When Mr Darcy arrived in Hertfordshire, the first thing he visited was the Lucas family. Mr. Bingley, though he preferred to go to Longborn to see the legendary beauty, also knew that he needed to visit the knightly Lucas first.

Mr. Bingley asked a little strangely, "I didn't expect you to be so familiar with Sir William." ”

It was a misfortune that they had come to-morday, for Miss Maria had gone with little Mr. Lucas to Meriton. Mr. Darcy was in a bad mood when he didn't see his sweetheart, and he only gave a brief "um" to Mr. Bingley's inquiry.

Fortunately, Mr. Bingley was accustomed to Darcy's attitude, and instead of thinking much about it, he asked about other things: "It is said that the young lady of the Bennett family is a famous beauty, and I wonder if I will see it at Longborn this time." ”

"I don't think any young lady who knows how to be polite will not rush to meet a foreign man, your dream is probably not true."

Mr. Bingley said the same, and he also knew that he would not be able to see the five Miss Bennets in this meeting.

Mr. Darcy had a good sense of Mr. Bennet, a wise gentleman, but Mrs. Bennet was a bit of a mouthful.

Constantly asking about the two of them, family wealth, when it was learned that Mr. Bingley really had an income of four or five thousand pounds a year, the flattery on the other party's face was almost overflowing, and at this moment Mr. Darcy was very glad that Mrs. Lucas had a good upbringing.

Originally, Mrs. Bennet was like this to him, after all, in terms of wealth alone, the Bentley family was far from being as deep as the Darcy family, so Mr. Darcy estimated that he was silent with a cold face, and it didn't take long for this lady to stand it, and simply put aside his lively conversation with Mr. Bingley, which made Darcy breathe a sigh of relief, he was really not good at chatting with this kind of wife.

Listening to Mrs. Bennet's praise of her daughter's appearance, Darcy sneered in his heart, he didn't think that the young lady of Bennet's family was really so beautiful, most likely the lady boasted about it.

Mr. Darcy would have thought so, and Mr. Lucas Jr. had contributed no less, and had complained more than once in front of Darcy that Mrs. Bennet had more than once belittled Charlotte and Maria in order to praise the beauty of her daughter Jane Bennet. Mr. Darcy admits that Mrs. Ferguson's looks are not remarkable, but Miss Maria's beauty is a rarity, and Mrs. Bennet's praise of her daughter's looks is exaggerated.

Mr. Bennet was a clever man, and he could see that Mr. Darcy was displeased with his wife's words, and was a little dissatisfied, for his Lizzie was definitely the finest lady in Hertfordshire. However, he was not Mrs. Bennet, and could not show off his daughter in front of strange men, so he talked to the other party about hunting.

When Maria came home, she found that she had missed out on Mr. Darcy, and she thought that they needed to tidy up before they came out to visit the neighbors, but she did not expect the two gentlemen to be so active.

Little Mr. Lucas sighed at once, for he was very fond of chatting with his future brother-in-law, and in his eyes Mr. Darcy was far more enlightened than Sir William, and that he had learned a lot from each conversation.

Sir William, seeing that his children were not very happy, hurriedly comforted him: "In three days I will have a ball at home, and I have just invited Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingley to the ball, and both gentlemen have gladly agreed. ”

"It's just amazing!" Before Maria could say anything, little Mr. Lucas shouted first: "Maria, you must dress up well this time, so that everyone can see who is the most beautiful girl in Hertfordshire!" ”

"Brother, you're exaggerating. A little ball, let you say that, it's like a beauty pageant. Maria laughed and fell down on the couch.

Unexpectedly, this proposal was not only supported by Mrs. Lucas, but even Sir William, who had never been mixed with it, quite agreed: "Maria, you just bought a new dress from London some time ago, and Dad thinks it is very beautiful, maybe you may consider wearing it on the day of the ball." ”

Maria's cheeks burned red, and she almost thought that her father knew that Mr. Darcy had bought the dress for her. The thought of wearing the dress given by Mr. Darcy at the ball and dancing with the other party made her blush.

Apparently Maria's expression made Sir William misunderstand: "Oh, dear Maria, you need not feel shy. I'm willing to bet the whole Hertfordshire girls at that ball will dress up as best they can, for the value of these two gentlemen has already spread. ”

Mrs. Lucas was a little unhappy at the mention of this: "Mrs. Bennet's mouth is too big, so let's say Mr. Bingley, why not bring Mr. Darcy with me." She didn't want her son-in-law to be taken preemptively.

After a little thought, Maria figured out what was going on, and said casually, "When did Mrs. Bennet control her mouth, and Mommy must not be angry with her." ”

Mrs. Lucas thought about it, Mrs. Bennet was notoriously broken-mouthed, and if Mr. Darcy could have taken a fancy to other women casually, he would have married a noble girl from London a long time ago, and where would he get his own daughter.

The time soon came to the ball, and Maria's daughter, as the host, naturally needed help to greet the guests, and as she expected, Mr. Darcy arrived early, and of course Mr. Bingley and the others arrived.

When Mr. Bingley saw Maria, his eyes were full of amazement: "I didn't expect Mrs. Ferguson's sister to be so beautiful, I really don't know how beautiful Miss Jane Bennet would be!" "After all, Jane Bennet is the number one beauty in Hertfordshire.

Hearing this, Mr. Darcy had a sneer on his face: "It seems to me that Miss Bennet's reputation is more of a boast, and she is far worse than Miss Maria. ”

An alarm bell rang in Caroline's head, and Darcy had a very different attitude towards Miss Maria. Immediately, Caroline asked tentatively, "It seems that Darcy has a good impression of Miss Maria?" ”

"In fact, we've known each other for several years." After seeing Miss Maria's outfit, Darcy decided not to hide it any longer. He had given it to Miss Maria, and he still had an engagement ring in his pocket.

Georgiana had long been aware of Caroline's affection for her brother, but unfortunately her brother only had Maria in his heart, and she didn't notice Caroline's small movements at all, but she couldn't let Caroline mess around: "Maria and I used to be students at Toris College, and we even worked as roommates for a while. ”

"What?" Caroline's face was shocked.