the fire, lest she should suffer from the change of room; and she removed at his desire to the
other side of the fireplace, that she might be further from the door. He then sat down by her, and
talked scarcely to anyone else. Elizabeth, at work in the opposite corner, saw it all with great
delight.
40
When tea was over, Mr. Hurst reminded his sister-in-law of the card-table—but in vain. She had
obtained private intelligence that Mr. Darcy did not wish for cards; and Mr. Hurst soon found
even his open petition rejected. She assured him that no one intended to play, and the silence of
the whole party on the subject seemed to justify her. Mr. Hurst had therefore nothing to do, but
to stretch himself on one of the sofas and go to sleep. Darcy took up a book; Miss Bingley did
the same; and Mrs. Hurst, principally occupied in playing with her bracelets and rings, joined
now and then in her brother's conversation with Miss Bennet.
Miss Bingley's attention was quite as much engaged in watching Mr. Darcy's progress through
HIS book, as in reading her own; and she was perpetually either making some inquiry, or
looking at his page. She could not win him, however, to any conversation; he merely answered
her question, and read on. At length, quite exhausted by the attempt to be amused with her own
book, which she had only chosen because it was the second volume of his, she gave a great yawn
and said, "How pleasant it is to spend an evening in this way! I declare after all there is no
enjoyment like reading! How much sooner one tires of anything than of a book! When I have a
house of my own, I shall be miserable if I have not an excellent library."
No one made any reply. She then yawned again, threw aside her book, and cast her eyes round
the room in quest for some amusement; when hearing her brother mentioning a ball to Miss
Bennet, she turned suddenly towards him and said:
"By the bye, Charles, are you really serious in meditating a dance at Netherfield? I would advise
you, before you determine on it, to consult the wishes of the present party; I am much mistaken
if there are not some among us to whom a ball would be rather a punishment than a pleasure."
"If you mean Darcy," cried her brother, "he may go to bed, if he chooses, before it begins—but
as for the ball, it is quite a settled thing; and as soon as Nicholls has made white soup enough, I
shall send round my cards."
"I should like balls infinitely better," she replied, "if they were carried on in a different manner;
but there is something insufferably tedious in the usual process of such a meeting. It would
surely be much more rational if conversation instead of dancing were made the order of the day."
"Much more rational, my dear Caroline, I dare say, but it would not be near so much like a ball."
Miss Bingley made no answer, and soon afterwards she got up and walked about the room. Her
figure was elegant, and she walked well; but Darcy, at whom it was all aimed, was still inflexibly
41
studious. In the desperation of her feelings, she resolved on one effort more, and, turning to
Elizabeth, said:
"Miss Eliza Bennet, let me persuade you to follow my example, and take a turn about the room. I
assure you it is very refreshing after sitting so long in one attitude."
Elizabeth was surprised, but agreed to it immediately. Miss Bingley succeeded no less in the real
object of her civility; Mr. Darcy looked up. He was as much awake to the novelty of attention in
that quarter as Elizabeth herself could be, and unconsciously closed his book. He was directly
invited to join their party, but he declined it, observing that he could imagine but two motives for
their choosing to walk up and down the room together, with either of which motives his joining
them would interfere. "What could he mean? She was dying to know what could be his
meaning?"—and asked Elizabeth whether she could at all understand him?
"Not at all," was her answer; "but depend upon it, he means to be severe on us, and our surest
way of disappointing him will be to ask nothing about it."
Miss Bingley, however, was incapable of disappointing Mr. Darcy in anything, and persevered
therefore in requiring an explanation of his two motives.
"I have not the smallest objection to explaining them," said he, as soon as she allowed him to
speak. "You either choose this method of passing the evening because you are in each other's
confidence, and have secret affairs to discuss, or because you are conscious that your figures
appear to the greatest advantage in walking; if the first, I would be completely in your way, and
if the second, I can admire you much better as I sit by the fire."
"Oh! shocking!" cried Miss Bingley. "I never heard anything so abominable. How shall we
punish him for such a speech?"
"Nothing so easy, if you have but the inclination," said Elizabeth. "We can all plague and punish
one another. Tease him—laugh at him. Intimate as you are, you must know how it is to be done."
"But upon my honour, I do NOT. I do assure you that my intimacy has not yet taught me THAT.
Tease calmness of manner and presence of mind! No, no—feel he may defy us there. And as to
laughter, we will not expose ourselves, if you please, by attempting to laugh without a subject.
Mr. Darcy may hug himself."
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"Mr. Darcy is not to be laughed at!" cried Elizabeth. "That is an uncommon advantage, and
uncommon I hope it will continue, for it would be a great loss to ME to have many such
acquaintances. I dearly love a laugh."
"Miss Bingley," said he, "has given me more credit than can be. The wisest and the best of men
—nay, the wisest and best of their actions—may be rendered ridiculous by a person whose first
object in life is a joke."
"Certainly," replied Elizabeth—"there are such people, but I hope I am not one of THEM. I hope
I never ridicule what is wise and good. Follies and nonsense, whims and inconsistencies, DO
divert me, I own, and I laugh at them whenever I can. But these, I suppose, are precisely what
you are without."
"Perhaps that is not possible for anyone. But it has been the study of my life to avoid those
weaknesses which often expose a strong understanding to ridicule."
"Such as vanity and pride."
"Yes, vanity is a weakness indeed. But pride—where there is a real superiority of mind, pride
will be always under good regulation."
Elizabeth turned away to hide a smile.
"Your examination of Mr. Darcy is over, I presume," said Miss Bingley; "and pray what is the
result?"
"I am perfectly convinced by it that Mr. Darcy has no defect. He owns it himself without
disguise."
"No," said Darcy, "I have made no such pretension. I have faults enough, but they are not, I