Pride and Prejudice Page #9

what drove him out again.

He liked the landscape

well enough

but the natives, Col. Fitzwilliam,

the natives!

What boors! What savages!

Utterly insupportable!

Isn't that so, Mr. Darcy?

It evidently amuses you

to think so, Miss Elizabeth.

Miss Bennet! Come here.

Mrs. Collins,

go and talk to your husband.

I wish to speak to Miss Bennet.

Yes, Lady Catherine.

Be seated.

Have you any accomplishments,

Miss Bennet?

Accomplishments!

Well, I - don't know

whether Mr. Darcy

would think I had.

Do you sing and play?

A little.

You should perform for us

one day.

Our instrument here is one

of the best in the country.

You have several sisters,

I understand.

Four.

Four. No brothers?

None, unfortunately for us.

Ah, yes. Your father's estate

is entailed to Mr. Collins,

I believe.

It is.

For Mrs. Collins's sake,

I'm glad of it.

Otherwise, I see no occasion

for entailing estates away

from the female line.

When you marry, Darcy,

don't make that mistake.

It was never made in

Sir Louis de Bourgh's family.

Anne, as you know,

is the sole heiress.

Do you draw, Miss Bennet?

No, Lady Catherine.

What? None of you?

Not one of us.

But, how strange! Why didn't

your governess see to that?

We never had a governess.

No governess? I have never heard

such a thing!

Miss Bennet seems to have got on

very well without one,

Aunt Catherine.

Don't talk nonsense, Darcy!

Are there any of your younger

sisters out in the society?

All of them.

All?! How very odd!

Really, Lady Catherine,

I think it would be very hard

on younger sisters to be kept

without society or amusement

until the elder ones

were married.

It would hardly promote

sisterly affection

or even delicacy of mind.

Upon my word, Miss Bennet!

You express your opinions

very decidedly.

Miss Bennet is nothing

if not decided, Aunt Catherine.

Dinner is served, milady!

Come. I hate cold soup.

Your arm, Fitzwilliam.

May I be allowed to continue your

interrogations during dinner.

There are so many things

I should like to find out.

That seems to be

a family failing, sir.

No, Darcy. You are

to take Anne into dinner.

Mr. Collins will take Miss Bennet.

I'm afraid you'll have to

go in alone, Mrs. Collins.

Mr. Darcy's sister, Georgiana,

is a very accomplished musician.

And, I, too, should have been

a great proficient,

if I'd ever learned.

You would have been proficient

in anything, Lady Catherine.

So would Anne.

That goes without saying.

Darcy.

Do come here.

Sit down. Sit down.

I was just telling Mrs. Collins

how exquisitely dear Anne

would have played

if I had permitted her to study.

I don't doubt it.

Your dear mother

was so fond of Anne.

Yes, I know.

"You have an only daughter",

she would say to me,

"and, I have an only son."

"It's just the Providence that

created them for one another.",

she used to say.

Incredible!

- Ah, I-I mean, exactly.

Ah, I-I mean, excuse me.

Oh, don't stop, Miss Elizabeth.

That was charming!

Isn't that

the right time to stop

when people still think

you're charming?

If I went on, you might

change your mind.

Ah-eh, Miss Bennet.

I'm summoned.

That was quite creditable,

my dear.

Miss Bennet wouldn't play at all

badly if she practised more.

Practice, Miss Bennet. Practice.

You can't do enough of it.

Mrs. Collins has no pianoforte,

of course,

but, you're - you're very welcome

to practice here everyday.

Oh! Thank you, Lady Catherine!

There's a very fair instrument

in the housekeeper's room,

you'll disturb no one there.

You are really too gracious,

Lady Catherine,

but, I shouldn't care

to disturb the housekeeper.

I protest, Aunt Catherine!

Why talk of practising when

Miss Bennet should be playing?

Come, Miss Bennet! I insist

on your favoring us again.

There is, needless to say,

a rich assortment of music here.

My aunt means quite kindly,

Miss Elizabeth.

Her manner is sometimes

a little unfortunate.

Having already met you,

I was happily prepared

for your aunt's manner.

Lizzie, Mr. Darcy is in the study.

He's been waiting for you

for nearly an hour.

Let him wait!

I don't want to see him.

I never want to see him again.

Lizzie, what's happened?

What's come over you?

Do you want to know

the real reason

why Mr. Bingley left Netherfield

for London?

His High Mightiness, Mr. Darcy!

But, I thought

it was Caroline Bingley!

She was only half the reason.

I just heard about it by chance

this very moment

from Col. Fitzwilliam.

Col. Fitzwilliam?!

Of course, he didn't know

I was Jane's sister.

He was just holding forth

about the virtues

of his precious cousin!

Telling me how unselfish he was,

and, about the amount of trouble

he'd gone to

to save his friend Bingley

from an impossible marriage!

Oh!

You can tell your Mr. Darcy

that I am not at home!

But, he must

have seen you come in.

I can't tell him that.

After all,

he is Lady Catherine's nephew.

Lizzie, for - my sake.

Very well, Charlotte!

For your sake!

Good morning, Miss Elizabeth.

Good morning, Mr. Darcy.

Mrs. Collins gave me leave

to wait on you.

It's no use!

I've struggled in vain!

I must tell you

how much I admire and love you.

Miss Elizabeth, - my life

and happiness are in your hands.

This last week, since I left Netherfield,

had been empty,

meaningless days and nights.

I thought that I could

put you out of my mind.

That inclination

would give way to judgment.

I've walked

the streets of London

reminding myself of the

unsuitability of such a marriage.

Ah, the obstacles between us.

But, it won't do.

I can struggle

against you no longer.

Mr. Darcy!

I've reminded myself

again and again

that I have obligations

of family and position.

Obligations I was born to.

Nothing I tell myself matters!

I love you!

I love you!

Do you know what you're saying?

Yes, my darling!

I'm asking you to marry me.

Do you expect me to thank you

for this extraordinary offer

of marriage?

Am I supposed to feel flattered

that you have so overcome

your aversion to my family

that you are ready

to marry into it?

But, do you expect me to be glad

that your family

is inferior to mine?

Oh! I suppose I should

congratulate you

on winning the battle

between your unwilling affection

and my unworthiness.

But, you see, I have

never desired your good opinion.

And, if you were not

so lacking in perception,

you might have spared yourself

my refusal!

Is-is this the only reply

I'm to be honored with?

I might, perhaps, deserve to be

told why I am rejected,

and, with so little civility.

I also might deserve to know

why determined evidently

to offend and insult me!

You chose to tell me that

you liked me against your will.

Against your reason,

against even your character.

Why, if the

manner of my expression

The manner of your proposal

is only one reason

for my incivility,

if I had been uncivil.

Even had my feelings

been favorable,

which they never could have been,

believe me, even if they had,

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