Miss Mary in Pride and Prejudice

When Mary introduced Mr. Lisbon to Jane and Mr. Bingley, there was a look of understanding in the eyes of both of them. After talking with them for a while, Mr. Lisbon was found to be cheerful, sensible, and well-versed in the world. He left a good impression on the Bingley couple, especially after Mr. Bingley talked with him about the European situation for half an hour while smoking a cigar, he hit it off with him and strongly invited Mr. Lisbon to go hunting with him the next day.

In the evening, after Jane and Mary went to the nursery to put little Ellen to sleep, Jane followed Mary to her room, and she said frankly: "Dear Mary, Mr. Lisbon is really a trustworthy person, you know, mother originally wrote I can't quite believe what the letters say about him, but now I have to admit that I would be very happy if he could be my brother-in-law."

Mary didn't expect Jane to be so straightforward, and she suddenly had a thought: Maybe the family members were all afraid that she would become an old girl and a burden to them, so they wanted her to marry so urgently.Of course Jane would not be so selfish and narrow-minded, she was always a kind and gentle sister, but considering that Mr. Bingley was not even willing to bear the expenses of his own sister, let alone his own sister-in-law.

She was a little chilled by the idea that came to her suddenly, and she sat on the edge of the bed in a daze, but Jane thought that she was unwilling to talk about this topic because of shyness, so she kissed her cheek and said good night then left.Here Mary sits in front of the dressing table emotionlessly undoing her braids and combing her hair. She stares at her young face in the mirror and thinks about what Mr. Lisbon said during the day. It seems that everyone is suspicious that she is still attached to the Earl of Leicester Have unrealistic fantasies about being a countess.

Early the next morning, Mr. Lisbon came to Howard Manor and spent a day in the field with Mr. Bingley. In the evening, they brought back a dozen turtledoves and two wild ducks. Mr. Bingley told the female relatives with great interest Said: "In fact, I could have shot a beautiful pheasant, whose colorful tail I knocked out two long feathers, but it still barely flew close to the top of the forest to the other side of the valley. to the Emerald Valley Manor."

When he said this, Mr. Lisbon was watching Mary's expression all the time, and Mary appeared calm beyond his expectations, and did not show any signs of restlessness.There is only one thing that Mary finds strange: Except for Mr. Lisbon who told her that the Earl of Leicester had arrived in the Emerald Valley, no one seemed to have heard any clues. Everyone took it for granted that the Earl of Leicester was in Europe. Will not return to Emerald Valley Manor.

And Mr. Lisbon didn't talk to her about the same topic again, so Mary couldn't help but suspect that his news was not true, especially Mr. Collins, who was always well informed about the whereabouts of the nobleman, didn't hear any wind, and he was in a hurry that afternoon. Howard came to court Mr. Bingley and the Vicar of Lisbon.

When others were not paying attention, Mary carefully brought the topic to the Earl of Leicester in front of Mr. Collins, saying that if the nearby parishioners donated more money to the poor villagers, Mr. Collins would better fulfill his parish duties. Mr. Collins greatly agreed with the pastor's duty, and made a lot of comments about it: "You are absolutely right, Cousin Mary, but it is a pity that the Earl of Leicester is busy with affairs. Although the Emerald Valley Manor is the largest property in the diocese However, it only occupies an insignificant amount in the Earl of Leicester's property, so that the Earl rarely visits here." After he finished speaking, he felt that he had offended another local benefactor, and hurriedly made amends, "Of course Mr. Bingley and Mr. The lady is also very generous and enthusiastic about public welfare."

Mary couldn't help expressing her feelings: "But for the residents of this parish, the Earl of Leicester's year-round footprints are not a loss. It is really irresponsible to just use a lot of work as an excuse." practice—if he fails to take good care of the inhabitants of his domain, he is not entitled to such great wealth and power."

Her exaggerated remarks frightened Mr. Collins. He waved his hands again and again, defending the earl and all the nobles incoherently, but still could not persuade Mary.Mr. Collins was obliged to go away, for at Howards End he would not dare lecture Mrs. Bingley's sister.Through this conversation, Mary confirmed one thing, that is, the Earl of Leicester was indeed not at the Emerald Valley Manor. Mr. Collins said that he had just had a glass of punch with the housekeeper of the manor in the town tavern the day before yesterday. The butler said that the Earl will not come to the Emerald Valley Manor this year.

This news calmed Mary's restless heart. She even thought of finding an excuse to go to Pemberley, so as not to encounter the earl one day and embarrass each other. She still remembered her parting words: I hope to be able to Forgot about you and I hope never to see you again.Knowing that the Earl of Leicester was not around, the big stone in her heart was relieved.

Mary sighed involuntarily. She had been feeling more and more distracted lately.At this time, Mr. Lisbon just brought her a teacup, and asked her: "Do you often sigh when you are alone?" Mary smiled and said, "Yes, Mr. Lisbon, you just chatted with my sister, don't you Do you think she is such a perfect woman compared to me? With such a perfect sister, how can I not sigh for myself?"

Mr. Lisbon looked at Jane solemnly, and then said: "Mrs. Bingley is indeed the most elegant and kind-hearted woman I have ever seen, but you don't need to belittle yourself, you sisters have their own advantages and strengths. But don't use this reason to perfuse me, I don't believe that you are sighing here because you are jealous of your sister."

Mary deliberately misinterpreted his meaning, and continued to reply in a roundabout way: "I have heard that jealousy is the nature of everyone, and it is self-cultivation not to lose your composure because of jealousy. Although I can't suppress my jealous nature, I can do it well." Self-cultivation, so I just sighed slightly—are you satisfied with this answer?"

Mr. Lisbon also replied in a joking manner: "I am very satisfied, miss. Your words just rightly confirm a sentence that a respected old man—that is, His Excellency the Archbishop of Canterbury— said to me recently: Don’t force women to lie , she will hate you; don't take her words seriously, you will hate her."

Mary smiled and said: "You are not kind to say that, Mr. Lisbon." She walked away to chat with Jane, but Mr. Lisbon didn't feel lonely. He stood there alone, thinking about Mary with a happy mood. That alluring glance she'd thrown him as she walked away.Mary also found it very pleasant, when you don't take a person seriously, it doesn't really matter what you say to him.

Mr. Lisbon is indeed a man of good times. Until he left this area, he did not say anything that Mary would not like to hear. On the contrary, no one would gossip, and Mary felt that if she hadn't worried about his other intentions, she would really like to have a deep association with such a friend.

On the last Sunday when Mr. Lisbon stayed in the diocese, Pastor Collins specially invited Mr. Lisbon to preside over the mass that day in order to show respect to him. Mary sat in the corner, holding her missal book in her hand, listening to Mr. Read passages from the Bible:

"What happened, will happen again; what was done, will be done again. There is nothing new under the sun. Who can say, look, this is new? No, there was before we were born No one will remember the past, and no one will worry about the future..." In this way, she broke up with Mr. Lisbon, and Mary thought that this was really the best speech.

At the end of spring, Mary and Bingley's family went to Pemberley as guests. Elizabeth gave birth to a lovely daughter, and everyone went to congratulate her and attend Pemberley's annual garden party.Mr. Darcy obviously loved his little daughter very much. He held this garden party very grandly and invited all relatives and friends. Even Mrs. Bennet and the Collins family were lucky enough to receive invitations.

A few days before the departure, Jane was very busy. She had to prepare gifts for Elizabeth and the newborn niece, and also packed out clothes for Mr. Bingley and little Ellen. Therefore, most of the responsibilities for taking care of little Ellen fell on Mary. undertook.Fortunately, Mary doesn't think it's a hard job. On the one hand, little Ellen is really a lovely child, and on the other hand, there are enough people for her to dispatch. In fact, she only needs to spend some time and energy, but it is not necessary. tired.

After several days of rain that afternoon, there was a rare sunny day. After lunch, Mary took Little Ellen and Xue Fei for a walk on the hillside near the manor. When it was time for a nap, Mary asked the nanny to take the Little Alan hugged her back. She felt that the weather was fine, and she had been stuck in the house recently, so instead of going back immediately, she took Xue Fei to the valley.

She drifted away and stopped until she was near the Emerald Valley. Although she knew that the Earl of Leicester was not in his territory, Mary was still unwilling to enter rashly like before, but just as she was about to turn around and turn back While walking, Xuefei suddenly trotted towards the valley. Mary hurriedly called its name, but Xuefei ignored it, and disappeared in the turning of the path after a while.

Mary hesitated for a while, but followed. She searched along the winding path, but got lost in the valley again.Mary was a little anxious and depressed. This scene was very similar to the scene when she first met the Earl of Leicester, but at that time she didn't know his identity, and she didn't know that there would be so many stories with him...

Thinking of this, she walked to the bottom of the valley. On the boulder in the turbulent stream, a man in a white shirt was painting. Xue Fei was sniffing back and forth on the bank of the stream, not knowing what it had found. .Mary was stunned. She recognized the man from the back as the Earl of Leicester. It was too embarrassing for him to come to his door on his own initiative.

However, if she went back quietly now, what would Xue Fei do?Mary hesitated for a moment, then stepped lightly, walked to the bank of the stream, and hugged Xue Fei, who was running around, into her arms. She didn't dare to look into the stream, so she deceived herself and hoped to take Xue Fei away without being noticed. leave.She kept stroking the hair on Xue Fei's neck to comfort it, so as not to bark. Xue Fei only hummed twice in her throat, and then calmed down, no longer struggling.

Mary breathed a sigh of relief, she hugged Xuefei a little tighter, turned around and was about to leave when a familiar figure appeared in front of her: "Long time no see, Miss Bennet." Lester The count was standing in front of her. His face was stern, and the neckline of his white shirt was spread out, which was very different from the well-dressed appearance in the past. However, Mary had to admit deep down that he seemed more attractive than wearing a formal dress.

"Yes, it's been a long time, Earl of Leicester." Mary replied with a little panic, and as soon as she let go of her hand, Xue Fei took the opportunity to jump down. Now Mary noticed that there was still a black fur lying on the boulder in the stream. An Irish Shepherd dog, lazily staring at the flowing water, seemed dismissive of Sheffield's every kind of flattery.

Fearing that people would misunderstand that she came here uninvited, Mary hurriedly explained that she came here to chase after her puppy. Earl Lester said plainly: "I see, this puppy has been here almost every day for the past few days. They will all appear nearby, so it’s your dog.” He whistled lightly, and the shepherd dog, which was lying lazily just now, stood up with a flick of its tail, and jumped from the stream to the bank after a few hops.Xue Fei happily ran over to meet it, and sniffed around it.

Mary yelled in a low voice with some shame and anger: "Xue Fei, don't do this!" Earl Leicester smiled lightly. He patted his dog and said, "Jike, go play." The two dogs They chased each other and played by the stream.Mary felt a little embarrassed, but it would be impolite to leave now, so she could only say: "I think I still have to explain, Earl, I came to Xue Fei rashly because I heard that you were not in the manor, otherwise... "

She paused, and the Earl of Leicester said bitterly: "Otherwise, you would never set foot here, do you mean that?" Mary replied with silence, and the Earl walked back and forth for a few steps before stopping to say : "Actually, I've been back for a long time. I've been here since Christmas last year."

Mary was a little surprised, this kind of secluded life did not seem to be the normal life of the Earl of Leicester, but the Earl of Leicester said: "I am here because this is the closest place to you. I have been looking forward to seeing you again , right here, just two years ago, we met for the first time, do you remember?"

Mary nodded involuntarily, how could she forget?The earl continued: "I often think, if I have been here, just a squire like Mr. Bingley, will you accept me? Or if I am just a poor painter in a cottage in the Lake District, will you love me?" How about a deeper love?" Mary pursed her lips and did not answer. This kind of assumption is meaningless, and the Earl of Leicester said as if he had seen through her thoughts, "But in the end I realized that this kind of thinking There's no point, you either reject me or you accept all of me. None of us can live our lives exactly as we want."

Mary thought for a while, and she bravely raised her head to look into Earl Leicester's eyes, and said, "You are right, Earl, it is impossible for each of us to live as we want, but you obviously have more than others. The power to choose and decide, you have also used these privileges of your own. I reject you, not because you are so rich that I feel that I cannot climb high. Just being rich and powerful does not make me feel ashamed. I reject you , because your behavior of arbitrarily controlling the fate of others scares me."

She finally said what she wanted to say, but she felt calm in her heart.Earl Leicester obviously did not expect her to say this, he stared at her blankly, as if digesting her words, Mary curtseyed slightly, and called Xue Fei to leave the Emerald Valley Manor in a hurry.

After Mary left, Earl Leicester stood by the stream for a long time, until Jake turned around at his feet and fell on his knees, and he woke up from his contemplation.He slowly walked back to the boulder in the middle of the stream. On the easel there was a landscape painting that was almost completed. Between the misty mountains and rivers, a young girl in white stood gracefully. It was exactly two years ago that he The scene when I first met Mary.

The Earl of Leicester picked up the paintbrush and slowly painted the girl in the painting with oil, so the figure disappeared, and the charm in the painting seemed to disappear as well, making it dull.He stared at the canvas, recalling what Mary had just said in his heart. After a long time, he dipped in the oil paint again and continued to paint. What appeared by the stream was a woman in a light blue dress and a checkered apron. , at her feet was a small white poodle, Earl Leicester smiled: "Honey, you think this is the end, but in fact this is the real beginning."

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