Miss Mary in Pride and Prejudice

The happier the days, the faster they passed. Three weeks passed quickly, as if they had grown wings. In the third week of April, the Gardners came to the Lake District as promised.They stayed in the hotel in Windermere Town, and then came to visit Anne and his wife. To the surprise of their uncle and aunt, the Earl of Leicester was also here. Seeing their suspicious exchange of guessing eyes, Mary couldn't help but blushed. Red again.Fortunately, Uncle and Aunt Gardner were very safe people, and they didn't say a word to embarrass the newlyweds or Mary. They stayed at the farmhouse for a supper, and they were very satisfied with the idyllic scenery and local food here. Full of praise.

The moment of parting finally came. Mary would join the Gardners to continue their tour of the Lake District, while Anne and Henry would follow the Earl of Leicester to Leicester Castle to start their new life.Mary and Anne bid farewell, shed many tears, and wished each other well.The Earl of Leicester gave Mary a small framed portrait as a parting gift while everyone was busy packing their luggage.

Mary immediately recognized that the painting was her own.In the picture, I saw a young girl sitting in front of the window against the light, with a serene expression and a smooth forehead. She was concentrating on reading the heavy book in her hand. Her shawl hung from her shoulders to the seat, and every detail was exquisitely depicted. nuanced.

Mary lowered her head and said softly: "You have painted me so perfectly, how can I be so good? I am afraid that one day in the future, you will find many unspeakable shortcomings in me."

The earl said like a lover in love: "In these days, no matter from which angle I read you, you are perfect, and the parts you lack have already been filled by my imagination." Dare to answer such passionate words, she was afraid that she would disappoint the count, and that she was not worthy of such praise.

The two carriages went their separate ways in such a close feeling of farewell, and Mary began to travel in the Lake District with her uncle and aunt.As one American writer puts it, the best way to combat ignorance while traveling.However, Mary always appeared to be preoccupied during the journey. She often stared at a scene for a long time, but actually saw nothing, because her mind had already drifted away from the clouds.Uncle Gardner and Aunt Gardner accepted her disorientation with empathy, and privately agreed that it was just the best thing to happen, and now they began to secretly expect something that they could not have imagined. .

But what they talked about most among each other was Anne and Henry's union.Mary finds that although Aunt Gardner is reasonable and sympathetic to Anne's situation, she doesn't agree with or optimistic about the future of this young couple who combined rashly.Uncle Gardner told Mary bluntly that he believed that Mr. Davis should be responsible for this. Davis' unscrupulous behavior deeply hurt Anne's interests. This is an extremely selfish love that is not worthy of praise.

Because Mary had been with Mr. Davis for a while and had a deep impression on him, she tried to defend him, but Uncle Gardner just shook his head and said, "Mary, as long as you observe enough in this world, or Live long enough, and you will eventually discover that God's arrangement of the world is a matter of course." Mary is also worried about Anne's current situation, but her age and experience prevent her from understanding how complicated the world is.

The quiet and peaceful atmosphere permeated the lake area, which gradually made Mary's turbulent heart settle down.They went boating together to visit several small islands in Lake Windermere, listened to fishing songs at night, watched the sunrise at dawn, and traveled to several villages around Lake Windermere. Among them, Mary liked Eagle Point the most, standing on the edge of the cliff, overlooking By the lake, you can have a panoramic view of the vast expanse of blue waves.

Afterwards, they took pleasure in visiting Grasmere Lake in the north. After enjoying the pleasant scenery, they visited the former residence of the poet Wordsworth, "The Dovecote". They lived there for two days, and Mary In the morning, you have to go to the old road where the poet once walked for a long time, and feel with your heart what the poet called "the center of peace in the world of pain".

Finally, they visited the ancient town of Keswick. Around the ancient town, there are several forest trails leading to nearby cliffs and waterfalls.Nearby is the famous Celtic megalithic relic - the Castlerigg Stone Circle, which is full of ancient and mysterious atmosphere.They repeatedly explored the origin and function of these mysterious relics, and took pleasure in making up a tragedy of love.As Keats, another favorite poet, said, here is where one forgets the distinctions in life: age and wealth.

When their trip drew to a close at the end of April, Mary felt that she had fallen in love with the Lake District and was willing to live here for the rest of her life. When she thought about it, the lakeside farmhouse and the time she spent there unconsciously appeared in her mind. Three weeks of happy life.That day they came out of St. Martin's Church and went to the nearby Blackwell Craft House to buy gifts to take home. Mary couldn't help but bought a pair of cute ceramic statues of fishing frogs. She wanted to give this gift to someone in her heart. But in the end she insincerely entrusted Uncle Gardner to send this lovely gift to Anne of Leicester Castle.

At the beginning of May, Mary and her party returned to Pemberley. After a short stay, they took the Gardner cousins ​​and returned to London together. Mary stayed here for a few days, and then returned to Longbourne by car.Life has finally returned to the original track, the family is still the same, Mrs. Bennet is still keen to find a lover for Mary, she will force Mary to attend all the dances nearby, and whenever she hears that a young man is coming to someone's house, she Then I will try my best to get acquainted with others and invite them to dinner.Mr. Bennet still likes to stay in his study, occasionally bickering with his wife for fun.Kitty is still so indifferent, she can't seem to think of anything other than dressing up, dancing, having fun, and pursuing young boys every day. Now she has become good friends with Maria of the Lucas family, and she can't talk to Mary. .

Only Mary is no longer the original Mary.She often sat there alone, holding a book, but couldn't turn a page for a long time; or she sat in front of the piano, playing a syllable over and over again, until Mr. It stopped when I protested loudly with my head out.She found that the feeling of missing someone is like drinking a glass of cold water, and then condensing into tears drop by drop in the bottom of my heart.

She thought she would never have the chance to see the count again, but now she longed to see him instead; she once so rationally rejected the count's proposal, but now she regretted thinking of what she would have to pay if she could marry him. worth the price.She was originally a calm and reserved person, but once she fell in love, she was so passionate and unbearable.But on the outside, no one can see that she is different from usual, only she knows that there is a fire burning in her heart, burning all the time, making her restless.She hung the portrait given to her by the earl on the wall of her bedroom, and she always looked at it for a long time every day.

It was June in a blink of an eye, and Elizabeth wrote to Mary and Kitty, inviting them to London to attend Mr. Darcy's birthday party for Georgiana in July, which represented that Georgiana had officially come of age and entered the social world. So almost all friends and relatives were invited.For such a good thing, Mrs. Bennet eagerly agreed, and did not allow Mary to find an excuse to refuse, because her mother thought that such a ball must be crowded with wealthy young people, and it was the best time to catch a rich man.

So Mrs. Bennet, from June onwards, has been making arrangements to invite a tailor to come to the house to cut new clothes for Mary and Kitty, and to send some of her family jewels to the shop for re-setting into fashionable styles.Mary, seeing that going to the ball had become inevitable, resigned herself to her mother with reluctance, and surrounded herself with lace, drapery, and patterns for dresses of every kind.And she found that one advantage of being so busy is that she has little time to think about it.

Sometimes, she laughed at herself in her heart, she clearly cared about that person, but she was afraid to meet him.When she stood in front of the mirror wearing a half-finished skirt and let her mother and the tailor manipulate her, his image would appear in front of her eyes. He came over and asked her to dance...

But Mary shook her head. She hadn't forgotten that at Georgiana's ball, the Earl of Leicester was Miss Darcy's companion. Everyone would regard them as a couple, and she would hear a lot of good looks and a match made in heaven. In fact, this is the real reason why she does not want to participate in this ball.

Mary had received a new letter from Anne one afternoon when she was decorating hats with her mother and Kitty in the little summer parlour, and to avoid Mrs. Living room, so I can read the letter without interruption.Anne described her present life in a brisk manner in the letter. She lived in a beautiful little house about two miles from Leicester Castle, so that Henry could come home every evening for dinner. She hired a local of girls help out with household chores, but she prefers to cook, raise poultry and tidy up by herself...

Mary pursed her lips and smiled while reading the letter. Anne was always so interested in everything in life, as if she had been silent for 19 years, and then burst out all the pent-up enthusiasm.When she was thinking like this, she suddenly heard the sound of a carriage coming from outside. She went to the window and looked out, only to see a familiar luxury carriage rumbled into the courtyard gate, with a man in uniform on the seat. The two flamboyant footmen turned out to be Madame de Bourgh's carriage!

Mary was very surprised, but she didn't allow her to think too much. Mrs. Bennet and Kitty, who had already heard the movement, came downstairs.Mrs. de Bower was as impolite as she was when she visited Elizabeth last time. She barged in without waiting for a servant to announce her. I exchanged greetings with Mrs. De Bourgh, but Mrs. De Bourner didn’t appreciate it. She sat there for a long time without saying a word, and then said coldly: “Mrs. Bennet, I passed by your house this time. My daughter was once a guest at Rosings, so she came to visit, may I have a private word with Miss Bennet?"

Of course, Mrs. Bennet immediately asked Kitty to go upstairs with her, and left the distinguished guest to Mary to greet her, but she did not forget to go to the kitchen and ask the housekeeper to bring hot tea and snacks to the drawing room.However, Mary expected that this old lady would never give her face, so she had a snack in her humble house, so she didn't bother to make any fuss, and let the tea cool slowly, she just waited intently to hear what Mrs. de Bourgh had to say.

Mrs. De Bourgh really had a lot to say, but first of all, according to her own habits, she picked up this living room in Longbourn to nothing, and then she stared at Mary and said: "Your Bennet daughters are not In the slightest conscience, first, your sister Elizabeth dared to seduce my nephew Darcy, and spoil the marriage plan of our two families. And you, Miss Mary, I have treated you in vain, and thought you a good girl, But you spoiled Anne ungratefully, if no one had fed her nonsense all day long, how could she have done such indecent and shameless things?"

Mary straightened her back bravely, and replied: "Mrs. de Bower, I dare not accept this kind of accusation from you. It is not unseemly or shameless for Anne to pursue her own happiness." She waved her hand casually. "This is Anne's latest letter. If you read it, you will find that she is happier and more meaningful than before."

Mrs. de Bower trembled and reached out to the letter in Mary's hand. She grabbed the letter in her hand like a hungry person, but she didn't read it right away. Mary found that she was shaking all over now, and a feeling of pity flowed spontaneously. Well, Mary stood up and said, "You old man, read the letter by yourself. If you are interested, I can bring you all the letters Anne wrote to me." She got up and went out after speaking.

Madame de Bourgh said nothing, but Mary heard a muffled sob as she left the drawing-room.Mary couldn't help feeling sorry for Mrs. de Bourgh. Instead of going upstairs to avoid her mother's endless questioning, she went to the back lawn of the house, took a walk in the shade, and thought about giving Anne's letter to Mrs. de Bourgh. See if it's wise to do so.

After about half an hour, Mary returned to the living room. Mary found that Mrs. de Bourgh's cheeks were still slightly stained with tears, but she had calmed down and said to Mary coldly: "These are the happiness you thought —abandoning one's family, one's loved ones, one's responsibilities, to pursue what you call love—what a shallow little girl! You can tell her that I won't forgive her, I won't admit her That daughter, that villain, can never marry her to get the Bowles property."

Mary felt unreasonable, she sighed, and said: "If you are just trying to reiterate your position, then I have heard it many times from Mr. Darcy and the Earl of Leicester. I don't understand why your old man is so unnecessary. How about this trip?”

Mrs. de Bourgh stood up aggressively, and reprimanded: "I don't know the heights of the sky and the earth, I am so unhappy, I will never set foot in this place from now on!" She Saying this, he turned his head and went out, announcing as he walked, "Miss Bennet, I will not say goodbye to you, nor greet your family. Your behavior does not deserve my praise."

Mary didn't bother to argue with her, she just sat there silently, and after a while, she heard the sound of the carriage driving away, and then she suddenly remembered that Mrs. de Bower did not return Anne's letter to her—— She took that letter with her!Mary felt both angry and sympathetic, and she thought about it for a while, until Mrs. Bennet came downstairs again to ask her about this distinguished guest, and Mary remembered that Anne's elopement was kept strictly secret, and few Personally know.

So she told her mother that Mrs. de Bourgh was just passing by to visit her, and there was nothing special about it, so Mrs. Bennet was very honored and made a fuss to condescend Mrs. de Bourgh She made it a big deal and told everyone she knew about her visit.

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