Miss Mary in Pride and Prejudice

No one fell asleep that night. Mary and Elizabeth stayed with Jane all the time, while Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingley kept talking in secret in the study. They didn't send their personal servants up until the early morning to ask the Elizabeth sisters to go down.

Mr. Darcy looked stern, while Mr. Bingley was visibly calmer, but Mary felt that he did not look like he had solved the problem, but resigned himself to fate.When Jane sat comfortably on the sofa, and Elizabeth and Mary each found a chair to sit down, Mr. Darcy announced the results of their negotiations to the ladies.

Mr. Bingley felt most sorry for his sister Caroline, so Mr. Darcy had to raise [-] pounds in cash to lend to Mr. Bingley immediately as compensation to Caroline, otherwise Mr. Bingley's conscience would never be at peace. Then there is the debt of [-] pounds. Mr. Darcy will set off for London immediately after dawn to find a lawyer and contact the creditor. He estimates that as long as he can pay [-] pounds in cash, he can reach an agreement to postpone the debt repayment, and this It was all the cash Mr. Darcy could raise at present.

As for Howard Manor, although it has been mortgaged, if Mr. Bingley no longer cares about face and is willing to auction the manor to the public, the proceeds will be enough to pay off other debts, so that he can be debt-free.

After Mr. Darcy had finished speaking, Mr. Bingley smiled sadly, and said: "My friend, I am not debt-free. I still owe you seventy thousand pounds. Even if I can pay off this huge sum of money in my lifetime, I will never finish your affection." The two friends shook hands tightly, and Elizabeth and Jane embraced each other emotionally.

Mary walked out the door quietly. She stood on the porch, looking at the faint dawn in the east, enjoying the rare coolness in the summer morning.She thought Mr. Darcy was the most trustworthy friend and the most reliable husband, though he was unsmiling.She also thought that not only the Bingley family would become impoverished by this accident, but even Pemberley's vitality would be severely damaged. Mr. Darcy must have tried his best to gather every penny he could to help Mr. Bingley get out of the predicament.She felt a deep sense of worry and insecurity, and a future that had been so certain became blurred.

The next morning, the Hursts came to Howard Manor. It should be said that Louisa performed much better than her younger sister. She expressed deep sympathy for the misfortunes of her younger brother’s family, and she even planned to help her younger brother. Cash to get through the difficulties at hand, if Mr. Hurst hadn't lost a lot of money at the casino in Bath last month, and she had bought a beautiful new rose quartz ring herself, she would really have given it A sum of money came.But even if she just said that, it was enough to move Jane to tears.

Miss Bingley quickly returned to her normal state after learning that her interests were not damaged. She falsely said some insincere polite words to Jane and Mr. Bingley. Although her brother and sister-in-law were no longer fooled, they were still polite. Angrily thanked her for her kindness, and then Miss Bingley went to London with the Hurst couple. Her reason was that she really couldn't bear to see Howard Manor being put up for public auction, which would break her heart.For such a reason, everyone can only express their understanding, and after she left, they all breathed a sigh of relief.

The next two weeks were really gloomy. Little Ellen was sent to Pemberley Manor. Jane entrusted Miss Darcy to look after him temporarily. Originally Mary wanted to go with little Ellen, because the young nanny was really uneasy. But then Jane said that she really couldn't do without her here, because during these days, apart from Jane, the person who is most familiar with Howard End is Mary.In addition, Elizabeth assured Jane that little Ellen would receive the most thoughtful care in Pemberley. Not only Miss Darcy liked children very much, but also the housekeeper was experienced in raising children and handled meticulous things. The two newly hired nannies also It is perfectly possible to take care of little Ellen while taking care of little Miss Darcy.

So Mary obliged to stay. Like a hardworking worker ant, she cleaned up the items with the housekeeper every day, registered them, and except Jane and Charles' personal items, all valuable things were included in the auction. Mary has never experienced such a sad and frustrating thing. She has also heard that someone in the neighbor or a distant relative has to auction off the inheritance because of bankruptcy, but being in it still makes her feel depressed. .

After two full weeks of work like this, the heartbreaking day finally arrived.Early that morning, all the items that needed to be auctioned were gathered on the lawn outside the mansion. In addition to the creditors and all kinds of lawyers, accountants, brokers, etc., Mr. Bingley's relatives and friends also gathered together.

It turned out that Mr. Bingley had been obliged to resort to this disgraceful means at the suggestion of Mr. Darcy, in order to raise some funds for the future support of his family.Mary and their uncles and aunts Gardner and his wife, Anne and Mr. Davis, Miss Darcy and Mr. Austin... There are many neighbors around and familiar faces that Mary can't name, all of them have appeared in Howard End At the ball, these people didn't come here to join in the fun. They wanted to help Mr. Bingley as much as they could with money much higher than the original value of the item during the auction.

Mary looked at the crowded scene on the lawn from the window of the living room, and couldn't help but lament Mr. Bingley's popularity. The housekeeper's wife who was working with her said coldly: "Mr. Bingley's popularity is indeed good, but in order to get this He also paid a great price for cultivating good popularity." Then the worried and angry housekeeper took the last vase and sent it to the lawn outside, where Mary continued to casually wipe the dust from her hands on the apron. Scanning the people with different expressions outside, she suddenly saw a familiar face - the Earl of Leicester.

The Earl of Leicester was wearing a black suit and black riding boots. He only had a thin gold chain hanging in his coat pocket, but he looked very luxurious. He was looking for the crowd with his eyes rolling. Mary stared at him until he saw When he was standing by the window, he smiled slightly and curtseyed. The count respectfully took off his hat and bowed. Then Mary walked away to attend to other things.In her mind, since the matter has come to this point, even the Earl of Leicester is powerless to recover, so it is reasonable that he came to auction a few items at a high price today because of his neighbor's relationship after he returned to London without success. among.

Dozens of chairs were placed on the lawn. When the auction broker rang the bell, the noisy crowd quieted down and gradually gathered towards the center.Jane and Mr. Bingley sat holding hands in the first row of chairs, surrounded by their relatives and friends, and as for the creditors, who knew they were not welcome on the occasion, but could not resist the temptation of money, Eager to know whether Howard Manor could fetch a high price, they all stood far outside the lawn, waiting eagerly, hoping that Mr. Bingley's relatives and friends would give generously.

The order of the auction starts with some valuable livestock and items. These things may not be attached to the real estate of the manor itself. The broker suggested that a separate auction may fetch a higher price, but will be related to the real estate and mansion of Howard Manor The indivisible property is put at the end. Several rich men from the United States, wearing colorful silk coats and smoking pipes, are looking around with interest. He even wanted to break into the mansion to take a closer look, but was kicked out by the housekeeper's wife unceremoniously.Elizabeth told Mary that those Americans were the possible buyers that Mr. Darcy had commissioned to find a broker, and now many real estates and manors in England and Europe fell into the hands of these nouveau riche.

The first auction item was a black thoroughbred, a young mare with a satin-like fur. It was led out by the groom and stood at the bottom of the steps, snorting uneasily.Tears welled up in Mr. Bingley's eyes, and he said softly, "My Abu, when he was a pony, I bought it from Ireland for a full two thousand pounds..."

The broker shouted: "Gentlemen and ladies, look, what a fine racehorse, with a beautiful head, a long body, a broad chest and short back, and light feet. Its female line can be traced back to the "Thoroughbred General" The 'Irish Dancer' in the Register, which is a horse that has won the championship in three consecutive races; its sire can be traced back to the famous horse 'Dale Arabia' 200 years ago. This pure horse The blood horse has an unquestionable pedigree, gentlemen, I assure you that no matter how much money you pay, it will pay you back in the race..."

Someone started quoting, three thousand pounds...three thousand five hundred pounds...three thousand eight hundred pounds...four thousand pounds...four thousand five hundred pounds...five thousand pounds...that's a good start, hear The price was rising steadily, and Mary was so nervous that her palms were sweating, hoping that the price would continue to be pushed up.

Suddenly, one of the pile of colorful silk coats shouted: "Six thousand pounds! I'll pay six thousand, ha ha, I'll use this fine boy to pull my wife's cart, she already has a black horse of the same coat , she will be happy to give her another one." It was a short, dark and fat man, who said carelessly to the people around him while smoking a pipe.

Mr. Bingley became agitated, and turning to Mr. Darcy in a low voice, he said, "Oh no, Fitzwilliam, he's going to ruin Abu, who's a thoroughbred racehorse, and he's going to have him pull a cart . . . No, it can't be like this..."

Mr. Darcy patted his hand sadly, and said: "I'm sorry too, Charles, I like Abu very much, if I still have cash, I will definitely buy Abu..." Mr. Bingley was silent, he resigned himself to fate Turning her head away, she lowered her head uncomfortably, and Jane couldn't help but shed tears.

The agent continued to call for quotations, and he shouted loudly: "Is there any higher price? Six thousand pounds for the first time... Six thousand pounds for the second time... Six thousand pounds for the third..."

Just as he was about to drop the auction hammer in his hand, a clear voice came from behind the crowd: "20 pounds, I want this black horse."