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第131章（第1页）

“Thisisnottobeborne.MissBennet，Iinsistonbeingsatisfied.Hashe，hasmynephew，madeyouanofferofmarriage?”

“Yourladyshiphasdeclaredittobeimpossible.”

“Itoughttobeso;itmustbeso，whileheretainstheuseofhisreason.Butyourartsandallurementsmay，inamomentofinfatuation，havemadehimforgetwhatheowestohimselfandtoallhisfamily.Youmayhavedrawnhimin.”

“IfIhave，Ishallbethelastpersontoconfessit.”

“MissBennet，doyouknowwhoIam?Ihavenotbeenaccustomedtosuchlanguageasthis.Iamalmostthenearestrelationhehasintheworld，andamentitledtoknowallhisdearestconcerns.”

“Butyouarenotentitledtoknowmine;norwillsuchbehaviourasthis，everinducemetobeexplicit.”

“Letmeberightlyunderstood.Thismatch，towhichyouhavethepresumptiontoaspire，cannevertakeplace.No，never.Mr.Darcyisengagedtomydaughter.Nowwhathaveyoutosay?”

“Onlythis;thatifheisso，youcanhavenoreasontosupposehewillmakeanoffertome.”

LadyCatherinehesitatedforamoment，andthenreplied:

“Theengagementbetweenthemisofapeculiarkind.Fromtheirinfancy，theyhavebeenintendedforeachother.Itwasthefavouritewishofhismother，aswellasofhers.Whileintheircradles，weplannedtheunion:andnow，atthemomentwhenthewishesofbothsisterswouldbeaccomplishedistheirmarriage，tobepreventedbyayoungwomanofinferiorbirth，ofnoimportanceintheworld，andwhollyunalliedtothefamily!Doyoupaynoregardtothewishesofhisfriends?TohistacitengagementwithMissdeBourgh?Areyoulosttoeveryfeelingofproprietyanddelicacy?Haveyounotheardmesaythatfromhisearliesthourshewasdestinedforhiscousin?”

“Yes，andIhadhearditbefore.Butwhatisthattome?Ifthereisnootherobjectiontomymarryingyournephew，IshallcertainlynotbekeptfromitbyknowingthathismotherandauntwishedhimtomarryMissdeBourgh.Youbothdidasmuchasyoucouldinplanningthemarriage.Itscompletiondependedonothers.IfMr.Darcyisneitherbyhonournorinclinationconfinedtohiscousin，whyisnothetomakeanotherchoice?AndifIamthatchoice，whymaynotIaccepthim?”

“Becausehonour，decorum，prudence，nay，interest，forbidit.Yes，MissBennet，interest;fordonotexpecttobenoticedbyhisfamilyorfriends，ifyouwilfullyactagainsttheinclinationsofall.Youwillbecensured，slighted，anddespised，byeveryoneconnectedwithhim.Youralliancewillbeadisgrace;yournamewillneverevenbementionedbyanyofus.”

“Theseareheavymisfortunes，”

repliedElizabeth.“ButthewifeofMr.Darcymusthavesuchextraordinarysourcesofhappinessnecessarilyattachedtohersituation，thatshecould，uponthewhole，havenocausetorepine.”

“Obstinate，headstronggirl!Iamashamedofyou!Isthisyourgratitudeformyattentionstoyoulastspring?Isnothingduetomeonthatscore?Letussitdown.Youaretounderstand，MissBennet，thatIcameherewiththedeterminedresolutionofcarryingmypurpose;norwillIbedissuadedfromit.Ihavenotbeenusedtosubmittoanypersonswhims.Ihavenotbeeninthehabitofbrookingdisappointment.”

“Thatwillmakeyourladyshipssituationatpresentmorepitiable;butitwillhavenoeffectonme.”

“Iwillnotbeinterrupted.Hearmeinsilence.Mydaughterandmynephewareformedforeachother.Theyaredescended，onthematernalside，fromthesamenobleline;and，onthefathers，fromrespectable，honourable，andancient—thoughuntitled—families.Theirfortuneonbothsidesissplendid.Theyaredestinedforeachotherbythevoiceofeverymemberoftheirrespectivehouses;andwhatistodividethem?Theupstartpretensionsofayoungwomanwithoutfamily，connections，orfortune.Isthistobeendured!Butitmustnot，shallnotbe.Ifyouweresensibleofyourowngood，youwouldnotwishtoquitthesphereinwhichyouhavebeenbroughtup.”

“Inmarryingyournephew，Ishouldnotconsidermyselfasquittingthatsphere.Heisagentleman;Iamagentlemansdaughter;sofarweareequal.”

“True.Youareagentlemansdaughter.Butwhowasyourmother?Whoareyourunclesandaunts?Donotimaginemeignorantoftheircondition.”

“Whatevermyconnectionsmaybe，”

saidElizabeth，“ifyournephewdoesnotobjecttothem，theycanbenothingtoyou.”

“Tellmeonceforall，areyouengagedtohim?”