘Oh, yes, Mr. Darcy is extremely kind to Mr. Bingley, and takes very good care of him.’ said Elizabeth drily冷淡地；不动感情地 .

‘Yes, I believe Darcy does take care of Bingley. I'm thinking of a recent situation, which Darcy was telling me about on the journey here. He was congratulating himself on having saved a friend from a most foolish marriage. Of course, I'm not sure the friend was Bingley, as Darcy didn't mention the name.

‘Did Mr. Darcy give you his reasons for interfering?’

‘I understood that there were some very strong objections to the lady.’

3. Elizabeth could not speak for a moment. When she was able to control her anger, she changed the conversation. As soon as they reached the Rectory, she said goodbye to Colonel Fitzwilliam, and went straight upstairs to her room. At last she could think without interruption about what he had told her.  Bingley, must have been the friend to whom Darcy was referring. She had always assumed that Darcy was involved in the plan to separate Jane and Bingley, but it now appeared that he, not Miss Bingley, was the main cause of all that Jane had suffered, and still continued to suffer. The ‘very strong objections to the lady’ probably consisted of having one uncle who was a country lawyer, and another who was in business in London. There could be no possible objections to Jane herself, as she was intelligent, beautiful and charming. Nor could anyone object to Mr. Bennet as a father-in-law. When Elizabeth thought of her mother, she felt a little less confident. She was still convinced, however, that Mr. Darcy was interested in high-born connections (攀附出生高贵的人) rather than character or common sense. It was this, the worst kind of pride, which had destroyed for a while every hope of happiness for the most affectionate, generous heart in the world.

4.Thinking about all this made Elizabeth so upset and unhappy that she soon had a headache. It grew so much worse in the evening, and she was so unwilling to see Mr. Darcy, that she decided not to go to Rosings that evening with Mr. and Mrs. Collins. Instead, she stayed in the Rectory sitting-room, rereading Jane's recent letters from London. She was saddened to discover that,  although Jane never complained, or referred to the past, in almost every line there was a lack of cheerfulness, which Elizabeth had not noticed the first time, and which now made her rather anxious. She was relieved to think that Darcy would be leaving Rosings in two days’ time,  and she herself would be with Jane in less than two weeks. Colonel Fitzwilliam would also be leaving with Darcy, but he had made it clear that he had no intention of proposing to her, so she did not intend to be unhappy about him.

 Task for Pride and Prejudice 24