"(LIZZY):" "You are the last man whom / could ever marry!" "Do you think any consideration would tempt me?" "Your arrogance, your conceit, and your selfish disdain for the feelings of others!" "My opinion of you was decided when / heard Mr Wickham's story of your dealings with him." "Well at least in that I may defend myself." "(DARCY):" "Could you expect me to rejoice in the inferiority of your connections?" "To congratulate myself on the hope of relations whose conditions in life is so below my own?" "(LIZZY):" "You are mistaken, Mr Darcy." "Your declaration merely spared me the concern / might have felt in refusing you, had you behaved in a more gentleman-like manner." "(LADY CATHERINE):" "Who's there, Fitzwilliam?" " Darcy!" "We'd quite despaired of you!" " (LADY CATHERINE):" "Is that my nephew?" "(LADY CATHERINE):" "Where have you been?" "Let him come in and explain himself!" "No." "You will forgive me." " You'll forgive me." " Darcy, you are unwell?" "I'm very well, thank you, but I have a pressing matter of business." "You'll forgive me." "Make my apologies to Lady Catherine, Fitzwilliam." "To Miss Elizabeth Bennet." "Be not alarmed, madam, on receiving this letter, that it contains any repetition of those sentiments or offers which were this evening so disgusting to you." "But / must be allowed to defend myself against the charges laid at my door." "n particular those relating to Mr Wickham, which if true, would indeed be grievous, but are wholly without foundation, and which / can only refute by laying before you his connection with my family." "Mr Wickham is the son of a very respectable man, who had the management of our estates." "My own father was fond of him and held him in high esteem." "We played together as boys." "After his father's early death, my father supported him at school and at Cambridge, and hoped he would make the church his profession." "But by then George Wickham's habits were as dissolute as his manners were engaging." "My own excellent father died five years ago." "His attachment to Mr Wickham was to the last so steady, that he desired that a valuable family living might be his as soon as it was vacant." "Mr Wickham declined any interest in the church as a career, but requested, and was granted, the sum of 3,000 pounds instead of the living." "He expressed an intention of studying the law." " wished, rather than believed him to be sincere." "Thank you." "I'm most exceedingly obliged." "All connection between us seemed now dissolved." "Georgiana." "Being now free from all restraint, his life was one of idleness and dissipation." "How he lived, / know not." "But last summer our paths crossed again, under the most painful circumstances, which / myself would wish to forget." "My sister, Georgiana, who is more than ten years my junior, was left to the guardianship of Colonel Fitzwilliam and myself." "About a year ago, she was taken from school to Ramsgate, and placed in the care of a Mrs Younge, in whose character we were most unhappily deceived." "And thither also went Mr Wickham, undoubtedly by design." "She was persuaded to believe herself in love, and to consent to an elopement." "She was then but fifteen years old." "A day or two before the intended elopement, / joined them unexpectedly." "Unable to support the idea of grieving a brother whom she looked up to almost as a father, she acknowledged the whole plan to me at once." "You may imagine what / felt and how / acted." "Mr Wickham left the place immediately." "(DARCY):" "Come." "Mr Wickham relinquished his object, which was of course, my sister's fortune of 30,000." "A secondary motive must have been to revenge himself on me." "Had he succeeded, his revenge would have been complete indeed." "This, madam, is a faithful narrative of all my dealings with Mr Wickham." "You do look pale, Lizzy." "Why don't you have some breakfast?" " I'm sure it will do you good." " I am well, Charlotte." "I've stayed indoors too long." "Fresh air and exercise is all I need." "The woods around Rosings are so beautiful at this time of year." "Miss Bennet!" "Mr Darcy." "I've been walking the grove some time in the hope of meeting you." "Will you do me the honour of reading this letter?" "(DARCY):" "This, madam, is a faithful narrative of my dealings with Mr Wickham, and for its truth / can appeal to the testimony of Colonel Fitzwilliam, who knows every particular of these transactions." " know not under what form of falsehood Mr Wickham imposed himself on you, but / hope you'll acquit me of cruelty towards him." "I found that I'd better not meet Mr Darcy." "Scenes might arise, unpleasant to more than myself." "The other charge levelled at me, is that regardless of the sentiments of either party," " detached Mr Bingley from your sister." " have no wish to deny this, nor can / blame myself for any of my actions in this matter." " had not long been in Hertfordshire before / saw that Bingley admired your sister, but it was not until the dance at Netherfield that / suspected a serious attachment." "His partiality was clear, but though she received his attentions with pleasure," " did not detect any symptoms of peculiar regard." "The serenity of her countenance convinced me that her heart was not likely to be easily touched." "Insufferable presumption!" " did not wish to believe her to be indifferent." " believed it on impartial conviction." "Very impartial!" "You've missed the two gentlemen!" "They came to take their leave!" "Mr Darcy came here?" "He went away directly, but the Colonel waited for you over half an hour!" "Now they are gone abroad!" "I dare say we shall be able to bear the deprivation." "As to my objections to the marriage, the situation of your family, though objectionable, was nothing in comparison with the total want of propriety so frequently betrayed by your mother, your younger sisters, and even occasionally your father." "(LIZZY REMEMBERS MARY SINGING)" "That will do extremely well, child." "You have delighted us long enough." "Now there will be a great marriage!" "And you know, that will throw the girls into the paths of other rich men!" "My friend left Netherfield for London on the following day." "There / pointed out to him the certain evils of his choice of your sister as a prospective bride." "t was not difficult to convince him of your sister's indifference to him." " cannot blame myself for having done thus much." "For destroying all her hope of happiness?" "Yes, I'm sure you do not blame yourself." "Hateful man!" "There is but one part of my conduct in the affair on which / do not reflect with satisfaction." "Astonish me!" "That / concealed from him your sister's being in town." "Perhaps this concealment was beneath me." "t was done, however, for the best." "0n this subject / have nothing more to say, and no other apology to offer." "Insufferable!" " (CHARLOTTE):" "Lizzy!" " (COLLINS):" "Charlotte, we will be late!" "(CHARLOTTE):" "Lizzy!" "(COLLINS):" "I have endeavoured to count the times Lady Catherine has invited us since your arrival." "I believe it may be as many as ten invitations!" " (MARIA):" "Eleven, counting this one!" " (COLLINS):" "Eleven!" "There!" "You have indeed been favoured with peculiar condescension." " Do you not agree, Miss Elizabeth?" " Oh... yes!" "How could anybody think otherwise?" "And this is your last invitation, on this visit, at least." "It is truly a very cruel deprivation." "I hardly know how I'll bear the loss of her ladyship's company!" "You feel it keenly!" "Yes, of course you do, my poor young cousin." "(LADY CATHERINE):" "They were such fine young men, and so particularly attached to me!" "They were excessively sorry to go, but so they always are!" "The dear Colonel rallied his spirits tolerably, but Darcy seemed to feel it most acutely." "His attachment to Rosings certainly increases." "You are very dull this evening, Miss Elizabeth Bennet." "You have scarce spoke two words together." "Are you so out of spirits?" " No indeed, madam." " Of course you are, to be going away yourself." "Who indeed would not be sad to be deprived of Rosings, and indeed of the gracious..." "You will write to your mother and say you wish to stay longer." " Surely she could spare you for another fortnight." " But my father cannot." "He wrote to hurry my return." "Your ladyship is very kind, but I believe we must leave as planned on Friday." "Your father may spare you if your mother can." "Daughters are never of much consequence to a father." "And if you will stay another month complete, it will be in my power to take you as far as London myself, in the Barouche box!" "For I cannot bear the idea of two young women travelling post by themselves." "It is highly improper!" "I am excessively attentive to all those things." "My uncle is to send a servant for us when we change to the post." "Your uncle!" "He keeps a manservant, does he?" "I'm very glad you have somebody who thinks of these things." "Where will you change horses?" " At Brom..." " Bromley, of course." "Mention my name at the Bell and they will attend you." "Your ladyship is very kind." "Indeed, we are all infinitely indebted to your ladyship's kindly bestowed solicitude..." "Yes, yes, but this is all extremely vexing!" "I'm quite put out." "What are you doing?" "I thought the trunks went outside before breakfast." "Lady Catherine was so severe about the only right way to place gowns, that I couldn't sleep, and I'm determined to start afresh!" "Maria, this is your trunk and your gowns." "You may arrange them in any way you wish." "Lady Catherine will never know!" "(COLLINS):" "My dear sister, you'll have much to tell your father... (CHARLOTTE):" "Bring that one round here." "(BACKGROUND CONVERSATION)" "Well, cousin... ..you have seen for yourself now the happiness of our situation." "Our intimacy at Rosings is a blessing of which few could boast!" " Indeed they could not." " Indeed." "Now you have seen our felicity." "Perhaps you may think your friend has made a fortunate alliance." "Perhaps more so than..." " But on this point it will be as well to be silent." " You are very good." "Only let me assure you that I can, from my heart, most cordially wish you equal felicity in marriage." "Charlotte and I have but one mind and one way of thinking." "We seem to have been designed for each other!" "Oh, Lizzy!" "It seems but a day or two since we first came!" " And yet how many things have happened!" " A great many, indeed." "(MARIA):" "We have dined nine times at Rosings!" "Oh, how much I shall have to tell!" "How much I shall have to conceal." "You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you." "Lizzy!" "Lizzy!" "To see your faces when you looked up!" " You didn't expect we'd come to meet you." " No, we did not." "There!" "Is not this nice?" "Cold ham, and pork, and salads, and every good thing!" "We mean to treat you, but you must lend us money, we spent ours." "Look!" " It's not pretty, but I thought I'd buy it anyway." " It's vile, isn't it?" " Very ugly." "What possessed you to buy it?" " There were two or three much uglier!" "I shall pull it to pieces and see if I can make it up any better." "It doesn't signify what anyone wears, for the regiment will be at Brighton the whole summer!" " Our hearts are broken!" " And papa refuses to take us to Brighton." " I'm glad to hear it." " Shouldn't you like to go to Brighton?" " I should not." " She would." "She would love it, when she hears the news about a certain person we know!" " Shall we tell her?" " Yes, and see if she blushes!" " You may go." "We'll call if you're needed again." " Very good, miss." "Wickham is not to marry Mary King after all!" "She's been taken away to Liverpool and Wickham is safe!" "Perhaps we should say Mary King is safe." "Was there a very strong attraction between them, do you think?" "Not on his side!" "I shouldn't think he cared three straws about her." "Who could about such a nasty freckled little thing?" "Don't look at me like that, Lizzy." "You think just as ill of her!" "Pass the celery, Kitty." "Glad we came to meet you?" "It'll be merry on the journey home." " (LYDIA):" "Kitty, you're squashing my bandbox!" " (KITTY):" "You should have put it on the roof!" " (LYDIA):" "If you don't lollop about there is room." " (KITTY):" "I don't lollop, you do!" "Mr Darcy proposed!" "I can scarce believe it!" "Not that anyone admiring you should be astonishing." "But he always seemed so severe, so cold, apparently." "And yet he was in love with you all the time!" "Poor Mr Darcy." "I cannot feel so much compassion for him." "He has other feelings which will soon drive away any regard he felt for me." " You do not blame me for refusing him?" " Blame you?" "Oh, no." "But you do blame me for speaking so warmly of Wickham?" "No." "How could you have known about his vicious character?" "If indeed he was so very bad." "But I cannot believe Mr Darcy would fabricate such dreadful slander, involving his own sister too." "No, it must be true." " Perhaps there has been some terrible mistake." " No, Jane." "That won't do!" "You can't make them both good!" "There is just enough merit between them to make one good sort of man." "And for my part I'm inclined to believe it's all Mr Darcy's." "Poor Mr Darcy." "Poor Mr Wickham!" "There is such an expression of goodness in his countenance." "Yes." "I'm afraid one has all the goodness, and the other all the appearance of it!" "But Lizzy, I am sure that when you first read that letter, you could not have made so light of it as you do now." "Indeed I could not." "I was very uncomfortable." "Till that moment I never knew myself." "And I had no Jane to comfort me." "Oh, how I wanted you!" "There is one point on which I want your advice." "Should our general acquaintance be informed of Wickham's true character?" "Surely there can be no occasion to expose him so cruelly." " What is your opinion?" " That it oughtn't be attempted." "Mr Darcy has not authorised me to make it public, especially as regards his sister." "As for the rest, who would believe it?" "The general prejudice against Mr Darcy is so violent, and Wickham will soon be gone." " I believe we should say nothing at present." " Yes, I agree." "Perhaps he is sorry now for what he has done, and is anxious to re-establish his character." "We must not make him desperate." "Oh, Jane!" "I wish I could think so well of people as you do." "Won't you speak to papa, Lizzy, about our going to Brighton?" "You know he listens to your advice." "You flatter me, Lydia." "In any case, I shouldn't attempt to persuade him." "I think it's a very good thing that the regiment is removed from Meryton, and that we are removed from the regiment." " Oh, Lizzy, how can you say such a thing?" " Very easily, ma'am." "If one company causes such havoc in our family, what would a whole campful of soldiers do?" " A whole campful of soldiers!" " (MOTHER):" "I remember when I was a girl." "I cried for two days when Colonel Miller's regiment went away." " I thought I should have broke my heart!" " I shall break mine." "And I!" "There, there, my dears." "But your father is determined to be cruel." "I confess I am." "I'm sorry to be breaking hearts, but I have no intention of yielding." "I shall not break my heart, papa." "The pleasures of Brighton would have no charms for me." "I should infinitely prefer a book." " Mrs Forster says she plans to go sea-bathing." " I am sure I should love to go sea-bathing!" " A little sea-bathing would set me up forever!" " And yet, I am unmoved." "Well, well." "I'm glad you are come back, Lizzy." "I'm glad you are come back, Jane." "I want to go to Brighton!" "You are not happy, Jane." " It pains me to see it." " It is just that I did..." "I'm afraid I still do prefer Mr Bingley to any other man I've met, and Lizzy, I did believe he..." "Well, I was mistaken, that is all." "I am resolved to think of him no more." "There." "Enough." "I shall be myself again, as if I had never set eyes on him." "Truly, Lizzy, I promise." "I shall be well." "I shall be myself again." "I shall be perfectly content." "Well, Lizzy, what do you think now about this sad business of Jane's?" "I cannot find out that she saw anything of Bingley in London." "Well." "An undeserving young man!" "And I don't suppose there's any chance of her getting him now." " If he should come back to Netherfield, though." " I think there's little chance of that, mamma." "Oh, well." "Just as he chooses." "No one wants him to come!" "I shall always say he used my daughter extremely ill!" "If I was her, I would not have put up with it." "My comfort is, she will die of a broken heart, and then he'll be sorry for what he's done!" "So, the Collinses live quite comfortable, do they?" "I only hope it will last." "And I suppose they talk about having this house too when your father is dead?" "They look on it as quite their own, I dare say?" "They could hardly discuss such a subject in front of me." "I make no doubt they talk about it constantly when they're alone!" "If they can be easy with an estate that is not lawfully their own, so much the better!" "I should be ashamed of having one that was only entailed upon me!" "Mamma, mamma!" "Lizzy!" "Guess what!" "You never will, so I'll tell you." "Mrs Forster has invited me, as her particular friend, to go with her to Brighton." " Colonel Forster is to take a house for us!" " I'm so happy!" " What an honour, to be singled out!" " Is it not unfair, Lizzy?" "Mrs Forster should have asked me as well." "I may not be her dearest friend, but have as much right to be asked!" "(LYDIA LAUGHS SCORNFULLY)" "And more too, for I am two years older!" "I'll buy her a present, I dare say." "There's no call to be in a miff because Mrs Forster likes me best." "Before you crow too loud, remember papa has not given you permission to go." "Nor is he like to." "Papa won't stop me." "Not when I'm invited by the Colonel to be his wife's particular companion!" "I need new clothes, for I've nothing fit to wear, and there will be balls and parties!" "Of course you shall have new things!" "We wouldn't see you disgraced in front of all the officers!" "(LYDIA):" "Oo!" "All the officers!" "I understand your concern, my dear, but consider:" "Lydia will never be easy until she has exposed herself in some public place, and here is an opportunity for her to do so, with very little expense or inconvenience to her family." "If you were aware of the very great disadvantage to us all, which has already arisen from Lydia's unguarded and imprudent manner, you'd judge differently." "Already arisen?" "Has she frightened away some of your lovers?" "Don't be cast down, Lizzy." "Such squeamish youths are not worth your regret." " Oh come, Lizzy." " Indeed you are mistaken." "I have no injuries to resent." "I speak of general, not particular evils." "Our... position as a family, our very respectability, is called into question by Lydia's wild behaviour." "I must speak plainly." "If you do not check her, she will soon be beyond the reach of amendment." "She will become the most determined flirt that ever made herself and her family ridiculous!" "You know that Kitty follows wherever Lydia leads." "Don't you see that they will be censured and despised wherever they are known?" "And that they will involve their sisters in their disgrace." "Lizzy, come here." "Don't make yourself uneasy, my love." "Wherever you and Jane are known, you must be respected and valued." "And you will not appear to any less advantage for having a couple or... ..I may say, three very silly sisters." "We shall have no peace at Longbourn if Lydia does not go to Brighton." "Colonel Forster is a sensible man." "And luckily she's too poor to be an object of prey to a fortune hunter." "Leave it now, Lizzy." "I believe all will turn out well." "We are so desolated, Colonel, that the regiment is to leave Meryton, but words cannot express what we feel about your kindness to our dear Lydia." "Well, ma'am, it appears that Mrs Forster cannot do without her." "Look at the pair of them." "Thick as thieves!" "Lord knows what they find to talk about." "But anything to keep the ladies happy." "What do you say, Wickham?" "I say amen to that, sir." "There's one lady I shall be very loath to part from." "We must try to bear it." "You are for Brighton, I'll be touring the Lakes with my aunt and uncle." "I dare say we'll find ample sources of consolation and delight... in our different ways." "Perhaps." "How did you find Rosings?" "Interesting." "Colonel Fitzwilliam was there with Mr Darcy." "Are you acquainted with the Colonel?" "I..." "To some respects, yes, in former years." "A very gentlemanly man." " How did you like him?" " I liked him very much." "His manners are very different from his cousin's." "Yes." "But I think Mr Darcy improves on closer acquaintance." "Indeed?" "In what respect?" "Has he acquired a touch of civility in his address?" "For I dare not hope he is improved in essentials." "No." "In essentials, I believe he is very much..." "as he ever was." "Ah." "I don't mean to imply that either his mind or his manners are changed for the better." "Rather: my knowing him better improved my opinion of him." "I see." "(MRS FORSTER):" "Wickham." "Wickham." " Come here." " At your service, ma'am!" "Yes, go, go." "I would not wish you back again." " Goodbye, papa." "Goodbye, mamma." " Lydia, my dear, we shall miss you most cruelly!" "I shall write every day of what I'm doing and make you wild with envy." " I can't help it!" " I shall not envy her a jot!" "I must go." "Goodbye, Jane." "Goodbye, Lizzy!" "If I see any eligible beaux for you, I'll send word express!" "Lord, what a laugh if I should fall and break my head!" "I wish you would!" "Oh, my dear girl." "Take every opportunity of enjoying yourself!" "Bye!" "Bye!" "Never mind, Kitty." "I dare say, in a year or two you'll have got over it tolerably well." "If anyone should ask for me, I shall be in my library, and not to be disturbed." "(JANE):" "Hello!" "I can see, I can see Alicia." "Look how she has grown!" "(JANE):" "You must be so tired." "You have all grown!" "I think you've all grown since we last said goodbye!" "And very pretty too!" "Come into the house, then." "Such a sweet, steady girl!" "Well, Lizzy!" "We bear you bad tidings." "Not too grievous though, I hope." "The guilt is mine." "My business won't allow me time away to visit all the Lake country." "We shall have to content ourselves with Derbyshire." "Oh." "But Derbyshire has many beauties, has it not?" "Indeed." "To me Derbyshire is the best of all counties." "You will judge for yourself whether Chatsworth is not the equal of Blenheim." "And surely these southern counties have nothing to compare to the wild and untamed beauty of the Peaks." "(UNCLE GARDINER):" "Nature and culture in harmony, you see, Lizzy." "Wildness and artifice, and all in the one perfect county!" "(AUNT GARDINER):" "I was born here, so I should never disagree with that!" "(LIZZY):" "Where?" "(AUNT):" "At Lambton, a town of no consequence, but to those fortunate enough to have lived in it." "I think it the dearest place in the world!" "Then I shall not be happy till I have seen it." "It has one further claim on your interest:" "it is but five miles from Pemberley, and owes much of its prosperity to that great estate." "So near?" "Not that I or anyone of my acquaintance enjoyed the privilege of intimacy with that family." "We moved in very different circles." "A hit!" "Acknowledged." "Very good, sir!" " Enough, sir?" " Enough." "Thank you, Baines." " Will you come again tomorrow, sir?" " No, I have business in the North." " I'll come tomorrow week." " Very good, sir." "Bid you good day, sir." "Thank you, Baines." "Good day." "I shall conquer this." "I shall!" "(AUNT):" "Elizabeth, be careful!" "How could I face your father if you took a fall?" "Beautiful!" " Thank you, Hannah." " You're welcome, sir." "I should be quite happy to stay my whole life in Derbyshire!" "I'm happy to hear it." "What do you say to visiting Pemberley tomorrow?" " It's not more than a mile or two out of our way." " Do you especially wish to see it, aunt?" "I thought you would, having heard so much about it." "The associations are not all unpleasant." "Wickham passed all his youth there, you know." "We have no business there." "I should feel awkward to visit the place without a proper invitation." "No more than Blenheim or Chatsworth." "There was no awkwardness there." "I shouldn't care for it myself, Lizzy, if it were merely a fine house, richly furnished." "But the grounds are delightful." "They have some of the finest woods in the country." " How far is Pemberley, my dear?" " Not more than five miles, sir." " The grounds are very fine, are they not?" " As fine as you'll see anywhere, ma'am." "My oldest brother is an under-gardener there." " Is the family here for the summer?" " No, ma'am." "Well?" "Perhaps we might visit Pemberley after all." "I think we've seen woods and groves enough to satisfy even your enthusiasm for them, Lizzy!" "I confess I had no idea Pemberley was such a great estate." " Shall we reach the house itself before dark?" " Be patient." "Wait." "(AUNT):" "There!" "(UNCLE):" "Stop the coach!" "I think one would put up with a good deal to be mistress of Pemberley." "The mistress of Pemberley will have to put up with a good deal, from what I hear." "She's not likely to be anyone we know." " How do you like the house, Lizzy?" " Very well." "I don't think I've ever seen a place so happily situated." "I like it very well indeed." "(UNCLE):" "Drive on!" "A pity then, its owner should be such a proud and disagreeable man." "Yes, a great pity." "Perhaps the beauty of the house renders its owner a little less repulsive, Lizzy?" "Yes, perhaps." "Perhaps a very little." "Well, shall we apply to the housekeeper to see inside the place?" "That's where Mrs Darcy used to write her letters every morning." "It was her favourite room." "This is the music room." " (AUNT):" "Charming!" " (UNCLE):" "What a lovely room!" "(AUNT):" "Delightful!" "And there's a fine prospect from that window down towards the lake." " (AUNT):" "Look at this, my dear." " (UNCLE):" "It's quite magnificent!" "Of all this I might have been mistress." "This piano has just come down." "It's a present from my master for Miss Georgiana." " Your master is from home, we understand." " Yes, but we expect him here tomorrow, sir." "He is coming with a large party of friends and Miss Georgiana." "This portrait was painted earlier this year, for her sixteenth birthday." "She is a very handsome young lady!" "Oh, yes!" "The handsomest young lady that ever was seen." "And so accomplished." "She plays and sings all day long!" "Lizzy!" "Look at this picture." "It reminds me very much of someone we know!" "This one, ma'am?" "That young gentleman was the son of the late Mr Darcy's steward, Mr Wickham." "He is gone into the army now." "But he's turned out very wild." "Very wild indeed, I'm afraid." "And that's my master." "And very like him too." "It's a handsome face, but I've never seen the original." "Is it like him, Lizzy?" " Does this young lady know the master?" " Yes, a little." "And he is a handsome gentleman, is he not, ma'am?" " Yes, very handsome." " I'm sure I know none so handsome." " Nor so kind." " (UNCLE):" "Indeed?" "Aye, sir." "I've never had a cross word from him, and I've known him since he was four years old." "I've observed that they that are good-natured as children, are good-natured when they grow up." " (AUNT):" "His father was an excellent man." " He was, ma'am." "His son will be just like him." "The best landlord, and the best master." "Ask any of his tenants or his servants." "Some call him proud." "I fancy that's only because he don't rattle away, like other young men do." "Now if you will follow me, there's a finer, larger portrait of him in the gallery upstairs." "This way, sir, if you please." "This fine account of Darcy is not quite consistent with his behaviour to poor Wickham." " Perhaps we might have been deceived there." " That's not likely, is it?" "Ah!" "(UNCLE):" "Magnificent!" "(MRS REYNOLDS):" "There!" " (GROOM):" "Would you not like to ride him, sir?" " (DARCY):" "No, take him back to the stables." "Mr Darcy." "Miss Bennet." "I..." "I did not expect to see you, sir." "We understood the family were from home, or we should never have..." "I returned a day early." "Excuse me, your parents are in good health?" "Yes, they are very well." "I thank you, sir." "I'm glad to hear it." "How long have you been in this part of the country?" "But two days, sir." " Where are you staying?" " Lambton Inn." "Yes, of course." "Well, I'm just arrived myself." "And your parents are in good health?" "And all your sisters?" "Yes, they are all in excellent health, sir." "Excuse me." " The man himself, I presume!" " As handsome as in his portrait." " Though perhaps a little less formally attired." " We must leave here at once!" " Of course, if you wish." " Oh, I wish we'd never come!" " What must he think of me?" " (AUNT):" "What did he say?" "Nothing of consequence." "He enquired after my parents..." "Miss Bennet." "Allow me to apologise for not receiving you properly." "Were you leaving?" " We were, sir." "I think we must." " I hope you are not displeased with Pemberley?" "No, not at all." " Then you approve of it?" " Very much." "I think there are few who would not." "Your good opinion is rarely bestowed, and therefore more worth the earning." "Thank you." " Would you introduce me to your friends?" " Certainly." "Mr and Mrs Edward Gardiner, Mr Darcy." "Mrs Gardiner is my aunt, Mr Darcy." "My sister Jane stayed at their house in Cheapside when she was in London." "Delighted to make your acquaintance, madam, sir." "You're staying at Lambton, I hear." "Yes, sir." "I grew up there as a girl." "Delightful village." "I ran to Lambton as a boy almost every day in the horse-chestnut season." " There was one very fine tree there." " On the green, by the smithy!" " Mr Gardiner, do you care for fishing?" " Indeed I do, when I get the chance." "You must fish in my trout stream." "There are carp, tench and pike in the lake, for coarse fishing." "I'll gladly provide you with rods and tackle, show you the best spots." "Let's walk down now." "Follow us to the lake." "My man will show you." "(DARCY):" "There's a place down there where we..." "Is this the proud Darcy you told us of?" "He is all ease and friendliness." "No false dignity at all!" "I'm as astonished as you are." "I can't imagine what has affected this transformation." "Can you not?" " (DARCY):" "Do you..." " (LIZZY):" "I... (DARCY):" "Pray continue." "I was going to say again, sir, how very unexpected your arrival was." "If we had known you were to be here, we should not have dreamt of invading your privacy." "The housekeeper assured us you would not be here until tomorrow." "Do not make yourself uneasy." "I had planned it so myself, but I found I had business with my steward." "I rode on ahead of the rest of the party." "They will join me tomorrow." "And among them are those who claim an acquaintance with you." "It's Mr Bingley and his sisters." "Oh." "There is the other person in the party who more particularly wishes to know you." "Will you allow me to..." "Do I ask too much to introduce my sister to you, during your stay at Lambton?" "I should be very happy to make her acquaintance." "Thank you." "Thank you." "I hope we shall meet again very soon." "Good day, Mr Gardiner." "Mrs Gardiner." "Good day, Miss Bennet." "If you please, ma'am!" "There are two gentlemen and a lady waiting upon you in the parlour." "One of them is Mr Darcy." "Thank you." "Tell them I shall come directly." "Mr Darcy." " I hope that you have not been waiting long." " Not at all." "May I introduce my sister Georgiana?" "Georgiana, this is Miss Elizabeth Bennet." " How do you do?" " I'm very pleased to meet you, Miss Darcy." " I've heard so much about you." " And I about you." "Mr Bingley is here with us, and very desirous to see you as well." "He insisted on accompanying us." " May I summon him?" " Of course!" "I should like to see him very much." "I understand that you are fond of music, and play very well." "Oh, no." "Not play very well." "I mean, but I am very fond of music." "I should dearly love to hear you play and sing." "My brother has told me he has rarely heard anything that gave him more pleasure." "Well, you shall." "But I warn you, your brother has grossly exaggerated my talents." " No doubt for some mischievous reason." " Oh, no." "That could not be so." "My brother never exaggerates." "He always tells the absolute truth." "Except that sometimes I think he is a little too kind to me." " An ideal elder brother, then." " Yes!" "I couldn't imagine a better or a kinder one." "You make me feel quite envious." "I have no brothers at all." "Only four sisters." "I should have liked to have a sister." "(BINGLEY):" "Miss Bennet!" "I was so delighted when Darcy told me you were not five miles from Pemberley!" "How do you do?" " I see you are well." " Very well, thank you." " Good, good, excellent!" "And your family?" " Very well, sir." "Yes?" "Pray, tell me." "Are all your sisters still at Longbourn?" "All except one." "My youngest sister is at Brighton." "Ah." "It seems too long... ..it is too long, since I had the pleasure of speaking to you." " It must be several months." " It is above eight months at least." "We have not met since the 26th of November, when we were dancing together at Netherfield." "I think you must be right." "I don't think I can remember a happier time than those short months I spent in Hertfordshire." "Miss Bennet, my sister has a request to make of you." "Miss Bennet, my brother and I would be honoured if you and your aunt and uncle would be our guests at Pemberley for dinner." " Would tomorrow evening be convenient?" " Thank you, we shall be delighted." "I can answer for Mr and Mrs Gardiner." "We have no fixed engagements." " And shall we hear you play?" " If you insist upon it, yes, you shall." "(LIZZY PLAYS THE PIANO AND SINGS "VOI, CHE SAPETE" FROM "THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO")" "Absolutely marvellous!" "Will you not play again?" "You played that song so beautifully." "Not very beautifully, not faithfully at all." "You must have seen how I fudged and slurred my way through the difficult passages." " It's a beautiful instrument, though." " My brother gave it to me." " He is so good." "I don't deserve it." " I am sure you do." "Your brother thinks you do, and as you know, he is never wrong." "Now, it's your turn." "Oh, I absolutely insist!" "In front of all these people?" "I will play, but please don't make me sing." "If you like." "Pray, Miss Eliza, are the Militia still quartered at Meryton?" "No, they are encamped at Brighton for the summer." " That must be a great loss for your family." " We're enduring it as best we can, Miss Bingley." "I should have thought one gentleman's absence might have caused particular pangs." "I can't imagine who you mean." "I understood that certain ladies found the society of Mr Wickham curiously agreeable." "I'm so sorry." "I'm neglecting you." "How can you play with no one to turn the pages." "There, allow me." "(MISS BINGLEY):" "How very ill Eliza Bennet looked this evening!" "I've never seen anyone so much altered as she is since the winter." " Quite so, my dear." " She is grown so brown and coarse." "Louisa and I were agreeing that we should hardly know her." "What do you say, Mr Darcy?" "I noticed no great difference." "She is, I suppose, a little tanned." "Hardly surprising when one travels in the summer." "For my part, I must confess, I never saw any beauty in her face." "Her features are not at all handsome." "Her complexion has no brilliancy." "Her teeth are tolerable, I suppose, but nothing out of the common way." "And as for her eyes, which I have sometimes heard called fine," "I could never perceive anything extraordinary in them." "And in her air there is a self-sufficiency without fashion, which I find intolerable." "I think..." "When we first knew her in Hertfordshire, how amazed we all were to find her a reputed beauty!" "I particularly recall you, Mr Darcy, one night after they had been dining at Netherfield, saying: "She a beauty?" "I should as soon call her mother a wit!"" "(MISS BINGLEY):" "But afterwards she seemed to improve on you." "I even believe you thought her rather pretty at one time." "Yes, I did." "That was only when I first knew her." "For many months now I have considered her one of the handsomest women of my acquaintance." "No, no, the green one." "Yes, that will do." "Good." "No, never mind that." " If you please, ma'am." "The post's just come." " Thank you, Hannah." "A good girl, that." "Very obliging." "Two letters from Jane." "At last!" "I had been wondering why we hadn't..." "This one was misdirected at first." "No wonder, for she wrote the direction very ill, indeed!" "Would you be angry if I beg you to postpone our outing?" "Not at all!" "Of course you want to read your letters." "We will walk to the church and call back in an hour." "Thank you, you're very kind!" "(JANE):" "My dearest Lizzy, / hope your journey has been as delightful as you anticipated." "We all miss you." "0ur father most of all, / believe." " have hardly had time to write." "My nephews and nieces have taken almost every moment!" "But they are such dear children." "0ur mother indeed finds their exuberance a little trying for her nerves." "Mamma..." "She spends much of the day above stairs in her room, or with Mrs Philips." "Dearest Lizzy, since writing the above, something has occurred of a most unexpected and serious nature." "But /'m afraid of alarming you." "Be assured we are all well." "What / have to say relates to poor Lydia." "Lydia!" "An express came at twelve last night, just as we were all gone to bed." "(MOTHER):" "Mr Bennet, what is it?" "Are we to be murdered in our beds?" "(JANE):" "The letter was from Colonel Forster, to inform us that Lydia was gone off to Scotland with one of his officers." "To own the truth... with Wickham." "Oh, Lydia!" "Oh, Mr Bennet, we are all ruined!" "You will imagine our surprise and shock." "To Kitty, however, it does not seem so wholly unexpected." " am very, very sorry." "So imprudent a match on both sides!" "But /'m willing to hope the best, and that his character has been misunderstood." "I wish I could believe it." "His choice is disinterested at least." "He must know that our father can give him nothing." "Yes, that is true." "But how could he do this?" "She is silly enough for anything." "But Wickham to love Lydia?" "Marry Lydia?" "There is one lady I shall be very loath to part from." "We expect them soon returned from Gretna, man and wife." " must conclude." " cannot be away from our poor mother long." " shall write again as soon as / have news." "My dearest Lizzy, / hardly know what to write, but / have bad news!" "mprudent as a marriage would be, we now fear worse:" "That it has not taken place." "That Wickham never intended to marry Lydia at all!" "Great God, I knew it!" " / cannot think so ill of him." " I can." "Poor Lydia." "Poor stupid girl!" "Colonel Forster said he feared that Wickham was not to be trusted." "(DARCY):" "She was then but fifteen years old." "They were traced as far as Clapham." "Father has gone with Colonel Forster to try to discover them." " cannot help but beg you all to come here as soon as possible!" "Oh, yes!" "Where is my uncle?" "If you please, ma'am." " Miss Bennet, I hope this..." " I beg your pardon." "I must find Mr Gardiner." " On business that cannot be delayed." " Good God!" "What is the matter?" "Of course I will not detain you, but let me go, or let the servant go and fetch Mr and Mrs Gardiner." " You cannot go yourself." " I must..." "Come." "I insist." "This will be for the best." "Hello there!" "Have Mr and Mrs Gardiner fetched here at once." " They walked in the direction of..." " ..the church." "Yes, sir, at once." " You are not well." "May I not call a doctor?" " No." "I am well." "I am well." "Is there nothing you can take for your present relief?" "A glass of wine?" "Can I get you one?" "Truly, you look very ill." "No, I thank you." "There is nothing the matter with me." "I am quite well." "I am only distressed by some dreadful news, which I have just received from Longbourn." " I am sorry." "Forgive me." " No, no." "I have just received a letter from Jane, with such dreadful news." "It cannot be concealed from anyone." "My youngest sister has left all her friends, has eloped," "has thrown herself into the power... ..of Mr Wickham." "They have run away together from Brighton." "You know him too well to doubt the rest." "She has no money, no connections, nothing that can tempt him." "When I think that I might have prevented it!" "I, who knew what he was!" "Had his character been known, this could not have happened." "But it is all too late now." "I am grieved, indeed." "Grieved, shocked." " But is it certain?" "Absolutely certain?" " Oh, yes." "They left Brighton together on Sunday night." "They were traced as far as London, but not beyond." " They are certainly not gone to Scotland." " What has been attempted to recover her?" "My father has gone to London." "And Jane writes to beg my uncle's immediate assistance." "I hope that we shall leave within half an hour." "But what can be done?" "I know that nothing can be done." "How is such a man to be worked on?" "How are they even to be discovered?" "I have not the smallest hope." "She is lost forever, and our whole family must partake of her ruin and disgrace." "I'm afraid you have long been desiring my absence." "This unfortunate affair will, I fear, prevent my sister from having the pleasure of seeing you at Pemberley today." "Oh, yes." "Be so kind as to apologise for us to Miss Darcy." "Say that urgent business calls us home immediately." "And if you would be so kind... as to conceal the unhappy truth as long as possible." "I know that it cannot be long." "You may be assured of my secrecy." "But I have stayed too long." "I shall leave you now." "Yes." "Thank you." "Goodbye." "I shall never see him again." "Even if what you say of Wickham is true, I still cannot believe this of Lydia." "Ever since the militia came to Meryton, there's been nothing but love and officers in her head." "We must not assume the worst." "It may yet be that this is all a misunderstanding." "Or just a passing folly that her friends can hush up and will in time be quite forgotten." " It is possible, Lizzy!" " Indeed it is." "Why would any young man form a design against a girl who is not unprotected or friendless, and who is staying in the Colonel's family?" "Look at it in any way you like." "The temptation is not worth the risk." "Not perhaps of risking his own interest." "But I do believe him capable of risking everything else!" "You are very quiet this evening, Mr Darcy." "I hope you're not pining for the loss of Miss Eliza Bennet." "What?" "Excuse me." "(THE GARDINER CHILDREN):" "There she is!" "Mamma, mamma!" "Did you bring us anything?" " Lizzy!" "I am so glad to see you." " Has anything been heard?" "Not yet, but now that our uncle has come, I hope all will be well." "Father left for town on Tuesday, and we've only heard that he has arrived in safety." "Mamma has been asking for you every five minutes." " How is she?" " She has not yet left her room." "And you look pale." "Oh, Jane, how much you must have gone through!" "I am so happy to see you, Lizzy." "Come." "Oh!" "Oh, Lizzy!" "Oh, brother!" "We are all ruined forever!" "If only Mr Bennet had taken us all to Brighton, none of this would have happened!" "I blame those Forsters!" "I am sure there was some great neglect on their part, for she is not the kind of girl to do that sort of thing, if she had been properly looked after!" " Mamma." " And now here is Mr Bennet gone away." "I know he will fight Wickham, and then he will be killed, and then what is to become of us all?" "Those Collinses will turn us out before he is cold in his grave!" "And if you are not kind to us, brother, I don't know what we shall do!" "Sister, calm down." "Nothing dreadful will happen!" "I'll be in London tomorrow, and we will consult as to what is to be done." "Yes, yes, that is it!" "You must find them out, and if they be not married, you must make them marry." "Above all, keep Mr Bennet from fighting!" " Mamma, I am sure he does not mean to fight." " Oh yes, he does!" "And Wickham will kill him for sure, unless you can prevent it, brother!" "You must tell him what a dreadful state I'm in!" "How I have such tremblings and flutterings." "Such spasms in my side and pains in my head and beatings at my heart, that I can get no rest either night or day!" "Sister, calm yourself." "And tell Lydia not to give any directions about wedding clothes till she's seen me, for she does not know which are the best warehouses!" "(MARY):" "This is the most unfortunate affair, and will probably be much talked of." "(LIZZY):" "Yes, thank you, Mary." "I think we have all apprehended that much." "We must stem the tide of malice, and pour into each other's wounded bosoms the balm of sisterly consolation." " Mary, pass the potatoes to your aunt Gardiner." " I beg your pardon?" "(KITTY):" "Never mind." "I will." "Thank you, Kitty." "That's the first kind word I've had from anyone since Lydia went away." "It is most unfair, for I have not done anything naughty!" "And I don't see that Lydia has done anything dreadful either." " Kitty, please!" " Unhappy as the event must be for Lydia, we must draw from it this useful lesson:" "that loss of virtue in a female is irretrievable." "My dear Mary, this is hardly helpful." "For a woman's reputation is no less brittle than it is beautiful." "Therefore we cannot be too guarded in our behaviour towards the undeserving of the other sex." "Yes... thank you, Mary." "Now, Jane... tell me everything about it that I have not already heard." "What did Colonel Forster say?" "Had they no apprehension about anything before the elopement took place?" "Colonel Forster did own he suspected some partiality on Lydia's side, but nothing to give him any alarm." "Lizzy, I feel I am to blame." "I urged you not to make Wickham's bad conduct known." "Now poor Lydia is suffering for it." "No one else suspected him for a moment." "I am, I am to blame!" "You are not to blame!" "No more than I, or Mr Darcy or anyone else deceived by Wickham." "You have nothing to blame yourself for." "Others are culpable, not you." "She wrote a note for Mrs Forster before she went away." ""My dear Harriet, you will laugh when you know where I am gone,"" ""and I can't help laughing myself at your surprise tomorrow morning, as soon as I am missed."" "(LYDIA): /'m going to Gretna Green, and if you can't guess with who, /'ll think you a simpleton, for there is but one man in the world / love." "Don't send them word at Longbourn of my going." "t will make the surprise all the greater, when / write to them and sign my name Lydia Wickham!" "What a good joke it will be." " can scarcely write for laughing!" "Thoughtless, thoughtless Lydia!" "What a letter to have written at such a moment." "But at least she believed they were to be married, whatever he might persuade her to afterwards." "Our poor father!" "How he must have felt it." "I never saw anyone so shocked." "He couldn't speak for ten minutes." "Mother was in hysterics, and the house was in confusion." "Lady Lucas has been very kind, offering her services." "She had better had stayed home!" "Assistance is impossible, and condolence insufferable." "Let her triumph over us at a distance and be satisfied!" "That is unkind." " I am sure she meant well." " Yes, perhaps she did." "I am sorry." "It's just that I can't help but be..." "Oh, Jane." "Jane, do you not see that more things have been ruined by this business than Lydia's reputation?" " have stayed too long. / shall leave you now." "(THERE IS A KNOCK ON THE DOOR)" "Come in!" "I thought you would not be in bed yet." "I have been thinking about what you said this afternoon." "That it is not only Lydia's reputation that has been ruined." "I was angry and upset." "I should not have said it." "It does no good to dwell on it." "You meant, I suppose, that you and I, and Mary and Kitty, have been tainted by association." "That our chances of making a good marriage have been materially damaged by Lydia's disgrace." "The chances of any of us making a good marriage were never very great." "And now I should say, they are non-existent." "No one will solicit our society after this." "Mr Darcy made that very clear to me." "Mr Darcy?" "Does he know our troubles?" "He happened upon me a moment after I first read your letter." "He was very kind, very gentleman-like... ..but he made it very clear he wanted nothing more than to be out of my sight." "He will not be renewing his addresses to me." "He'll make very sure his friend doesn't renew his to you." "I never expected Mr Bingley would renew his addresses." "I am quite reconciled to that." "Surely you do not desire Mr Darcy's attentions, do you?" "No, no." "I never sought them." "But you do think he was intending to renew them?" " You think he is still in love with you?" " I don't know." "I don't know what he was two days ago." "All I know is that now he, or any other respectable man, will want nothing to do with any of us." "(MUSIC DROWNS ALL DIALOGUE)" "Lord!" "Look who's coming!" " Who is it, Kitty?" " Mr Collins, of course." "I'm not going to sit with him for anyone!" "I had hoped to condole with your poor father and your mother." "Father is still in London, and mother is not yet well enough to leave her room." "Ah." "Ah." "I feel myself called on, not only by our relationship, but by my situation as a clergyman, to condole with you all on the grievous affliction you are now suffering under." "Thank you, sir." "It has often been said that a friend in need is a friend, indeed, sir." "Yes." "Be assured, ladies, that Mrs Collins and myself sincerely sympathise with you in your distress, which must be of the bitterest kind, proceeding from a cause which no time can remove." "The death of your sister would have been a blessing in comparison." "And it is more to be lamented, because there is reason to suppose, my dear Charlotte informs me, that this licentiousness of behaviour in your sister has proceeded from a faulty degree of indulgence, though I am inclined to think that her disposition must be naturally bad." "Now, howsoever that may be, you are grievously to be pitied..." "We are very grateful, sir, for your... ..in which opinion I am joined by Lady Catherine de Bourgh and her daughter, to whom I have related the affair in full." "They agree with me in apprehending that this false step in one sister must be injurious to the fortunes of all the others." ""For who", as Lady Catherine herself condescendingly says," ""will connect themselves with such a family?"" "Who, indeed, sir." "Now, perhaps, in view of that consideration, you may feel it would be unwise to stay any longer." "Well, perhaps you are right." "Yes, perhaps you are right, cousin Elizabeth." "I always feel that a clergyman cannot be too careful." "Especially one so fortunate as to enjoy the condescension and patronage of Lady Catherine." "Your thoughtfulness does you credit, cousin Elizabeth." "I am very, very sorry for you all!" " Insufferable man!" " I suppose he means well." "You suppose wrongly, Jane." "His purpose was to enjoy our misfortunes and congratulate himself on his own happy situation!" "I think it kind of him to condole with us." " Is he gone?" " Yes." " Good!" " Forever, with any luck." "(KITTY):" "Here's aunt Philips!" "She can tell us the news from Meryton." " I doubt there's much we care to hear." " Mother will be pleased." "Well, girls, here's a to-do." " Does your mother still keep to her bed?" " No, but she keeps to her room." "Well, well, the less the servants hear the better, I dare say." "Come, let me to her, Jane, though Heaven knows I have no glad tidings for her." "Every day I hear some new bad tale of Mr Wickham!" "Oh, Mr Wickham, that everybody praised to the skies!" "Mr Wickham, that half the town was mad in love with." "All the time a villain!" "A very demon from hell sent to ruin us!" "I have heard he's run up debts with every reputable tradesman in the town." "Oh, sister!" " I have heard tales of gaming debts!" " Oh, sister!" "Of drunken routs, in which more things were broken than heads and furniture, sister!" "Oh, sister, stop!" "Debauches, intrigues, seductions!" "They say there's hardly a tradesman in the town whose daughters were not meddled with!" "Now he's meddling with our dearest girl." "The foul fiend!" "He shall be discovered and made to marry her!" "I have to say, sister, that I always distrusted his appearance of goodness." "Aye, sister, so did I, and warned the girls!" " Too smooth and plausible by half!" " But would anybody listen to me?" "And now we are all, all ruined!" "Oh, my poor girl." "My poor, poor Lydia!" "When shall we travel into Hertfordshire, my love?" "Come away from the window, dear." "When I have settled my business affairs." "These things always take longer than one thinks they will." " You're not unhappy, surely?" " Lord, no!" "Just that I can't wait to see my mother's face!" "And my sisters'." "Kitty will be so envious!" "How I shall laugh!" "I hope we shall be married from Longbourn." "Then all my sisters will have to be my bridesmaids." "Oh, I do wish we could go out into the town, and be seen at plays and assemblies." "All in good time." "Be patient, dear." "Lord, it makes me want to burst out laughing when I think that I have done what none of my sisters has." "And I the youngest of them all!" "Mother!" "Here is a letter from my uncle Gardiner!" " Father is coming home today!" " Does he bring Lydia?" "No." "He and my uncle have not yet discovered where she is." " My uncle will continue his enquiries alone." " Coming home without poor Lydia?" "Who will fight Wickham and make him marry her, if he comes away?" "Oh, Jane, Jane, what is to become of us?" "Oh, oh, fetch my smelling salts!" "I feel my faintness coming upon me again!" "Not now, Jane." "Not now, Lizzy." "(MUSIC DROWNS ALL DIALOGUE)" "(DARCY):" "Mrs Younge." "Should I go and get father?" "He has had nothing to eat since he came home." "Let me." "You take mother her tea." "Well, Jane." "Elizabeth." "Mary, Kitty." "You look so tired, father." " It must have been a dreadful time for you." " Say nothing of that." "Who should suffer but myself?" "It has been my own doing, and I ought to feel it." "Oh, papa." "You must not be so severe upon yourself." "Let me, for once in my life, feel how much I have been to blame." "I am not afraid of being overpowered by the impression." "It will pass away soon enough." " Do you still suppose them to be in London, sir?" " Yes, where else can they be so well concealed?" "Lydia always wanted to go to London!" "She is happy, then." "And her residence there will probably be of some duration." "Lizzy." "I bear you no ill-will for being justified in your advice to me in May, which, considering the event, shows some greatness of mind, I think." "I must take mamma her tea." "She still keeps her state above stairs, does she?" "Good." "It lends such an elegance to our misfortune!" "Another time I'll do the same." "I'll sit in my library, in my nightcap and powdering gown, and I'll give as much trouble as I can." "Or perhaps I may defer it, till Kitty runs away." "I'm not going to run away." "If I should go to Brighton, I would behave better than Lydia." "You go to Brighton?" "I wouldn't trust you as near it as East Bourne." "Not for fifty pounds!" "No, Kitty, I have at last learnt to be cautious, and you will feel the effects of it." "No officer is ever to enter my house again." "Or even to pass through the village!" "Balls will be absolutely prohibited, unless you stand up with one of your sisters!" "And you are never to stir out of doors until having spent ten minutes every day in a rational manner." "Well, well, well, don't make yourself unhappy, my dear." "If you are a good girl for the next ten years, I'll take you to a review at the end of them." "Oh, dearest, shall we not go out tonight?" "Can we not go to the theatre?" " Lord!" "What in the world is he doing here?" " What?" " What a joke!" " Who is it?" " You'll never guess!" " Who is it?" "Mr Darcy." "(FATHER):" "Come in." "Thank you, Hill." "Hill, what is it?" "Is Mrs Bennet asking for us?" "No, ma'am." "I beg your pardon, but did you know an express come for master from Mr Gardiner?" " When did it come, Hill?" " Oh, about half an hour ago, ma'am." " Well, Lizzy?" " Papa, what news?" " What news from my uncle?" " Yes, I've had a letter from him." " What news does it bring?" "Good or bad?" " What is there of good to be expected?" "Perhaps you would like to read it yourself." "Read it aloud, Lizzy." "I hardly know what to make of it myself." ""My dear brother, at last I am able to send tidings of my niece and Mr Wickham." "I have seen them..."" "It's as I hoped!" "They are married!" ""They are not married, nor can I find there was any intention of being so,"" ""but if you will perform the engagements I have ventured to make for you, they will before long."" " What engagements?" " Read on." ""All that is required is to assure your daughter her equal share of the 5,000 pounds she will inherit,"" ""and also allow her, during your life, 100 pounds per annum."" "So little?" "What about Wickham's debts?" "Read on." ""Mr Wickham's circumstances are not so hopeless as they are generally believed to be."" " There!" " Read on, Lizzy!" ""There will be some little money, even when all his debts are discharged, to settle on my niece."" " I cannot believe it." " Read on." ""We've judged it best that my niece should be married from this house." "I hope you approve."" "Kitty will be disappointed not to be a bridesmaid." ""Send back your answer as soon as you can, with the explicit financial settlement." "Yours," etc..." "How can it be possible he will marry her for so little?" "He must not be undeserving, as we thought." "He must truly be in love with her, I think." "You think that, Jane, if it gives you comfort." " Have you answered the letter?" " No, but I must - and soon." "And they must marry." "Yet he is such a man." "Yes, they must marry." "There's nothing else to be done." "There are two things I want to know:" "One is, how much money your uncle laid down to bring this about;" "and the other, how am I ever to repay him?" "I wish I had never spoken of this to Mr Darcy." "Dear Lizzy, please do not distress yourself." "I'm sure Mr Darcy will respect your confidence." "I'm sure he will." "That is not what distresses me." " What, then?" " I don't know!" "How he must be congratulating himself on his escape!" " How he must despise me now." " You never sought his love!" "Nor welcomed it when he offered it." "If he has withdrawn his high opinion of you, why should you care?" "I don't know!" "I can't explain it." "I know I shall probably never see him again." "I cannot bear to think that he is alive in the world... ..and thinking ill of me." "(MOTHER): / knew it would come out right in the end!" "My dear, dear Lydia!" "She will be married." "My good, kind brother!" "I knew how it would be." "I knew he would manage everything!" "Oh, but the clothes!" "And of course she must be married from Longbourn." "This is all nonsense about her being married from Cheapside!" "She must be married in Longbourn church, where her friends can see her." "That is not possible." "You must see that." "I do not see that!" "Why should I see that?" "Why should that be?" "She's been living with Mr Wickham in London." "If she were to arrive home unmarried still..." "I suppose it must be, if you put it like that!" "But it is all very vexing." "Your uncle has been most highhanded!" "Why should he take so much upon him?" "Mamma, we're greatly indebted to Mr Gardiner." "He must have laid out a great deal of money to pay off Mr Wickham's debts." " More than we can ever repay." " Why should he not?" " Who else should lay out money, but her uncle?" " Mother!" "Oh, well!" "I am so happy!" "A daughter married." "And only just sixteen." ""Mrs Wickham"." "Oh, how well that sounds!" "Oh, but the wedding clothes!" "Lizzy, go down to your father and ask how much he will give her." "(MOTHER): 0h, Jane, as soon as / am dressed / shall go to Meryton and tell my sister Philips!" "(MOTHER):" "Ring the bell for Hill!" "An airing will do me a great deal of good, /'m sure." "(MOTHER):" "And / shall call on Lady Lucas and Mrs Long. 0h, Jane!" " Papa." " (MOTHER):" "Jane, it's such wonderful news!" "(MOTHER): 0h, where is Hill?" "0h, Hill, have you heard the good news?" "Shut the door, Lizzy." "(MOTHER):" "And you shall have a bowl of punch to make merry at..." "Someone, at least, finds pleasure in these events." "But considering what we thought only a few hours ago, it's not so bad, is it?" " Do you think my uncle paid out much money?" " I do." "Wickham's a fool if he takes her with a farthing less than 10,000 pounds." "10,000 pounds!" "Heaven forbid!" "How is half such a sum to be repaid?" "I wish I had laid by an annual sum to bribe worthless young men to marry my daughters, but I have not, I confess." "The reason was, of course, that I intended to father a son." "The son would inherit the estate, no part of which would be entailed away, so providing for my widow and any other children." "By the time we had abandoned hope of producing an heir, it seemed a little late to begin saving." " You could not have foreseen this, father." " I should have taken better care of you all." "The satisfaction of prevailing upon one of the most worthless young men in Britain, might then have rested in its proper place." "As it is, the thing is done with extraordinary little inconvenience to myself." "When you take into account what I shall save on Lydia's board and pocket allowance," "I am scarcely ten pounds a year worse off." "I am heartily ashamed of myself, Lizzy." "But don't despair, it will pass... ..and no doubt more quickly than it should." "Where is everyone?" "Dearly beloved." "We are gathered here in the sight of God." "(UNCLE):" "Mr Wickham is to resign from the Militia and go into a northern regiment." "Happily some of his former friends are willing to assist him in purchasing a commission." " have written to Colonel Forster to request that he will satisfy Wickham's creditors in Brighton, for which /'ve pledged myself." ""Perhaps you will be so good as to do the same for his creditors in Meryton,"" ""of whom I enclose a list according to his information."" ""I hope, at least, he has not deceived us"." "Let us all hope so." ""As soon as they are married, they will journey directly to join his regiment in Newcastle,"" ""unless they are first invited to Longbourn."" "Oh, yes, my dear Mr Bennet, of course they must come here!" "I long to see my dear Lydia!" "And dear Wickham, too, of course." "But it is shocking that poor Lydia should have been sent away from Brighton." "Such a favourite among all the officers!" "There were several young men there that she liked very much." "They will miss her as much as she will miss them." "These northern officers may not be so pleasant." "Dear Mrs Bennet, I'm sure our youngest daughter will find friends as silly as she in Newcastle." "She has a talent for making a spectacle of herself wherever she goes." "If they are to leave Brighton, they should come to Hertfordshire and reside in the neighbourhood." "Haye Park might do, if the Gouldings would quit it." "Or the great house at Stoke, if the drawing-rooms were larger." " Or Purvis Lodge." " Oh, no dear, not Purvis Lodge!" "The attics are dreadful!" "Mrs Bennet, before you take any, or all of these houses, let us come to a right understanding." "Into one house in the neighbourhood they shall never have admittance." "(FATHER):" "Mr and Mrs Wickham will never be welcome to Longbourn." "(LYDIA):" "Lord!" "It seems an age since we were at Longbourn." "Here you all are, just the same!" "My dear, dear Lydia, at last!" "Oh, I do believe you've grown!" "Oh, how we have missed you." "We've been far too merry to miss any of you!" "Here we are!" "Haven't I caught myself a handsome husband?" "Indeed you have, my love!" "You are very welcome, sir." "You are all goodness and kindness, ma'am, as always." "Oh, let me give you a kiss, then!" "Well, shall we go in?" "No, Jane." "I take your place now." "You must go lower, because I am a married woman!" ""Mrs Wickham"!" "Lord, how droll that sounds!" "How do you like my husband, Lizzy?" "I believe you envy me." "Was he not a favourite of yours once?" "(LIZZY):" "Not at all." "A pity we didn't all go to Brighton." "I could have got husbands for all my sisters!" "Thank you, but I don't particularly like your way of getting husbands." "Isn't my husband a fine horseman?" "Colonel Forster said he has as good a seat as any officer in the regiment." "I wished he could wear his red coat at the wedding, and have a guard of honour, but the officers could not be spared from duty." "There was no one there but my aunt and uncle and Mr Darcy." "Mr Darcy?" " (LIZZY):" "Mr Darcy was at your wedding?" " Oh, yes." "Someone had to be groomsman." "I had much rather it had been Denny or one of our friends..." "Oh, Lord!" "Oh, Lord, I forgot." "I wasn't to say a word!" "And I promised them so faithfully." "What'll Wickham say now?" "It was supposed to be a secret!" "(LIZZY):" "My dear Aunt, pray write and let me understand how he should have been there." "Unless you, too, are bound in the secrecy which Lydia seems to think necessary." "My dear niece, / must confess myself surprised by your letter." "f you are in ignorance of the part that Mr Darcy played in bringing about the marriage, let me enlighten you at once." "Mr Darcy paid us an unexpected visit... ..and so, my dear Lizzy, Mr Darcy would brook no opposition." "He insisted on doing everything himself and bearing the entirety of the expense." "Nothing was to be done that he did not do himself." "Your uncle, instead of being allowed to be of use to his niece, had to accept having the credit of it." "I must be allowed to insist on this." "The fault is mine, and so must the remedy be." "It was through my mistaken pride that Mr Wickham's character has not been made known." "Had I not thought it beneath me to lay my private actions open, his character would have been exposed." "Mr Darcy, I really believe you take too much upon yourself." "I must insist on this, sir." "I assure you that in this matter, argument is fruitless." "The responsibility is mine." "I must have it, sir." "I shall not give way." "My dear sister!" " I'm afraid I'm interrupting your solitary reverie." " You are, indeed." "But it doesn't follow that the interruption must be unwelcome." "I should be sorry if it were." "You and I were always good friends." "True." "Then shall we take a turn together, sister?" "I was surprised to see Darcy in town last month." "We passed each other several times." "I wonder what he could be doing there." "Perhaps preparing for the wedding..." "with Miss de Bourgh." "Yes." "Yes, perhaps." "Must have been something particular, to take him there this time of year." "Undoubtedly." "Did you see him while you were at Lambton?" "I understood from the Gardiners that you had." "Yes." "He introduced us to his sister." " Did you like her?" " Yes, very much indeed." "Well, I have heard that she is uncommonly improved within this last year or two." "When I last saw her, she was not very promising." "I'm glad you liked her." "I hope she'll turn out well." "I dare say she will." "She has got over the most trying age." " Did you go by Kympton?" " I don't recollect..." "I mention it because it was the living I should have had." "How should you have liked making sermons?" "Exceedingly well." "I did hear that there was a time when sermon making was not so palatable to you as at present." "That you actually declared your resolution of never taking orders and were compensated accordingly." "Well." "Oh come, Mr Wickham, we are brother and sister, you know." "Let us not quarrel about the past." " Oh, Lydia, when shall we meet again?" " Not these two or three years, perhaps." "Not these two or three years." "Oh, what shall I do?" "And Mr Bennet is so cruel as to refuse to take us into the North Country!" " I should refuse to go in any case." " Hold your tongue, girl!" "Oh, Lydia!" "You will write to me often, won't you?" "I don't know." "We married women don't have much time for writing." "My sisters may write to me." "They will have nothing better to do." " Oh, Lydia!" "Mr Wickham, take care of my girl!" " I shall, ma'am, to the very best of my ability." "And thank you, ma'am, and to you, sir, for your continued kindness and hospitality." "And to you, my dear sisters-in-law." "And now as dear to me as sisters ever could be." "But, the carriage awaits." "Duty and honour call me to the North." "So, come, my dear!" "Let us say not farewell, but as the French have it:" "Au revoir!" "He's as fine a fellow as ever I saw!" "He simpers and smirks, and makes love to us all." "I am prodigiously proud of him." "I defy even Sir William Lucas to produce such a son-in-law." "(MRS PHILIPS):" "Sister!" "Sister!" "Have you heard the news?" "Mr Bingley is coming back to Netherfield, and the whole town is talking about it!" "I do assure you, this news does not affect me, truly, Lizzy." "I am glad of one thing." "That he doesn't bring any ladies." "If it is merely a shooting party, we shall not see him often." "Not that I am afraid of myself..." "but I dread other people's remarks, Lizzy." "Then I shall venture none..." "however sorely I am tempted." "It is hard that the man can't come to a house he's legally rented, without raising all this speculation." "That is just what I think." " Then we shall leave him to himself." " Yes." "Stop it, Lizzy." "Three days he has been in the neighbourhood, and still he shuns us!" "I say it's all your father's fault!" "He would not do his duty and call, so you shall die old maids, and we shall be turned out by the Collinses to starve in the hedgerows!" "You promised last year that if I went to see him, he'd marry one of my daughters, but it all came to nothing." "I won't be sent on a fool's errand again!" "Mamma!" "Mamma, look!" "I think he is coming!" "Is it really him?" "I believe it must be!" "He is come, Jane!" "He is come at last." " Put on your blue gown." "No, stay where you are!" " (KITTY):" "Who's with him?" "I don't know, dear." "Some acquaintance, I suppose!" "It looks like that man who used to be with him before." "Mr..." "You know, that tall proud one." "(MOTHER):" "Mr Darcy!" "I believe it is." "Well, any friend of Mr Bingley's will always be welcome here, to be sure." "But I must say I hate the sight of him!" "But I am determined to be civil." "If only because the man is a friend of Bingley's, but no more than civil." "Sit up straight, Jane!" "Pull your shoulders back." "A man could go a long way without seeing a figure like yours, if you'd make the most of it." "Mr Bingley and Mr Darcy, ma'am." " Mr Bingley, you are very, very welcome." " How do you do, Mrs Bennet." "I..." "It's far too long since you were here, and very kind of you to call." "Mr Bennet, of course, would have paid his addresses before this, were it not..." "Well, here you are!" "I am delighted!" "And Mr Darcy, you are welcome, too." "(MOTHER):" "We began to be afraid you would never come back." "People did say, you meant to quit the place by Michaelmas, but I hope that is not true." "Ring the bell for tea, Kitty." "A great many changes have taken place since you went away." "Miss Lucas is married." "And one of my own daughters!" " You've heard of it or read it in the papers?" " Yes, indeed..." "It was not put in properly." "It only said: "Lately, George Wickham, Esq. to Miss Lydia Bennet", without a syllable said about who her father was, or where she lived!" "Now they are gone to Newcastle, and there they are to stay." "I don't know how long." "I expect you've heard he's gone into the regulars." "Thank Heaven he has some friends, though perhaps not as many as he deserves!" "Do you mean to stay long in the neighbourhood on this visit?" "Our plans are not yet firmly settled, but I hope, I hope we shall stay some weeks." "I hope very much we shall stay a few weeks." " At the very least." " (MOTHER):" "When you've killed your own birds," "I beg you would come here and shoot as many as you please on Mr Bennet's manor." "I'm sure he'll be happy to oblige you!" "I suppose you may bring your friends, if you will." "(JANE):" "Now that this first meeting is over, I feel at ease." "Good!" "Now I know my own strength, and I shall never again be embarrassed by his coming." "We shall be able to meet now as..." "common and indifferent acquaintances." "Yes, very indifferent!" "Jane, take care." "Don't think me to be in any danger now, Lizzy." "I think you are in very great danger of making him as much in love with you as ever." "You tell me now that she was in London all those months?" "And you concealed it from me?" "Yes." "I can offer no justification." "It was an arrogant presumption, based on a failure to recognise your true feelings and Miss Bennet's." "I should never have interfered." "It was wrong of me, Bingley, and I apologise." " You admit that you were in the wrong?" " Utterly and completely." "Then..." "I have you blessing?" "Do you need my blessing?" "No." "But I should like to know I have it all the same." "Then go to it." "Bring me my horse at once." "Quick, man!" "(MOTHER):" "Jane!" "Jane!" "Oh, my dear Jane!" " Mamma, what's the matter?" " He is come!" " Who is come?" " Mr Bingley, of course!" "Make haste, make haste, hurry down!" "Oh, gracious, you are not half dressed!" "Hill!" "Hill!" "Oh, where is Hill?" "Never mind, Sarah." "You must come to Miss Bennet this moment!" " Come along and help her on with her gown!" " Mamma!" "Mamma!" "Where is my new locket that Lydia brought me?" "Mary, have you seen it?" "I shouldn't know it if I saw it." "I care nothing for such baubles." "Oh, never mind your locket, girl!" "Jane, stir yourself." "He is here, he is here!" "We will be down as soon as we can." "Let Kitty go down, she is forwarder." "Hang Kitty!" "What has she to do with it?" "Jane, be quick!" "Where is your muslin dress?" "(MOTHER):" "Hill!" "Hill!" "Where is Hill?" " So Mr Darcy is gone to town?" " Yes, ma'am." "He left quite early this morning." "What's the matter, mamma?" "Why do you keep winking at me?" " What am I to do?" " Wink at you?" "Why should I wink at you, child?" "What a notion!" "Why should I be winking at my own daughter, pray?" "But now you ask, it puts me in mind." "I do have something I would speak to you about." "Come, come with me." "And you, Mary." "Come!" "Miss Elizabeth... (HILL):" "You're needed upstairs." "Please let me go to Jane." "I promised I would stay with her." "Stay where you are." "Five more minutes will do the trick." " Oh, I am so sorry." " No." "No, don't go, Lizzy." "(BINGLEY WHISPERS SOMETHING INAUDIBLE)" "Well?" "Oh, Lizzy!" "I'm so happy!" "It is too much!" "It is too much!" "Why can't everyone be as happy as I am?" "He loves me, Lizzy." "He loves me!" "Of course he does!" "He told me he loved me all the time." "He didn't believe..." "I must tell mamma." "He is gone to papa already!" "Oh, Lizzy, could you believe things would end in this happy way?" " I could, and I do!" " I must go to my mother." "Oh, Lizzy!" "To know I shall be giving such pleasure to all my dear family!" "How shall I bear so much happiness?" "Come back tomorrow, sir, if you can bear to." "Come and shoot with me, if you will." "There are few men whose society I can tolerate well." "I believe you may be one of them." " Thank you, sir." "I shall be very happy to." " Very well, very well." "Get along with you." "Till tomorrow, then!" "Jane, congratulations." "You will be a very happy woman." "Thank you, father." " I believe I shall." " Well, well, you're a good girl." "I've no doubt you'll do very well together." "You're each of you so complying that nothing will ever be resolved on." " Papa!" " So easy that every servant will cheat you!" " No, indeed!" " So generous that you will exceed your income." "Exceed their income!" "What are you talking about?" "Don't you know that he has 5,000 a year?" "!" "Oh, my dear, dear Jane!" "I am so happy!" "Oh, I knew how it would be!" "I was sure you could not be so beautiful for nothing." "He is the handsomest man that was ever seen!" "Oh, Lizzy." "If only I could see you as happy." "If there were only such another man for you." "If you were to give me forty such men... ..I could never be as happy as you." "Till I have your goodness, I can never have your happiness." "But... perhaps if I have very good luck," "I may in time meet with another Mr Collins!" "Mamma, Lizzy, come and look!" "The most enormous carriage has arrived." "(LADY CATHERINE):" "What an extremely small hall!" "(HILL):" "If you'll wait here, your ladyship, I'll tell my mistress you're here." "(LADY CATHERINE):" "No, I will not wait!" "(LADY CATHERINE):" "Where is she?" "Is this the drawing-room?" "Lady Catherine de Bourgh." "That lady, I suppose, is your mother." "Yes, she is." "Mamma, this is Lady Catherine de Bourgh." "And that, I suppose, is one of your sisters." "Yes, ma'am." "She is my youngest girl but one." "My youngest of all is lately married." "You have a very small park here." "And this must be a most inconvenient sitting-room for the evening in summer." "Why, the windows are full west." "Indeed, they are, your ladyship, but we never sit in here after dinner." " We have..." " Miss Bennet." "There seemed to be a prettyish kind of little wilderness on one side of your lawn." "I should be glad to take a turn in it..." "if you would favour me with your company." "You can be at no loss to understand the reason for my journey, Miss Bennet." "You are mistaken, madam." "I'm quite unable to account for the honour of seeing you here." "Miss Bennet, you ought to know I am not to be trifled with." "But however insincere you choose to be, you shall not find me so." "A report of an alarming nature reached me two days ago." "I was told, not only that your sister was to be most advantageously married, but that you, Miss Elizabeth Bennet, would be soon afterwards united to my nephew Mr Darcy!" "Though I know it must be a scandalous falsehood," "I instantly resolved on setting off for this place, to make my sentiments known to you." "If you believed it to be impossible, I wonder what your ladyship would propose by coming here?" "At once to insist upon having such a report universally contradicted!" "Your coming to Longbourn will be taken as a confirmation of it, if such a report exists." "This is not to be borne." "Miss Bennet, I insist on being satisfied!" " Has my nephew made you an offer of marriage?" " Your ladyship declared it to be impossible." "It ought to be so, but your arts and allurements may have made him forget what he owes to himself and the family." " You may have drawn him in!" " If I had, I should be the last to confess it." "Miss Bennet, do you know who I am?" "I have not been accustomed to such language as this." "I am almost the nearest relation he has, and I am entitled to know all his nearest concerns." "But not to know mine, nor will such behaviour as this induce me to be explicit." "Let me be rightly understood." "This match, to which you have the presumption to aspire, can never take place." "Mr Darcy is engaged to my daughter." "Now, what have you to say?" "Only this: that if he is so, you can have no reason to suppose he'll make an offer to me." "The engagement between them is of a peculiar kind." "From their infancy they have been intended for each other." "It was the favourite wish of his mother as well as hers." "While she was in her cradle, we planned the union." "And now to be prevented by the upstart pretensions of a young woman without family, connections or fortune?" "Is this to be endured?" "It shall not be!" "Your alliance would be a disgrace!" "Your name would never even be mentioned by any of us." "These would be heavy misfortunes, indeed." "Obstinate, headstrong girl!" "I am ashamed of you." "I have not been in the habit of brooking disappointment!" "That will make your ladyship's situation at present more pitiable, but it will have no effect on me." "I will not be interrupted!" "If you were sensible, you would not wish to quit the sphere in which you have been brought up!" "Lady Catherine, in marrying your nephew I should not consider myself as quitting that sphere." "He's a gentleman, I'm a gentleman's daughter." "So far we are equal." "But who was your mother?" "Your uncles and aunts?" "Do not imagine me ignorant of their condition." "If your nephew does not object to my connections, they can be nothing to you." "Tell me once and for all, are you engaged to him?" "I am not." "And will you promise me never to enter into such an engagement?" "I will make no promise of the kind, and I beg you not to importune me any further on the subject." "Not so hasty, if you please!" "I have another objection." "Your youngest sister's infamous elopement." "I know it all!" "Is such a girl to be my nephew's sister-in-law?" "Are the shades of Pemberley to be thus polluted?" "You can have nothing further to say." "You have insulted me by every possible method." "I must beg to return to the house." "You have no regard then, for the honour and credit of my nephew?" "Unfeeling, selfish girl!" "You refuse to oblige me?" "You refuse the claims of duty, honour, gratitude?" "You are determined to ruin him, and make him the contempt of the world!" "I am only resolved to act in a manner which will constitute my own happiness, without reference to you, or to any person so wholly unconnected with me." "And this is your final resolve?" "Very well." "I shall know how to act!" "I take no leave of you, Miss Bennet." "I send no compliments to your mother." "You deserve no such attention." "I am most seriously displeased." "Drive on!" "Lizzy, Lizzy!" "I was going to look for you." "Come into my room." "I received a letter this morning, which has astonished me exceedingly." " From Mr Collins." " What can he have to say?" "He begins with congratulations on the approaching nuptials of my eldest daughter, but I shan't sport with your intelligence by reading his remarks on that topic." "Ah, yes." "Here, here, here." ""Your daughter Elizabeth, it is presumed, will not long bear the name of Bennet,"" ""after her elder sister has resigned it, and the chosen partner of her fate"" ""may be reasonably looked up to as one of the most illustrious personages in the land."" "Can you guess who he means, Lizzy?" "Now it comes out." ""My motive for cautioning you is as follows:"" ""his aunt, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, does not look on the match with a friendly eye."" "Mr Darcy, you see, is the man." "Mr Darcy of all men!" "Who never looks at a woman except to see a blemish!" "Are you not diverted?" "Yes." "Mr Darcy, who probably never looked at you in his life before!" "This is admirable!" "But Lizzy, you look as if you didn't enjoy it." "You're not going to be Missish now, and pretend to be affronted by an idle report?" "Oh, no, I am excessively diverted." "It's all so strange." "What said Lady Catherine de Bourgh?" "I suppose she came to refuse her consent?" "What do we live for, but to make sport for our neighbours and laugh at them in our turn?" "True, true." "Mr Bingley and Mr Darcy, ma'am." " Good day to you!" " Mr Bingley." "(BINGLEY):" "This is a fine day." "Should we perhaps all walk to Meryton?" "(KITTY):" "Lizzy!" "Do you mind if I run to call on Maria Lucas?" "No, not at all." "Mr Darcy." "I can go no longer without thanking you for your kindness to my poor sister." "Ever since I have known of it, I've been most anxious to tell you how grateful I am, for my family and for myself." "You must not blame my aunt for telling me." "Lydia betrayed it first, and then I couldn't rest till I knew everything." "I know what trouble and what mortification it must have cost you." "Please let me say this, please allow me to thank you, on behalf of all my family, since they don't know to whom they are indebted." "If you will thank me, let it be for yourself alone." "Your family owes me nothing." "As much as I respect them, I believe I thought only of you." "You're too generous to trifle with me." "If your feelings are what they were last April, tell me so." "My affections and wishes are unchanged." "But one word from you will silence me on this subject forever." "Oh, my feelings..." "My feelings are..." "I am ashamed to remember what I said then." "My feelings are so different." "In fact, they are quite the opposite." "Lady Catherine told me of her meeting with you." "I may say that her disclosure had quite the opposite effect to the one she had intended." "It taught me to hope, that I had scarcely ever allowed myself to hope before." "Had you absolutely decided against me, you would have acknowledged it openly." "Yes, you know enough of my frankness to believe me capable of that!" "After abusing you so to your face, I could have no scruple in abusing you to all your relations." "What did you say of me that I did not deserve?" "My behaviour at the time was unpardonable." "I can hardly think of it without abhorrence." "Your reproof I shall never forget." ""Had you behaved in a more gentleman-like manner"." " How those words have tortured me!" " I had no idea of their being taken such a way." "I can easily believe it." "You thought me devoid of every proper feeling, I am sure." "The turn of your countenance I shall never forget." "You said I could not have addressed you in any way that would have induced you to accept me." "Do not repeat what I said then!" "No, I have been a selfish being all my life." "As a child I was given good principles, but was left to follow them in pride and conceit." "And such I might still have been, but for you." "Dearest, loveliest Elizabeth!" "(JANE):" "Engaged to Mr Darcy!" "No, you are joking." "It is impossible!" "This is a wretched beginning!" "If you don't believe me, I'm sure no one else will." "Indeed, I am in earnest." "He still loves me, and we are engaged." "It can't be true." "I know how much you dislike him!" "No, it is all forgotten!" "Perhaps I didn't always love him as well as I do now." "But... in such cases as these a good memory is unpardonable." "Dearest Lizzy, do be serious." " How long have you loved him?" " It's been coming on so gradually, I hardly know." "But I believe I must date it from my first seeing his beautiful grounds at Pemberley!" "Lizzy!" "Are you out of your senses to be accepting this man, Lizzy?" "Have you not always hated him?" " Papa..." " I've given him my consent." "He's the kind of man, indeed, to whom I should never dare refuse anything." "But let me advise you to think the better of it." "I know your disposition, Lizzy." "My child, let me not have the grief of seeing you unable to respect your partner in life." "He is rich, but will he make you happy?" "Have you objections apart from your belief in my indifference?" "None whatever." "We all know him to be a proud, unpleasant sort of man, but this would be nothing if you really liked him." "I do." "I do like him." "I love him." "Indeed, he has no improper pride." "He is perfectly amiable." "If you only knew his generous nature." "I didn't always love him, but I love him now so very dearly." "He is truly the best man I have ever known." "Well, my dear, if this be the case, he deserves you." "I could not have parted with you to anyone less worthy, Lizzy." "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here in the sight of God, and in the face of this congregation, to join together this man and this woman..." "..and this man and this woman in holy matrimony, which is an honourable estate, instituted by God in the time of man's innocency, signifying unto us the mystical union that is between Christ and His church," "and therefore is not by any to be enterprised lightly, or wantonly, to satisfy man's carnal lusts and appetites, but reverently, discreetly, advisedly, soberly, and in the fear of God, duly considering the causes for which matrimony was ordained." "First, it was ordained for the procreation of children." "Secondly, as a remedy against sin, and to avoid fornication." "Thirdly, for the mutual society, help and comfort that the one ought to have of the other, both in prosperity and adversity, into which holy estate these persons present come now to be joined." "Three daughters married!" " Oh, Mr Bennet, God has been very good to us!" " Yes, so it would seem."