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7k啦言情小说>傲慢与偏见 > 第132章(第1页)

第132章(第1页)

ThoughElizabethwouldnot,forthemerepurposeofobligingLadyCatherine,haveansweredthisquestion,shecouldnotbutsay,afteramomentsdeliberation:

“Iamnot。”

LadyCatherineseemedpleased。

“Andwillyoupromiseme,nevertoenterintosuchanengagement?”

“Iwillmakenopromiseofthekind。”

“MissBennetIamshockedandastonished。Iexpectedtofindamorereasonableyoungwoman。ButdonotdeceiveyourselfintoabeliefthatIwilleverrecede。IshallnotgoawaytillyouhavegivenmetheassuranceIrequire。”

“AndIcertainlynevershallgiveit。Iamnottobeintimidatedintoanythingsowhollyunreasonable。YourladyshipwantsMr。Darcytomarryyourdaughter;butwouldmygivingyouthewished-forpromisemaketheirmarriageatallmoreprobable?Supposinghimtobeattachedtome,wouldmyrefusingtoaccepthishandmakehimwishtobestowitonhiscousin?Allowmetosay,LadyCatherine,thattheargumentswithwhichyouhavesupportedthisextraordinaryapplicationhavebeenasfrivolousastheapplicationwasill-judged。Youhavewidelymistakenmycharacter,ifyouthinkIcanbeworkedonbysuchpersuasionsasthese。Howfaryournephewmightapproveofyourinterferenceinhisaffairs,Icannottell;butyouhavecertainlynorighttoconcernyourselfinmine。Imustbeg,therefore,tobeimportunednofartheronthesubject。”

“Notsohasty,ifyouplease。Ihavebynomeansdone。ToalltheobjectionsIhavealreadyurged,Ihavestillanothertoadd。Iamnostrangertotheparticularsofyouryoungestsistersinfamouselopement。Iknowitall;thattheyoungmansmarryingherwasapatched-upbusiness,attheexpenceofyourfatheranduncles。Andissuchagirltobemynephewssister?Isherhusband,isthesonofhislatefatherssteward,tobehisbrother?Heavenandearth!—ofwhatareyouthinking?AretheshadesofPemberleytobethuspolluted?”

“Youcannowhavenothingfurthertosay,”sheresentfullyanswered。“Youhaveinsultedmeineverypossiblemethod。Imustbegtoreturntothehouse。”

Andsheroseasshespoke。LadyCatherinerosealso,andtheyturnedback。Herladyshipwashighlyincensed。

“Youhavenoregard,then,forthehonourandcreditofmynephew!Unfeeling,selfishgirl!Doyounotconsiderthataconnectionwithyoumustdisgracehimintheeyesofeverybody?”

“LadyCatherine,Ihavenothingfurthertosay。Youknowmysentiments。”

“Youarethenresolvedtohavehim?”

“Ihavesaidnosuchthing。Iamonlyresolvedtoactinthatmanner,whichwill,inmyownopinion,constitutemyhappiness,withoutreferencetoyou,ortoanypersonsowhollyunconnectedwithme。”

“Itiswell。Yourefuse,then,toobligeme。Yourefusetoobeytheclaimsofduty,honour,andgratitude。Youaredeterminedtoruinhimintheopinionofallhisfriends,andmakehimthecontemptoftheworld。”

“Neitherduty,norhonour,norgratitude,”repliedElizabeth,“haveanypossibleclaimonme,inthepresentinstance。NoprincipleofeitherwouldbeviolatedbymymarriagewithMr。Darcy。Andwithregardtotheresentmentofhisfamily,ortheindignationoftheworld,iftheformerwereexcitedbyhismarryingme,itwouldnotgivemeonemomentsconcern—andtheworldingeneralwouldhavetoomuchsensetojoininthescorn。”

“Andthisisyourrealopinion!Thisisyourfinalresolve!Verywell。Ishallnowknowhowtoact。Donotimagine,MissBennet,thatyourambitionwilleverbegratified。Icametotryyou。Ihopedtofindyoureasonable;but,dependuponit,Iwillcarrymypoint。”

InthismannerLadyCatherinetalkedon,tilltheywereatthedoorofthecarriage,when,turninghastilyround,sheadded,

“Itakenoleaveofyou,MissBennet。Isendnocomplimentstoyourmother。Youdeservenosuchattention。Iammostseriouslydispleased。”

Elizabethmadenoanswer;andwithoutattemptingtopersuadeherladyshiptoreturnintothehouse,walkedquietlyintoitherself。Sheheardthecarriagedriveawayassheproceededupstairs。Hermotherimpatientlymetheratthedoorofthedressing-room,toaskwhyLadyCatherinewouldnotcomeinagainandrestherself。

“Shedidnotchooseit,”saidherdaughter,“shewouldgo。”

“Sheisaveryfine-lookingwoman!andhercallingherewasprodigiouslycivil!forsheonlycame,Isuppose,totellustheCollinseswerewell。Sheisonherroadsomewhere,Idaresay,andso,passingthroughMeryton,thoughtshemightaswellcallonyou。Isupposeshehadnothingparticulartosaytoyou,Lizzy?”

Elizabethwasforcedtogiveintoalittlefalsehoodhere;fortoacknowledgethesubstanceoftheirconversationwasimpossible。

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