[Comprehensive Book] A Rose for Catherine

Catherine wanted to say that she was more than acquainted, and almost became your eldest niece and son-in-law, but she could only say a simple sentence: "Mr. Bingley lived in Netherfield near Longbourne this winter, and knew us."

Mr. Gardner heard that her tone was ordinary and not very affectionate, so he thought that Mr. Bingley and his nieces were not very familiar with each other, and they were just ordinary neighbors. He didn't think about it for a while, and quickly asked the servant to invite her to the living room to enjoy the fire. Warm up your body.

Unexpectedly, as soon as Mr. Bingley entered the room, his eyes first fell on Jane by the window, his face turned pale in an instant, and he tried his best to restrain his gaze.He first thanked Mr. Gardner for his kindness, then pretended to be calm and greeted the Bennet ladies, took the blanket handed by the manservant and sat down by the fireplace.

Catherine made room for him, beside Jane and Elizabeth.With a calm attitude, Jane nodded slightly to Mr. Bingley, and chatted with him casually, asking about Caroline's recent situation, and never giving him a chance to think about it.As determined as she was to separate herself from Mr. Bingley, she would not let him think that she still thought of him.

Bingley answered politely, but occasionally looked at Jane with sadness that he couldn't hide.

Catherine almost felt sorry for this frustrated young gentleman. In order not to shake her hard heart, Catherine silently looked away and stared at the rain outside the window.

I hope there will be good weather tomorrow.

Mr. Gardner was a little surprised at the strange atmosphere between his eldest niece and this Mr. Bingley, and hesitated for a while whether to chat with this gentleman.Although he hesitated in his heart, he still greeted Mr. Bingley warmly with the demeanor of a host.

Mr. Bingley was easy-going and easy to get along with, and Mr. Gardner was well-informed and experienced. The two immediately chatted happily, making Bingley forget that there was a lady who made her sad.

Mr. Bingley explained his situation in a few words. It turned out that he was going to dine with his two sisters and brothers-in-law at the Hurst house in Grosvenor Street, and Mr. Darcy had to dine there before saying goodbye to them. , back to his home to spend Christmas with his sister Georgiana.He rode back from the outskirts of London today, but he didn't expect it to rain on the road, the horse's hooves slipped, and he fell hard. Fortunately, God bless, he was fine.

Jane had some scruples in her heart and couldn't let go of talking to him. Although Elizabeth regretted that he couldn't be a brother-in-law, she still had a good impression of him as a man.She has always been talkative, she will not make the topic cold, and she is happy for a while.

When Georgiana was mentioned, Catherine suddenly looked over and interjected, saying: "Miss Caroline wrote a letter to Jane last time, and Miss Georgiana was also mentioned in the letter. I think she must be a very lovely girl, otherwise you don't like her that much."

When Catherine said the "like" in this sentence, she deliberately used the word "admire" to remind him. ①

Although Bingley and Jane's marriage failed, out of appreciation for Mr. Bingley's character, Catherine kindly reminded him of what his dear sister had done.After all, Mr. Bingley would not know where to cry if there was another incident like this in the future, and Miss Caroline was called to break up a good relationship with his brother.

Hearing Catherine's words, Mr. Bingley's expression was extremely surprised: "Miss Kitty, I don't know where you heard this kind of rumor. I regard Georgiana—just like Darcy—as my friend and sister. I have absolutely no other thoughts about her!"

He blushed and hastily excused himself.When he said these words, he glanced at Jane quietly, but there was no fluctuation on Jane's beautiful face, and the loss in his heart was more than two points.

Mr. Bingley was an affectionate man, and even though he had been separated from Jane for some time, he could not get over it quickly, and still missed the good evenings he had spent at Longbourne and Netherfield.

Before Catherine could explain, Elizabeth blurted out: "But Miss Bingley's letter says so."

Poor Mr. Bingley turned pale again, opened his mouth, and said at last: "Caroline has misunderstood the matter."

Catherine has already reminded that what to do is entirely Bingley's own business, and she has no control over it.She lowered her head again, tapping the armrest of the chair quietly with her bent fingers, killing the time boredly.

At five o'clock, before the rain had stopped and Mr. Bingley could not leave, Mr. Gardner offered to lend him the carriage, but only in such a way that his horses would be left for the time being.Mr. Gardiner, who was in a state of anxiety for not being able to get to the two sisters in time, immediately agreed to take his leave of the family at the suggestion of Mr. Gardner.

At this time, Mr. Gardner took out the posture of being an elder, and put his hands behind his back, "Now can you tell me about that Mr. Bingley?"

Jane took the initiative to solve her uncle's doubts: "We used to get along in Longborn for a while, but for various reasons..."

Jane considered her words, and euphemistically said something about the country at Longbourn, and finally emphasized that Mr. Bingley was a real gentleman, and his character was not to be reproached.

Catherine finally took her words and said solemnly: "We all thought it would be more suitable for him to be matched with a lady of similar family background."

Mr. Gardner gave a weird smile for his little niece, and expressed his support for Jane's decision: "If he doesn't believe you, then it's not all good for you to separate. But maybe you made this decision too early and missed it." opportunity for correction.”

Catherine said: "But Jane has no responsibility to wait for him to change his mind."

At five past five, Mr. Leonard's carriage arrived at the door, and the manservant took him into the house with a huge black umbrella. ②

Mr. Leonard is younger than he imagined. He is about 26 or seven. He is neatly dressed and has not been exposed to any rain. vest.He is not outstanding in appearance, but he is full of vigor, which makes him different from others all at once.

Several girls from the Bennet family greeted him, and he immediately returned the salute. He had a very good impression of the girls and thought they were Mr. Gardner's daughters, but he didn't expect them to be his sister's daughters. his niece.

Mr. Leonard raised his eyebrows in surprise, "Then your sister is really lucky to have such outstanding daughters."

Not all of what he said was from the heart, but he spoke with sincerity, and it was easy to believe that he was sincerely flattering.

Catherine thought it was no wonder he was able to build such a big business at such a young age, and at the same time felt that he was not a gentle and kind person, and worried that the Gardners would suffer a loss unconsciously in his hands.

Catherine couldn't believe that the partners she met by chance could think of each other wholeheartedly.

Thinking of this, she secretly felt that she was really worrying unnecessarily. No matter what, Uncle Gardner had been in business for so many years, and his vision was better than hers.Reassured by this thought, she went briskly to her room to ask Lydia to come out to dinner.

Lydia hurriedly stuffed the half-drawn drawings into a drawer, tidied herself before going to the dining room.

She was terrified of what she was going to do next, her heart was so intense that she was about to jump out. Although she had always been the most courageous in the family, when she wanted to do it later, none of the first few older sisters in the family had done it.Lydia secretly cheered herself up, as long as today's matter is successful, she can earn a lot of pounds like Kitty - even if one day Dad reports to God before Mom - forgive her disrespect, she will You can take care of your mother with your own money, and your family will not be degraded to the streets.

Lydia thought about the bleak future after Mr. Bennet left, and strengthened her determination. She couldn't stop looking at Leonard and Uncle Gardner from the dining table.

Catherine tugged Lydia's skirt under the table in bewilderment, and asked her what's wrong with her eyes?Why did you suddenly focus on Mr. Leonard?

Since the appearance of that Mr. Bright, Catherine found that she could not understand Lydia's thoughts more and more.

Lydia gave Catherine a smug look, her face full of eagerness, causing Catherine's eyelids to twitch, trying to remind her, but this was the dinner table, everyone was together, and she couldn't find a chance to talk to Lydia alone .

Catherine was afraid that Lydia would get confused for a while and do something that would affect Mr. Gardner's business, and she felt that Lydia would not be like this, but in case Lydia learned from Mrs. Bennet...

She was conflicted and anxious, and she couldn't taste the taste of a meal.

Mr. Leonard was aware of the eyebrow-eye lawsuit between the two sisters. He was a man of great wealth, and those who wanted to curry favor with him would look at him as eagerly as Lydia.Lydia's frank and undisguised scrutiny made Leonard slightly frowned, and immediately reminded him of those women who wanted to curry favor with him and marry him, and he immediately had an impression of the Bennet ladies When things got worse, even Jane, who was very fond of Jane at the beginning, felt that her tenderness and amiability had ulterior motives.

He made up his mind to leave after dinner, and only had business dealings with Mr. Gardiner, and he would never let these ladies take advantage of it.

The ladies didn't know that he had thought so much, and saw that his attitude had obviously cooled down, and he was no longer as enthusiastic as he was at the beginning.

After dinner, Lydia ran into the room and took out the blueprints, intending to sell her manuscripts to the "big businessman" her uncle called.Her mind was full of "the big businessman can offer a lot of pounds", and she had no idea where the other party's thoughts went.

Lydia grabbed a handful of design drafts, ignored Miss Decent's reserve at all, and said bluntly: "Sir, I heard that you do all kinds of business, would you like to take a look at my design drafts? Only... ten... no, twenty pounds apiece!"

Lydia said this quickly, puffed up her chest, raised her head, and made herself look unhurried. In fact, her fingers trembling slightly while holding the design draft.

Catherine was so surprised that she couldn't say a word, and she froze in place, staring straight at Lydia, wondering why Lydia made such a big news in just a few minutes.

In her sight, Leonard took Lydia's design draft.

The author has something to say: [Ahem, official spoiler, this is Jane's cp, a bit suspicious, very good at brainstorming, and then relying on brainstorming to complete self-strategy in the future, she is also a business partner of the Bennet sisters. 】

①: The word means "admiration". Everyone should know that Darcy and Elizabeth used this word when they confessed their love.It's a bit different from love, love has a wider scope.Here Catherine is reminding Bentley by emphasizing the "like between men and women". If love is used, it is estimated that Bentley will understand it as liking a sister like a friend.It's not easy to put this in the text, so I'll explain it here.

②: At that time, wearing a parasol was a trend, but umbrellas were considered very ugly.It is more common for men to hold umbrellas, and women think that holding umbrellas is not good-looking.