Chapter 31

by Jane Austen

　　Colonel Fitzwilliam's manners were very much admired at theParsonage, and the ladies all felt that he must add considerablyto the pleasures of their engagements at Rosings. It was somedays, however, before they received any invitation thither-- forwhile there were visitors in the house, they could not benecessary; and it was not till Easter-day, almost a week after thegentlemen's arrival, that they were honoured by such anattention, and then they were merely asked on leaving church tocome there in the evening. For the last week they had seen verylittle of Lady Catherine or her daughter. Colonel Fitzwilliam hadcalled at the Parsonage more than once during the time, but Mr.Darcy they had seen only at church.The invitation was accepted of course, and at a proper hour theyjoined the party in Lady Catherine's drawing-room. Her ladyshipreceived them civilly, but it was plain that their company was byno means so acceptable as when she could get nobody else; andshe was, in fact, almost engrossed by her nephews, speaking tothem, especially to Darcy, much more than to any other personin the room.Colonel Fitzwilliam seemed really glad to see them; anythingwas a welcome relief to him at Rosings; and Mrs. Collins'spretty friend had moreover caught his fancy very much. He nowseated himself by her, and talked so agreeably of Kent andHertfordshire, of travelling and staying at home, of new booksand music, that Elizabeth had never been half so well entertainedin that room before; and they conversed with so much spirit andflow, as to draw the attention of Lady Catherine herself, as wellas of Mr. Darcy. His eyes had been soon and repeatedly turnedtowards them with a look of curiosity; and that her ladyship,after a while, shared the feeling, was more openlyacknowledged, for she did not scruple to call out:"What is that you are saying, Fitzwilliam? What is it you aretalking of? What are you telling Miss Bennet? Let me hearwhat it is.""We are speaking of music, madam," said he, when no longerable to avoid a reply."Of music! Then pray speak aloud. It is of all subjects mydelight. I must have my share in the conversation if you arespeaking of music. There are few people in England, I suppose,who have more true enjoyment of music than myself, or a betternatural taste. If I had ever learnt, I should have been a greatproficient. And so would Anne, if her health had allowed her toapply. I am confident that she would have performeddelightfully. How does Georgiana get on, Darcy?"Mr. Darcy spoke with affectionate praise of his sister'sproficiency."I am very glad to hear such a good account of her," said LadyCatherine; "and pray tell her from me, that she cannot expect toexcel if she does not practice a good deal.""I assure you, madam," he replied, "that she does not need suchadvice. She practises very constantly.""So much the better. It cannot be done too much; and when Inext write to her, I shall charge her not to neglect it on anyaccount. I often tell young ladies that no excellence in music isto be acquired without constant practice. I have told MissBennet several times, that she will never play really well unlessshe practises more; and though Mrs. Collins has no instrument,she is very welcome, as I have often told her, to come toRosings every day, and play on the pianoforte in Mrs.Jenkinson's room. She would be in nobody's way, you know, inthat part of the house."Mr. Darcy looked a little ashamed of his aunt's ill-breeding, andmade no answer.When coffee was over, Colonel Fitzwilliam reminded Elizabethof having promised to play to him; and she sat down directly tothe instrument. He drew a chair near her. Lady Catherinelistened to half a song, and then talked, as before, to her othernephew; till the latter walked away from her, and making withhis usual deliberation towards the pianoforte stationed himself soas to command a full view of the fair performer's countenance.Elizabeth saw what he was doing, and at the first convenientpause, turned to him with an arch smile, and said:"You mean to frighten me, Mr. Darcy, by coming in all this stateto hear me? I will not be alarmed though your sister does playso well. There is a stubbornness about me that never can bear tobe frightened at the will of others. My courage always rises atevery attempt to intimidate me.""I shall not say you are mistaken," he replied, "because youcould not really believe me to entertain any design of alarmingyou; and I have had the pleasure of your acquaintance longenough to know that you find great enjoyment in occasionallyprofessing opinions which in fact are not your own."Elizabeth laughed heartily at this picture of herself, and said toColonel Fitzwilliam, "Your cousin will give you a very prettynotion of me, and teach you not to believe a word I say. I amparticularly unlucky in meeting with a person so able to exposemy real character, in a part of the world where I had hoped topass myself off with some degree of credit. Indeed, Mr. Darcy,it is very ungenerous in you to mention all that you knew to mydisadvantage in Hertfordshire-- and, give me leave to say, veryimpolitic too-- for it is provoking me to retaliate, and such thingsmay come out as will shock your relations to hear.""I am not afraid of you," said he, smilingly."Pray let me hear what you have to accuse him of," criedColonel Fitzwilliam. "I should like to know how he behavesamong strangers.""You shall hear then-- but prepare yourself for something verydreadful. The first time of my ever seeing him in Hertfordshire,you must know, was at a ball-- and at this ball, what do youthink he did? He danced only four dances, though gentlemenwere scarce; and, to my certain knowledge, more than oneyoung lady was sitting down in want of a partner. Mr. Darcy,you cannot deny the fact.""I had not at that time the honour of knowing any lady in theassembly beyond my own party.""True; and nobody can ever be introduced in a ball-room. Well,Colonel Fitzwilliam, what do I play next? My fingers wait yourorders.""Perhaps," said Darcy, "I should have judged better, had Isought an introduction; but I am ill-qualified to recommendmyself to strangers."Shall we ask your cousin the reason of this?" said Elizabeth,still addressing Colonel Fitzwilliam. "Shall we ask him why aman of sense and education, and who has lived in the world, is illqualified to recommend himself to strangers?""I can answer your question," said Fitzwilliam, "withoutapplying to him. It is because he will not give himself thetrouble.""I certainly have not the talent which some people possess," saidDarcy, "of conversing easily with those I have never seen before.I cannot catch their tone of conversation, or appear interested intheir concerns, as I often see done.""My fingers," said Elizabeth, "do not move over this instrumentin the masterly manner which I see so many women's do. Theyhave not the same force or rapidity, and do not produce thesame expression. But then I have always supposed it to be myown fault-- because I will not take the trouble of practising. It isnot that I do not believe my fingers as capable as any otherwoman's of superior execution."Darcy smiled and said, "You are perfectly right. You haveemployed your time much better. No one admitted to theprivilege of hearing you can think anything wanting. We neitherof us perform to strangers."Here they were interrupted by Lady Catherine, who called out toknow what they were talking of. Elizabeth immediately beganplaying again. Lady Catherine approached, and, after listeningfor a few minutes, said to Darcy:"Miss Bennet would not play at all amiss if she practised more,and could have the advantage of a London master. She has avery good notion of fingering, though her taste is not equal toAnne's. Anne would have been a delightful performer, had herhealth allowed her to learn."Elizabeth looked at Darcy to see how cordially he assented tohis cousin's praise; but neither at that moment nor at any othercould she discern any symptom of love; and from the whole ofhis behaviour to Miss de Bourgh she derived this comfort forMiss Bingley, that he might have been just as likely to marryher, had she been his relation.Lady Catherine continued her remarks on Elizabeth'sperformance, mixing with them many instructions on executionand taste. Elizabeth received them with all the forbearance ofcivility, and, at the request of the gentlemen, remained at theinstrument till her ladyship's carriage was ready to take them allhome.