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Chapter XXIII · Pride and Prejudice | Audiobook

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  Speaker 1: Chapter 23 Elizabeth was sitting with her mother and sisters,
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  Speaker 1: reflecting on what she had heard, and doubting whether she
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  Speaker 1: was authorised to mention it, when Sir William Lucas himself appeared,
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  Speaker 1: sent by his daughter to announce her engagement to the family.
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  Speaker 1: With many compliments to them, and much self-gratulation on the
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  Speaker 1: prospect of a connection between the houses, he unfolded the matter.
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  Speaker 1: to an audience not merely wondering, but incredulous. For Mrs. Bennet,
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  Speaker 1: with more perseverance than politeness, protested he must be entirely mistaken,
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  Speaker 1: and Lydia, always unguarded and often uncivil, boisterously exclaimed, Good Lord!
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  Speaker 1: Sir William, how can you tell such a story? Do
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  Speaker 1: not you know that Mr. Collins wants to marry Lizzie?
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  Speaker 1: Nothing less than the complacence of a courtier could have
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  Speaker 1: borne without anger such treatment. But Sir William's good breeding
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  Speaker 1: carried him through it all, and though he begged leave
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  Speaker 1: to be positive as to the truth of his information,
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  Speaker 1: he listened to all their impertinence with the most forbearing courtesy.
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  Speaker 1: ELIZABETH feeling it incumbent on her to relieve him from
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  Speaker 1: so unpleasant a situation, now put herself forward to confirm
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  Speaker 1: his account by mentioning her prior knowledge of it from
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  Speaker 1: Charlotte herself, and endeavoured to put a stop to the
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  Speaker 1: exclamations of her mother and sisters by the earnestness of
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  Speaker 1: her congratulations to Sir William, in which she was readily
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  Speaker 1: joined by Jane. and by making a variety of remarks
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  Speaker 1: on the happiness that might be expected from the match,
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  Speaker 1: the excellent character of Mr Collins, and the convenient distance
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  Speaker 1: of Hunsford from London. Mrs Bennet was, in fact, too
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  Speaker 1: much overpowered to say a great deal while Sir William remained,
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  Speaker 1: but no sooner had he left them than her feelings
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  Speaker 1: found a rapid vent. In the first place, she persisted
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  Speaker 1: in disbelieving the whole of the matter. Secondly, she was
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  Speaker 1: very sure that Mr Collins had been taken in. Thirdly,
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  Speaker 1: she trusted that they would never be happy together. And fourthly,
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  Speaker 1: that the match might be broken off. Two inferences, however,
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  Speaker 1: were plainly deduced from the whole. One, that Elizabeth was
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  Speaker 1: the real cause of all the mischief, and the other,
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  Speaker 1: that she herself had been barbarously used by them all.
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  Speaker 1: And on these two points, she principally dwelt during the
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  Speaker 1: rest of the day. Nothing could console and nothing appease her.
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  Speaker 1: Nor did that day wear out her resentment. A week
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  Speaker 1: elapsed before she could see Elizabeth without scolding her. A
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  Speaker 1: month passed away before she could speak to Sir William
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  Speaker 1: or Lady Lucas without being rude. and many months were
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  Speaker 1: gone before she could at all forgive their daughter. Mr.
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  Speaker 1: Bennet's emotions were much more tranquil on the occasion, and
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  Speaker 1: such as he did experience, he pronounced to be of
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  Speaker 1: a most agreeable sort. For it gratified him, he said,
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  Speaker 1: to discover that Charlotte Lucas, whom he had been used
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  Speaker 1: to think tolerably sensible, was as foolish as his wife.
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  Speaker 1: and more foolish than his daughter. Jane confessed herself a
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  Speaker 1: little surprised at the match, but she said less of
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  Speaker 1: her astonishment than of her earnest desire for their happiness.
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  Speaker 1: Nor could Elizabeth persuade her to consider it as improbable.
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  Speaker 1: Kitty and Lydia were far from envying Miss Lucas, for
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  Speaker 1: Mr Collins was only a clergyman, and it affected them
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  Speaker 1: in no other way than as a piece of news
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  Speaker 1: to spread at Meryton. Lady Lucas could not be insensible
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  Speaker 1: of triumph on being able to retort on Mrs Bennet
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  Speaker 1: the comfort of having a daughter well married, and she
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  Speaker 1: called at Longbourn, rather oftener than usual, to say how
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  Speaker 1: happy she was. Though Mrs Bennet's sour looks and ill-natured
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  Speaker 1: remarks might have been enough to drive happiness away. Between
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  Speaker 1: Elizabeth and Charlotte, there was a restraint which kept them
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  Speaker 1: mutually silent on the subject, and Elizabeth felt persuaded that
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  Speaker 1: no real confidence could ever subsist between them again. Her
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  Speaker 1: disappointment in Charlotte made her turn with fonder regard to
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  Speaker 1: her sister. of whose rectitude and delicacy she was sure
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  Speaker 1: her opinion could never be shaken, and for whose happiness
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  Speaker 1: she grew daily more anxious, as Bingley had now been
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  Speaker 1: gone a week, and nothing was heard of his return.
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  Speaker 1: Jane had sent Caroline an early answer to her letter,
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  Speaker 1: and was counting the days till she might reasonably hope
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  Speaker 1: to hear again. The promised letter of thanks from Mr.
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  Speaker 1: Collins arrived on Tuesday, addressed to their father, and written
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  Speaker 1: with all the solemnity of gratitude which a twelve months
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  Speaker 1: abode in the family might have prompted. After discharging his
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  Speaker 1: conscience on that head, he proceeded to inform them, with
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  Speaker 1: many rapturous expressions, of his happiness in having obtained the
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  Speaker 1: affection of their amiable neighbour, Miss Lucas. and then explained
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  Speaker 1: that it was merely with the view of enjoying her
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  Speaker 1: society that he had been so ready to close with
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  Speaker 1: their kind wish of seeing him again at Longbourn, whither
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  Speaker 1: he hoped to be able to return on Monday fortnight.
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  Speaker 1: For Lady Catherine, he added, so heartily approved his marriage
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  Speaker 1: that she wished it to take place as soon as possible.
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  Speaker 1: which he trusted would be an unanswerable argument with his
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  Speaker 1: amiable Charlotte to name an early day for making him
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  Speaker 1: the happiest of men. Mr Collins's return into Hertfordshire was
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  Speaker 1: no longer a matter of pleasure to Mrs Bennet. On
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  Speaker 1: the contrary, she was as much disposed to complain of
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  Speaker 1: it as her husband. It was very strange that he
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  Speaker 1: should come to Longbourn instead of to Lucas Lodge. It
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  Speaker 1: was also very inconvenient, and exceedingly troublesome. She hated having
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  Speaker 1: visitors in the house, while her health was so indifferent,
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  Speaker 1: and lovers were of all people the most disagreeable. Such
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  Speaker 1: were the gentle murmurs of Mrs. Bennet, and they gave
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  Speaker 1: way only to the greater distress of Mr. Bingley's continued absence.
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  Speaker 1: Neither Jane nor Elizabeth were comfortable on this subject. Day
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  Speaker 1: after day passed away, without bringing any other tidings of
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  Speaker 1: him than the report which shortly prevailed in Meryton of
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  Speaker 1: his coming no more to Netherfield the whole winter. A
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  Speaker 1: report which highly incensed Mrs. Bennet, and which she never
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  Speaker 1: failed to contradict as a most scandalous falsehood. Even Elizabeth
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  Speaker 1: began to fear. not that Bingley was indifferent, but that
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  Speaker 1: his sisters would be successful in keeping him away. Unwilling
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  Speaker 1: as she was to admit an idea so destructive to
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  Speaker 1: Jane's happiness, and so dishonourable to the stability of her lover,
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  Speaker 1: she could not prevent its frequently recurring. The united efforts
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  Speaker 1: of his two unfeeling sisters, and of his overpowering friend,
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  Speaker 1: assisted by the attractions of Miss Darcy and the amusements
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  Speaker 1: of London, might be too much, she feared, for the
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  Speaker 1: strength of his attachment. As for Jane, her anxiety under
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  Speaker 1: this suspense was, of course, more painful than Elizabeth's. But
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  Speaker 1: whatever she felt she was desirous of concealing, and between
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  Speaker 1: herself and Elizabeth, therefore, the subject was never alluded to.
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  Speaker 1: But as no such delicacy restrained her mother, an hour
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  Speaker 1: seldom passed in which she did not talk of Bingley,
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  Speaker 1: express her impatience for his arrival, or even require Jane
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  Speaker 1: to confess that if he did not come back, she
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  Speaker 1: should think herself very ill-used. It needed all Jane's steady
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  Speaker 1: mildness to bear these attacks with tolerable tranquillity. Mr Collins
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  Speaker 1: returned most punctually on the Monday fortnight. but his reception
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  Speaker 1: at Longbourn was not quite so gracious as it had
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  Speaker 1: been on his first introduction. He was too happy, however,
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  Speaker 1: to need much attention, and, luckily for the others, the
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  Speaker 1: business of lovemaking relieved them from a great deal of
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  Speaker 1: his company. The chief of every day was spent by
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  Speaker 1: him at Lucas Lodge, and he sometimes returned to Longbourn
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  Speaker 1: only in time to make an apology for his absence.
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  Speaker 1: before the family went to bed. Mrs Bennet was really
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  Speaker 1: in a most pitiable state. The very mention of anything
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  Speaker 1: concerning the match threw her into an agony of ill humour,
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  Speaker 1: and wherever she went, she was sure of hearing it
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  Speaker 1: talked of. The sight of Miss Lucas was odious to her.
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  Speaker 1: As her successor in that house, she regarded her with
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  Speaker 1: jealous abhorrence. Whenever Charlotte came to see them, she concluded
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  Speaker 1: her to be anticipating the hour of possession. And whenever
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  Speaker 1: she spoke in a low voice to Mr Collins, was
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  Speaker 1: convinced that they were talking of the Longbourn estate. and
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  Speaker 1: resolving to turn herself and her daughters out of the
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  Speaker 1: house as soon as Mr. Bennet was dead. She complained
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  Speaker 1: bitterly of all this to her husband. Indeed, Mr. Bennet,
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  Speaker 1: said she, it is very hard to think that Charlotte
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  Speaker 1: Lucas should ever be mistress of this house, that I
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  Speaker 1: should be forced to make way for her, and live
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  Speaker 1: to see her take my place in it. My dear,
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  Speaker 1: do not give way to such gloomy thoughts. Let us
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  Speaker 1: hope for better things. Let us flatter ourselves that I
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  Speaker 1: may be the survivor. This was not very consoling to Mrs. Bennet,
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  Speaker 1: and therefore, instead of making any answer, she went on
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  Speaker 1: as before. I cannot bear to think that they should
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  Speaker 1: have all this estate. If it was not for the entail,
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  Speaker 1: I should not mind it. What should not you mind?
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  Speaker 1: I should not mind anything at all. Let us be
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  Speaker 1: thankful that you are preserved from a state of such insensibility.
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  Speaker 1: I never can be thankful, Mr. Bennet, for anything about
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  Speaker 1: the entail. How anyone could have the conscience to entail
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  Speaker 1: away an estate from one's own daughters, I cannot understand,
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  Speaker 1: and all for the sake of Mr. Collins, too. Why
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  Speaker 1: should he have it more than anybody else? I leave
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  Speaker 1: it to yourself to determine, said Mr. Bennet.