第141章[第3页/共5页]

“But I was embarrassed.”

“For the liveliness of your mind,I did.”

“A man who had felt less,might.”

From an unwillingness to confess how much her intimacy with Mr.Darcy had been over-rated,Elizabeth had never yet answered Mrs.Gardiner's long letter;but now,having that to communicate which she knew would be most welcome,she was almost ashamed to find that her uncle and aunt had already lost three days of happiness,and immediately wrote as follows:

“Dearest Jane! who could have done less for her? But make a virtue of it by all means. My good qualities are under your protection,and you are to exaggerate them as much as possible;and,in return,it belongs to me to find occasions for teasing and quarrelling with you as often as may be;and I shall begin directly by asking you what made you so unwilling to come to the point at last?What made you so shy of me,when you first called,and afterwards dined here?Why,especially,when you called,did you look as if you did not care about me?”

“My real purpose was to see you, and to judge, if I could, whether I might ever hope to make you love me.My avowed one, or what I avowed to myself,was to see whether your sister were still partial to Bingley,and if she were,to make the confession to him which I have since made.”