Miss Mary in Pride and Prejudice

The next morning, while unwrapping presents under the small Christmas tree in the living room, Mary got a few little surprises.Anne gave her a piece of fabric, sweet rose purple and full British court green delicately intertwined, the fabric was covered with a layer of misty translucent black gauze, bright silk jacquard with concave and convex texture, the whole body exudes exquisite glory The light of purpose, even close your eyes, you can feel where is a flower, the unique texture is so perfect that it cannot be added!

Touching this gorgeous fabric, Mary has already conceived the appearance of a dress made of it: the fabric is dazzling enough, so the tailoring can adopt a minimalist style, the slightly high waistline can elongate the proportion of the lower body, and the skirt The hem is light and slightly fluffy, and the hem has a natural and beautiful curvature, like an upside-down tulip flower, exuding a charming brilliance.Paired with a silky silk lining, it will be very comfortable to wear. Such a rich and intoxicating skirt will be so beautiful under the candlelight of the ball that people can't take their eyes off...

However, such a skirt is obviously not suitable for a country dance. Fortunately, thinking of this, Mary wakes up from her imagination.She forced herself to stop thinking about it and focus on unwrapping the other presents.

Her father, Mr. Bennet, gave her a new notebook with a calfskin cover, while her mother, Mrs. Bennet, gave her a new hat and a new ten pound note, which were the most popular gifts. Mary didn't care about the bad taste hidden in the notebook, and the color of the hat was too gaudy.

Elizabeth gave her a whole set of Scott's essays, and Mary couldn't help but hold her breath—this is really a great gift, and it's not a day or two that she has liked this set of essays.What Jane gave her was a quill pen inlaid with small pearls on the pen holder. The nib was made of gold. My third sister went to Howard Manor for a short stay in the spring of the following year, but the reason was that she was pregnant again, and little Ellen was also learning to walk, so it was very tiring, but Jane was not at ease and let the nanny do it herself , but her own sisters will take care of her children, so she can feel more at ease. Of course, Mary obliged to agree, not to mention that she thought that if she never married, she would have to rely on her sisters to take care of her children. Naturally, she would help them take care of their children. .

All afternoon, she was in the kitchen helping the housekeeper's grandma to make the soufflé for dinner, while talking about Elizabeth's soon to have a baby. When it comes to the two eldest ladies of the Bennet family, the housekeeper's grandma really has something to say Proud, although most of her work is done with the help of the third lady in front of her, she always prefers Jane and Elizabeth.

When Mary was decorating the finished soufflé with powdered sugar, she heard Mrs. Bennet calling her loudly in the hall. It turned out that her mother had returned from a visit and yelled as soon as she entered the door: "Mary, Mary, Mr. Vicar There was a visitor to the house, a handsome young man, emissary of the Archbishop of Canterbury..."

Mary ran out of the kitchen with powdered sugar still on her hands, and Mrs. Bennet said to Mary with a smile as she took off her hat, "You cunning little girl, no wonder you are willing to go to your sister's house for Christmas. Have you already made an appointment with the new special envoy of the archbishop?" Mary was ashamed and angry, and still confused, she said annoyedly, "Mom, what are you talking about?"

Mrs. Bennet said happily: "At Sir Lucas's house today, I met Mr. Lisbon. He is really amiable, and he is so handsome, so beautiful, and so powerful. Oh, The old pastor is as humble as a follower in front of him... Don't be a hypocrite, Mr. Lisbon chatted with me as soon as he came, he told me that I knew you very well, and you were in France and Traveled to Italy, didn’t you?” Mother winked at her wisely, embarrassing Mary enough, and she again explained that she and the priest of Lisbon were just ordinary friends, and that he was kind to everyone, not for any special reason. Mrs. Bennet did not even want to listen to these words, which she only expressed to her mother.

The old man rushed into the kitchen on her own, and ordered the housekeeper to add two more dishes for dinner, because she had already invited the new envoy of the archbishop to come to the house for dinner. The only thing she didn't expect was that the distinguished guest Being so approachable and giving her face that way, of course, maybe because she has such a beautiful daughter in her family...

Mary went back upstairs, dumbfounded. She had already seen the charm of Mr. Lisbon, and now it seems that he really kills all ages, but he provoked people like his own mother, which is enough for him to have a headache. Mary can only She sympathized with Mr. Lisbon's possible misfortune at dinner, but could do nothing; and at the same time she was surprised at being reunited with Mr. Vicar so soon.

However, in the evening, when the pastor of the church accompanied the young archbishop's special envoy to Longbourn, Mary found that it was Mr. Lisbon himself. Compared with the casual clothes in Europe, Mary felt that the pastor's robes were more suitable for Mr. Lisbon. Wearing such a simple robe has a refined taste.Mr. Lisbon met Mary with the joy of reunion with an old friend, and dealt with Mrs. Bennet's troublesome attentions so well that he could not help himself and made Mrs. Bennet like him more and more.

He specially gave Mary a four-month-old white poodle as a Christmas present, which made Mary love it very much. She had never had a pet of her own. There was a shepherd dog at home before, but it belonged to The family's pet, and Lydia herself had an Irish fold, which wasn't Mary's either, though she loved it.Mary wondered how Mr. Lisbon could tell she liked it, but she was very grateful to him.The restraint they felt when they first met melted away when they played together with the little poodle.

Mrs. Bennet was so delighted that Mr. Lisbon gave such an interesting gift to her daughter that she completely forgot that she had strictly forbidden the keeping of small animals in the house, because the noise of those small animals was very disturbing to her sensitive and fragile nerves. It had been such a great devastation that she now gave unhesitating permission for Mary to house the puppy in the hallway outside her bedroom, though it was not six yards from her bedroom door.

Seeing the bright prospect of her third daughter's marriage, the old man desperately invited the pastor to come to Longbourn for afternoon tea the next day. Unfortunately, the pastor had a duty to visit the poor parishioners in the parish the next day.Then on the third day, of course the third day was free, so the persistent Mrs. Bennet immediately invited Mr. Pastor to a dance held at Longbourne the day after tomorrow. Man, of course Mr. Pastor would like to meet you and enjoy the party, music and dancing together.

Mary was really ashamed of her mother's sociable skills. She could only watch the Lisbon priest agree to her mother's invitation, and hoped that he would not misunderstand her, because Mrs. Bennet's intention to marry her daughter was simply It was so obvious that Mary blushed again and again.

Mrs. Bennet didn't care about these things. She kept telling Mary to seize the opportunity in the next two days, and use the opportunity of the Longbourn Ball to dance more with the priest of Lisbon. So he proposed on the same day... Mary decided to go to the back porch to take care of the poodle who just arrived. Mary named it Sheffield, and this cute little guy immediately accepted the name. Then wagging his tail and briskly ran over to act like a baby, making everyone in the family love and delight.

However, on the day of the ball, not only Mrs. Bennet, but even Mary herself has some doubts that Mr. Lisburn really has some unusual feelings for her.As soon as he came, he searched for Mary in the living room. As soon as he saw her, he immediately walked over to say hello, and sat down beside her.He is really a learned man, even if what Mary is reading is Scott's works which are not widely recognized in the English countryside, he knows it well and put forward a lot of insights that Mary admires.They discussed their reading experience so eagerly, but it was difficult to avoid being frequently disturbed by Mary's girlfriends.

Speaking of which, Mary had never been so popular at a ball held in the surrounding area of ​​​​Longbourn. I saw girls I knew around came in groups to greet her intimately, and was introduced to the young clergyman by the way. Sir, these girls didn't want to leave when they sat down to chat, so the topic quickly passed from Scott to the travel experience in France and Italy, because these girls didn't read that much, but when they talked about Paris or Florence, She was more sensible than Mary.Soon Mary was pushed aside to spill the coffee, while the girls gathered around Mr. Lisbon talking about the food and beauty of Europe.

Xuefei ran happily on the ground. Ever since she knew it was a Christmas gift from the Lisbon priest to Mary, her hair was almost bald by those slender hands.While taking care of the samovar and arranging the fruit, Mary was amused. She had only seen such a grand occasion with Mr. Wickham. She never thought that the priest's black robe could match the officer's red uniform. Mary couldn't help it. I know whether this is because the militia has been away for too long, or the charm of the Lisbon priest is too great.

But it is undeniable that she is in a much better mood than when she was in Italy. It seems that after returning home, the sentimental energy that hurts the spring and autumn will heal itself, and even the shadow of that person has become a little weaker. , no longer surfaced in my mind from time to time, which only caused sadness.Mary thought this was a good sign, and if it was possible, she would really like to live in Longbourn forever and never go anywhere.