[Comprehensive classics] Darcy or Brandon

After a few days the four finally arrived at Barton Hall in Devon, where Mrs. Jennings was now living with her eldest daughter and her son-in-law, Sir John Middleton, a man of very warm and cheerful character, who Like Mrs. Jennings, they like to chat and joke. The two often work together to make fun of relatives and friends, and they cooperate seamlessly.If others don't know their relationship, they will definitely regard them as mother and son, after all, that kind of tacit understanding is so good to see.

"This is really a beautiful manor!" Lucy got out of the carriage, pressed her hat and looked up at the tall and spacious house in front of her and exclaimed.

Annie glanced at her and said, "But any manor is beautiful."

"Miss Steele, what you said is absolutely right." Mr. Palmer agreed. After contacting Sister Steele for a few days, he found that Annie was really a lady who couldn't be recognizable. Her wit is covered up, and she is not a person who likes to be high-profile. If others don't talk to her seriously, they won't find the intelligence in this young lady at all.Just like now, Anne's words are simply too reasonable, people always like this, even if the manor in front of them does not conform to their aesthetics at all, as long as it is a manor, they will definitely say something beautiful.

Mrs. Palmer took Mr. Palmer's men out of the carriage, and she immediately said after hearing everyone's words: "Mr. Palmer, what Miss Lucy said is very correct. Barton Manor is very beautiful, and I really love it. Pale yellow walls and white windows."

Mr. Palmer pouted unabashedly, and said, "That's because the decoration style here is completely made according to your mother's preferences, and your preferences are exactly the same as your mother's."

"Dear sir, if your preferences are the same as mine, everything will be fine, but unfortunately you always like those black furniture, dark dark flower curtains, and ugly marble floors, how boring those things are. .”

"If the upside down is full of colorful bright colors and all kinds of small florals, then I would rather be a person who is not interesting at all." Mr. Palmer said disdainfully.

"Oh, you are finally here. We mentioned you just now." Sir John Middleton hurried out of the house with his mother-in-law and wife. Napkins, it looks like the family should be having lunch.

Mrs. Jennings took a few steps forward, looked at Anne and Lucy with both eyes, and said with some joy: "Are these two Miss Steele?"

The two sisters immediately bowed to everyone.

"Yes, good afternoon Mrs. Jennings, thank you very much for inviting us to live in Barton Manor."

"Mrs. Jennings, it is a great pleasure to see you."

"Two beautiful ladies, come, let me introduce you to my family. This is my eldest son-in-law, Sir John Middleton, and this is my eldest daughter, Martha Middleton. I have four more The grandkids are all in the house, they are absolutely adorable and I'm sure you'll love them."

A group of people entered the room talking, and Sir John said to Mr. Palmer with a smile: "You are so quick, I thought you would arrive this afternoon."

"You know Charlotte, she has been urging the carriage to run faster all the way." Mr. Palmer said in a very helpless tone.

"My Charlotte must be in a hurry to see Mother?" said Mrs. Jennings, opening her hands to Mrs. Palmer.

"Of course, my dear mother, I haven't seen you for several months, and I miss you so much." Mrs. Palmer said and immediately threw herself into Mrs. Jennings's arms and hugged her tightly. own mother.

Sir John stood aside watching and said with a smile: "Because I thought you wouldn't arrive before lunch, so I didn't prepare your lunch. But you are very lucky, we were originally going to rent out my Barton cottage at noon today. The Dasherwoods from here came over for lunch, so you'll still have a good lunch."

"Mom, is that the Dasherwood family you told me in your letter? Are they as old as the two young ladies and the two young Miss Steele?" Mrs. Palmer asked curiously.

"Yes, Enoli is nineteen, and Marian is sixteen," said Mrs. Jennings.

"Then they are not as big as the two Miss Steele. Miss Anne Steele is 22 years old this year, and Miss Lucy Steele is 17 years old this year. I don't know what the two Miss Dasherwood look like, and the two Miss Steele is prettier than the other two. Mother, why didn't they come today, I really want to see them," said Mrs. Palmer, taking Mrs. Jennings's arm.

"Just now their servants said that the youngest, Miss Margaret, had a fever, so they stayed at home to take care of her. I think they must have just come here and are not used to the climate here." Mrs. Jennings Said.

Sir John has four children, the two older are boys, the two younger are girls, the youngest girl is still a baby who cannot speak, and is being carried by the maid at this time with three older brothers and sisters Stay in the living room and wait for Annie and the others to arrive.The oldest boy ran over and rushed into his mother's arms when he saw everyone coming in, and said coquettishly, "Mom, I'm really hungry, can we continue to have lunch?"

Mrs. Middleton is a very doting mother. When she saw her eldest son wrinkled his face from hunger, she immediately touched his curly hair lovingly and said, "Of course, we will Go on to lunch, but before that you have to meet our two new guests."

So the four children were introduced to Annie and Lucy. The three older children saluted the two sisters politely. unhappy.

Annie looked at the three little faces full of grievances and complaints, and quietly pinched Lucy's arm with one hand behind her back, reminding her to pay more attention next time.On the way here, Mrs. Palmer said a lot about how Mrs. Middleton doted on her children. Now it seems that these three children must be spoiled, and seeing their parents and grandmothers not being friendly at all Not a single person reminded them aloud, which shows how they are favored.

The maid quickly brought four servings of food, and everyone finished their lunch talking and laughing.Because Mrs. Jennings and Sir John originally wanted to invite the four female guests of Dasherwood's house, the food was very delicate and rich. Anne and Lucy hadn't eaten such a rich food for a long time, so they were very satisfied. .

After lunch the table was replaced with tea, which was Mrs. Jennings's habit, and she liked to drink some hot tea after dinner, which was very comforting to her stomach.Of course, it would be even better if we could have some music while drinking tea, so Mrs. Jennings asked Anne and Lucy if they would like to present a piece of music to them.

When Mr. Steele was alive, the Steele family was considered a wealthy country gentleman family, so the original owners Anne and Lucy both learned the piano.However, the original owner, Annie, is a bit clumsy, so she is not very good at playing the piano, and the current Annie learned the piano for a period of time after becoming a rich and leisure person in her previous life, but she actually doesn't like Western music very much. Musical instrument, so I haven't played the piano much since I came here, and my piano skills can only be regarded as average.

But Lucy played the piano very well. Lucy wanted to marry rich gentlemen since she was very young. To please those gentlemen, some skills are indispensable. Among them, playing the piano is a must for ladies. A technique of preparation.Lucy knows this very well, so she practiced piano very hard since she was a child, and she also likes music, so now her piano skills are very good.

So under Anne's initiative to give in, Lucy walked to the piano unceremoniously and began to perform.She played Bach's Scherzo, with a brisk and lively rhythm, which made people feel better after listening to it.

Annie squinted her eyes and leaned lazily on the comfortable sofa. In such a sunny afternoon, after eating and drinking, listening to such a cheerful tune, she felt that all the cells in her body were beating.She looked at Lucy who was sitting in front of the piano with a smile of pure joy on her face, and looked at her hands dancing on the keys like clouds and flowing water. At this moment, the little power and little calculations that could be seen everywhere in her seemed to be here. Disappeared in the music, and Anne felt for a moment that sometimes it would be nice to have a sister.

However, this kind of thinking didn't last for a few seconds, because Anne soon discovered that the natural movements on Lucy's body became contrived in an instant. Even though her figure and fingering were more beautiful than before, Anne still I feel that the good atmosphere just now is gone forever.

Annie knew that there must be something happening at this moment that Lucy was concerned about, but no one else noticed the change in Lucy. As a guest, Annie had to pretend that she didn't notice anything, but she still turned her head slightly and glanced at her out of the corner of her eye. the door.A tall and handsome gentleman stood at the door at some point, holding a gift box in his hand, looking at the direction of the piano with a complicated expression, with a hint of nostalgia in his eyes, but more confusion.

At the end of the song, Lucy gracefully withdrew her hands, then stood up and walked to the front of the piano, facing the door, and saluted with a shy and proud expression.

Only then did other people discover the man standing at the door. Mrs. Jennings greeted him with a smile: "Oh, Colonel Brandon, when did you come and why are you standing at the door? Come in quickly and meet the newcomer today." Here are the two ladies."

Sir John was obviously very familiar with this Colonel Brandon. Instead of standing up to greet him, he looked at the other party and joked, "Christopher, you must think of Miss Lucy as Miss Marianne, but really? It's a pity that Miss Marian didn't come over today, so don't give the gift in your hand by mistake."