Miss Mary in Pride and Prejudice

In the early morning of the next day, Mary was awakened in her sleep by the patter of little feet outside the door and a burst of whispering. Soon, there was a Christmas carol sung by children's voices outside the door.It was a real blessing to hear such heavenly sounds on Christmas morning.

Mary was barefoot, put on a dressing gown, got out of bed quietly, and flung the door open, only to see six or seven lovely children standing at the door, two of them were the Gardners' cousin and cousin, and one The four are the children of offshoot relatives of the Darcy family. The oldest of them is only 7 years old, and the youngest is less than 3 years old. Wearing white pajamas, they are as cute as a group of little angels. The sudden appearance of Mary surprised them. He shouted happily and ran to the other end of the corridor, disappearing without a trace in the blink of an eye.

Before breakfast, there was a morning service in the chapel of the mansion, presided over by Mr. Austen Jr., the pastor of the church. In this atmosphere and the high quality of the audience, Mr. Austen Jr.'s knowledge came into play.He explained in detail the ins and outs of the legend of the three saints at Christmas, but perhaps only Mary was the one who really listened.After the morning prayer, Mr. Austin Jr. asked Miss Darcy to play the organ, and led everyone to sing hymns. The atmosphere was harmonious and peaceful, peaceful and serene.

After breakfast, Mary and Miss Darcy went for a walk in the courtyard together. The surface of the clear stream under the grassy slope was covered with a thin layer of ice. On the opposite side of the stream was towering ancient trees. There were deer coming and going from time to time. In mid-air, the steeple of the church loomed sharply against the cold sky, and the everlasting grass was covered with beautiful ice crystals, formed by the morning dew.On the path near the garden, a colorful green peacock is dragging its gorgeous dance skirt, wandering around in all manners.

However, although the sun was pouring down generously, the air outside was still chilly. It didn't take long for Mary and Miss Darcy to resist the cold and returned to the mansion.While the two of them were standing in the hall, being helped by the maid to take off their coats and fur caps, a distant relative of the late Mrs. Darcy happened to come out. Call him Lieutenant Andrew, this time he asked for leave to celebrate Christmas Eve, and was about to say goodbye to his master reluctantly.

The Captain Andrew was so overjoyed to see Miss Darcy standing just under a sprig of mistletoe that he immediately stepped forward to claim his rights, and wanted to kiss Miss Darcy.Miss Darcy was flushed with embarrassment, but she could do nothing. Just as Captain Andrew stepped forward to kiss Georgiana, she suddenly heard Mr. Austen's cold and stern voice from behind.

Mr. Austin Jr. seems to have had a real hatred of the mistletoe, which he claimed was a sacrilegious ornament quite unsuitable for such a sacred occasion as Christmas, since the tree was kept by the Druid monks in Used in secret rites, defiled, unholy, and even more so, the custom of kissing a maiden standing under the mistletoe.He was so obstinate in his opinion, that poor Captain Andrew gave up his attempt, and left Pemberley in despondency.However, Mr. Austin was not satisfied. He called the housekeeper's wife and threatened the kind old lady to remove all the innocuous decorations, so that Mr. Pastor no longer tensed his face so ferociously.

Mary, who witnessed the farce, laughed inwardly, but Miss Darcy was obviously very grateful to Mr. Austen for saving her, and she became more friendly to Mr. Pastor.Mr. Austen asked Miss Darcy to go to the hall to discuss the church choir. Mary didn't want to disturb them, so she walked to the library alone. When she passed the small drawing room where Elizabeth dealt with business on the way, she saw Elizabeth frowning Drinking a milky drink seems to be very difficult to drink.

Mary couldn't help asking: "My God, Lizzy, what are you drinking? Are you sick?"

Elizabeth forced a smile and said, "Don't worry, Mary, I'm very healthy. I drink juice squeezed from the fruit of mistletoe. Uh, it's really bad."

Mary asked suspiciously, "Then why do you want to drink such a nasty drink?"

Elizabeth lowered her voice and said, "You have read so many books, don't you know that the juice of the white berries produced by mistletoe in winter can cure infertility?"

Suddenly, Mary felt a little sad. Under Elizabeth's cheerful surface, she glimpsed her sister's difficulties for the first time.Yes, all was well with Elizabeth, she only lacked one child, an heir to Pemberley.She quickly suppressed the sadness in her heart, comforted Elizabeth and said: "Lizzy, you have only been married for a year, and it is normal to have no children. Don't worry, you will definitely have a lot of lovely children like Aunt Gardner. .”

Elizabeth hugged Mary tenderly: "Thank you, Mary, you are so kind." Then she whispered to Mary not to reveal this matter to Mr. Darcy, and of course Mary nodded in agreement.

However, when Mary sat alone in the library, she held a book in her hands, but couldn't read a word for a long time.She was thinking about how sad it was to be a woman, and that even women with seemingly flawless marriages like Elizabeth's had deep worries, let alone Charlotte and Lydia's unhappy marriages.Yes, just a week before Christmas, Elizabeth had received an urgent letter from Lydia, and she and Mr. Wickham were again squandering penniless and desperate.Elizabeth was obliged to support her sister in cash out of her own money, which she did without telling Mr. Darcy.

Thinking of these things, Mary could not help but sigh deeply, and she felt a kind of uncontrollable sadness about her future.She thought that maybe she would be able to avoid a lot of unknown troubles and humiliation by being an old girl who can't get married. After all, she has two older sisters who married into good families, which can guarantee her a life of food and clothing. Sighing deeply, I couldn't help but have mixed feelings in my heart, and shed tears.

When she was feeling tender and self-pitying, the door of the library was suddenly pushed open, and a completely unimaginable person strode in—it turned out to be the Earl of Leicester.The book on Mary's lap fell to the ground, and she quickly bent down to pick it up, taking the opportunity to wipe away the tears on her cheeks.When she thought her expression had returned to normal, she straightened up, ready to deal with Earl Leicester.

The count had already stood in front of her. He was dusty and out of breath, with a chill coming from his body. It seemed that he had ridden a horse for a long time in the severe winter.Mary had just said: "Count, Mr. Darcy is not here, he may be in the drawing room..." The Earl of Leicester had already raised his hand, and took a sprig of mistletoe from above her head.

Oh, that might be because the housekeeper's wife didn't evacuate and was left out here. Before Mary could react, Earl Leicester bowed his head and kissed her lips without saying a word.It was a long kiss and Mary felt dizzy like never before, never before.In her 19 years of life experience, no man has ever paid attention to her, loved her, or kissed her... But why is it not happiness, not gratitude, but humiliation and unwillingness to surge in her heart?

After a long time, Mary violently pushed the man in front of her away. She took a step back, stared at him in horror, and turned her head to leave the library.But the Earl of Leicester seized her and said in a low voice: "Forgive me, Mary, for not being able to control my emotions. I did not come to see Mr. Darcy. I set off here at midnight last night, Just want to see you, just for you."

Mary sank down on her chair in astonishment, unable to utter a word.The Earl of Leicester also seemed very excited, but he was able to express his surging love eloquently. From the first time he saw Mary, he said that he believed that Mary was the person he wanted to spend his life with. He said that he felt that the two were so consistent in character and hobbies that he could hardly find such a partner in the world. Finally, he narrated the Christmas Eve in Leicester Castle in a touching tone. Listening to the homeless singer's Christmas carols, he finally made up his mind to pursue his own happiness.So he drove hundreds of miles without stopping, and came to Pemberley overnight.I hope Mary can marry him and make him the happiest man in England.

I have to say that his narration is very touching. Mary is not hard-hearted, so she was naturally moved.But when she heard the Earl of Leicester describe how he stood on the steep battlements of Leicester Castle and looked down at the wandering entertainers below, the solemn and gloomy atmosphere in the castle once again enveloped her heart.She couldn't help thinking about the question she had just considered: Can she take on such a big responsibility?Will she be able to assume the title of countess and handle various family affairs with ease like Elizabeth?Are those various ceremonies and dances that she has to attend really the life she wants?If even Elizabeth has not achieved perfect happiness, how can a woman like her who is not beautiful enough, generous enough, or talented enough ensure that she will always be loved by her husband?

Thinking of this, the heart that had been heated up because of the marriage proposal gradually calmed down.Now that the count had finished speaking, he eagerly awaited Mary's reply.Although Mary couldn't help but feel pity and apologetic at the thought of his enthusiasm being let down in this way, she still tried to calm herself down and said, "Count, I am very honored to receive your marriage proposal, but unfortunately I have to refuse, I hope you will soon find your true soulmate, get married, and live happily ever after."

The count was silent for a long time, and the silence during this period made Mary feel very uncomfortable, and tears rolled in her eyes.Finally, the Earl of Leicester asked in a hoarse voice: "I am very sorry that I did not win your favor. But I would like to ask, what is the reason for my rejection? Is it because you already have someone you like?" Mary Just as he was about to deny it, the door of the library was suddenly pushed open, and Mr. Austin Jr. stood at the door dumbfounded and stared at the two people inside. He obviously did not expect to see the Earl here.

I only heard him stammering: "Oh, Earl, I didn't expect you to be here... Miss Bennet, I want to ask if you have time to discuss the accompaniment of the choir? Miss Darcy needs to be the lead singer ..." Seeing him come in, the Earl of Leicester obviously thought of another reason to go up, his face was so gloomy that he no longer asked Mary to give an answer, but picked up his hat in a disinterested manner, and pointed at Mary. He nodded and said, "I think I understand it already, so I won't bother you. I wish you all your wishes and happiness." He left in a hurry just like when he came.

Hearing his footsteps fade away, Mary couldn't help but burst into tears, and she didn't even know why she was crying. She just felt very uncomfortable, so she said sorry to Mr. Austen, and hurried upstairs to leave the house. He shut himself in the room.

I don't know how many people know that the earl once came to visit briefly, and don't know how little Mr. Austen viewed the scene in the library.In short, when Mary adjusted her mood and went downstairs to attend the Christmas dinner, the visit of the Earl of Leicester had already become an interesting episode, which was gently mentioned and put down.In any case, no one thought that he came here to propose marriage to Mary, and no one thought that Mary turned him down.People just laughed it off as a wayward behavior of some eccentric noblemen.

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