8 Elizabeth Learns more about Darcy and Wickham 
　  
　　The next morning Elizabeth had still not recovered from the surprise of Darcy's proposal to her．Feeling in need of exercise and fresh air， she decided to have a walk． In order to avoid meeting Mr Darcy， she kept away from her favourite path， but could not resist walking a little way into Lady Catherine's park． There she was astonished to see Darcy him－self approaching her and calling her name． 
　　‘I have been walking some time in the hope of meeting you，’he said．‘Will you do me the honour of reading this let－ter？’And， handing her an envelope， he bowed slightly and walked quickly away．With no expectation of pleasure， but with the strongest curiosity， Elizabeth opened the letter， and began to read it as she continued her walk alone．  
　　　 
　　Do not be alarmed，madam，that I shall repeat the offer which so disgusted you last night．I have no intention of mentioning again wishes which， for the happiness of both of us， cannot be too soon forgotten．I would not have written， but justice re－quires my character to be defended． 
　　You accused me last night of two very different offences．The first was that I had separated Mr Bingley from your sister，in spite of their mutual affection，and the second was that I had destroyed Mr Wickham's chance of future wealth and happiness， in spite of my father's honourable promises to him．I hope that you will no longer blame me for either of these offences， when you have read the explanation which follows．If I am forced to describe feelings which offend you， I can only say I am sorry． 
　　I had not been long in Hertfordshire before I noticed that Bingley preferred your elder sister Jane to any other young woman．But I had often seen him in love before，and it wasn't until the Netherfield ball that I realized how serious his at-tachment was．I was careful to observe your sister closely，and as her manners and appearance were as pleasant and cheerful as ever， I remained convinced that she did not feel strongly about him．I was perhaps deceived by her calmness，and in that case， your anger has not been unreasonable． But I sincerely believed that her heart had not been touched．I ob－jected to Bingley's possible marriage to her， not only for those reasons of social inferiority that I mentioned to you last night，but also for reasons which in my case I had tried to for－get， but which I must state now．The behaviour that evening of your mother， your three younger sisters， and occasionally even your father，was so lacking in social correctness that I made up my mind to save my friend from what I considered would be a most unhappy marriage．If you are upset by my description of your family's faults， it may comfort you to con-sider that you and your elder sister have avoided any share of blame，and deserve nothing but honourable praise for your behaviour．To continue—when I was in London， with the help of Bingley's sisters， who shared my opinion，I explained to him the disadvantages of marriage to your sister．This alone would not have been enough to prevent the marriage，if I had not also been able to convince him of your sister's indiffer－ence to him．Then it was easy to persuade him not to return to Hertfordshire．I do regret one thing， however．Miss Bingley and I both knew that your sister was in London， but we hid the fact from Bingley．In this I consider I was less than honest， but I have no other apology to offer． 
　　Your other， more serious accusation refers to Mr Wickham．Here again I may cause you pain—only you can tell how much．In order to show you his real character I must explain the whole of his connection with my family．His late father worked for mine for many years， helping to look after the Pemberley farms．His son， George Wickham， received much kindness from my father， who paid for him to go to school and to university．My father hoped the young man would enter the Church．If he became a priest， I was to give him the post of rector in a village near Pemberley， when it became vacant．But even before my father died， I had discovered Wickham's weakness of character and lack of morals．After my father's death，Wickham wrote to inform me that he did not intend to enter the Church， and asked for an amount of money instead of the post of rector．I knew that，with his character faults，he ought not to become a priest， and I therefore agreed at once．The business was soon arranged．He resigned all claim to the church post， and accepted three thousand pounds instead．I hoped that I would not see him or hear form him again．But three years later he wrote again，this time to ask for the rec－tor's post， informing me that his money had all gone and his situation was desperate．You will hardly blame me for refus－ing．Since then he has doubtless been violent in accusing me of injustice to all who will listen to him． 
　　There is one more circumstance which I would like to for-get myself，but which I must now mention．I rely on your keep－ing this confidential．A year ago，I sent my sister，who is ten years younger than I am， on holiday to Ramsgate in Kent， in the care of a female companion．Unfortunately， there was an understanding between this woman and Mr Wickham，who also went to Ramsgate．With her help and encouragement， he spent a great deal of time with Georgiana， and flattered her so much that she believed she was in love， and agreed to elope with him．She was only fifteen at the time，and I am glad to say that she confessed everything to me immediately，when I arrived unexpectedly in Ramsgate just before their planned elopement Naturally，I dismissed the companion，and wrote to Wickham， who left the place at once．He was doubt-less most interested in my sister's fortune， which is thirty thousand pounds， but I cannot help supposing that he was also eager to revenge himself on me．I hope you will now clear me of all blame in this matter． 
　　If，madam，you doubt the truthfulness of my description of these circumstances， I suggest you speak to Colonel Fitzwilliam． As my cousin and close friend， he knows every detail of these events，and will be happy to support what I say． 
　　I will only add，may God be with you． 
　　Fitzwilliam Darcy  
　　　 
　　Elizabeth experienced a variety of emotions as she read the let－ter．She was astonished to discover that Darcy was capable of any sort of apology．It was with a strong prejudice against any－thing he might say that she began reading his explanation of what had happened at Netherfield， and at first she was too an－gry with him to treat him with justice．But when she went on to read his description of his relationship with Wickham， she hesitated．It was so very different from Wickham's story，which she would have preferred to believe． But after a few mo-ments'thought she realized that Darcy's statement was much more likely to be true． She began to remember several things about Wickham which now appeared strange to her．On the first evening she had met him， he had told the whole story about his lost fortune and the Darcy family to her，a total stranger． Then he had boasted of having no fear of Darcy， but had avoided the Netherfield ball the very next week．In addi－tion， he had waited until the Bingleys and Darcy had left Netherfield before making his accusations public． She reminded herself that no one in Hertfordshire knew anything about Wickham's past，so it was quite possible that he lacked morals， as Darcy said． She had to admit that Darcy himself，though horribly proud， had always shown himself to be a gen-tleman． Finally， Darcy would certainly not have dared to refer her to Colonel Fitzwilliam，if he were not certain that his cousin could prove these statements． 
　　She became absolutely ashamed of herself．‘How badly I have behaved！’she cried．‘How prejudiced I have been， I who have always been so proud of my ability to judge people！ That pride has led me blindly into making a stupid mistake．Flattered by Wickham's interest， and offended by Darcy's coolness，I have misjudged both of them．Till this moment， I never knew myself．’ 
　　She re－read what Darcy had to say about Jane， and this time was forced to admit that Jane had displayed few outward signs of her feelings for Bingley．Charlotte had even commented on it．Then when Elizabeth looked again at Darcy's comments on her family's behaviour， her sense of shame was very great， and she could not deny the justice of his words．Feeling more mis－erable than she had ever felt before，she slowly returned to the Rectory， where she had difficulty in maintaining a cheerful ap－pearance． 
　　Mr Darcy and Colonel Fitzwilliam left Rosings the next day，and were sadly missed by their aunt， who now had so little entertainment that she invited the Collinses and their visitors several times that week． As Elizabeth only had a few days left before the end of her visit， she thought it fortunate that most of her time was occupied． When she had a moment to herself， it was a great relief to walk outside in the garden or the park，alone with her thoughts． She soon knew Mr Darcy's letter by heart． Although she was still angry with him for the proud，over－confident way in which he had proposed， her anger turned against herself when she considered how unjustly she had criti－cized and accused him．She respected his character and felt pity for his disappointment，but did not for a moment regret her re－fusal， or have the slightest desire to see him ever again． 
　　She was saddened when she thought of her family．Her fa-ther enjoyed laughing at Kitty's and Lydia's foolishness so much that he never attempted to control his two youngest daughters，and her mother，whose own behaviour was far from correct，was completely unaware that anything was wrong．And poor Jane！It now appeared that Bingley's affection had been sincere， and Jane's disappointment had been indirectly caused by the behaviour of her own near relations． 
　　On Saturday morning Elizabeth said goodbye to her friend Charlotte， feeling sorry to leave her with such a husband． But Charlotte， although regretting the departure of her visitors， appeared quite content with her domestic arrangements． Mr Collins took care to say to Elizabeth， before she left，‘I do hope，my dear Miss Elizabeth， that you will be as happy in marriage as I am．My dear Charlotte and I have one mind and one way of thinking．We seem to be made for each other．’ 
　　‘It is most fortunate when that is the case，’was all that Elizabeth could safely reply． 
　　By midday she had arrived in London，where she had ar－ranged to stay a few days at her aunt's house．There was，how-ever， no opportunity to discuss Mr Darcy's letter with Jane，until they both reached Longbourn again， at the end of the week． 
　　It was pleasant to be at home again，but Elizabeth was very conscious of her younger sisters'silliness．They were full of the sad news they had just heard， that the regiment was leaving Meryton in two weeks’ time and would be staying for the summer in Brighton， a holiday town on the south coast．Lydia and her mother were trying hard to persuade Mr Bennet to take them to Brighton too， for several months， as the summer would be so miserable in Hertfordshire without the officers．Fortunately，Elizabeth felt sure her father would not agree to this foolish idea． 
　　When she and Jane were alone，she told her sister about Darcy's proposal of marriage．Jane was astonished，but soon her sisterly feelings made her think it quite natural， and her kind heart felt pity for Darcy's disappointment． However，when she heard about George Wickham's wickedness，as ex-plained in Darcy's letter， she was deeply shocked．After some discussion， the sisters decided not to tell anyone what they knew about Wickham， as he would soon be leaving Meryton in any case． 
　　Elizabeth felt greatly relieved by this conversation．She had got rid of two of her secrets， and was certain of a willing listen-er in Jane， whenever she might wish to talk again of either． But she dared not tell the third，and explain to Jane how sincere Bingley's feelings for her had been． She could see that Jane was not happy，because of her continued warm affection for Bingley． However， there seemed little chance of Bingley marry-ing her now， and Elizabeth did not want to deepen Jane's feel－ings of regret for her lost happiness． 
　  
8 伊丽莎白加深对达西和韦翰的了解 
　  
　　第二天早上，伊丽莎白还没有从达西求婚的惊讶中恢复过来。她感到需要活动，需要新鲜空气，便决定出去散散步。为了避免与达西先生相见，她避开了所喜欢的小道，但禁不住走进了凯瑟琳夫人的庄园里边。在那儿，她惊讶地发现达西本人在向她走来，而且还叫着她的名字。 
　　“我一直在这儿走动，希望能见到你，”他说，“请你赏光看看这封信好吗？”他递过信来，微微鞠了一躬，便快速地走开了。她没有希望得到多大乐趣，而是怀着强烈的好奇心，一边继续独行，一边开始读信： 
　　　  
　　小姐，请不要怕，我要重申昨天晚上令你厌恶的请求。我无意重提为了我们两人的幸福而无法很快忘记的愿望。我本来可以不写，但正义要求我为自己的品格辩护。 
　　昨晚，你把两件十分不同的罪名加在我头上。第一件是我不顾彬格莱先生和令姊彼此相爱，拆散了他们的好事，第二件是我不顾先父的郑重许诺，断送了韦翰先生获得财富和幸福的机会。我希望你读完以下我的解释以后不会再为其中任何一件事责怪我。如果我被迫描述惹你生气的感情，那么，我只能说声抱歉。 
　　我到哈福德郡不久，就看出彬格莱先生在当地所有少女中偏偏看中了令姊。但是，我以前经常看到他谈恋爱，直到举行尼日斐舞会，我才认识到他对令妹的倾心是多么认真。我仔细地密切观察令姊的变化，因为她的举止言谈一如既往地悦人和快活，所以，我仍旧坚信她对他没有强烈的感情。我也许为她表面的平静所欺骗，当真如此的话，那你的愤怒并非无稽之谈。但我曾真诚相信她的心未被触动。我反对彬格莱先生与令姊可能的婚姻，除了昨晚提及的社会地位卑下等原因之外，还有其他一些原因。我本人企图忘掉这些原因，但我今天必须说明。那天晚上，你的母亲、三位小妹，偶尔还有你的父亲，在举止方面过于不成体统，所以我决心让朋友免于这样一起我自认为甚为不幸的婚姻。如果我对你家人过错的描述令你不安，那么，如果说你和令姊已经免于任何指责，对你们的行为只能加以赞誉，那么，这对于你也不失为一种安慰吧！我接着讲——我在伦敦时，在彬格莱的妹妹的帮助下（她们与我有同感），我向他解释了与令姊结婚的不利之处。当然，仅此一点并不足以阻止这场婚姻，我还成功地说服了他令姊对他并无感情。这样，我就很容易说服他不再返回哈福德郡。但是，有一件事令我不能安心。彬格莱小姐和我都知道令姊在伦敦，但是我们向彬格莱隐瞒了事实。在这件事上，我认为自己不够诚实，但我仅能就此道歉。 
　　你的另一个更严重的指责是关于韦翰先生的。在此，我可能再次引起你的痛苦——痛苦程度只有你知道。为说明他的真正品格，我必须解释他跟我家的全部关系。他已故的父亲为我父亲工作多年，负责看管彭伯里的农场。他的儿子乔治·韦翰深得先父宠爱，他供养他读完大学。我父亲希望这个年轻人进入教会。假如他成为牧师，我将要把彭伯里附近一个村子的教区长职位授与他，如果该职位有朝一日出现空缺的话。但是，即使在父亲去世之前，我已发现韦翰的品质缺陷和道德匮乏。父亲去世之后，韦翰写信通知我说他不打算进入教会，要求我给他一笔钱，而他将就此放弃教区长的职位，于是我马上同意了。一切很快安排妥当。他放弃了对教会职务的所有权力要求，接受了三千英镑作为补偿。我曾希望从那以后不再见到他或听到他的消息。但三年后他又来信了，这次是要教区长的职务，告诉我他的钱已花光，走投无路。你很难责怪我拒绝他的要求。从那以后，他逢人便讲，疯狂地指责我不讲公道。 
　　还有一件事我自己希望忘记，但必须在此一提。我希望你严守秘密。一年前，我将我的妹妹（她比我小十岁）送到肯特郡的拉姆斯盖特度假，托付给一位女伴照料。不幸的是，这位女伴早与韦翰先生达成默契，而韦翰先生当时也去了拉姆斯盖特。在女伴的协助和怂恿下，他在乔治安娜那里花了大量的时间，把她吹捧得天花乱坠，竟然让她相信她爱上了他，便同意与他私奔。她当时只有15岁。我很高兴地告诉你，就在他们计划好私奔之前，我出其不意地到了拉姆斯盖特，她马上向我吐露了一切。很自然，我辞掉了女伴，并写信给韦翰，他马上离开了那个地方。毫无疑问，他最感兴趣的是我妹妹价值三万英镑的财产，但我禁不住也在想，他还急于借机报复我。我希望现在你能在这件事上让我免受指责。 
　　小姐，如果你对我描述的真实性存在怀疑，你可以问费茨威廉上校。他是我的表兄和挚友，对这几件事都知道得一清二楚，他会很高兴地证实我所说的话。 
　　最后，我再说一句：愿上帝与你同在。 
费茨威廉·达西  
　　　  
　　伊丽莎白读信时，经受了复杂的感情变化。她惊奇地发现达西什么样的歉意都会表达。她是带着怀疑一切的目光开始读他有关尼日斐的解释的，起初，她火在心头，不能公正地看待他。但当她继续往下读到他描述与韦翰的关系时，便有些犹豫不决了。这与韦翰所讲的完全不同，她倒宁愿相信韦翰说的是真的。但思索片刻后，她认识到达西的陈述更加可信。她开始回忆起韦翰的几件事，现在觉得有点奇怪。她第一天晚上碰到他时，他就向她，一个完全陌生的人，讲述了自己破财的全部经历，讲了达西一家。后来他吹嘘不怕达西，可是，就在第二个星期，便避免去参加尼日斐的舞会。另外，他一直等到彬格莱一家和达西都离开了尼日斐以后，才将指责公开化。她还提醒自己，在哈福德郡，人们对韦翰的过去一无所知，所以，达西所说的他道德匮乏是完全有可能的。她必须承认，达西本人虽然十分高傲，却处处表现出绅士风度。最后，如果达西不敢肯定表兄费茨威廉会证明他的说法，那么，他也不敢让她去找他作证。 
　　她惭愧得无地自容。“我的行为多糟糕呀！”她嚷道。“我的偏见太深了，就这样，我还总为自己阅人有术的慧眼而自豪呢！这自豪导致我犯了盲目愚蠢的错误。韦翰的殷勤使我受宠若惊，达西的冷静却伤了我的感情，我把他们两人都看错了。到现在，我才认识自己。” 
　　她重读了达西关于简的叙述，这次，她被迫承认简对彬格莱的感情几乎没有什么外在表示。夏洛特甚至还就此讲过自己的看法呢。接着，伊丽莎白再看达西对自己家人行为的评述，更加羞辱不堪。她不能否认他说得公正。她感到前所未有的痛苦，慢慢返回到教区长住宅，在那里，她也很难摆出一副高兴的样子。 
　　达西先生和费茨威廉上校第二天就离开了罗新斯，他们的姨妈想他们想得厉害。她现在因为没有什么娱乐，便邀请柯林斯夫妇和他们的客人每周来玩几次。因为伊丽莎白再过几天就要回去了，所以她觉得大部分时间都有事干还算幸运。她独自一人时，就在外面花园或公园里散散步，不受干扰地静心思考，感到很大的快慰。很快，她就将达西先生的信熟记在心。虽然她对他求婚时的高傲和过分自信还余怒未消，但她一想到自己多么不公正地批评和指责他，这种怨气便转向了自己。她尊重他的品格，也为他的失望感到可惜，但一刻也没有后悔自己拒绝了他，也丝毫没有再次见到他的欲望。 
　　她想到家人，感到一阵悲伤。她父亲喜欢嘲笑吉蒂和丽迪亚的愚蠢，但他从来没有管过这两个最小的女儿；她的母亲，自己的行为远非一般人能够接受，也完全不晓得出了什么差错。还有可怜的简！现在看来彬格莱对她的爱是真挚的，而简的失望却是由她家人的行为间接引起的。 
　　星期六上午，伊丽莎白向朋友夏洛特道了别，心里为把她丢给这样的丈夫而感到难过。不过，夏洛特虽然为客人们的离开感到遗憾，但显得对家庭安排还相当满意。在伊丽莎白离开之前，柯林斯先生还特意告诉她说：“亲爱的伊丽莎白小姐，我真诚希望你的婚姻能像我这样美满。我和亲爱的夏洛特真可谓夫唱妇随，天作之合。” 
　　“如果是这样，那就太幸运了，”伊丽莎白只能这么模棱两可地回答。 
　　中午时分，她到达了伦敦，她已安排好在舅母家小住几日。但是，她我不到机会同简讨论达西的信，这一拖就到了周末，她们都回到了浪搏恩。 
　　又回到了家，令人感到愉快，但伊丽莎白对几个妹妹的傻气十分敏感。她们满口都是刚刚听到的坏消息，说什么军团两周后要离开麦里屯到南部沿海的度假村布赖顿消夏了。丽迪亚和她母亲在竭力说服班纳特先生也把她们带到布赖顿，住上几个月，因为在哈福德郡，没有了军官们，夏天实在难熬。值得庆幸的是，伊丽莎白可以肯定父亲不会同意这种愚蠢的建议。 
　　她和简独处时，告诉了她达西求婚的事。简吃了一惊，但过了不久，姐妹之情使她感到这一切很自然，她那善良的心胸也为达西的失望感到惋惜。不过，她听到达西信中所讲的乔治·韦翰如何奸诈时，还是感到大为震惊。经过一番讨论，两人决定不把韦翰的事告诉任何人，反正他不久就要离开麦里屯了。 
　　谈完话后，伊丽莎白感到无比轻松。她已甩掉了两个秘密，而且肯定她什么时候愿意再谈，简都会随时愿意倾听的。但她不敢谈第三个秘密，即向简说明彬格莱对她的感情是多么真挚。她看得出简不高兴，因为她不断唤起对彬格莱的温馨回忆。但是，现在彬格莱再娶她似乎希望已很渺茫了，伊丽莎白不想加深简对失去的幸福感到的遗憾。 
　　　    


 