After the Lisbon pastor left, Mrs. Bennet often sighed, because she really didn’t have much to worry about, so she passed the time by constantly complaining about Mary. If it wasn’t for Mary’s 20 years of experience, she would have already practiced fire and water. With her inviolable concentration, she would really run to Howards End before March to cleanse her ears.Fortunately, Mr. Pastor wrote to Mary regularly, talking about what he saw and heard along the way, all new and interesting things, which not only entertained Mary, but also comforted Mrs. Bennet.

From the letters he sent, you can draw a map of the best travel route in the British Isles. After Mr. Lisbon left Hertfordshire, he went around the Greater London area, passing through Kent, Hampshire, and Norfolk. And Durham County, he will stay in each area for two to three weeks, discover and solve some difficult problems in the diocese, and report to the archbishop in due course.Undoubtedly, his report has received enough attention, because in the local church in Longbourn, some changes in the prayer program were made because of his suggestion, and the church also specially allocated special funds to replace the church with a new one. pipe organ.

However, in his letters to Mary, he didn’t mention these things at all. His letters were light-hearted and full of local conditions and customs. Even when he mentioned someone’s ridiculous behavior, it was just a little bit of humor, which made Mary understand. When others read it, they only think it is high-sounding, without losing the pastor's tolerant and fraternal demeanor.

The only thing that annoyed Mary was that every time a letter came, Mrs. Bennet would do everything possible to find out the news, and asked Mary to read it to her old man again and again, and relayed the words in it to the neighbors without Mary's permission. , so that no one around did not know that Mary had a close relationship with the young pastor.

She felt fortunate that there were no embarrassing words in the letter of the pastor in Lisbon. Perhaps his intelligence was enough to judge the embarrassment these letters would encounter, so there was nothing between the lines that would cause others to misunderstand or Words of doubt, which comforted Mary greatly and disappointed Mrs. Bennet.

In fact, what Mary was really interested in were some small gifts that came with the letter, sometimes it was a fruit bowl carved from a tree root, sometimes it was a few postcards with unique shapes and exquisite paintings, and once, Mr. Lisbon sent A whole set of hair combs made of briar wood. After studying for a long time, Mary finally figured out that they were specially used for combing Xuefei's hair... These are some gifts that make people feel no pressure but happiness. It's a little strange that a young man like Mr. Lisbon, who is much higher than her in IQ and charm, favors her so much, but she still can't believe what her mother said-Mr. Lisbon is interested in her, because according to her understanding of Mr. Lisbon, She thought that the young pastor would never marry and devote all his energy to the church.So she finally considers herself lucky to have such a well-informed friend, and needs no romantic illusions.

It was almost March in a blink of an eye, and Jane sent another letter to Mary urging her to leave for Howards End. Mary finally decided on the date of departure, and she will arrive at Howard on the first Friday of March. Speaking of his own visit to Devon in mid-March, Mary was pleased at the idea of ​​seeing each other again, but not with all her heart, and she was very pleased with her reaction, for she had made up her mind not to be tempted by anyone. up.

Mrs. Bennet has a lot of money now, she really wants to dress up Mary well, and she even wants to make some new clothes for her, but Mary refuses politely and tries her best to persuade her mother to keep some cash on hand in case of emergency. needs.Most of Mary's suitcases were household clothes, but considering that there might be balls at Howard End and Pemberley Hall, Mary still brought the blue dress dress given to her by Elizabeth, and the beautiful piece of dress Anne gave her. As for the material, she felt that the material was too luxurious and not suitable for her, so she thought that maybe she could find a suitable opportunity to give it to Elizabeth or Jane, and the two of them would look better in such an expensive dress.

Spring has come to England again, bid farewell to the torment of the continuous winter rain, and Mary understands the real longing buried in Shelley's poem "Winter is coming, can spring be far behind?"After months of gray skies, the spring sun is bright and brilliant.

From the carriage, you can see that the small hills along the way have been quietly covered with green grass, the daffodils on the roadside are the first to bloom the news of spring, and there are rolling green hills everywhere.The fresh green of the meadow, the soft lines of the hills, the warm spring breeze, the sweet air, and the dotted flocks of sheep and cattle on the meadow.The huts of the farm appeared far away at the end of the meadow, with gray roofs and ivy-covered walls, so unpretentious against the background of green fields.

When the carriage drove into Howard's Manor, Mary could see the rapeseed flowers in full bloom in the fields. The colors were more passionate than the most intense and brilliant colors in Van Gogh's works. This is rare in the beautiful rural scenery of England. exception.Mary got out of the carriage ahead of time, and she asked the coachman to take the luggage to the mansion first, then carried Xue Fei out of the carriage by herself, then stepped on the soft field, stepped over the wooden fences, and passed the lazily grazing cows , walking towards the Howard mansion, her heart was filled with joy.

When she arrived at the mansion, her shoes and the hem of her skirt were covered with mud. As soon as Jane saw her, she ran quickly to welcome her, embraced her kindly, and expressed her heartfelt joy at her healthy complexion. At Jane's house, she was also very happy to see Mary at this time. She asked Mary over and over again if she had used the latest French cosmetics. Otherwise, why would her skin look more and more white?

As for Miss Bingley, who was also a guest here, she greeted her very coldly, but Miss Bingley was also very surprised by the change in Mary's appearance in her heart. She had to admit that the daughters of the Bennet family were all beauties. In the past two years, she herself has grown old and lost her youthful beauty. Although she tried her best to cover up with makeup and clothes, she was anxious and afraid in her heart, deeply afraid that she would never be able to marry again.

Little Ellen was learning to walk, waddling on the lawn outside and on the nursery floor, and no one disliked him, but neither Miss Bingley nor Kitty had the patience for him, and Miss Bingley in particular seemed to always be Afraid that Alan's little hands would scratch and stain her long silk dress, she always teased Alan at a safe distance and walked away.Kitty regards Allen as an interesting plaything, which is not reassuring.

Only after Mary came, she took over the responsibilities that Jane had been working hard to perform, because Jane's pregnancy was obvious, and she was unable to take care of the child when she squatted and sat down, while Mary took care of Alan's diet and daily life very carefully, and she could Stay with Ellen in his baby room and play with him every step of the way. Even when Ellen is taking a nap, she can sit by the crib with a book and a cup of tea to spend a long and peaceful afternoon, so Mary's arrival was very welcomed by the host couple.

It was a good idea for Mary to bring Sheffield the dog to Howards End.When Xue Fei ran towards the child like a snowball, she immediately got the love of little Alan wholeheartedly. He often ran around chasing the puppy's tail, even if he fell down, he would not cry, but put his hands on the ground Stand up and continue to pursue his new friend.And Xuefei obviously didn't look down on Alan as a child who couldn't speak. In fact, he was also a newly weaned puppy, so Mary would often see an amazing picture: Alan and Xuefei Sitting on the floor, Alan was babbling and talking, while Xue Fei listened with her head tilted, wagging her tail from time to time.

Maybe a person will become more selfish after having his own child. Mr. Bingley is obviously not as obedient to his sister as before. Many times, Mary sees that Mr. Bingley is a little impatient with Miss Bingley. It was unimaginable before.But since having little Ellen, Mr. Bingley may have realized that he, Jane, and their children are the real family.

Within a week of Mary's arrival at Howard, she had witnessed two quarrels between the Bingley siblings.Once, Miss Bingley asked the housekeeper to send one of her cashmere coats to a special shop in London for cleaning, but the housekeeper told her that the winter clothes of the hostess Jane were cleaned by the laundry maid in the manor. The cost of going to London was too high for her to decide.Miss Bingley lost her temper. She quarreled with her brother aggressively. She expected that Mr. Bingley, who always loved her, would immediately reprimand the housekeeper who dared to disobey her orders. He quarreled over trivial matters, and warned her not to annoy Jane with these trivial matters.

The other time was more serious. It was an afternoon, Jane, Mary, Kitty and Miss Bingley were sitting in the sunny conservatory in the garden drinking afternoon tea, Ellen was taking a nap in his cradle, and Mary was sipping sweet and rich Darjeeling black tea, I feel that everything is so quiet and beautiful, even Miss Bingley was infected by this peaceful atmosphere, she hummed a folk tune softly, which was quite melodious.

Just when Kitty was yawning for the third time, Mr. Bingley suddenly pushed open the door of the conservatory and walked in. He threw a piece of letter paper on the tea table angrily, and asked Miss Bingley, "Caroline, what's the matter?" What's the matter with the bill?" Everyone was taken aback, and Jane blushed. Although she didn't like her sister-in-law, she didn't want to see her family turn against her. She gently advised Mr. Bingley: "Dear , what makes you so impatient, be careful not to wake up Alan. Sit down and have a cup of tea, and talk slowly if you have something to say. "

Mr. Bingley took a breath, and finally managed to suppress his anger: "I'm sorry, Jane, and Mary and Kitty, but you don't know that Caroline's bill this month is as high as two hundred pounds, and it's just to buy a The pair of earrings!" Jane exclaimed lightly: "My God, two hundred pounds!" Jane, who has always been frugal, couldn't help but cast a reproachful look at Miss Bingley.

Miss Bingley didn't expect her brother to treat her so roughly. Tears glistened in her eyes, but her natural arrogance made her lift her chin: "That's a very beautiful pair of emerald earrings, with my eyes The color matches very well, so I bought it if I like it. If you are not satisfied with it, brother, you can buy it with my own money."

Mr. Bingley said angrily: "Your own money? Your own inheritance of [-] pounds only has an interest of [-] pounds a year, but you are so profligate and free-spirited that you spend more than [-] pounds a year. I used to pay more than [-] pounds. I can help you afford it, but now my own expenses are getting bigger and bigger, and you have to learn to live within your means."

Miss Bingley ran upstairs, crying, to the embarrassment of Mary and Kitty--if Miss Bingley had an inheritance of her own, they were really penniless relatives.Mr. Bingley sat down apologetically, and Jane patted the back of his hand tenderly, and said, "My dear, you have been too harsh on Caroline." Mr. Bingley just frowned and said, "I'm sorry, Jane, but she She is really ignorant..."

Mary winked at Kitty, then picked up little Ellen, who had been awakened, and went for a walk in the garden, leaving Jane to comfort Mr. Bingley.In the garden, Kitty complained somewhat annoyedly: "This time I came to Howard, my life is really unpleasant, and Mr. Bingley is not as good-tempered as before. And there are so few dances, only two from Christmas to now, Mr. Bingley said it was because of Jane's pregnancy, and was afraid she would be too tired, but I have been bored." She was so angry for a while, and then she said to Mary, "I should have liked to go and see Elizabeth at Pemberley, but Elizabeth also I'm going to have a baby soon, and I'm afraid of Mr Darcy, so I think I'll go back to Longbourn in two days, or to Uncle Gardiner's in London..." So she decided, and she decided to go to London first to find Gardner. Aunt Dana stayed for two days and attended the London season.

It was only then that Mary remembered the Captain Andrew who had pursued her before, and asked about the gentleman's recent situation, only to learn that Captain Andrew was sent to India and was in the same unit as Colonel Fitzwilliam until the end of the year to come back.Mary now understood why Kitty was in no hurry to go to Pemberley.

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