[00:00.18]8 Elizabeth Learns more about Darcy and Wickham8
[00:05.59]The next morning Elizabeth had still not recovered from the surprise of Darcy's proposal to her.
[00:13.53]Feeling in need of exercise and fresh air，
[00:16.93]she decided to have a walk.
[00:18.54]In order to avoid meeting Mr Darcy， she kept away from her favourite path，
[00:23.64]but could not resist walking a little way into Lady Catherine's park.
[00:27.79]There she was astonished to see Darcy himself approaching her
[00:32.8]and calling her name.
[00:33.31]‘I have been walking some time in the hope of meeting you，’he said. “
[00:37.52]‘Will you do me the honour of reading this letter?’ “
[00:41.50]And， handing her an envelope，
[00:44.14]he bowed slightly and walked quickly away.
[00:47.46]With no expectation of pleasure，
[00:50.88]but with the strongest curiosity，
[00:53.35]Elizabeth opened the letter， and began to read it as she continued her walk alone.
[00:59.39]Do not be alarmed，madam，
[01:02.63]that I shall repeat the offer which so disgusted you last night.
[01:06.52]I have no intention of mentioning again wishes which， for the happiness of both of us， cannot be too soon forgotten.
[01:14.6]I would not have written，
[01:16.49]but justice requires my character to be defended.
[01:19.96]You accused me last night of two very different offences.
[01:24.75]The first was that I had separated Mr Bingley from your sister，in spite of their mutual affection，
[01:31.57]and the second was that I had destroyed Mr Wickham's chance of future wealth and happiness， in spite of my father's honourable promises to him.
[01:40.53]I hope that you will no longer blame me for either of these offences， when you have read the explanation which follows.
[01:48.80]If I am forced to describe feelings which offend you，
[01:52.44]I can only say I am sorry.
[01:55.14]I had not been long in Hertfordshire before
[01:59.87]I noticed that Bingley preferred your elder sister Jane to any other young woman.
[02:04.41]But I had often seen him in love before，
[02:07.21]and it wasn't until the Netherfield ball
[02:10.30]that I realized how serious his attachment was.
[02:13.54]I was careful to observe your sister closely，
[02:17.53]and as her manners and appearance were as pleasant and cheerful as ever，
[02:22.48]I remained convinced that she did not feel strongly about him.
[02:26.92]I was perhaps deceived by her calmness，
[02:30.61]and in that case， your anger has not been unreasonable.
[02:34.67]But I sincerely believed that her heart had not been touched.
[02:38.77]I objected to Bingley's possible marriage to her，
[02:42.78]not only for those reasons of social inferiority that I mentioned to you last night，but also for reasons
[02:50.54]which in my case I had tried to forget， but which I must state now.
[02:56.60]The behaviour that evening of your mother， your three younger sisters， and occasionally even your father，
[03:04.37]was so lacking in social correctness
[03:07.53]that I made up my mind to save my friend from
[03:11.8]what I considered would be a most unhappy marriage.
[03:14.31]If you are upset by my description of your family's faults，
[03:19.19]it may comfort you to consider that you and your elder sister have avoided any share of blame，
[03:25.88]and deserve nothing but honourable praise for your behaviour.
[03:29.52]To continue—when I was in London，
[03:33.76]with the help of Bingley's sisters， who shared my opinion，
[03:37.78]I explained to him the disadvantages of marriage to your sister.
[03:42.43]This alone would not have been enough to prevent the marriage，
[03:48.33]if I had not also been able to convince him of your sister's indifference to him.
[03:52.6]Then it was easy to persuade him not to return to Hertfordshire.
[03:56.88]I do regret one thing， however.
[03:59.53]Miss Bingley and I both knew that your sister was in London，
[04:03.52]but we hid the fact from Bingley
[04:06.51]In this I consider I was less than honest，
[04:10.46]but I have no other apology to offer.
[04:12.47]Your other， more serious accusation refers to Mr Wickham.
[04:20.19]Here again I may cause you pain—
[04:23.0]only you can tell how much.
[04:25.17]In order to show you his real character
[04:29.24]I must explain the whole of his connection with my family.
[04:32.82]His late father worked for mine for many years，
[04:37.13]helping to look after the Pemberley farms.
[04:39.17]His son， George Wickham， received much kindness from my father，
[04:44.47]who paid for him to go to school and to university.
[04:47.87]My father hoped the young man would enter the Church.
[04:51.90]If he became a priest， I was to give him the post of rector in a village near Pemberley，
[04:58.59]when it became vacant.
[04:59.82]But even before my father died，
[05:02.53]I had discovered Wickham's weakness of character and lack of morals.
[05:06.85]After my father's death，Wickham wrote to inform me that he did not intend to enter the Church，
[05:13.74]and asked for an amount of money instead of the post of rector.
[05:18.15]I knew that，with his character faults，he ought not to become a priest， and I therefore agreed at once.
[05:25.90]The business was soon arranged.
[05:29.38]He resigned all claim to the church post，
[05:32.23]and accepted three thousand pounds instead.
[05:36.11]I hoped that I would not see him or hear form him again.
[05:41.20]But three years later he wrote again，this time to ask for the rector's post，
[05:49.40]informing me that his money had all gone and his situation was desperate.
[05:54.40]You will hardly blame me for refusing.
[05:58.7]Since then he has doubtless been violent in accusing me of injustice to all who will listen to him.
[06:06.24]There is one more circumstance which I would like to forget myself，
[06:12.16]but which I must now mention.
[06:15.67]I rely on your keeping this confidential.
[06:19.30]A year ago，I sent my sister，who is ten years younger than I am，
[06:25.27]on holiday to Ramsgate in Kent，
[06:28.27]in the care of a female companion.
[06:30.45]Unfortunately， there was an understanding between this woman and Mr Wickham，
[06:35.94]who also went to Ramsgate.
[06:37.52]With her help and encouragement， he spent a great deal of time with Georgiana，
[06:43.95]and flattered her so much that she believed she was in love，
[06:48.26]and agreed to elope with him.
[06:50.94]She was only fifteen at the time，
[06:54.7]and I am glad to say that she confessed everything to me immediately，
[06:58.17]when I arrived unexpectedly in Ramsgate just before their planned elopement .
[07:02.90]Naturally，I dismissed the companion，
[07:06.21]and wrote to Wickham， who left the place at once.
[07:09.43]He was doubt-less most interested in my sister's fortune， which is thirty thousand pounds，
[07:15.62]but I cannot help supposing that he was also eager to revenge himself on me.
[07:22.5]I hope you will now clear me of all blame in this matter.
[07:26.85]If，madam，you doubt the truthfulness of my description of these circumstances，
[07:31.97]I suggest you speak to Colonel Fitzwilliam.
[07:34.90]As my cousin and close friend， he knows every detail of these events，
[07:40.43]and will be happy to support what I say.
[07:43.37]I will only add，may God be with you.
[07:48.8]Fitzwilliam Darcy
[07:50.42]Elizabeth experienced a variety of emotions as she read the letter.
[07:57.9]She was astonished to discover that Darcy was capable of any sort of apology.
[08:02.13]It was with a strong prejudice against anything he might say that she began reading his explanation of what had happened at Netherfield，
[08:09.88]and at first she was too angry with him to treat him with justice.
[08:13.73]But when she went on to read his description of his relationship with Wickham， she hesitated.
[08:17.87]It was so very different from Wickham's story，
[08:23.22]which she would have preferred to believe.
[08:25.46]But after a few moments'thought
[08:28.49]she realized that Darcy's statement was much more likely to be true.
[08:32.37]She began to remember several things about Wickham which now appeared strange to her.
[08:37.67]On the first evening she had met him，
[08:40.56]he had told the whole story about his lost fortune and the Darcy family to her，a total stranger.
[08:47.90]Then he had boasted of having no fear of Darcy，
[08:52.8]but had avoided the Netherfield ball the very next week.
[08:56.6]In addition， he had waited until the Bingleys and Darcy had left Netherfield before
[09:01.60]making his accusations public.
[09:04.61]She reminded herself that no one in Hertfordshire knew anything about Wickham's past，
[09:10.65]so it was quite possible that he lacked morals， as Darcy said.
[09:15.45]She had to admit that Darcy himself，though horribly proud，
[09:21.7]had always shown himself to be a gentleman.
[09:24.8]Finally， Darcy would certainly not have dared to refer her to Colonel Fitzwilliam，if he were not certain that his cousin could prove these statements.
[09:34.72]She became absolutely ashamed of herself.
[09:39.15]‘How badly I have behaved!’she cried. “
[09:43.6]‘How prejudiced I have been， “
[09:45.65]I who have always been so proud of my ability to judge people!
[09:50.51]That pride has led me blindly into making a stupid mistake.
[09:55.82]Flattered by Wickham's interest， and offended by Darcy's coolness，I have misjudged both of them.
[10:03.5]Till this moment， I never knew myself.’
[10:08.37]She reread what Darcy had to say about Jane，
[10:13.11]and this time was forced to admit that Jane had displayed few outward signs of her feelings for Bingley.
[10:19.99]Charlotte had even commented on it.
[10:22.70]Then when Elizabeth looked again at Darcy's comments on her family's behaviour，
[10:27.38]her sense of shame was very great，
[10:30.87]and she could not deny the justice of his words.
[10:33.43]Feeling more miserable than she had ever felt before，
[10:37.56]she slowly returned to the Rectory，
[10:39.78]where she had difficulty in maintaining a cheerful appearance.
[10:43.55]Mr Darcy and Colonel Fitzwilliam left Rosings the next day，
[10:50.35]and were sadly missed by their aunt，
[10:53.12]who now had so little entertainment
[10:55.57]that she invited the Collinses and their visitors several times that week.
[10:59.38]As Elizabeth only had a few days left before the end of her visit，
[11:04.24]she thought it fortunate that most of her time was occupied.
[11:07.66]When she had a moment to herself，
[11:10.66]it was a great relief to walk outside in the garden or the park，alone with her thoughts.
[11:15.39]She soon knew Mr Darcy's letter by heart.
[11:18.94]Although she was still angry with him for the proud，over-confident way in which he had proposed，
[11:25.9]her anger turned against herself when she considered how unjustly she had criticized and accused him.
[11:31.11]She respected his character and felt pity for his disappointment，
[11:36.42]but did not for a moment regret her refusal，
[11:39.66]or have the slightest desire to see him ever again.
[11:43.57]She was saddened when she thought of her family.
[11:48.17]Her father enjoyed laughing at Kitty's and Lydia's foolishness so much
[11:53.17]that he never attempted to control his two youngest daughters，
[11:57.19]and her mother，whose own behaviour was far from correct，
[12:00.66]was completely unaware that anything was wrong.
[12:03.29]And poor Jane!
[12:05.92]It now appeared that Bingley's affection had been sincere，
[12:09.93]and Jane's disappointment had been indirectly caused by the behaviour of her own near relations.
[12:16.54]On Saturday morning Elizabeth said goodbye to her friend Charlotte，
[12:22.23]feeling sorry to leave her with such a husband.
[12:25.11]But Charlotte， although regretting the departure of her visitors，
[12:28.95]appeared quite content with her domestic arrangements.
[12:32.19]Mr Collins took care to say to Elizabeth， before she left，
[12:36.46]‘I do hope，my dear Miss Elizabeth， “
[12:39.40]that you will be as happy in marriage as I am.
[12:42.48]My dear Charlotte and I have one mind and one way of thinking.
[12:48.26]We seem to be made for each other.
[12:50.92]‘It is most fortunate when that is the case，’“
[12:55.5]was all that Elizabeth could safely reply.
[12:58.54]By midday she had arrived in London，
[13:02.60]where she had arranged to stay a few days at her aunt's house.
[13:06.62]There was，however， no opportunity to discuss Mr Darcy's letter with Jane，
[13:11.53]until they both reached Longbourn again， at the end of the week.
[13:15.46]It was pleasant to be at home again，
[13:18.1]but Elizabeth was very conscious of her younger sisters'silliness.
[13:22.49]They were full of the sad news they had just heard，
[13:25.64]that the regiment was leaving Meryton in two weeks’ time
[13:29.11]and would be staying for the summer in Brighton，a holiday town on the south coast.
[13:34.16]Lydia and her mother were trying hard to persuade Mr Bennet to take them to Brighton too，
[13:39.45]for several months，
[13:40.72]as the summer would be so miserable in Hertfordshire without the officers.
[13:44.15]Fortunately，Elizabeth felt sure her father would not agree to this foolish idea.
[13:49.56]When she and Jane were alone，
[13:54.17]she told her sister about Darcy's proposal of marriage.
[13:56.85]Jane was astonished，
[13:59.31]but soon her sisterly feelings made her think it quite natural，
[14:02.79]and her kind heart felt pity for Darcy's disappointment.
[14:07.48]However，when she heard about George Wickham's wickedness，as explained in Darcy's letter，
[14:12.83]she was deeply shocked.
[14:15.39]After some discussion，
[14:17.42]the sisters decided not to tell anyone what they knew about Wickham，
[14:21.41]as he would soon be leaving Meryton in any case.
[14:24.59]Elizabeth felt greatly relieved by this conversation.
[14:28.50]She had got rid of two of her secrets，
[14:31.82]and was certain of a willing listener in Jane， whenever she might wish to talk again of either.
[14:36.60]But she dared not tell the third，
[14:39.89]and explain to Jane how sincere Bingley's feelings for her had been.
[14:44.96]She could see that Jane was not happy，
[14:47.67]because of her continued warm affection for Bingley.
[14:50.59]However， there seemed little chance of Bingley marrying her now，
[14:55.19]and Elizabeth did not want to deepen Jane's feelings of regret for her lost happiness.