Miss Mary in Pride and Prejudice

Mary's birthday is destined to be an extraordinary day in her life.

Since breakfast time, something extraordinary happened one after another.First of all, the butler who always abided by the rules broke the rules and walked into the dining room to report that the Earl of Leicester from the Emerald Valley Manor had sent someone to deliver Miss Mary's birthday present.Mr. Bingley had already recovered his cheerful disposition, and said cheerfully after hearing this: "Oh, bring in Miss Mary's present, Mr. Smith." He winked mischievously at Mary, and continued, "I forgot to tell you, Mary, when I went to the Emerald Valley Manor to deliver invitations that day, the Earl of Leicester said that he would give you a small gift as a surprise on your birthday."

Miss Bingley's eyes lit up again with envy, and she yelled, "What gift, Smith? Bring it in for everyone to see!" Mary prayed silently in her heart, hoping that it was really a surprise, not a shock.

But the butler, Mr. Smith, stood still, and said in the calm tone of a well-trained servant: "That gift is too big to take in, sir. I have sent someone to bring it in." It’s outside the window of the restaurant, please go to the window and have a look.”

Miss Bingley was the first to run to the window, and the others, driven by curiosity, put down their knives, forks and napkins, and flocked to the two windows facing the courtyard.Miss Bingley gave a low exclamation when she saw what was outside, and she was completely stunned.Mary was eager to see, too, but she was a step too slow, and was held back by the crowd, but in a split second they moved out of the way to make room for her, so that she could Check out her birthday present.

Outside the window is a black horse with shiny coat, wearing a full set of expensive velvet saddles, led by a handsome pony boy, flicking its tail leisurely and contentedly, chewing the roses in the flower bed under the window.Mr. Bingley recognized the horse at a glance: "Abu, it's Abu." The loud voices disturbed Abu's breakfast, and he raised his head and snorted dissatisfiedly, and used his tongue to touch a pink flower hanging by his mouth. Diana Rosebud licked into her mouth and continued to eat with relish.

That's right, this is exactly the black thoroughbred horse Abu worth £20. Now everyone finally knows what the Earl of Leicester bought it for - it was given back again, and it was a birthday present for Miss Mary !

Miss Bingley suddenly felt short of breath. She grabbed her neckline hard and her body was shaking. Everyone quickly helped her to sit on a chair and frantically searched for smelling salts.In this panic, Mary noticed that there was still a string of shiny things hanging around Abu's neck, which was not part of the reins and bridles. She leaned out of the window decisively, not caring about the rose thorns pricking her hands. , just tore off the string from the horse's neck, and held it in her hand, then she turned her head to Mr. Bingley solemnly and said, "The Earl of Leicester is so gentlemanly, how could he use this method?" Send your favorite horse back to Howard's Manor. But I don't think you can accept this generous gift, Mr. Bingley. The earl has done his best to Howard, which is unbearable. I think you should send someone to send the horse back immediately. "

She transferred the Earl's affection to Mr. Bingley in such a veiled way, as if the Earl had sent Abu back as a lavish display of generosity to Howard End, and only as a birthday present from her.It's a pity that Mr. Bingley didn't understand her intention. He just scratched his head and replied: "But Mary, I'm afraid I can't refuse the Earl's kindness. After all, this is a gift for you." And there is one thing Mr. Bingley didn't say Come out—returning the gift given is a sign of breaking up friendship, and Mr. Bingley absolutely does not want to offend his benefactor in this way.

Miss Bingley was suddenly awakened by a large pinch of smelling salts. She heard the conversation between Mary and Mr. Bingley. She wished that the Earl of Leicester had not fallen in love with Mary, and even more wished that Mary had completely offended the Earl of Leicester. After leaving it clear, she quickly agreed, but her opinion was this: "I think Miss Mary is right. The horse should be sent back. We don't need to be so kind to the Earl of Leicester. After all, the Earl paid for the photograph. The horse is his own wish, and no one asked him to do it, so it doesn't matter who took advantage of anyone. If we accept this horse, it means that we have to admit that we have been funded by the earl for 20 pounds In fact, it’s really not worth it.”

But her selfish opinion annoyed her brother, and Mr. Bingley retorted passionately: "Caroline, I never want to deny that I have accepted the Earl's 20 pounds of funding. It will not change, and I will definitely try to return the money to the count in the future, I ask you not to mention the words just now, I don’t want to be seen as an ungrateful person.”

Miss Bingley was very upset, so she stopped talking. Here, Mr. Bingley said earnestly to Mary: "Mary, this horse was given to you by the Earl of Leicester. You can decide whether to give it back, no matter how you decide. Yes, I will support you." But in this short period of time, Mary has changed her mind, and now she is clear about Earl Leicester's intentions - he is sure that she will never send the horse back, then It meant the severance of relations between Howard Endor and Emerald Valley Manor, and she couldn't do it for the sake of the Bingleys.

So she had to show a reluctant smile, and said to the boy servant leading the horse: "Please reply to Earl Leicester, thank you for his kindness, I accept this unexpected gift." The young servant took off his hat and bowed. He bowed and walked away happily. As for Abu, the groom of Howard Manor came to stop him from ruining the roses, and took him back to the original stable.It seemed that Abu was very happy to return to his original home. He walked back without any resistance, and rubbed his neck against the groom's hair from time to time.

Everyone returned to the table and continued to have breakfast, but their moods were different. Everyone thought that this was the rhythm of the Earl of Leicester's proposal to Mary, which made her very upset.Still holding the necklace in her hand, Mary couldn't eat anything, and soon left early on the pretext of going back to her room to try on a dress for the afternoon dance.

Back in her room, she fell down on the bed and couldn't help moaning—couldn't that scoundrel let her go?She resentfully threw the necklace in her hand to a far corner of the room, and the jewels made a crisp sound when they hit each other. It turned out that it was the necklace pendant of the twelve constellations given to her by Earl Leicester in Florence. Now they are It all strung together into one lingering question:

Mary scratched her hair in annoyance, and when she was struggling, there was a knock on the door, and Jane's gentle voice sounded outside the door: "Mary, can I come in?" Mary quickly got up and opened it for Jane. door, Jane walked in, looked at Mary's expression carefully, and asked: "Mary, what is the matter between you and the Earl of Leicester? Fucked you, to please you, that's why I helped Howard End?"

Mary shook her head and said weakly: "Don't ask me, Jane, I can't explain myself. All I know is that that person is so annoying and always embarrassing me like this." Jane blinked, smiled and looked at Mary Pulled her to the dressing table and sat down, combed her hair again, and said in a whisper: "Honey, when you say that, I can't make up my mind even more. You know, women often say this in their mouths, but in their hearts But I think so. That black horse...has already expressed the Earl of Leicester's intentions clearly enough. To be honest, I had a conversation with Elizabeth just now. But although everyone is talking about this sure thing, I don't think he may be what you like. I originally thought that the Lisbon priest would be more suitable for you... You have always been a girl who has her own opinions, so if you really I am not satisfied with this marriage, and I will not force you to accept him—although he has kindness to Howard Manor, it is still not as important as my sister's lifelong happiness. Charles and I can repay him in other ways, You don't have to consider our feelings..."

Mary silently handed the small hairpins in her hand to Jane one by one, and did not speak, because Jane's words had already clearly expressed her attitude. Although she claimed that she would fully consider her sister's happiness, she was actually reminding Mary not to rashly refuse to list her. Earl of Sturt, Howard Manor cannot afford to offend the Earl. She is advising Mary to think about the harm of offending this big man, reminding her to consider the feelings of her relatives, and both she and Elizabeth believe that Mary can climb This marriage is really an unexpected blessing. If you accept it, everyone will be happy and it will be of great benefit to everyone.

However, Mary is no longer the little girl who has no ideas of her own. She looked at Jane in the mirror and smiled gently: "Oh, Jane, don't worry about me. I'm not ignorant. Seeing that the Earl of Leicester would favor me so much, this is really flattering me, I still don't believe that I have such charm." She pointed to the necklace thrown in the corner, and then said, "Look , All these tricks terrified me, I was simply in a state of desperation."

Jane walked over to pick up the necklace in surprise, and looked at it carefully: "Oh, it's so exquisite, so romantic! It's really enviable to have such a suitor who loves you from the bottom of your heart. The Earl really puts so much effort into it." She Walked over, put the necklace on Mary's neck, and then sighed, "It's so beautiful."

Mary smiled, stretched out her hand to touch those pendants, and said, "Not only do you use your mind, but you also have financial resources. Let me tell you, this kind of thought is not rare, but not everyone who falls in love The lads have the money, which makes the Earl special, and being different is an essential condition of romantic love."

There was a touch of irony in her words, and Jane, who was delicate and thoughtful, heard a hint of dissatisfaction. She keenly guessed Mary's thoughts, and comforted her: "Dear Mary, the Earl proposes in such a mobilizing way, There is indeed something wrong, but his affection is still very sincere, who can guarantee that a person who is in love can still have a rational and calm mind, and handle everything properly?"

Mary looked at the bright gems hanging around her neck for a while, and then replied: "Yes, I find that those in high positions are always easier to get forgiven than ordinary people, because they have the capital of willfulness." She took off the necklace and put on the seven aquamarine necklace that Elizabeth had given her, which was so beautiful that it paled in comparison with the Zodiac necklace.