苗疆小说网

第87章（第1页）

“Donotmakeyourselfuneasy，mylove。WhereveryouandJaneareknownyoumustberespectedandvalued;andyouwillnotappeartolessadvantageforhavingacoupleof—orImaysay，three—verysillysisters。WeshallhavenopeaceatLongbournifLydiadoesnotgotoBrighton。Lethergo，then。ColonelForsterisasensibleman，andwillkeepheroutofanyrealmischief;andsheisluckilytoopoortobeanobjectofpreytoanybody。AtBrightonshewillbeoflessimportanceevenasacommonflirtthanshehasbeenhere。Theofficerswillfindwomenbetterworththeirnotice。Letushope，therefore，thatherbeingtheremayteachherherowninsignificance。Atanyrate，shecannotgrowmanydegreesworse，withoutauthorisingustolockherupfortherestofherlife。”

WiththisanswerElizabethwasforcedtobecontent;butherownopinioncontinuedthesame，andshelefthimdisappointedandsorry。Itwasnotinhernature，however，toincreasehervexationsbydwellingonthem。Shewasconfidentofhavingperformedherduty，andtofretoverunavoidableevils，oraugmentthembyanxiety，wasnopartofherdisposition。

HadLydiaandhermotherknownthesubstanceofherconferencewithherfather，theirindignationwouldhardlyhavefoundexpressionintheirunitedvolubility。InLydiasimagination，avisittoBrightoncomprisedeverypossibilityofearthlyhappiness。Shesaw，withthecreativeeyeoffancy，thestreetsofthatgaybathing-placecoveredwithofficers。Shesawherselftheobjectofattention，totensandtoscoresofthematpresentunknown。Shesawallthegloriesofthecamp—itstentsstretchedforthinbeauteousuniformityoflines，crowdedwiththeyoungandthegay，anddazzlingwithscarlet;and，tocompletetheview，shesawherselfseatedbeneathatent，tenderlyflirtingwithatleastsixofficersatonce。

Hadsheknownhersistersoughttotearherfromsuchprospectsandsuchrealitiesasthese，whatwouldhavebeenhersensations?Theycouldhavebeenunderstoodonlybyhermother，whomighthavefeltnearlythesame。LydiasgoingtoBrightonwasallthatconsoledherforhermelancholyconvictionofherhusbandsneverintendingtogotherehimself。

Buttheywereentirelyignorantofwhathadpassed;andtheirrapturescontinued，withlittleintermission，totheverydayofLydiasleavinghome。

ElizabethwasnowtoseeMr。Wickhamforthelasttime。Havingbeenfrequentlyincompanywithhimsinceherreturn，agitationwasprettywellover;theagitationsofformalpartialityentirelyso。Shehadevenlearnttodetect，intheverygentlenesswhichhadfirstdelightedher，anaffectationandasamenesstodisgustandweary。Inhispresentbehaviourtoherself，moreover，shehadafreshsourceofdispleasure，fortheinclinationhesoontestifiedofrenewingthoseattentionswhichhadmarkedtheearlypartoftheiracquaintancecouldonlyserve，afterwhathadsincepassed，toprovokeher。Shelostallconcernforhiminfindingherselfthusselectedastheobjectofsuchidleandfrivolousgallantry;andwhileshesteadilyrepressedit，couldnotbutfeelthereproofcontainedinhisbelieving，thathoweverlong，andforwhatevercause，hisattentionshadbeenwithdrawn，hervanitywouldbegratified，andherpreferencesecuredatanytimebytheirrenewal。