Chapter51 Herfatherlifteduphiseyes.Janewasdistressed.ElizabethlookedexpressivelyatLydia;butshe,whoneverheardnorsawanythingofwhichshechosetobeinsensible,gailycontinued, "Oh!mamma,dothepeoplehereaboutsknowIammarriedto-day?Iwasafraidtheymightnot;andweovertookWilliamGouldinginhiscurricle,soIwasdeterminedheshouldknowit,andsoIletdowntheside-glassnexttohim,andtookoffmyglove,andletmyhandjustrestuponthewindowframe,sothathemightseethering,andthenIbowedandsmiledlikeanything."Elizabethcouldbearitnolonger.Shegotup,andranoutoftheroom;andreturnednomore,tillsheheardthempassingthroughthehalltothediningparlour.ShethenjoinedthemsoonenoughtoseeLydia,withanxiousparade,walkuptohermother'srighthand,andhearhersaytohereldestsister, "Ah!Jane,Itakeyourplacenow,andyoumustgolower,becauseIamamarriedwoman."ItwasnottobesupposedthattimewouldgiveLydiathatembarrassmentfromwhichshehadbeensowhollyfreeatfirst.Hereaseandgoodspiritsincreased.ShelongedtoseeMrs.Phillips,theLucases,andalltheirotherneighbours,andtohearherselfcalled"Mrs.Wickham"byeachofthem;andinthemeantime,shewentafterdinnertoshewherring,andboastofbeingmarried,toMrs.Hillandthetwohousemaids."Well,mamma,"saidshe,whentheywereallreturnedtothebreakfastroom, "andwhatdoyouthinkofmyhusband?Isnotheacharmingman?Iamsuremysistersmustallenvyme.Ionlyhopetheymayhavehalfmygoodluck.TheymustallgotoBrighton.Thatistheplacetogethusbands.Whatapityitis,mamma,wedidnotallgo.""Verytrue;andifIhadmywill,weshould.ButmydearLydia,Idon'tatalllikeyourgoingsuchawayoff.Mustitbeso?""Oh,lord!yes; --thereisnothinginthat.Ishalllikeitofallthings.Youandpapa,andmysisters,mustcomedownandseeus.WeshallbeatNewcastleallthewinter,andIdaresaytherewillbesomeballs,andIwilltakecaretogetgoodpartnersforthemall.""Ishouldlikeitbeyondanything!"saidhermother."Andthenwhenyougoaway,youmayleaveoneortwoofmysistersbehindyou;andIdaresayIshallgethusbandsforthembeforethewinterisover.""Ithankyouformyshareofthefavour,"saidElizabeth; "butIdonotparticularlylikeyourwayofgettinghusbands."Theirvisitorswerenottoremainabovetendayswiththem.Mr.WickhamhadreceivedhiscommissionbeforeheleftLondon,andhewastojoinhisregimentattheendofafortnight.NoonebutMrs.Bennetregrettedthattheirstaywouldbesoshort;andshemadethemostofthetimebyvisitingaboutwithherdaughter,andhavingveryfrequentpartiesathome.Thesepartieswereacceptabletoall;toavoidafamilycirclewasevenmoredesirabletosuchasdidthink,thansuchasdidnot.Wickham'saffectionforLydiawasjustwhatElizabethhadexpectedtofindit;notequaltoLydia'sforhim.Shehadscarcelyneededherpresentobservationtobesatisfied,fromthereasonofthings,thattheirelopementhadbeenbroughtonbythestrengthofherlove,ratherthanbyhis;andshewouldhavewonderedwhy,withoutviolentlycaringforher,hechosetoelopewithheratall,hadshenotfeltcertainthathisflightwasrenderednecessarybydistressofcircumstances;andifthatwerethecase,hewasnottheyoungmantoresistanopportunityofhavingacompanion.Lydiawasexceedinglyfondofhim.HewasherdearWickhamoneveryoccasion;noonewastobeputincompetitionwithhim.Hedideverythingbestintheworld;andshewassurehewouldkillmorebirdsonthefirstofSeptember,thananybodyelseinthecountry. 第五十一章 父亲瞪着眼睛。吉英很难受，伊丽莎白啼笑皆非地望着丽迪雅；可是丽迪雅，凡是她不愿意知道的事，她一概不闻不问，她仍然得意洋洋地说下去：“噢，妈妈，附近的人们都知道我今天结婚了吗？我怕他们还不见得都知道；我们一路来的时候，追上了威廉·戈丁的马车，这为了要让他知道我结婚了，便把我自己车子上的一扇玻璃窗放了下来，又脱下手套，把手放在窗口，好让他看见我手上的戒指，然后我又对他点点头笑得什么似的。”伊丽莎白实在忍无可忍了，只得站起身来跑回屋外去，一直听到她们走过穿堂，进入饭厅，她才回来。来到她们这里，又见丽迪雅急急匆匆大摇大摆走到母亲右边，一面对她的大姐姐说：“喂，吉英，这次我要坐你的位子了，你得坐到下手去，因为我已经是出了嫁的姑娘。”丽迪雅既然从开头起就完全不觉得难为情，这时候当然更是若无其事。她反而越来越不在乎，越来兴头越高。她很想去看看腓力普太太，看看卢卡斯全家人，还要把所有的邻居都统统拜访一遍，让大家都叫她韦翰太太。吃过中饭，她立刻把结婚戒指显给希尔奶奶和其他两个女佣人看，夸耀她自己已经结了婚。大家都回到起坐间以后，她又说道：“妈妈，你觉得我丈夫怎么样？他不是挺可爱吗？姐姐们一定都要羡慕我。但愿她们有我一半运气就好啦。谁叫她们不到白利屯去。那里才是个找丈夫的地方。真可惜，妈妈，我们没有大家一起去！”“你讲得真对；要是照我的意见，我们早就应该一起都去。可是，丽迪雅宝贝儿，我不愿意你到那么远的地方去。你难道非去不可吗？”“天啊！当然非去不可，那有什么关系。我真高兴极了。你和爸爸，还有姐姐们，一定要来看我们呀。我们整个冬天都住在纽卡斯尔，那儿一定会有很多舞会，而且我一定负责给姐姐们找到很好舞伴。”“那我真是再喜欢也没有了！”母亲说。“等你动身回家的时候，你可以让一两个姐姐留在那儿；我担保在今年冬天以内就会替她们找到丈夫。”伊丽莎白连忙说：“谢谢你的关怀，可惜你这种找丈夫的方式，我不太欣赏。”新夫妇只能和家里相聚十天。韦翰先生在没有离开伦敦之前就已经受到了委任，必须在两星期以内就到团部去报到。只有班纳特太太一个人惋惜他们行期太匆促，因此她尽量抓紧时间，陪着女儿到处走亲访友，又常常在家里宴客。这些宴会大家都欢迎：没有心思的人固然愿意赴宴，有心思的人更愿意借这个机会出去解解闷。果然不出伊丽莎白所料，韦翰对丽迪雅的恩爱比不上丽迪雅对韦翰那样深厚。从一切事实上都可以看出来，他们的私奔多半是因为丽迪雅热爱韦翰，而不是因为韦翰热爱丽迪雅，这在伊丽莎白看来，真是一件显而易见的事。至于说，他既然并不十分爱她为什么还要跟她私奔，伊丽莎白一点也不觉得奇怪，因为她断定韦翰这次为债务所逼，本来非逃跑不可；那么，象他这样一个青年，路上有一个女人陪陪他，他当然不愿错过机会。丽迪雅太喜欢他了，她每说一句话就要叫一声亲爱的韦翰。谁也比不上他。他无论做什么事都是天下第一。她相信到了九月一日那一天，他射到的鸟一定比全国任何人都要多。