第98章[第1页/共4页]

It had been settled in the evening between the aunt and the niece, that such a striking civility as Miss Darcy's in coming to them on the very day of her arrival at Pemberley, for she had reached it only to a late breakfast,ought to be imitated,though it could not be equalled,by some exertion of politeness on their side;and,consequently,that it would be highly expedient to wait on her at Pemberley the following morning.They were,therefore, to go.Elizabeth was pleased;though when she asked herself the reason,she had very little to say in reply.

With respect to Wickham, the travellers soon found that he was not held there in much estimation;for though the chief of his concerns with the son of his patron were imperfectly understood, it was yet a well-known fact that,on his quitting Derbyshire,he had left many debts behind him, which Mr. Darcy afterwards discharged.

Of Mr. Darcy it was now a matter of anxiety to think well;and, as far as their acquaintance reached, there was no fault to find. They could not be untouched by his politeness; and had they drawn his character from their own feelings and his servant's report,without any reference to any other account,the circle in Hertfordshire to which he was known would not have recognized it for Mr.Darcy.There was now an interest,however, in believing the housekeeper;and they soon became sensible that the authority of a servant who had known him since he was four years old, and whose own manners indicated respectability, was not to be hastily rejected.Neither had anything occurred in the intelligence of their Lambton friends that could materially lessen its weight.They had nothing to accuse him of but pride; pride he probably had,and if not,it would certainly be imputed by the inhabitants of a small market-town where the family did not visit. It was acknowledged,however,that he was a liberal man,and did much good among the poor.