MissBennetpausedalittle,andthenreplied,“Surelytherecanbenooccasionforexposinghimsodreadfully。Whatisyouropinion?”
“Thatitoughtnottobeattempted。Mr。Darcyhasnotauthorisedmetomakehiscommunicationpublic。Onthecontrary,everyparticularrelativetohissisterwasmeanttobekeptasmuchaspossibletomyself;andifIendeavourtoundeceivepeopleastotherestofhisconduct,whowillbelieveme?ThegeneralprejudiceagainstMr。Darcyissoviolent,thatitwouldbethedeathofhalfthegoodpeopleinMerytontoattempttoplacehiminanamiablelight。Iamnotequaltoit。Wickhamwillsoonbegone;andthereforeitwillnotsignifytoanyoneherewhathereallyis。Sometimehenceitwillbeallfoundout,andthenwemaylaughattheirstupidityinnotknowingitbefore。AtpresentIwillsaynothingaboutit。”
“Youarequiteright。Tohavehiserrorsmadepublicmightruinhimforever。Heisnow,perhaps,sorryforwhathehasdone,andanxioustore-establishacharacter。Wemustnotmakehimdesperate。”
ThetumultofElizabethsmindwasallayedbythisconversation。Shehadgotridoftwoofthesecretswhichhadweighedonherforafortnight,andwascertainofawillinglistenerinJane,whenevershemightwishtotalkagainofeither。Buttherewasstillsomethinglurkingbehind,ofwhichprudenceforbadethedisclosure。ShedarednotrelatetheotherhalfofMr。Darcysletter,norexplaintohersisterhowsincerelyshehadbeenvaluedbyherfriend。Herewasknowledgeinwhichnoonecouldpartake;andshewassensiblethatnothinglessthanaperfectunderstandingbetweenthepartiescouldjustifyherinthrowingoffthislastencumbranceofmystery。“Andthen,”saidshe,“ifthatveryimprobableeventshouldevertakeplace,IshallmerelybeabletotellwhatBingleymaytellinamuchmoreagreeablemannerhimself。Thelibertyofcommunicationcannotbeminetillithaslostallitsvalue!”
Shewasnow,onbeingsettledathome,atleisuretoobservetherealstateofhersistersspirits。Janewasnothappy。ShestillcherishedaverytenderaffectionforBingley。Havingneverevenfanciedherselfinlovebefore,herregardhadallthewarmthoffirstattachment,and,fromherageanddisposition,greatersteadinessthanfirstattachmentsoftenboast;andsoferventlydidshevaluehisremembrance,andpreferhimtoeveryotherman,thatallhergoodsense,andallherattentiontothefeelingsofherfriends,wererequisitetochecktheindulgenceofthoseregretswhichmusthavebeeninjurioustoherownhealthandtheirtranquillity。
“Well,Lizzy,”saidMrs。Bennetoneday,“whatisyouropinionnowofthissadbusinessofJanes?Formypart,Iamdeterminednevertospeakofitagaintoanybody。ItoldmysisterPhillipssotheotherday。ButIcannotfindoutthatJanesawanythingofhiminLondon。Well,heisaveryundeservingyoungman—andIdonotsupposetherestheleastchanceintheworldofherevergettinghimnow。ThereisnotalkofhiscomingtoNetherfieldagaininthesummer;andIhaveinquiredofeverybody,too,whoislikelytoknow。”
“IdonotbelievehewilleverliveatNetherfieldanymore。”
“Ohwell!itisjustashechooses。Nobodywantshimtocome。ThoughIshallalwayssayheusedmydaughterextremelyill;andifIwasher,Iwouldnothaveputupwithit。Well,mycomfortis,IamsureJanewilldieofabrokenheart;andthenhewillbesorryforwhathehasdone。”
ButasElizabethcouldnotreceivecomfortfromanysuchexpectation,shemadenoanswer。
“Well,Lizzy,”continuedhermother,soonafterwards,“andsotheCollinsesliveverycomfortable,dothey?Well,well,Ionlyhopeitwilllast。Andwhatsortoftabledotheykeep?Charlotteisanexcellentmanager,Idaresay。Ifsheishalfassharpashermother,sheissavingenough。Thereisnothingextravagantintheirhousekeeping,Idaresay。”
“No,nothingatall。”
“Agreatdealofgoodmanagement,dependuponit。Yes,yes。Theywilltakecarenottooutruntheirincome。Theywillneverbedistressedformoney。Well,muchgoodmayitdothem!Andso,Isuppose,theyoftentalkofhavingLongbournwhenyourfatherisdead。Theylookuponitasquitetheirown,Idaresay,wheneverthathappens。”
“Itwasasubjectwhichtheycouldnotmentionbeforeme。”
“No;itwouldhavebeenstrangeiftheyhad;butImakenodoubttheyoftentalkofitbetweenthemselves。Well,iftheycanbeeasywithanestatethatisnotlawfullytheirown,somuchthebetter。Ishouldbeashamedofhavingonethatwasonlyentailedonme。”