The same is true for the two on the other side. At the end of the dance, Charlie looked at Jane reluctantly. Her full forehead was slightly sweaty, and her cheeks were slightly red, which made her look even more moving. However, this was the second time the two had just met, and Charlie, worried that he would surprise the shy Jane by inviting her to a second ball, sent Jane back to her family and then back to Catherine.

Charlie was a little worried about her sister, who had always been proud. This time he came to Langboun, and it was Catherine who hinted that he had invited Mr. Darcy. Charlie knew Catherine's thoughts. He didn't approve of it, for Mr. Darcy didn't seem to have the slightest affection for Catherine, and he feared that Catherine would be hurt. However, Mr. Darcy has not been close to any young lady over the years, and sometimes if Mr. Darcy checks his ideals, maybe Mr. Darcy will never fall in love for the rest of his life, and if Mr. Darcy wants to choose a suitable wife not out of love, but out of duty, Catherine may have hope. So he did not object to Catherine's move either. However, during this meeting, he met a completely different Mr. Darcy.

Perhaps in the eyes of others, Mr. Darcy's performance was still not tender enough. But as a little friend for more than ten years, Charlie was dumbfounded the whole time. He saw Mr. Darcy secretly flipping through Emma's books, trying to find topics that were of interest to both of them, complimenting Emma on her dress unskillfully, silently replacing Emma's pepper shaker with her preferred salt shaker when there was an omelette, and even taking the initiative to sit down behind the piano and play a song after dinner. Mr. Darcy was able to do this, and Charlie felt that it was the equivalent of someone else who was enthusiastically shouting "I love you" in the heart of London.

The analogy may not be so appropriate, but Charlie is well aware of how passionate and sincere Mr. Darcy's feelings are, and Catherine is a little embarrassed. The only thing to be thankful for is that Catherine maintains the reserve of a lady, and not many people know her mind, and this unsuccessful obscure pursuit will have no effect on Catherine's reputation. But the wounds in my heart cannot be healed for the time being. Charlie didn't dare to comfort Catherine, nor did he dare to take care of her, because he knew how sensitive and proud his sister was, and to comfort her was to hurt her, and pretending not to know anything was the best comfort.

Catherine, who is flamboyant and worth a lot of money, is very popular, and at the beginning she accepts an invitation from a gentleman who, like Charlie, has just returned from the dance floor. No one else could see that there was anything wrong with her, Catherine still had her chin held high, her back straight, her makeup was exquisite, her clothes were gorgeous, and her demeanor was elegant.

Seeing Charlie return, Catherine raised an eyebrow. "I thought you'd stay on the dance floor all night. In the past few days, her heart has been very painful, from the pain of both emotion and self-esteem, but she has not neglected the major events of her brother's life. She does not praise Charlie's choice. Charlie's feelings are so simple and warm, will he be deceived? Marriage is the union of two families, Charlie is now full of enthusiasm, and the excitement has subsided, will he feel regretful?

Charlie cheekily pretended not to understand, and sometimes he was suppressed by Catherine's aggressiveness, but now he was willing to tolerate a little bit of his sister's sharpness.

Catherine knew that Charlie was not listening to the advice now, and she did not want to hurt the feelings between her siblings because of this incident, and she also felt a little frustrated. No matter what kind of man seems to have encountered love, he will not become like himself. Mr. Darcy, who was so calm and proud, became unusually considerate, and could lower his head in high for the sake of a smile from his sweetheart. Charlie's ears are soft, and he has become extremely stubborn. Will her persuasion really work? But if she doesn't, will her brother really be happy? Catherine was deeply worried in her heart, and she was a little tired and didn't want to talk about it for the time being. "Why didn't you invite me? ”

Seeing that Catherine didn't dig deeper, Charlie breathed a sigh of relief, stretched out his hand, and bent down deeply. "Dear Miss Bentley, you should not choose to wear this pearl necklace, because the pearl is bright and bright, but it is also pale in the light of your face. If you don't give up, please dance with me for the next song. ”

Catherine slowly put her hand on it and joked, "I give you this honor." ”

Before Charlie walked onto the dance floor, he stole a few glances to the side, Mr. Darcy, Emma, George, and Georgiana returned to the couch to chat, Jane did not accept the invitation of others, her head was bowed and her face was slightly red, and the two sisters were talking about something beside her. Everything was normal, and Charlie danced with Catherine with peace of mind.

After the song, in order to behave like usual, Charlie sent Catherine back to the rest area and said that he was going to dance with the lovely girls.

Charlie behaved naturally, and Catherine also felt comfortable, and she mocked as always: "In your eyes, no girl is unlovely, except for your sister, isn't it?"

Charlie shrugged. "I've just danced with the cutest girl. ”

Catherine laughed and waved her hand. Charlie slipped away neatly. He looked to the side again. Emma took Mr. Darcy's arm, and the two of them presumably wanted to dance again. George squinted slightly at Mr. Darcy's back, his expression not very happy. Georgiana coughed twice, she was not used to the thin air of the ballroom, which was filled with the smell of various perfumes. George put aside his displeasure for a moment and asked the servant to bring her a cup of hot tea. Another gentleman came to invite Jane, and Jane seemed embarrassed to refuse again, and nodded.

Charlie frowned slightly, of course he didn't think that Jane couldn't accept invitations from other men, but sometimes Jane was too passive, maintaining a gentle and reserved attitude towards all men, and there was no extra enthusiasm for him. It made him a little insecure. But no matter what he thought, he couldn't rush up and take Jane down, so he had to go over and invite Elizabeth. Charlie knew that Jane and Elizabeth had the best relationship, maybe he could find out a little bit about Jane's attitude, and even if he couldn't, it was necessary to have a good relationship with his sweetheart's sister. Elizabeth was also tempting, and readily agreed.

Although the personalities are not quite the same, because of the common topic of Jane, the two unexpectedly chatted happily. Charlie's first purpose was not achieved, and Elizabeth did not reveal much about Jane's anomaly for fear of affecting Jane's reputation. The second purpose was achieved. Elizabeth had a good impression of a gentle gentleman like Charlie, and through this chat, Elizabeth found that probably because of a strong sister, Charlie rarely respected women's opinions, which reassured Elizabeth, who had always been worried that Jane's personality was too weak and would be bullied. And Charlie's attitude towards her is so gentle, it can be seen that he attaches great importance to Jane. Elizabeth thought of the "dissatisfied gentleman" again, and he was not very polite to Emma's friends, not to mention that they were as courteous as Charlie. Is that Mr. Darcy's feelings really credible?

Elizabeth hadn't finished thinking about the question, and a piece of music was over. Charlie gentlemanly sent Elizabeth back, just in time to run into Jane, Charlie took the opportunity to invite Jane to do another dance, and the two left together. Elizabeth stared at the backs of the two for a moment with relief, and suddenly realized that Lydia had not returned. She glanced a few times at the place where the red uniforms were gathered, and found Mrs. Bennet, but Lydia was not with her. Elizabeth stood up, she searched the dance floor for a while, this time she found Kate, she was dancing with an officer, but Lydia was nowhere to be seen.

Elizabeth suddenly became alarmed. Her mother and two younger sisters were playful, Mrs. Bennet was married and got along with men, Kate was a little less daring than her mother and sister, and she didn't dare to do things too out of line, and only Lydia, who was bold and not smart, and Elizabeth was most worried about her. Now the little sister that worries Elizabeth the most is gone, and Eliza is afraid that she will go to the garden and walk with the officers. She didn't know why it was okay for an unmarried man or woman to walk in the countryside or garden during the day, but it was inappropriate to do so in the garden during the evening dance, but she knew that Lydia had better not do it. Elizabeth decided to go out and look for it. At this time, Mrs. Bennet suddenly noticed that her little daughter was missing, and exclaimed, "Oh my God, my Lydi......"

Elizabeth hurried over to stop her, and motioned for Mrs. Bennet to go out with her. While Elizabeth was on her face, Mrs. Bennet would still listen to her. When the two of them got outside, Elizabeth whispered, "Mom! Lydia's disappearance is not a glorious thing, we should secretly look for her." Mrs. Bennet agreed. Together, they went deeper into the garden.

Elizabeth had been to the garden the last time she was a guest, but it was during the day. The garden is surrounded by phalaenopsis orchids, pansies, small and delicate flowers clustered in bunches, and a large rose blooming in the middle, the color is as rich as an oil painting. The breeze blew and a wave of colors swelled. At night, the garden is completely different, and in the dim moonlight, all the flowers lose their color and become dark silhouettes. It was quiet, it seemed that even the wind had stopped flowing, and occasionally a birdsong or two came from the trees by the wall.

Elizabeth grabbed Mrs. Bennet's hand a little tighter. Although she was a little scared, she still wanted to give her mother some support. Mrs. Bennet, too, straightened her back silently, as if that would make her look taller and give herself and Elizabeth some courage.

The two walked in for a short while, and suddenly heard a low voice talking and laughing, which seemed to be a man's voice. Elizabeth and Mrs. Bennet slowed down and took a dozen steps in the direction from which the voice came. The voice became a little clearer.

To the relief of the two, they didn't hear Lydia's voice, it was two men chatting. Elizabeth gestured behind her, motioning for Mrs. Bennet to quietly retreat with her, but just then they heard Lydia's name. 166 Reading Network