[Pride and Prejudice] Rich Lady

Shopping to your heart's content is definitely the favorite thing for ladies.For a young lady, what fun can compare to the joy of carefully choosing the object she likes?No matter how many and expensive gifts you get from others, they will never be more desirable than the ones you choose.

"The joy of spending money is unparalleled!" Even Elizabeth sighed.

The ladies of the Bennet family were not surprised by this, they were all immersed in the great joy of "buy! buy! buy!", especially Elizabeth announced that today's expenses will be paid by her.

During the two days that Elizabeth was home, the sisters knew that a new weave of her pattern had brought her a huge sum of fifty pounds, and those gifts did not empty her poor purse.So she became more interested, and Lydia was very grateful to the generous lady. She made a big wish to buy all the ribbons and laces that she was not willing to buy before!

Mary's eyes were shining, and she wished to buy some of the volumes of the third edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica, edited by George Greg.

This set of books was born in Edinburgh and was published in the previous year, with a total of 18 volumes.But this set of tomes is too expensive, and being able to buy such a set of encyclopedias and display them at home has almost become a status symbol.Some aristocratic families have collected the first, second, and third editions of the "Encyclopedia Britannica" that have been published since 1768, which undoubtedly demonstrates the family's heritage and history. Decades ago, this set of books was The price was 12 pounds. At that time, only [-] pounds could buy an island.

Now this set of books has not been cheap, and because the editor-in-chief of the third edition has specially hired scholars to write many professional articles, and the scope of coverage is wide, this set of books has been fully expanded from ten volumes to 18 volumes. The price is as high as sixteen pounds.

Of course, Mary would not ask her sister to pay such a large sum of money unreasonably. In fact, this lovely girl brought all the pocket money she had accumulated over the years, and she hoped that Lizzie would give her another pound so that she You can buy half of it back.

There happened to be a set at the bookseller in Meryton, who is also the operator of the circulation library in the town, but Mr. Clarke did not put this valuable set of books in the library for people to borrow, but placed it as a display item in his own desk.Fortunately the gentlemen of Meryton were not too interested and stayed until now, to give Mary a chance to buy it.

"Honey, why don't you choose some fabric or lace? I heard from Jane that you have also started to learn to decorate your own hat." Elizabeth asked.

All Mary's mind was on the bookstore, she really loved reading.

The little girl taught me with both hands, looked at the second sister eagerly, and asked with a blushing face: "Lizzie, can you accompany me to the Clark library later?"

Of course Elizabeth is willing: "What books have you read? We'll buy them. If there are no books in town, I can ask a friend to bring them in London. But if they are out of print, you can only go to Blooms after I return to London." Bury's library to borrow."

Mary is very envious. Bloomsbury is the most famous cultural area in London, and the circulation library there must have the most abundant collection of books in England! "Can you send home the 'fly sheet' from the Bloomsbury Library, Lizzie?"

Elizabeth is very fond of this unique book culture in England: booksellers and publishers have set up many circulation libraries in various places, and people can rent books in them for only a few pennies.Compared to the exorbitant price of books, that is really cheap.These operators also ingeniously printed a large number of books in the library into cheap booklets. This kind of booklet is called "flying list". Ordinary people who can't afford books can also have enough financial resources to buy them.People get to know the circulation library through the flyer, and then become a loyal customer of a certain library.

Elizabeth once bought a set of "The History of Tom Jones, an Outcast". The set of only three cost her a full 32 shillings and 9 pence - more than a pound and a half. She was surprised to find that her original dowry even A library is not enough.

"Of course, my dear, the Moody Library in Bloomsbury is the most famous, and the Booth Library in the suburbs is very rich in books. I will send back their latest fly-offs. I think most of them You can find all your books there, not only you, but also your father will be interested.” Elizabeth readily agreed, her little sister did have the potential of being a bookworm, and the little girl could resist the temptation of beautiful clothes and accessories. Confused, almost all pocket money is spent on borrowing and buying books.

"Lizzie, I love you so much. In my heart, you are comparable to Blaki, the owner of Asgard's Ten Thousand Years Garden!" Mary said this term, if it were any other girl, I'm afraid she would think her Pretending to be profound, showing off her knowledge.

But Elizabeth knew that the little sister's flattery came from her heart, "Oh, God of Wisdom and Eloquence? Dear Mary, I'm blushing from your compliments. Do you feel hot when you touch her?"

She was joking around with her little sister in the corner of the fabric store, not noticing the coming in and going out of a stylishly dressed young lady.When the lady walked out of the fabric shop, she was still complaining to her companions: "This place is extremely barren, whether it is products or customers, it is extremely rustic! The ladies in the city are not so unruly, we are always elegant."

Waiting outside was a gentle-looking, medium-sized gentleman. He seemed to have a good temper. Hearing the lady's complaints, he smiled and persuaded: "Caroline, you are too strict. If you always carry A dignified look, that's really boring!"

"In my opinion, the ladies here are very lovely. The place here is also very beautiful, with picturesque scenery and fresh air, much more comfortable than London." The gentleman sighed: "I really want to buy a house here, so as to escape the terrible air of London at any time."

"So are you going to buy some real estate here?" asked Miss Caroline hastily.

Although his sister looked down on the country people, she had to admit that the vicinity of Meryton was indeed suitable for long-term living, especially what she valued was that the family should buy land—this would improve the social status of the whole family.

The Bingley family came from a certain industrially developed area in the north of England. The previous two generations had acquired a large amount of wealth in business, but for Miss Bingley, it only meant that she could get a certain amount of dowry, which was far less than what her brothers had. Own land is eager.

As long as Mr. Bingley buys the land, they will really leap from wealthy businessmen to the gentleman class who own land and manors, and maybe they can even get royal titles.Miss Bingley always looked down on people and thought she was of noble birth, but in fact, she could only show her status in front of the country people.You must know that the wealth of the Bingley family comes from doing business. There is actually no essential difference in status between her and the unseemly businessmen she ridiculed.

Caroline Bingley was eager to persuade her brother to purchase the estate, fulfilling her father's long-cherished wish.This matter is especially important for the unmarried Miss Caroline. If Mr. Bingley succeeds, not only will her brother become a respected and real gentleman, but she herself will have a better chance of marrying a real nobleman—of course, this It also depends on her dowry of twenty thousand pounds.

But her brother, Mr. Bingley, is a good-natured and easy-going character, very impatient with common affairs, and the difficulty and trouble of buying land is simply a shock to him. He still replied as before: "Not yet." "But We can find out if there are any good estates to rent nearby, so that we can have a nice place to hang out after the social season is over."

Miss Caroline was in a slump, and her good impression of Meryton, a country place, was gone. She complained: "I really don't understand why you come to this kind of place. Why don't we stay in London? Tomorrow Hey The Sturt family is going to hold a dance, and for my sister's sake, we have to attend on time."

Caroline Bingley was very reluctant to go to her brother-in-law's house, mainly because Mrs. Hurst was a very critical old lady. Even though the Hurst family was nothing but a blank slate, she always liked to find fault with the origins of the Bingley sisters.

"If you buy the manor, we can invite my sister to come back to live. Brother-in-law Hurst will certainly be willing, too. He is not the eldest son, so he should have moved out a long time ago." Miss Bingley still persuaded her brother.

But Mr. Bingley looked in a certain direction as if he was fascinated by something.

"Charles? Charles!" Miss Bingley called out dissatisfied, "what's the matter with you, is there anything there?"

Mr. Bingley saw that graceful figure walking into the depths of the store, and he couldn't help sighing that he could no longer look at that beautiful face.

But when Miss Bingley looked along, Jane was no longer there.

Mr. Bingley wanted to go in and meet that beautiful lady, but he was worried that he would be too reckless, so he could only hold back, "Caroline, what did you just say?"

Miss Bingley had to repeat what she had said earlier.

Mr. Bingley's eyes lit up, and he was obviously very happy. He said: "We rent a manor near here, and we can invite Louisa to live here. It's a really good idea! She must be a lady from here..."

Caroline raised her thin eyebrows and asked, "Miss what, Charles, what are you talking about?"

"Nothing. Let's go to the church in the town. Darcy said he would visit the pastor there first."

"Mr. Darcy?" Miss Bingley covered her mouth and couldn't help complaining to her brother, "Charles, why didn't you say so earlier!"

"It's very rude. How can Mr. Darcy be there waiting for us?"

Caroline nervously touched the wide-brimmed hat decorated with feathers, lace and ribbons, and turned her head to look for the steeple of the church.

Her brother complained: "I told you last night, but you were all about talking and laughing at the ball."

Miss Bingley still blamed him as if she didn't hear it: "Then when we come out today, you should tell me again."

It was not far from the church, but Miss Bingley insisted on sitting in the carriage, so Bingley had to wait for her to get into the carriage again, and the personal maid who was left in the carriage hurriedly helped the lady smooth out the wrinkles on the long skirt and tidy it up for her.

"We can go directly to the circulation library here," suggested Mr. Bingley. "Darcy said he had a fancy set of books, and a friend told him that the bookseller in town had them."

Miss Bingley rejected his suggestion, but was very interested in the title of the book, and asked hastily: "What book? I think maybe I have read it."

"The Encyclopaedia Britannica, the latest edition," said my brother. "In London, if it's social season, everything that is touted is bound to be sold out in a short time, even this kind of tome is no exception. I don't believe that those who buy back have patience and interest read it."

"You're too partial, Charles. I'm sure Mr. Darcy will read it. He's already so learned, and yet he's so studious. I've only seen him like that, and he's really admirable."

Before her brother could answer, the lady said, "We ought to buy a set too, Charles. You know I love serious books."

Charles Bentley looked at his sister in surprise, opened his mouth, and didn't make any rebuttal wisely.

At the other end, Sister Elizabeth, who was also aiming at the encyclopedia, had already gone to the Clark Library first.

When the Bingleys arrived at the church, Darcy had not yet finished talking with the vicar.

Miss Bingley was a little less interested, but fortunately Darcy's personal valet asked them to buy the set of books for them. The valet said that Mr. Darcy would go to a gentleman's invitation in the evening, but he still had a relationship with Reverend Elliott. It's not settled yet, I'm afraid it's too late.

This made Miss Bingley happy, and she refused to listen to her brother's persuasion to stay here for a while, but she must go to buy books for Mr. Darcy herself.It seems that this is such a sacred and glorious mission.Charles Bingley was used to being careless, and he was often faced with the unpredictable and changing tempers of his sisters at home, so he didn't think much about it at this time.

The Bingleys' carriage was parked in front of the Clark Circulation Library.

In the library, Elizabeth was watching Mary talking to Mr. Clark with a smile: "I want to take half of the set first, and I will reserve the other half and settle it at the end of the year, okay?"

The booksellers in the town are often very talkative. They were born nearby and know the local gentry well.Mr. Clark is very familiar with the third lady of Longbourn, not only because she is a child of the Bennet family, but also because this lady is a regular visitor of his library and often comes to borrow books.The best impression Mr. Bookseller has of Mary is that Miss Mary cherishes books very much, and there are no folded pages or bad corners in the returned books.

Clark is humorous by nature, and he deliberately teased the little girl: "That's not okay, if you miss the appointment, who would want to buy the remaining half of the set?"

Mary blushed, squeezed her fingers nervously, and mustered up her courage again to ask Mr. Bookseller.

Clark glanced at Elizabeth behind her, and the girl behind her had all her purses taken out, and it was obvious that this was the one who paid.

Elizabeth nodded slightly to Mr. Clark, and signaled to him with a slightly tilted purse, indicating that she wanted to buy this set of books.

'Obviously, Miss Mary's family also wanted her to communicate more with others. ’ he thought, and now Mr. Clark is in a better mood.As there were no other guests, Mr. Bookseller would like to chat with the lovely little girl for a while.

He pretended to be thinking and said: "People usually buy such a tome with great interest, thinking that they can keep reading, but in the end most of them are just for display. Miss Mary, I don't believe you will read it seriously. "

Mary hurriedly said: "I have read all three volumes of the first edition. My father has that set on his bookshelf. If you don't believe me, you can ask my sister, or ask me about the content of that edition of "Encyclopedia Britannica". I also remember a lot..."

Before she could finish her sentence, she was interrupted from behind: "Please wrap up the set of encyclopedias on the shelf."

The person who came was very rude, and his attitude was a bit arrogant.

Both Clark and Elizabeth were a little unhappy when they were disturbed.The bookseller turned his head and said, "Only this set has been bought by this young lady."

Elizabeth first looked at the open carriage parked outside the window, but did not find the emblem in an obvious place. This was another luxurious open carriage only suitable for running around the city, and she knew in her heart that this was probably a vain Miss Rich.No wonder he was so bossy.

Mr. Clark was older than Elizabeth, and he knew from the fact that the uniforms of the servants who followed him were not embroidered with family crests that the new guests were only rich but not expensive.Still a high-spirited and unfamiliar face, Mr. Bookseller lazily raised his eyelids, "No, miss. You can go to the bookstore in the city to look for it."

At this time, Elizabeth was looking at the uninvited guest, just in time to see the disgust she showed when she saw Mary's plain clothes.

Still an old friend?Elizabeth raised her eyebrows, never expecting to meet Miss Bingley at this very moment.

The lady who thinks she is superior is still so annoying.

Miss Bingley dismissed the countryman's gaze, and she said to herself: "This lady can't afford it, so please ask her to raise enough money. I don't think the store will be willing to sell a good set of books. Take it apart and sell it?"

Mr. Bingley, who chased her in, was very embarrassed, but this gentleman seemed to be used to putting up with sisters. He looked like a good gentleman, and apologized gently, and said: "This set of books is temporarily out of stock, we need it very much. Please Let me buy another book as compensation?"

He was polite and wanted to express his apologies. Elizabeth didn't intend to read any more. She directly took out a 20-denomination note from her purse and handed it to Mr. Clark: "Please wrap it up for us, my sisters Will come in a carriage to pick it up."

"Okay, miss." Mr. Clark readily agreed.

He also stopped Mr. Bookseller from giving change, "Let's leave the rest in the library, as an advance payment for Mary's borrowed books."

Mary woke up from her stupor at once. She hugged her sister's arm and whispered, "No, no! Lizzie, I can't let you spend so much money for me."

Elizabeth patted the most sensible sister in the family and comforted her with a smile: "Mr. Clark doesn't want to pay on credit, but I am happy to provide services for my dear little Mary..."

Miss Bingley blushed at the sight of the country girl's uninhabited manner.

She felt extremely ashamed, and couldn't help saying: "It's really outrageous! We only offered to buy it when we heard that you couldn't afford the money. This set of books should belong to us!"

Miss Bingley stopped the people, and she made up her mind: no matter for Mr. Darcy's sake or for her own face, she must ask the two countrymen to apologize and give up the book.

Mr. Bingley was also very embarrassed. He was reluctant to part with the book, and felt that this strange lady was too tough.

"Did you ask?" said Elizabeth, "did you ask us if we wanted to buy it?"

"It's not polite to listen to other people's conversations!" She looked straight at the 'former rival' and said calmly: "Mr. Clark is familiar with my father, and this circulation library is for people in Meryton It brings a lot of fun, and everyone in the town respects Mr. Clark. As an elder, is it strange to make a few jokes with familiar juniors? It would be strange to take the joke seriously."

"It's this young lady who, without even asking, is going to jump over us and grab the book we've ordered. Is that reasonable?"

The Bingley brothers and sisters did not expect the young lady to be so eloquent. Mr. Bingley said quickly, "Sorry, miss, we didn't mean that. Caroline is only eager because we need it. I think you misunderstood us."

While comforting Caroline, he asked: "My sister really likes this set of books. If you are not in a hurry, can you give it to us first?"

Mary had never been through such a battle before, and she was terrified and frightened when she saw her sister fighting because of herself, and she couldn't help clinging to Elizabeth.

Feeling that her sister's little hands were cold and her palms were full of sweat, Elizabeth was really annoyed, and her boss said bluntly: "With all due respect, sir, it is your business if you are willing to be considerate and tolerant of your sister. Others But there is no obligation to put up with a stranger!"

Miss Bingley still muttered something "disrespectful and disrespectful". Elizabeth didn't want to mutter these things to her, and went directly to her "ex-brother-in-law": "Please make way for you and your sister. Such a trivial matter is not worthy of respectable people condescending to follow We talk. We have other things to do and don't want to waste any more time here!"

It was only then that Mr. Bingley realized that he was a bit domineering. He blushed, let out the door, and watched this powerful young lady leave.

Mr. Clark gave an old and unscrupulous "Oh": The second lady of the Bennet family is really extraordinary.

Miss Bingley had never lost face so much. She couldn't stop them, so she asked the bookseller angrily, "Which family are they from? They are so unreasonable and rude."

With red eyes, she demanded that her brother must come to her door to seek justice for her.

On one side of the library, a four-wheeled carriage stopped silently at some point.Mr. Darcy in the carriage saw the lady passing by him aggressively with the billowing skirt, and touched his chin:

It seemed that every time this young lady could give him a new understanding.

The author has something to say: Mr. Darcy: It's chapter 28, and I'm only showing a side profile, and even Bentley is one step ahead of me.

Mr. Darcy: What about the scene of the hero?

Mr. Darcy: Dare to ask, when will you arrange for me to face the face?