Chapter 9
The following day brought no improvement in Mrs. Bennet’s mood (心情) .
Mr. Collins also remained in the same state of angry pride. Elizabeth had hoped that his resentment (埋怨) might shorten his visit,but his plans did not appear to have changed in the slightest （丝毫）. He had always planned to leave on Saturday, and_ so to Saturday he meant to stay._
Soon after, a letter was delivered to Miss Bennet from Netherfield. Elizabeth saw her sister’s expression change as she read it, and saw her intently rereading some parts of it.
Jane soon regained (重新恢复到) a look of calm and put the letter away. She tried to join the conversation with her usual cheerfulness,
but Elizabeth felt her sister’s anxiety, and at a glance from Jane followed her upstairs. When they had entered their own room, Jane took out the letter and said:“This is from Caroline Bingley. What it contains has surprised me a good deal. The whole group have left Netherfield by this time, and are on their way to London,and they have no intention of ever coming back again. You will hear what she says.”
“When my brother left us yesterday, he thought that the business which took him to London might be finished in three or four days.
However, we are now certain that it will take much longer, and at the same time believe that he will be in no hurry to leave London again.
We have, therefore, decided to follow him, so that he will not have to spend his free hours alone in a comfortless (不舒适的) hotel.”
“It is obvious from this,” added Jane, “that he will not come back this winter.”
“It is only obvious that Miss Bingley does not want him to.”
“Why would you think that? It must be his own decision. But you do not know everything. I will read you the part that particularly hurts me.”
“Mr. Darcy is impatient to see his sister, and we are eager as well to meet her again.I have never met a woman of such beauty, elegance, and accomplishments as Georgina Darcy, and I feel even greater affection for her when I dare to hope that we might one day become sisters-in-law.
“What do you think of that sentence, my dear Lizzy?” said Jane as she finished it.
“Does it not directly state that Caroline neither expects nor wishes me to be her sister-in-law, and that she believes that her brother has no feelings for me?
Can there be any other opinion on the subject?”
“Yes, there can, because mine is totally different. Will you hear it?”
“Of course.”
“Here it is. Miss Bingley sees that her brother is in love with you, and wants him to marry Miss Darcy.
She follows him to town in hope of keeping him there, and is trying to convince (说服)you that he does not care about you.
But no one who has ever seen the two of you together could doubt that he cares for （like）you very deeply.”
Jane shook her head.
“If we agreed in our opinion of Miss Bingley,” replied Jane, “then I might agree with your interpretation of all this.
But I know that Caroline would never be dishonest with anyone.
All that I can hope in this case is that she is mistaken.
But can I be happy, even hoping for the best, in marrying a man whose sisters and friends all want him to marry someone else?”++Jane很在乎别人的看法++
“You must decide for yourself,” said Elizabeth,
“and ::if you find that the misery of upsetting his two sisters is greater than the happiness of being his wife, I advise you** by all means to refuse him.”::
++如果你认为得罪他的姐妹给你带来的苦恼，远比嫁给他给你带来的幸福要更多，那么我劝你还是务必拒绝他++
“How can you talk in this way?” said Jane, faintly （微弱的） smiling. “You must know that though I would feel terrible that they disapproved, I would not hesitate to accept.”
They agreed that Mrs. Bennet should only hear that the family had left for London, but even this incomplete information gave her a great deal of concern.
After worrying about it a great deal, she comforted herself by saying that Mr. Bingley would be soon back and come for dinner at Longbourn.
The Bennets had made plans to dine with the Lucases,
and during the main part of the day Miss Lucas was kind enough to spend a lot of time listening sympathetically to Mr. Collins.
Elizabeth made sure to thank her, but Charlotte assured (确保) her friend that she was happy to be useful, and that this was worth the little sacrifice of her time**.
This was very kind, but Charlotte’s kindness went farther than Elizabeth could imagine.Charlotte’s purpose was nothing less than to prevent Mr. Collins from proposing marriage again to Elizabeth, by encouraging him to propose marriage to herself.
Miss Lucas would have felt almost certain of her plan’s success if Mr. Collins did not plan to leave so very soon.
But here she underestimated (低估) him, because the very next morning he rushed to Lucas Lodge to swear his love to her.
Miss Lucas saw him from an upstairs window as he walked toward the house, and instantly set out to meet him accidentally in the lane (小巷) .
But she had not dared to hope that he would greet her with so much love and expressiveness.
In as short a time as Mr. Collins’s long speeches would allow （留出，给予；||允许||）, Miss Lucas accepted his proposal (提议) of marriage, and everything was settled （定下） between them.
As they entered the house, he eagerly asked her to fix their wedding day and so make him the happiest of men.
Miss Lucas did not care how soon the wedding would occur.Mr. Collins was not in any way a charming (有魅力的) lover,and she had accepted his proposal (婚约) only in order to get a husband who could provide her with a house and enough money to live on.
The consent of Sir William and Lady Lucas was quickly asked for and given ,and Lady Lucas started to calculate with great interest how much longer Mr. Bennet might have to live.
On the whole, Charlotte Lucas felt quite pleased with herself: she had got what she wanted.
Mr. Collins was certainly neither intelligent nor pleasant, and his love for her must of course be imaginary .
But still, he would be her husband. Charlotte did not think highly of men, and marriage had always been her only goal.
It might not always bring happiness, but it was the only way in which a well-educated young woman who was not rich could live a secure and prosperous (优越的)life.
She had now obtained this protection, and at the age of twenty-seven, without having ever been pretty, she felt very lucky to have done so.
_What she liked the least about the arrangement _（主语）was the surprise it would give to Elizabeth Bennet, whose friendship she valued beyond that of any other person.
Elizabeth would probably blame her, and it would hurt Charlotte’s feelings to receive such disapproval from her friend.
She decided she would tell Elizabeth the news herself, and therefore instructed Mr. Collins to make no mention to the family about their engagement.