[Pride and Prejudice] Becoming Katherine Bennett

Catherine opened her eyes, stared straight at the brass lampstand hanging from the ceiling, and stared blankly for a while.

She turned her head and looked through the glass window of the bedroom at the still gray sky outside. She turned over on the bed, turned her back to the window, and wanted to close her eyes and sleep for a while.

But a few minutes later, her closed eyelids opened again, and her excited mind was filled with today's schedule.

Catherine tossed and turned, lay on the bed for a while and found that she couldn't fall asleep, so she simply got up.When she finished dressing and washing and went downstairs, she saw the Gardiners sitting in the living room.

"Kitty, you're up so early," said Mr. Gardner.

Catherine said sheepishly, "I seem to be too excited."

"That's normal. I'd be excited if I were you," Mrs. Gardner smiled kindly. "After all, today is a big day."

It has been a week since Catherine and Jane followed the Gardiners to London.Considering Catherine's impatient mood, the considerate couple took them to see the house on the second day they returned to London.

Since Catherine's budget is placed there, the requirements are high, and the range of choices is very small. The three houses finally settled are all apartments, which are not considered high-end residences, and the location is exactly the same as that of Mayfair, St. Jones's Wood and other places. Incomparable.But compared to the messy and dangerous East London, they are all choices with better security and convenient life.

Mrs. Gardner's favorite house is in Spitalfields, a neighborhood that has been thriving with immigrants since the French Huguenots fled from religious persecution in 1743.

With their excellent business acumen and excellent fashion taste, the French started with clothing, especially silk, as a selling point, and soon gained a foothold in London.Catherine's second favorite dark green silk dress, according to the owner of Meriton's Milan store, was made by Spitalfields. 2

The architecture of Spitalfields combines multinational styles, traditional Gothic magnificence and Renaissance-style freshness and ingenious construction. The unique design of the huge windows for the convenience of businessmen to watch the fabrics adds a new style to the street and makes The whole block is full of thriving bright.

The house the Gardners chose was above a clothing store. The whole apartment has four rooms including the living room. The corridor is very short. There is a small attic on the second floor. skylight.

Catherine liked this pattern at first glance, and she couldn't help but start to imagine, imagining that after a hard day, she took a bath, changed clothes, and lay lazily on the soft bedding on the bed, watching After a long journey, the distant stars pass through this window and fill the bed with dazzling starlight.

From Spitalfields, the Gardners took them to Richmond again, wanting to see the previous house.Unfortunately, the neighbors of the house told them that the house had been sold three days ago at a price well below the market price because the owner was eager to leave England.

Catherine and the others had no choice but to leave, and went to Camden in a carriage.

"That house is the worst. I didn't like it before. The room is small and expensive, but it's just right." Mrs. Gardner spoke decisively.

Catherine was so amused by her aunt's forced comfort, she didn't mention that she said before they went, "The window in the living room is very big, I think you will like it", and said with a smile: "I think so, aunt."

Mrs. Gardner winked at her, and everyone in the carriage laughed.

The carriage stopped under the door of a four-story house on the west side of Camden District. On the way, Catherine found that the road was very lively and there were many passers-by.

"This area is very lively, but this kind of excitement is very different from our home." Mrs. Gardner said.

Catherine begged her uncle and aunt to show them around the neighborhood, stopped and stopped full of novelty, and walked around for a long time before she realized the difference between the "differences" that her aunt said.

Grace Hall Street is located in the southeast of London. It is the most important market in London that sells hay, cheese and other agricultural products. The people who come and go are poorer local residents or servants who drive carriages to noble homes to buy goods. will appear here. 3

But the vicinity of Camden is different. If Grace Hall Street is a market where merchants and buyers gather, then the vicinity of Camden is the world of Wenqing.

Catherine walked west along the road in front of the apartment, and about 10 minutes later walked into a north-south street connecting Camden.

Both sides of this street are full of shops, and people come and go in an endless stream. The Romanesque buildings are high and low, with different colors. Catherine saw that the shops were open, and when she entered, she was surprised to find that they were basically bookstores. Several cafes.

Catherine didn't know that she was on the famous "Charing Cross Street" in later generations. This street was named after Charing Railway Station, but what really made him famous all over the world was the unique cultural atmosphere and Literary works based on this street were born out of it.

Of course, today's place has not yet developed to the later scale, but the literary atmosphere of the bookstore street has formed.Decades ago, due to backward printing technology and expensive paper, books were still a luxury for nobles. However, due to the development of the industrial revolution in recent years, the strength of the printing industry has been greatly enhanced. Books have begun to enter the homes of ordinary people and become An essential tool and recreation for many households.

Catherine lingered in the nearby small markets and bookstores, until Aunt Gardner reminded her to look at the house, and she was reluctant to go out.

When she walked out of the bookstore, although Catherine hadn't looked at the apartment here, she had already made up her mind: as long as this apartment wasn't too bad, then this would be her future home.

Camden flats are no match for Spitalfields.

It was much smaller, with only two rooms. According to Catherine's visual estimation, the living room would not exceed [-] square feet, and it might not be as big as the study in Nedelfield Manor.This house belongs to an apartment, and it is a relatively low-priced house type launched by the aristocrats who control the real estate industry. Its comfort level is far from comparable to that of Longbourn Mansion.

But so what?Catherine stood by the window, greedily watching the lively scene and noisy voices in the distance. She always knew that she was contradictory. in the noisy bustle.

Fortunately, although the house is small, there is a big window in the living room.The Gardners were very attentive to her requirements, and the carefully selected houses met her requirements.

Catherine and the Gardner couple had a brief discussion, and then agreed with the agent to buy a house.They were scheduled to meet here again five days later with their lawyers, and at that time Catherine would officially become the new owner of the apartment after paying [-] pounds.

The day after seeing the house, Catherine returned to Longbourn accompanied by Aunt Gardner.She had already planned this itinerary. Before going to London, she discussed with the "undercover"—Elizabeth, who hadn't set off to see Charlotte, and asked her to transfer the small treasury she kept under the bed in her bedroom to her own room. , and then wait for her news.

If she had chosen a house, she would place a red cotton cloth on a stake just in view of Elizabeth's bedroom window.

Elizabeth looked at it for two days, and finally got the cotton cloth.One by the window and the other downstairs, they made signs to each other, and when Elizabeth finally found a time when Mrs. Bennet, Mary, Lydia, and the other servants were not in the drawing room, she painstakingly moved all the gold. out.

"It's really heavy." Elizabeth took two trips to finish the move, and a thin layer of sweat covered her forehead, which had never done strenuous work.

After the two sisters and Mrs. Gardner happily shared the location and environment of Catherine's new property, as well as various ideas and arrangements after buying the house, Catherine did not enter Longbourn. She couldn't think of any reason to explain to Mrs. Bennet that was both confidential and reasonable, and she returned to London with Mrs. Gardner.

Mr. Gardner has done a lot of business and has always had a regular cooperation with a lawyer.Through his arrangement, Catherine paid the gentleman's high fee, and bought the apartment here with the blessings of relatives.

Holding the parchment proving the transfer of real estate, Catherine couldn't calm down for a long time.

Since time travel, no, since two lifetimes, she has never been as happy as this moment in her life.

Those things such as being admitted to a university, finding a stable job, and saving enough to save 10 yuan, all the things that made her ecstatic, are all insignificant compared to the current excitement.

She, Katherine Bennett, owns a house.A house that belongs to her completely and no one can take it away.

While everyone was chatting, Catherine found a corner and cried happily and silently.

She thought of many difficult pasts, and many happy moments. At the end of each scene, they all gathered into the parchment in front of her.

No one can understand her mood.She couldn't speak either.

The sky is big and the earth is big, she is small, and finally found a place that belongs to her.

This peace of mind is my hometown.

Because of the house purchase, Catherine's pocket money was wiped out, and even the three hundred pounds she took from Mr. Bennet for temporary use were not much left.

But Catherine was still very happy, full of hope and high morale.Now her passion for writing has reached new heights.There is not only the urgency that she has no money to buy furniture, but also because she spent Elizabeth's share of money in her heart to buy a house.

Fortunately, however, the serialization of "Blood Return" is about to end, and the physical book has entered the printing stage, and the lovely pounds will soon grow wings and fly towards her one after another.

Willard had written to Longburn a few days ago, asking her to come to London to discuss the publication, and Catherine was already in London when the letter arrived.As soon as Mr. Bennet received the letter and was about to mail it to her, he heard Elizabeth tell himself alone that Catherine might come back to get the money these days, secretly.

Mr. Bennett: ...

Willard didn't say much in the letter. He briefly described how popular the book was, and roughly estimated the book price and printing quantity. Publishing makes the final decision.

"...

After all, it is about your income. Even if the price is cheap or a few pennies more expensive, the accumulation is not a small number.

But please allow me to congratulate you in advance. After the publication of "Blood Return", based on previous sales experience and data, I boldly guess that you can at least get...

Please allow me to play a trick.I thought about it, this number is a bit shocking, it is better to say this joyful message face to face.

I think you must think so too, right?

Looking forward to meeting you.

willard gordon

in Bolton, Kensington, West London”

Catherine: Big head on you.

Holding the letter, she could almost imagine the appearance of this gentleman when he wrote this sentence in her mind.

He must have been smiling politely and viciously, with a humble look, but his eyes were full of fun.He clearly knew what she was most concerned about, and after giving the basic clues, he deliberately concealed the most critical information to make her scratch her head.Catherine must admire his knack for provoking people.

However, if Mr. Gordon's purpose was to make her very angry, he must have been disappointed: Catherine read the letter, her heart and eyes were full of pounds, and she just wanted to go to the other party immediately.

But considering that the matter of buying a house is more important, Catherine hesitated again and again, and decided not to make extra troubles until the house was finally settled.

After scolding Gordon in her heart for the nth time, she was distracted by the address of the signing office, and then scolded him again in her heart, of course, this time mainly due to ugly jealousy.

Compared with the small apartment in an average location that she had worked so hard to buy, the address left by Mr. Gordon is the location where the aristocrats gather in West London, and it is an aristocratic district among the aristocratic districts.

Originally, according to Catherine's personality, she couldn't afford a house in that area. Whoever made the price of ten square feet there was higher than her entire small apartment, she would never ask about it deliberately.

If the housing agent hadn't told them in a small chat in a show-off and envious tone that his colleague had just rented out a garden villa in Bolton at an annual rent of [-] pounds, she wouldn't have I will have an impression of this place name.

Looking at Willard's flying handwriting, Catherine deeply understands that the joys and sorrows of human beings are not connected. She only thinks that they are too rich, but she sheds tears of poverty every day because she has no money, so poor.

Thinking of this, Catherine recalled Mrs. Bennet's conclusion that Mr. Gordon must be extremely rich.She found that her mother's other abilities aside, she was really admirable in judging whether a single man had money or not.

In addition to looking at houses and buying houses, Catherine spent the rest of her time in London very simple.She devoted all her energies to her writing, and her days were no different from those at Longbourne.

Compared to Catherine who was full of anticipation and excitement, Jane who came to London together was in a far less happy mood.

Before they set off for London, Jane wrote a letter to Caroline Bingley, telling her that she would be coming to London with her family in the near future.

When Jane wrote the letter, although she also had a little expectation that Mr. Bingley would come to find her after hearing that she was coming to London, but more, she really regarded Miss Bingley as a friend.

Although neither Elizabeth nor Catherine thought that the mean girl treated her in the same way, they understood Jane's kindness very well.Rather than forcibly stopping this friendship, it seems more important to let Jane follow her own will.

Jane indicated her home address in the letter and said she was looking forward to Caroline's reply.It's a pity that Catherine's houses are sold out, seven or eight days have passed, and the reply letter from Miss Bingley is still missing.

Like Catherine looking forward to her new house, Jane is also waiting every day. Although she doesn't say anything, there is always a look of sadness in her eyes.

"Maybe Caroline didn't receive my letter." Jane found an explanation for the other party.

Catherine endured it for a long time, so that she did not tell her what she had heard long ago in Nedelfil, how the lady laughed at her behind her back.Catherine can only beat around the bush and say that not everyone in the world is as generous and kind as Jane.

Maybe it's because she believes that there are many good people in the world, or maybe it's because she wants to see the person in her heart too much. Jane, who has always been gentle and easy-going, actually offered to let her aunt take her when she heard that her aunt was going to the west of the city tomorrow. She wanted to go to Miss Bingley and the others now. residence visit. 5

Catherine was puzzled.According to what Miss Bingley said, Mr. Bingley has now lived in Darcy's house, and they live in Mr. Hurst's house, and they are not together. Even if Jane goes to visit, she will not be able to see each other.

But it was so embarrassingly true that she didn't know how to say it.

Jane saw her sister's embarrassment, and took the initiative: "I didn't go to see that person. I know that you all dislike Caroline, but in my heart, she is my friend. If there is a day, I will I don't want to maintain this friendship, it must be my own judgment, not your persuasion. You and Lizzie are smarter than me, but Caroline was really warm and caring to me before, and I don't want to believe that she is Lied to me."

Regarding Jane's insistence, Catherine had no choice but to tell Jane that she didn't want to see Miss Bingley's sour face, and if Jane needed, she could sit in the carriage and wait for her to come out.

"In this way, I can comfort you immediately." Catherine said.

Jane smiled softly: "Kitty, why do you think I must be sad. Don't worry, I believe in Caroline, and I'm not that fragile. Besides, I don't want to affect your writing. You are really great and make me special Envy and admiration. If I don’t really have this ability, I would also like to try it.”

Catherine was shy and coy.

Early the next morning, the two sisters parted in front of Mr. Gardner's house.Catherine watched the carriage carrying Jane and her aunt go to Grosswinner Street, and she waited until almost noon before being led by Uncle Gardner to Kensington.

She is going to meet her pound and God of Wealth.