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of course that Lady Catherine de Bourgh and Lady Anne Darcy were sisters; consequently that she is aunt to the present Mr. Darcy».

      «No, indeed, I did not. I knew nothing at all of Lady Catherine's connections. I never heard of her existence till the day before yesterday».

      «Her daughter, Miss de Bourgh, will have a very large fortune, and it is expected that she and her cousin Mr. Darcy will unite the two estates».

      This information made Elizabeth smile, as she thought of poor Miss Bingley. All her attentions, her affection for his sister and her praise of himself must be in vain and useless if he was already destined for another.

      «Mr. Collins», said she, «speaks highly both of Lady Catherine and her daughter. But from some details in his stories about her ladyship, I suspect his gratitude misleads him, and that in spite of her being his patroness, she is an arrogant, conceited woman».

      «I think she is both in a great degree», replied Wickham. «I have not seen her for many years, but I very well remember that I never liked her, and that her manners were dictatorial and offensive. She has the reputation of being remarkably sensible and clever, but I think she gets this reputation partly from her rank and fortune, partly from her authoritative manner, and the rest from the pride for her nephew, who chooses that everyone connected with him should have an intelligence of the first class».

      Elizabeth thought that he had given a very reasonable description of it, and they continued talking together, with mutual satisfaction till supper put an end to cards, and gave the rest of the ladies their share of Mr. Wickham's attentions. There could be no conversation in the noise of Mrs. Phillips's supper party, but his manners recommended him to everybody. Whatever he said, was said well; and whatever he did, done gracefully. Elizabeth went away with her head full of him. She thought of Mr. Wickham and of what he had told her all the way home. But she wasn't able even to mention his name as they went, for neither Lydia nor Mr. Collins were silent for a moment. Lydia talked of lottery tickets, of what she had lost and what she had won; and Mr. Collins described the politeness of Mr. and Mrs. Phillips, repeated again and again that he did not in the least regret his losses at whist, enumerated all the dishes at supper, and had more to say than he could manage before the carriage stopped at Longbourn House.

      Chapter 16

      The next day, Elizabeth told Jane about her conversation with Mr. Wickham. Jane was astonished and worried; it was difficult for her to believe that Mr. Darcy could be so unworthy of Mr. Bingley's respect; and yet, it was not in her nature to question the honesty of a young man of such pleasant appearance as Wickham.

      «They have both», said she, «been deceived, perhaps, in some way or other, of which we can form no idea. Interested people have perhaps misrepresented each to the other. It is, in short, impossible for us to guess the causes or circumstances which had set them against each other, without factual blame on either side».

      «Very true, indeed; and now, my dear Jane, what have you got to say about those interested people? Defend them too, or we shall be obliged to think badly of somebody».

      «Laugh as much as you choose, but you will not laugh me out of my opinion. My dearest Lizzy, just think in what shameful light it places Mr. Darcy, to be treating his father's favourite in such a manner, one whom his father had promised to provide for. It is impossible. No respectable man, no man who cared for his good reputation, could be capable of it. Can his most intimate friends be so greatly deceived in him? Oh, no!»

      «I can much more easily believe that this friendship has been imposed on Mr. Bingley, than that Mr. Wickham has invented such history of himself as he gave me last night; names, facts, everything. If it is not so, let Mr. Darcy contradict it. Besides, there was truth in his looks».

      «It is difficult indeed, it is upsetting. One does not know what to think».

      «I beg your pardon; one knows exactly what to think».

      The sisters were called from the shrubbery, where this conversation passed, by the arrival of the very persons of whom they had been speaking; Mr. Bingley and his sisters came to give their personal invitation for the long-expected ball at Netherfield, which was fixed for the following Tuesday. Mr. Bingley's sisters were delighted to see their dear friend Jane again, called it an age since they had met, and repeatedly asked what she had been doing with herself since their separation. To the rest of the family they paid little attention, avoiding Mrs. Bennet as much as possible, saying not much to Elizabeth, and nothing at all to the others. They soon hurried to leave Longbourn as if eager to escape from Mrs. Bennet's polite exclamations.

      The prospect of the Netherfield ball was extremely pleasant to every female of the family. Mrs. Bennet was flattered by receiving the invitation from Mr. Bingley himself, instead of a ceremonious card. Jane pictured to herself a happy evening in the society of her two friends, and the attentions of their brother; and Elizabeth thought with pleasure of dancing a great deal with Mr. Wickham, and of seeing a confirmation of everything in Mr. Darcy's behaviour. Though Catherine and Lydia, like Elizabeth, meant to dance half the evening with Mr. Wickham, he was by no means the only partner who could satisfy them. And even Mary could assure her family that she hadn't anything against a ball.

      «While I can have my mornings to myself», said she, «I think it is no sacrifice to join occasionally in evening amusements».

      Mr. Collins surprised Elizabeth when he said that he saw nothing improper in his joining in the evening's amusement.

      «I am by no means of the opinion, I assure you», said he, «that a ball of this kind, given by a young man of good reputation, to respectable people, can have any evil tendency; I am so far from objecting to dancing myself, that I will hope to be honoured with the hands of all my fair cousins in the course of the evening, and I take this opportunity of asking yours, Miss Elizabeth, for the two first dances especially».

      Though Elizabeth hoped to be engaged by Mr. Wickham for those very dances, she saw now that Mr. Wickham's happiness and her own were perforce delayed a little longer, and accepted Mr. Collins's proposal with as good a grace as she could. His gallantry pleased her even less because of the suspicion that she was selected from among her sisters as worthy of being mistress of Hunsford Parsonage. The suspicion soon became conviction, as she noticed his increasing politeness toward herself, and heard his frequent attempt at a compliment on her wit and vivacity. She understood by her mother's behavior that their marriage would please her extremely. Elizabeth, however, did not choose to take the hint. Mr. Collins might never make the offer, and till he did, it was useless to quarrel about him.

      Chapter 17

      Elizabeth was sure Mr. Wickham would be among the officers at Netherfield ball. She had dressed with more than usual care, and prepared in the highest spirits for the conquest of all that remained unconquered of his heart. But she looked in vain for him among the group of red coats assembled in the drawing room at Netherfield. In an instant arose the suspicion that Mr. Wickham hadn't been included in the Bingleys' invitation to the officers for Mr. Darcy's pleasure. Though this was not exactly the case, his friend Denny confirmed the absolute fact of his absence when Lydia asked him. He told them that Wickham had to go to town on business the day before, and hadn't yet returned, adding, with a meaningful smile, «I do not imagine his business would have called him away just now, if he had not wanted to avoid a certain gentleman here».

      On hearing this, Elizabeth felt that Darcy was no less answerable for Wickham's absence than if her first guess had been just, and every feeling of displeasure against Mr. Darcy was so sharpened by her disappointment, that she could hardly reply with tolerable politeness to the well-mannered questions which he soon afterwards approached to make. Attention, patience with Darcy was offence to Wickham. She was determined against any sort of conversation with him, and turned away with a degree of bad temper which she could not wholly win even in speaking to Mr. Bingley, whose blind affection for Darcy irritated her.

      But Elizabeth was not formed for bad temper, and though her own plans for the evening were destroyed, she could not be low-spirited long. Having told all her sorrows to Charlotte Lucas, whom she had not seen for a week, she was soon able to draw her friend's attention to her cousin Mr. Collins and make witty remarks as to the oddities of the young man. The first two dances,

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