Miss Mary in Pride and Prejudice

After the ball, when Jane and Elizabeth exchanged thoughts, Jane expressed concern about Elizabeth's confidence in matching Miss Darcy and the Earl.Elizabeth reminded her that even without Miss Darcy, the Earl did not seem to care at all for Miss Bingley.

Jane exclaimed reproachfully: "My dear Lizzy, am I the kind of person who only cares about my relatives? Besides, I like Georgiana as much as you do!"

Elizabeth quickly apologized to her and expressed her willingness to take her opinion more seriously, before Jane expressed her own opinion.It turned out that Jane also saw Georgiana's love for the earl, but she did not find the same signs from the earl, so she thought that in this case, encouraging Georgiana to fall in love with the earl would probably have unfortunate consequences. Anna looks calm and assertive, but in fact she is very sentimental, and once emotional, she will find it difficult to extricate herself, and her sister likes her so much, so Jane does not want Elizabeth to blame herself for this in the future.

"However, sometimes emotions cannot be controlled by reason. Dear Jane, you have also experienced it. Naturally, you can understand the mystery without me talking. Don't I encourage Georgiana, so she can treat the count calmly Is it? And Georgiana has always been a person who refuses to act rashly, so instead of seeing her miss the opportunity and end up sad and frustrated in the future, why not help her to win happiness now?"

In terms of arguing with her sister, Jane has always been willing to bow down, but this time she was not persuaded by her sister, so she had to promise that she would think twice before acting.Elizabeth was not in such a good mood after her talk with her sister.For before this conversation she had had a conversation of a quite different nature with Georgiana.Georgiana has always trusted her extremely and said everything to her, so this time she also confessed to her that she fell in love with the Earl of Leicester, and Elizabeth not only did not remind her to be cautious as her sister hoped, but on the contrary greatly Encouraged her a bit.Had Elizabeth now asked herself whether she had hinted at Georgiana that the count was also in love with her?Although Elizabeth didn't doubt her own judgment, this time she felt uneasy from the bottom of her heart.

The original plan of the Darcy family was to return to Pemberley the day after the ball, because Mr. Darcy could not bear to be under the same roof with his mother-in-law for too long.But this time for Georgiana, Elizabeth persuaded Mr. Darcy to continue to be a guest at Howard, and because Darcy loved his wife too much, as long as it was her request, he couldn't bear to refuse her request anyway, not to mention that this time it involved his sister's life. Happiness, so finally agreed to stay.This decision made Miss Bingley furious, but there was nothing she could do about it. In order to retain the right to be a guest at Pemberley in the future, she had to behave in a dignified manner and take into account the minimum courtesy, which was really hard for her.

In the next week, the life was very peaceful. Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingley went out to hunt every day for recreation, and the female relatives gathered at home and had their own fun.It's just that Miss Darcy became as preoccupied and restless as Miss Bingley.

Little Mr. Austin became a frequent visitor here, and Jane received him very kindly, because she felt that he was a young man of outstanding quality, although he was not very rich, but he was enough to make a living. Decent life too.It turned out that Jane understood her mother's intentions and agreed with her very much. She felt that Mr. Austen Jr. was the right candidate for Mary's future husband.

Mrs. Bennet, as a rule, treated little Mr. Austen with unbearable attentions, and, whenever he came, endeavored to keep him till supper was over, while giving him every opportunity of being alone with Mary.Mary felt nothing in particular, she enjoyed little Mr. Austen's visit, and felt at all at ease with him.At the same time, because Mr. Austin Jr. is very knowledgeable and can often help her solve some difficult problems in the books, she has a good conversation with him, but she is indifferent to her mother's frequent hints that the two of them can get married.Little Mr. Austin seems to like Mary very much. He is always very restrained in front of ladies, especially Miss Darcy and Miss Bingley. He also keeps a respectful distance from Mr. Darcy, but he is much more lively when he is with Mary. , All of these naturally made Mary have a good impression of him, but it was not yet love.Because Mary was originally more sensible than a few sisters, she would not be tempted by a man easily.

One morning a week later, when Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy were hunting in the manor, they unexpectedly met the Earl who was also carrying a shotgun, and they were invited to go to the Emerald Valley Manor to hunt pheasants together.Afterwards, the gentlemen often met for hunting or fishing, and naturally, the female relatives also joined the ranks of socializing.

On this day, the people of Howard Manor were invited to visit the Emerald Valley. After staying in the house for more than ten days due to the continuous rain, the ladies were very excited and looking forward to going to the beautiful place to have a good time.The weather was fine and it was a good time for an outing. When several carriages drove into the secluded valley, people couldn't help but be amazed by the scenery in front of them.

Although Mary had been here once before, she was still amazed by the beautiful scenery in front of her, but this time she did not make a sound, because she noticed that the Earl was looking at her from the other side, and she guessed that maybe the Earl remembered the last time she was in the valley In the midst of getting lost, he felt a little dry and hot, so he didn't echo the compliments of others, but quietly stood under the shade of a big tree, staring at the emerald-green pool of water in a trance.

Unexpectedly, the Earl walked up to her without a sound, and started chatting with her like an old friend. "The scenery here can only be appreciated if you watch it quietly like you." After hearing this, Mary felt the same, and replied unconsciously: "Yes, the most touching thing about her is her quietness, when there are many people You can only see the scenery, but you can’t appreciate the charm.” The earl turned his head to stare at her, and smiled after a while before saying, “Miss Bennet, it’s really rare to see a lady like you who likes to be alone and to be quiet. Well." Mary's face flushed, and from the count's next words, she heard the meaning that the count hoped that she could visit the Emerald Valley alone again, and said that they believed that they both felt the same about this kind of interest.What does it mean?So puzzling and embarrassing.

Fortunately, the embarrassment to her was not very long, and soon Miss Bingley came over swiftly, took the earl's arm, and begged the earl to take her to enjoy the scenery deep in the valley with a gentle and charming tone.Mary didn't feel sorry for the earl's departure. She found one of her unwanted weaknesses: as long as she was in front of noble, good-looking, or domineering men, she would feel nervous. She thought it might be a sense of inferiority. I'm playing tricks.

Before Mary's psychological analysis of herself was over, her mother and sisters had already greeted her from a distance. She hurriedly stopped her wild thoughts and rushed over to join everyone, while carefully keeping a distance from the count so as not to put herself in a difficult situation again.It is not difficult to do this.Because the Earl is entangled by Miss Bingley on the one hand, and on the other hand, Elizabeth is also cleverly creating opportunities so that Miss Darcy can have the opportunity to spend time alone with the Earl to capture that heart.Speaking of it, it was really interesting to attend such a party. If Mary hadn't been a little flustered, she could have considered it a worthwhile trip.

The earl was a thoughtful host, and the servants were well-trained. Before the guests arrived, the picnic supplies had been arranged on an open and shaded grass.Although there are only a few snacks, they are still very rich. In addition to hot coffee and tea, there are also cold drinks, more than a dozen kinds of delicate pastries and fruits.When everyone came here, they happened to be a little tired, so they sat down to eat and drink.

There were a dozen servants all around her, and Mary enjoyed such attention to service as she had enjoyed only at Pemberley, and here it was nothing less.Mary could not help thinking that perhaps it would be a beautiful thing to be a hostess here.As soon as she had this kind of thought, she quickly reminded herself not to daydream and disturb her mood, but it would be a sad thing if she turned out to be passionate. Fortunately, she was able to pay attention Put your strength back into the crowd around you.

It turned out that there were really many people who were daydreaming like her just now, at least Miss Bingley and Miss Darcy in front of her were absent-minded for a moment.Miss Darcy's dress today is particularly outstanding, of course it is due to Elizabeth's handwriting. I saw that she was wearing a long dress of light yellow and white lace, and a string of pearl necklaces on her white jade neck, against the emerald green background Against the background, it looks more and more beautiful and moving.Miss Bingley, though she too had been consciously embellished, paled in comparison.As for Mary, she was just dressed in a homely way, inconspicuous among this group of outstanding gentlemen and ladies.

After the snacks, most of the guests still want to play around, but Jane is particularly prone to fatigue because of her pregnancy, and Mrs. Bennet is also a little weak, so the Earl sent a butler to serve the guests. The mother and daughter went back to the mansion to rest, and Mr. Bingley accompanied his wife back with great concern.Of the rest, the earl and Mr. Darcy went down the valley, and the earl showed him where the trout came.

After a while, Miss Bingley could not sit still, and insisted that Elizabeth accompany her down to the valley for sightseeing.Elizabeth had to obey, but both Miss Darcy and Mary thought the road was too difficult and stayed on the hillside.In front of them is a field of violets in full bloom. Mary and Miss Darcy have never had much contact with each other, and neither of them is a talkative person, so they just revel in the beautiful scenery silently.

Not long after, they suddenly heard someone approaching, and turned their heads to see that it was Mr. Austin Jr. approaching.Little Mr. Austin bowed to the two ladies, and then explained that he was sent by his uncle to the Emerald Valley Manor to deal with some affairs, but the owner was not in the mansion. Just as Jane and the others were going back, Mrs. Bennet urged him to come They came here to look for the count, and the two young ladies hurriedly told him that the count had gone to the bottom of the valley, but would come up soon, and asked him to wait a while.After these words were finished, everyone seemed to have nothing to say.Presently, when Mary remembered that they were playing, and began to talk a great deal about the scene, Miss Darcy quietly stepped aside and began to pick violets.

And after Miss Darcy left, Mr. Austen seemed to regain his composure and vitality suddenly, and the conversation with Mary became smoother and more interesting.They talked about the book on medieval theology that Mary was reading, and Mr. Austen gave a detailed and accurate answer to a question that Mary had never understood, which made Mary admire.

When the two of them were talking happily, they saw the earl coming up from the valley unexpectedly, and saw Mr. Austin and Mary standing and chatting together. Not being too polite, seeing little Mr. Austin being treated coldly, Mary felt a little sorry for him.At this time, Miss Darcy came over with a large bouquet of violets in her arms. Perhaps because she always bowed her head to pick the flowers, her face was flushed, and against the backdrop of the violets, she was as beautiful as a fairy.

Mary suddenly noticed that little Mr. Austin's eyes were shining with a kind of brilliance. The count's slow treatment didn't make him lose color. At this moment, he suddenly became at a loss.Mary guessed something, and could not help feeling a little sympathetic to him.

The earl's slow treatment of little Mr. Austin surprised Mary, because it was not in line with his behavior all the time.Is it because of Mr. Austin Jr.'s low social status?But Mary had seen that the Earl was very polite to old Mr. Austen.He didn't even invite little Mr. Austin to go back to the mansion for dinner, and he sent the acting pastor away with a few words.

It turned out that the old Mr. Austin became more and more unwell recently and felt that he could not perform his duties normally, so he recommended his nephew to act as his representative.The right to appoint pastors here is in the hands of the Earl of Leicester. Mr. Austin Jr. came here to discuss this matter, but he did not expect to be treated so coldly. Mary saw his face with frustration and loss. Soft-hearted and sympathetic to his double disappointment, on the way back to the carriage, he kindly took the initiative to find topics and had a lot of conversations with Mr. Austin Jr.Her words did not cheer up little Mr. Austin, but made the Earl's mood worse, so although the Earl and Miss Darcy walked behind side by side, the Earl's gloomy face made Miss Darcy hardly dare to say a word to him talk.

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