Miss Mary in Pride and Prejudice

After a heated discussion, Mary and Henry turned silently from the main road into a narrow country lane, which was shaded by dense trees into a secluded place.The farmhouse appeared in front of them. Judging from its appearance, it was too shabby even for an artistic person like Mary who loved the pastoral scenery. A lush ivy covered the front of the farmhouse. In the clearing by the gate a large bush of heather grew thickly, and through an arch woven in a hedge-wall a narrow path led to the farmhouse gate.

Mary felt Henry tremble slightly, and he took a few quick steps, his footsteps making a sound on the sand, when a radiant face flashed through a small diamond-shaped window and disappeared—almost A moment later, Annie ran out to meet them with light steps. She was wearing a beautiful country cotton dress, with rosy cheeks and a wide smile—she seemed to have rejuvenated all the enthusiasm of youth, and swept away the previous depression and shrinkage. Mary Never have I seen Anne so beautiful.

"My dear Mary," cried her friend, flying to embrace her, "I'm so glad, I've been looking forward to it, I've been looking forward to it, and I've run to meet you on the road...but then I thought I should first Getting dinner ready...I made the most delicious cabbage slaw and fresh cheese that my sister-in-law from the farmhouse next door sent me this morning with lace I wove myself...I picked it in the back garden I bought some of the freshest and reddest raspberries, sandwiched in bread, that is supremely delicious..."

Anne spoke so excitedly, and she took Mary to visit every corner of the farmhouse, full of praise for every decoration, and expressed her sincere love, and finally she happily took Henry's arm, with a mischievous look Ask Mary: "Honey, don't you envy me for having such a wonderful husband?" What else can Mary say besides heartfelt wishes?

Poor Mr. Davis was completely conquered. He looked at Annie adoringly, kissed her again and again, and murmured words of love. If it is said that Mary did know that some couples lived a happy life before, but as before She had never seen such a happy couple before.

Mary lived with the young couple like family.Although the Earl of Leicester was very generous, the couple were unwilling to accept too much favor from him, so Mr. Davis found a clerk position in the town, leaving early and returning late every day. Although the income was limited, it was enough for expenses, because Their daily life is very frugal.However, Mary did not feel any inconvenience because of the simple material conditions. On the contrary, she felt that the life in the lakeside farmhouse was the most comfortable and pleasant period of her life.

Every morning, when Henry went out to work, Mary and Anne would clean up the farmhouse inside and out, neat and orderly. They raised more than a dozen hens, and the eggs were not only eaten by themselves, but also used to share with neighbors. Swap milk, cheese, and vegetables.In addition, the two of them went to the woods by the lake to pick berries and mushrooms. There were more than a dozen bottles of homemade jam in the cupboard, and there were a lot of dried mushrooms on the roof. There were so many meaningful things to do every day. In the blink of an eye, it was night.Anne has learned to bake bread and fry pork chops, and Mary's potato chipping skills have almost caught up with her piano playing skills. Whether it's sour bread or burnt pork chops, Henry eats them all with relish.

In the evening, they chatted, read, discussed and laughed together in the small and warm living room, and recited Wordsworth and Keats poems by the lake together, as if such days would never end.Annie has never been so cheerful, she is always full of interest in everything, except that sometimes, when Henry is out to work, and Mary is concentrating on practicing, she will calm down, and only at that time, she There would be a tinge of sadness, Mary knew, that it was her thinking of her mother, the one who had declared that she would no longer recognize her.

Yes, Mr. Darcy's persuasion to Mrs. de Bourgh failed. Mrs. de Bourgh refused to listen to anyone's advice at all, insisted on calling Anne's marriage immoral, and never allowed anyone to stand in front of her again. Mention Anne's name.Mr. Darcy's letter made Anne shed a lot of tears behind her back, but she told Mary that she would never regret it, and that if time went back, she would still make the same choice.

She said to Mary, just like the philosophers in the book said: There are two roads in the woods, and you can only walk on one forever, and miss the other.She didn't want to lose her mother's love and blessings, but if it was hurt in the name of love, she could only run away.She said to Mary: "Life is full of irony. It uses noise to teach you to appreciate the beauty of silence, uses absence to evaluate the value of existence, and uses sadness to teach you what happiness is."

She did not mention Colonel Fitzwilliam, and Mary only knew that he was there when she fled from Rosings, and that she left him a letter announcing the engagement between them, and that he returned to the army.But Mary heard all these things from Elizabeth, so she didn't know what Anne thought of Colonel Fitzwilliam, and why she agreed to be engaged to him in the first place.

Now Anne just felt very sorry for Mrs. Jenkinson. Since she ran away, Mrs. de Bower blamed Mrs. Jenkinson for negligence, fired her, and refused to write her a letter of introduction.Feeling guilty, Anne asked Mr. Darcy to make suitable arrangements for Mrs. Jenkinson, introducing a new and well-paid position to the governess who had taken care of her for many years.

And Henry no longer complained about himself, but began to face the reality. He was going to ask the Earl of Leicester to allow him to return to Leicester Castle as soon as the Earl of Leicester was free to return here, and he had been working on the houndstooth rose. He himself estimated that in about ten years, this research would bear fruit, and at that time he would be able to earn a large sum of money so that Annie could live comfortably.

Whenever he sketched the blueprint, Anne listened to him with a smile, agreed with him, but always added at the end: "Dear Henry, we are rich now, and I have never felt so rich. What does it matter if there is no such a large sum of money?"

On the last Sunday in March, the Earl of Leicester really came back with a letter from the Gardners. They will visit the Lake District in mid-April and bring Mary back to London along the way. At that time, Anne and Henry will also go to Leicester Castle, because the earl agreed to Henry's request to re-hire him to improve the rose varieties in his castle garden.

So for two whole weeks, four young people lived in the farmhouse by the lake, just playing games happily every day.Henry no longer needed to go to town to work because of his new position, the earl put down his airs completely, and Mary unexpectedly found him extremely easy-going.During the day, when Mary and Anne went to the woods to pick berries, the Earl used to fish with Henry on the lake, and in the evening they would have delicious fish soup and fresh raspberries.

In addition, the count was also good at catching hares with a lasso and shooting wild pigeons with a slingshot. Once he even camouflaged aquatic plants on top of his head, went to the center of the lake to catch a wild goose, and roasted it by the lake. We had a picnic.Mary thought of the Earl's life of servants and rich clothes, and it was hard to imagine him enjoying it so much.It was evident, however, that the Earl was much better at farm and housework than the other three, and Mary soon understood why.

It was one evening, and the setting sun covered the surface of Lake Windermere like broken gold. They walked out of the farmhouse together and took a walk by the lake. Gradually, Anne and Henry came to the front, while Mary and the earl walked side by side. Behind, falling farther and farther.When the Count mentioned that he had spent his childhood and youth in this farmhouse, Mary was very surprised, and at the same time felt that many things could be explained.The earl said that before he became the heir of the Leicester family, he never had more than five pounds in his pocket. Poverty and deprivation followed each other, and even his university tuition was barely raised by his father after many twists and turns.It's a pity that when he became rich, his parents had already passed away.

The earl recalled his parents with tenderness, saying that they were the most loving couple he had ever seen. Although they were always in financial difficulties, his childhood was very happy because his parents were gentle and pleasant people. An old piano, which his mother often played, and every time she played, his father always sat by and listened quietly.From his parents, he understood what true love is - the highest state of love is to be able to withstand the ordinary fleeting years.When he said this, he looked at Mary earnestly, and the softest part of Mary's heart was touched by his words, and her cheeks turned crimson in the reflection of the sunset.

Now, Anne began to be naughty. That night, when they were alone together, Anne suddenly asked Mary if the Earl fell in love with her. Mary was embarrassed and didn't know how to answer. Because you see yourself in the other person, the lover is just another form of narcissism. Dear Mary, don't you think that there are many things in you that are similar to the Earl? Like Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet", Juliet saw Romeo at the banquet, and she said, ah, I saw myself."

Mary was both proud and embarrassed by her teasing, so she hurried out on the pretext of going to the chicken coop to pick up eggs.In the twilight, the mist filled the sleeping countryside, it was quiet but slightly cool, and a cluster of crimson roses quietly bloomed beside the low wall, like a girl's smile, looming in the twilight.

That night, Mary couldn't fall asleep anyway, she opened a collection of proverbs beside her pillow, and saw this passage: Happiness is like a butterfly, when you chase it, it is hard to get; but when you are quiet When you sit down, it may land on you.