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«My dear Mr. Bennet, you must not expect young girls to have the mind of their father and mother. When they get to our age, they will not think about officers any more than we do. I remember the time when I liked a red coat myself very well… and, indeed, so I do still at my heart; and if a young colonel, with five or six thousand a year, should want one of my girls, I shall not say nay to him; and I thought Colonel Forster looked very becoming the other night at Sir William's in his regimentals».
The conversation was interrupted by the entrance of the servant with a note for Miss Bennet; it came from Netherfield, and the servant waited for an answer. Mrs. Bennet's eyes sparkled with pleasure, and she was eagerly asking, while her daughter read,
«Well, Jane, who is it from? What is it about? What does he say? Well, Jane, tell us, my love».
«It is from Miss Bingley», said Jane, and then read it aloud.
«MY DEAR FRIEND,
Please, come to dine to-day with Louisa and me. My brother and the gentlemen are to dine with the officers, so we'll be in danger of hating each other for the rest of our lives, for a whole day's tete-a-tete between two women can never end without a quarrel. Come as soon as you can. Yours ever, CAROLINE BINGLEY»
«The gentlemen are dining out», said Mrs. Bennet, «that is very unlucky».
«Can I have the carriage?» said Jane.
«No, my dear, you had better go on horseback, because it seems likely to rain; and then you'll have to stay all night».
«That would be a good scheme», said Elizabeth, «if you were sure that they would not offer to send her home».
«Oh! But the gentlemen will have Mr. Bingley's carriage to go to Meryton».
«I would prefer to go in the carriage».
«But, my dear, the horses are wanted in the farm, I am sure. Mr. Bennet, are they not?»
The horses were, indeed, engaged. Jane had therefore to go on horseback. Her mother's hopes for a bad day were answered; Jane had not been gone long before it rained hard. Her sisters were sorry for her, but her mother was delighted. The rain continued the whole evening; Jane certainly could not come back.
The next morning, a servant from Netherfield brought the following note for Elizabeth:
«MY DEAREST LIZZY
I find myself very unwell this morning, due, I suppose, to my getting wet through yesterday. My kind friends will not hear of my returning till I am better. They insist also on my seeing Dr. Jones. Therefore, do not be alarmed if you hear of his visit. And, except a sore throat and headache, there is not much the matter with me. Yours, etc».
«Well, my dear», said Mr. Bennet, when Elizabeth had read the note aloud, «if your daughter dies, it would be a comfort to know that it was all in pursuit of Mr. Bingley and under your orders».
«Oh! I am not afraid of her dying. People do not die of little colds. She will be taken good care of».
Elizabeth was really worried and decided to go to Netherfield to see Jane. She was no horsewoman, so walking was her only alternative. Her mother said she would get dirty walking through wet dirty fields and not fit to be seen.
«I will be very fit to see Jane, and that is all I want. It's only three miles. I'll be back by dinner».
Catherine and Lydia walked with Elizabeth as far as Meryton because Lydia hoped to see Captain Carter before he went to London. In Meryton they parted and Elizabeth continued her walk alone, crossing field after field at a quick pace, jumping over puddles with impatient activity. When she reached the house, her shoes and stockings were dirty, and her face was glowing with the warmth of exercise.
She was shown into the breakfast room, where her appearance created a great deal of surprise. Elizabeth was sure that Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley disapproved of her walking alone, and in such dirty weather. However, they received her very politely. In their brother's manners there was good humor and kindness. Mr. Darcy said very little. He was divided between admiration of the brilliance given to her complexion by the exercise, and doubt that there was any need for her coming so far alone. Mr. Hurst said nothing at all. He was thinking only of his breakfast.
She was told that her sister was very feverish, and not well enough to leave her room. Elizabeth was taken to her immediately; Jane was delighted at her entrance. She didn't feel strong enough, however, and when Miss Bingley left them together, could say little besides expressions of gratitude for the extraordinary kindness she was treated with.
When the doctor examined Jane, he said that she had caught a severe cold, advised her to return to bed, and promised to bring her some medicine. The advice was followed readily, for the feverish symptoms increased, and her head ached badly. Elizabeth did not leave her room for a moment; the other ladies were not often absent either: the gentlemen were out, and they had, in fact, nothing to do elsewhere.
When the time came for Elizabeth to leave, Jane felt very ill and didn't want to part with her. Miss Bingley offered Elizabeth to stay at Netherfield for the present. Elizabeth was most thankful, and a servant was sent to Longbourn to inform the family and bring back a supply of clothes.
Chapter 8
When Elizabeth came down to dinner, Mr. Bingley expressed his sincere anxiety about Jane's condition. She had to say that Jane was by no means better. The sisters, on hearing this, repeated three or four times how much they sympathized with Jane, how shocking it was to have a bad cold, and then thought no more of the matter. Their brother's anxiety for Jane was evident, and his attentions to herself most pleasing. She had very little notice from any but him. Miss Bingley's attention was all for Mr. Darcy, and so was her sister's. Mr. Hurst, by whom Elizabeth sat, was an idle man, who lived only to eat, drink, and play at cards, who, when he found her to prefer a plain dish to a ragout, had nothing to say to her.
Right after dinner she returned to Jane, and Miss Bingley began criticizing her as soon as she was out of the room: her manners were very bad indeed, a mixture of pride and impertinence; she had no conversation, no style, no beauty. Mrs. Hurst agreed with her, and added:
«She has nothing, in short, to recommend her, except being an excellent walker. I shall never forget her appearance this morning. She really looked almost wild».
«You are right, Louisa. Her hair, so untidy. And why come at all? Why must she be running about the country because her sister had a cold?»
«Yes, and her petticoat: six inches deep in mud, I am absolutely certain».
Bingley said he hadn't noticed Elizabeth's dirty petticoat. In his opinion she looked remarkably well when she came into the room that morning.
Miss Bingley said that Elizabeth's behaviour showed conceited independence, a most country-town indifference to propriety.
«It shows an affection for her sister that is very pleasing», said Bingley.
«I am afraid, Mr. Darcy», remarked Miss Bingley in a half whisper, «that this adventure has rather acted on your admiration of her fine eyes».
«Not at all», he replied, «they were brightened by the exercise». After a short pause Mrs. Hurst began again:
«I like Miss Jane Bennet very much, she is really a very sweet girl, and I wish with all my heart she were well married. But with such father and mother, and such low connections, I am afraid there is no chance of it».
«I think I have heard you say that their uncle is an attorney in Meryton».
«Yes; and they have another, who lives somewhere near Cheapside».
«That is fine», added her sister, and they both laughed merrily.
«If Cheapside were full of their uncles», cried Bingley «it would not make them one jot less pleasant».
«But it must very materially lessen their chance of marrying men of any respectable status in the world», remarked Darcy.
Bingley