Miss Mary in Pride and Prejudice

Before leaving Pemberley for London, Mary had a long conversation with Elizabeth.The two sisters were walking by the stream in front of the mansion that day. Elizabeth was much more sensible than Jian Jian in terms of taking care of children. She never did everything by herself, but entrusted all the details to a nanny. She was just a supervisor and guide, little Alice Also very well looked after.

So Elizabeth has plenty of spare time to manage household affairs and entertain. Autumn in Pemberley has a different kind of beauty. The woods in the distance are golden, while the yew trees nearby are still green. , which is mind-opening.

Mary wore only a homely linen dress, but Elizabeth knew that this apparently plain dress was made of Indonesian material and handcrafted by the best tailors in Paris, as well as her jewels, each of which was of great value. ...But these alone are not enough to make Elizabeth feel envious. What she envies for Mary is the earl's affection for her beyond the ordinary husband and wife. Of course, Elizabeth is not dissatisfied with her husband. Darcy loves and treats her very much. Considerate, she is very grateful and content, but there is a woman in the world who is as lucky as Mary, but living as she pleases under the protection of her husband?Thinking of this, she felt that it was too unfair to Mr. Darcy to be so careless, so she shook her head and asked Mary about her next itinerary with a smile.

While picking cornflowers from the grass by the stream, Mary replied casually: "We will go to London first to perform the duties of the Leicester family - to pay homage to the king and present my freshly baked countess to the royal family. For the record, anyway, I will attend a series of balls and meet countless princes and ladies. I wonder if they will all be as difficult to serve as Mrs. de Bourgh... David has a big house in Downing Street, and I He is going to face another group of housekeepers and servants who are picky... But there is also something to enjoy. I heard that this year's social season will have a lot of new plays in London, and the Royal Ballet of Russia will also perform The first round of performances, which makes me look forward to it. Then, we will go on a tour around Europe. David has a few plans that he claims are wonderful, but he just refuses to tell me, saying that he wants to surprise me..."

Elizabeth already knew what happened at Leicester Castle through mutual correspondence, so she is not worried about Mary's complaints now—she believes that with the Earl's means, as long as he wants to support his wife, there will be no injustice things and people.She sighed softly: "Mary, I really envy you!"

Mary stopped, she looked at Elizabeth in surprise, and said with a smile: "Lizzy, aren't you the most enviable one among the sisters? Mr. Darcy loves you so much, this kind of love is a pure A love that is reassuring and does not bring any doubts, and at the same time, Mr. Darcy is such a gentleman who is well-versed in the world and manages well, so you don't have to worry about investment failures like Howard's End. "

Elizabeth walked over, took her sister's hand and kissed it lightly, and said, "Yes, Mary, I really don't know what to do when I think this way. However, I still envy you for being able to live the life you want and to be able to see this How big the world is, not just confined to a corner like I am now."

Mary smiled: "Aren't you envious that I can enter the palace to meet the king? It's not difficult to say, even our neighbor Sir William in Longbourne is qualified to introduce ladies to the palace. I want to achieve Mr. Xi doesn't like to deal with those dignitaries, otherwise you can go to the palace."

Of course Elizabeth knew that the fact was not that simple. As a new landowner without a title, Mr. Darcy actually accumulated his wealth mainly through business, and he was not popular among traditional nobles, so he might have the opportunity to make further progress. He went to see the world at the palace, but it was absolutely impossible to get the treatment that Mary received.But she was already ashamed of her vanity, so she didn't continue this topic.

But at this moment, Mary suddenly became irritable. She threw a bouquet of cornflowers in her arms into the stream and watched them sink and float. She suppressed her emotions and said, "Lizzy, you are the most enviable!" That one, I mean it from the bottom of my heart - because you feel safe and you know Mr. Darcy is there for you no matter what, he's your back no matter what. The reason he loves you, you Clearly—and I, I still don’t know why a woman with ordinary appearance and talents like me aroused the Earl’s love so strongly. Is it because I have some advantages that I can’t realize by myself, or Because I have a pair of eyes exactly like his mother's..."

Elizabeth was stunned, but she couldn't comfort Mary, because these were exactly the questions she had been puzzled over. After a long time, Mary smiled bitterly and said, "So, whether I am rich or prosperous, or down and out, it is not my fault. What can be controlled is all in his mind. This is really sad. Now that he is in love, he can certainly solve my problems. I only hope that one day when he finds that he loves me, he will not treat me too badly. ..."

Elizabeth held Mary in her arms and said, "Don't say that, Mary, no, the Earl is not this kind of person." Mary smiled lightly and said, "Lizzy, you don't know him, even I don't know him." What kind of person is it? I only hate, I only hate being born in such an era, women can only rely on others, and their own destiny cannot be controlled by themselves..."

From a distance, these two sisters are as beautiful as the people in the painting. Who would have thought that even such a person who the world thinks everything is going well has troubles that cannot be understood by outsiders?At least in the eyes of Mr. Darcy and the Earl of Leicester who came over, the figure of his wife walking by the stream was really graceful and charming. When they approached, Mary and Elizabeth had all returned to normal, and Mary Ask Mr. Darcy: "Is it true that Miss Darcy doesn't want to come to London with us?"

Mr. Darcy has been troubled by this, and at this moment he frowned slightly, and said: "I have persuaded her that a change of environment will help to adjust her mood, but Georgiana doesn't like London, and she would rather stay in Pemberley, she said. With dear Elizabeth by her side, and with little Alice to look after, she will live to the fullest, and will soon forget her past misfortunes."

Elizabeth said at this time: "I think Georgiana insists on staying in Pemberley, perhaps subconsciously waiting for Mr. Austin to change his mind and come back to her. Her affection for Mr. Austin over the past year is not just one or two things. It can be erased, she has always been an infatuated woman, but she just couldn't bear to make us worry about her, so she kept it silent."

After hearing this, Mary couldn't help expressing the question that had been lingering in her heart recently: "Actually, based on my understanding of Mr. Austin's behavior, he doesn't seem to be such a rash and superficial person. What happened this time is really strange. , I really can't help but make the assertion: there must be something strange in it!" The earl didn't speak, he looked at his wife, and a trace of doubt crossed his mind.

Mr. Darcy said: "I also have such doubts, so I plan to leave for Manchester in the next few days. I must have a face-to-face talk with Mr. Austin Jr. to clarify these doubts."

The Earl of Leicester looked at the slowly flowing river with his hands behind his back. At this time, he turned to Mr. Darcy and said, "If he has said something secret, please write to me. I hope to understand the whole story of this matter." Mr. Darcy admired the Earl of Leicester's judgment very much, and immediately promised him that he would inform him at any time.

As Georgiana had made up her mind not to go to London, there were only two persons in the carriage when the Marys set off.The carriage was very spacious. In order to make Mary feel comfortable, the Earl even transformed the interior of the carriage into a small living room with a comfortable bed and foldable table and chairs.Now, in order to relieve the fatigue of the trip, Mary took a nap on the earl's lap, but her heart was still thinking about the upcoming trip to the palace.

"What kind of person is the king? Is he kind?" Mary blinked her eyelashes slightly and asked in a sleepy state.

The earl gently stroked Mary's hair and neck, pondered for a moment, and replied: "King George III is often criticized for being capricious. Compared with his father and grandfather, he appears to be staid, unfashionable, and a king. He stutters when he is nervous, and he often makes a rattling sound when he speaks, which made him ridiculed among the nobles, but I think he is actually a very soft-hearted man, and he is the only one who can be called honest and kind among several generations of British kings He is also very kind to those he likes, and deliberately slows down those he dislikes, no matter how high the person's status--so he will like you, Mary, because he is my friend, and I do it in Europe. Many of the things he does are to help him safeguard the interests of the United Kingdom and the status of the royal family."

Mary became interested in something she had never heard of in the country. Seeing that she had lost her drowsiness, the count did not hesitate to tell her some anecdotes about the royal family: "The kings of the entire Hanoverian dynasty are notorious for their luxury, From this point of view, His Majesty is an exception, since he ascended the throne, he has issued proclamations encouraging filial piety, loyalty, propriety, righteousness and shame, but the nobles did not buy it, and even his sons slandered him, saying that he had suffered from insanity."

Mary said in surprise: "I only heard from my neighbors and friends that the old king was old, weak and suffering from gout. I have never heard that the king has mental problems."

The earl said calmly: "Actually, George III did experience a brief insanity about 10 years ago. At that time, during the American Revolutionary War, he was riding a horse in the rain that day, and the attendants suddenly noticed that the king's behavior was abnormal—— He talked to himself constantly, and stood alone under the oak tree, and talked to the tree for a long time-he took the tree for Washington, but soon he was back to normal. But rumors abounded, and A month later, he was stimulated a second time. At a dinner in Windsor, he quarreled with his eldest son, the Prince of Wales. Hitting the wall, many people believed that if the nobles present had not rescued the prince, the king would have committed the crime of killing the son. Because the king was foaming at the mouth, his eyes were bloodshot, and he looked completely mad."

Mary imagined the scene at that time, and said with lingering fear: "It's terrible! I've never heard of such a thing. How did you know?"

The earl said quietly: "My dear, it happened that I was present both times. When the king lost his mind for the second time, the parliament had discussed the issue of regent by the Prince of Wales, but the king soon became sober, so the regent's discussion And it will come to an end.”

Mary asked worriedly, "David, do you think the king is really insane?"

The count replied calmly: "I think the old king is an overly sensitive person, but he is definitely not a lunatic, unless someone deliberately stimulates him, too much pressure will lead to loss of reason."

Mary suddenly felt that this trip to London might not be as simple as just meeting the king. She didn't know what kind of crisis was hidden behind these palace secrets she had heard for the first time, and how deep the earl fell into.But strangely, what she felt was not fear but excitement about the unknown future.