Pride And Prejudice Script - Dialogue Transcript

Voila! Finally, the Pride And Prejudice script is here for all you quotes spouting fans of the 1940 movie adaptation of Jane Austen's novel starring Laurence Olivier and Greer Garson.  This script is a transcript that was painstakingly transcribed using the screenplay and/or viewings of Pride And Prejudice. I know, I know, I still need to get the cast names in there and I'll be eternally tweaking it, so if you have any corrections, feel free to drop me a line. You won't hurt my feelings. Honest.

Swing on back to Drew's Script-O-Rama afterwards for more free movie scripts!

Pride And Prejudice Script


  

  

 

                   

Either the shell-pink gauze

of muslin



 

                   

or the thick gaberdine



 

                   

would be most becoming

to your daughter, Mrs. Bennet.



 

                   

Now, let me see.



 

                   

Yes. Yes.

The pink suits you, Jane.



 

                   

And, now, we'll see whether



 

                   

the blue is becoming to you,

Lizzie.



 

                   

Stand up dear.



 

                   

Several young ladies have bought

new gowns for the Assembly Ball.



  

                   

But, none will be more modish

than this muslin, Madame.



  

                   

Isn't it soften when it's worn?



  

                   

Mine is, Mama.

It's been worn for three years.



  

                   

Ah, our fashion decrees muslin

this season, Madame.



  

                   

That should be good enough

for us, shouldn't it, Jane?



  

                   

Yes.



  

                   

Then, the pink for Miss Jane

and blue for Miss Elizabeth.



  

                   

I know exactly

how I want mine cut.



  

                   

I shall look very worldly.



  

                   

How shall I look?



  

                   

Adorable, my love. As always!



  

                   

Oh, Lizzie!



  

                   

Uh-hmm.



  

                   

Oh, Mr. Beck! Mr. Beck! Look!



  

                   

Lacks-a-daisy!

What's the commotion?



  

                   

Just look at that carriage,

my darling!



  

                   

And those exquisite young men!



  

                   

They must have

come straight from Court!



  

                   

Oh, look! They're getting out.



  

                   

Have you heard

any of neighbours say



  

                   

if they're expecting visitors?



  

                   

No, Mama. Who do you suppose



  

                   

would be entertaining people

of fashion like these?



  

                   

Mr. Beck, ah, send old Flynn



  

                   

and find out if they're stopping

in the vicinity.



  

                   

Ah, ah, slyly, of course.



  

                   

The hustler will tell us.



  

                   

Lah, here comes Aunt Philips

as if something were after her!



  

                   

Lacks-a-daisy! My sister

has lost all sense of decorum!



  

                   

Aunt Philips!



  

                   

Oh! Why such haste?



  

                   

Oh! You're out of breath.



  

                   

I saw your carriage outside.



  

                   

My dear, such news!

Did you see them?



  

                   

Of course, we saw them.

Who are they, Sister?



  

                   

They're the new tenants

of Netherfield Park.



  

                   

Netherfield Park is let,

at last!



  

                   

And to a young man of importance!

His name is Bingley.



  

                   

Is the young woman Mrs. Bingley?



  

                   

No, dear. That's the

pleasantest part of it.



  

                   

She's his sister!



  

                   

She's his sister, Lizzie.



  

                   

Who's the other gentleman,

Aunt Philips?



  

                   

Oh, I don't know.

Some friend, I suppose.



  

                   

Oh! But, let me tell you

about Mr. Bingley.



  

                   

He's very rich!



  

                   

He has

five thousand pounds a year.



  

                   

Five thousand pounds

and unmarried!



  

                   

That's the most heartening

piece of news



  

                   

since the Battle of Waterloo!



  

                   

You couldn't see how handsome

and elegant he is!



  

                   

Excuse me, Madame.



  

                   

The second gentleman's name

is Darcy.



  

                   

The two carriages

and the dogs are his.



  

                   

The chaise belongs to Mr. Bingley.



  

                   

Two carriages and

- one, two, three,



  

                   

four, five,

- six liveried servants!



  

                   

My word! This Mr. Darcy

must also be rich!



  

                   

I wonder if - he's married?



  

                   

Oh! Mrs. Bennet!

I thought we'd find you here.



  

                   

Good morning, Mrs. Philips.

Elizabeth. Jane.



  

                   

I just had to come in

and tell you the news!



  

                   

Dear Lady Lucas, you don't mean



  

                   

about the new tenants

of Netherfield?



  

                   

Ye-! Oh!

You've heard it already.



  

                   

Yes, dear.



  

                   

Mr. Bingley has

five thousand pounds a year.



  

                   

Who is this Mr. Darcy?



  

                   

He's Mr. Bingley's guest.

They're inseparable friends.



  

                   

He's one of the

Darcys of Pembley.



  

                   

Oh! Mr. Darcy of Pembley!

Is that all you know about him?



  

                   

Wha-! Oh!

You mean, is he married?



  

                   

No, dear, no. He isn't married.



  

                   

And, he's even richer

than Mr. Bingley.



  

                   

The Pembley estates and all



  

                   

are worth a clear

ten thousand a year.



  

                   

Ten thou-! Isn't it fortunate



  

                   

to have two eligible young men

coming to the neighborhood?



  

                   

Perhaps one of them will

fall in love with your Charlotte.



  

                   

Oh! Not if he sees Jane

or Lizzie first!



  

                   

You may not have beauty, my lamb,

but, you have character.



  

                   

And, some men prefer it.



  

                   

How true, Lady Lucas.



  

                   

That's why girls who have both

are doubly fortunate.



  

                   

Come, my dears.



  

                   

The dressmaker will call

for the muslin, Mr. Beck.



  

                   

Come for chaise, Mama?



  

                   

Ssshhh.



  

                   

Good morning, Lady Lucas.



  

                   

Oh! Good morning, Mrs. Bennet.



   

                   

We shall meet

at the Assembly Ball, of course.



   

                   

Yes, indeed.



   

                   

Goodbye, Sister. Oh!

You mustn't leave Lady Lucas.



   

                   

Tell Mr. Beck to show you that

exquisite piece of flower damask.



   

                   

Goodbye!



   

                   

Goodbye.



   

                   

Goodbye.



   

                   

Goodbye, Lady Lucas.



   

                   

Goodbye, Lizzie.



   

                   

Come over to Longbourn,

Charlotte.



   

                   

Mama!



   

                   

Heaven only knows

where your sisters are!



   

                   

We must get home at once!



   

                   

But, Mama, why?



   

                   

Your father must call on



   

                   

Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy

this very afternoon.



   

                   

If he doesn't, the Lucases will.



   

                   

That's what it looks like.



   

                   

But the damask, milady.



   

                   

Oh, we'll choose the material

some other time, Mr. Beck.



   

                   

Come, Charlotte.



   

                   

Hurry, my dear!



   

                   

Where are those girls?



   

                   

Whenever I want them,

I never can find them.



   

                   

There's Mary, Mama.



   

                   

Oh! Mary! Mary!



   

                   

Isn't that just like the girl!



   

                   

Ah, ah, Mary!



   

                   

Mary!



   

                   

Oh!



   

                   

Look, Mama!

I have just purchased



   

                   

Burke's essay

on the sublime and beautiful!



   

                   

You and your books!



   

                   

No wonder you're compelled

to wear disfiguring glasses!



   

                   

Oh! Where are Kitty and Lydia?



   

                   

Look for an Officer in a red coat

and you'll find them.



   

                   

Ah, yes, the Officers!

Come girls!



   

                   

Is that the way

you'll treat a wife, Mr. Wickham?



   

                   

More likely to be the way

she will treat me, Miss Lydia.



   

                   

Mama, there they are.



   

                   

Where?



   

                   

There. Look.



   

                   

Kitty, there's Mama.



   

                   

Kitty! Lydia! Come here!



   

                   

Those two are getting sillier

and sillier over Officers.



   

                   

I don't know

why you permit it, Mama.



   

                   

I had a weakness for the

military myself when I was young.



   

                   

Oh, Mama!

Do we have to go home so soon?



   

                   

We just met

the most fascinating new Officer!



   

                   

A Mr. Wickham.

He's just joined the Black Shoes.



   

                   

He's charming!



   

                   

Yes, I suppose

he's very delightful!



   

                   

Oh, dear!

Where is that coachman?



   

                   

Where is Jennings?



   

                   

Oh, there he is!

Now, come along, girls!



   

                   

Don't dawdle!



   

                   

Stay where you are, Jennings!



   

                   

Stay where you are!

We don't have time to lose!



   

                   

Look, Mama!

Lady Lucas's carriage!



   

                   

Pass them, Batings! Pass them!



   

                   

Overtake them, Jennings!

Overtake them!



   

                   

That's it, Jennings! That's it!



   

                   

That will teach her a lesson!



   

                   

Keep on going, Jennings!



   

                   

I must tell your Papa

about the visit!



   

                   

There's no time to lose!



   

                   

Ah, go to the drawing room,

girls.



   

                   

Matthews, could you help

polish the chaise.



   

                   

Mr. Bennet! Mr. Bennet!



   

                   

Mr. Bennet!



   

                   

Yes, my dear?



   

                   

Mr. Bennet! Netherfield Park

has been let at last!



   

                   

Uh-hmm.



   

                   

Did you hear me?



   

                   

Netherfield Park

has been let at last!



   

                   

Indeed, Mrs. Bennet?



   

                   

Well, don't you want to hear

who's taken it?



   

                   

Well, if you want to tell me,



   

                   

I have no objection

to hearing it.



   

                   

Mr. Bingley is his name.



   

                   

And it seems he's a young man

of large fortune!



   

                   

And he's single, my dear!

Think of it!



   

                   

What a fine thing for our girls!



   

                   

Is it?



   

                   

Mr. Bennet, you know

perfectly well what I mean.



   

                   

I am thinking of his

marrying one of our daughters.



   

                   

Oh! Is that his design

in settling here?



   

                   

How can you talk so, Mr. Bennet?

This is a serious matter!



   

                   

You must go

and visit him at once!



   

                   

You and the girls go.



   

                   

Or, better still,

send the girls by themselves.



   

                   

But you're as handsome

as any of them.



   

                   

And Mr. Bingley

may like you best of all!



   

                   

Well, my dear, you flatter me.



   

                   

When a woman

has five grown-up daughters,



   

                   

she ought to give over

thinking of her own beauty.



   

                   

Well, in most such cases,



   

                   

a woman hasn't much beauty

to think of, my dear.



   

                   

Now, seriously, Mr. Bennet,

you must go and see Mr. Bingley!



   

                   

If you don't,

Sir William and Lady Lucas



   

                   

will get there before us!



   

                   

You should have seen her

galloping her horses



   

                   

to beat me from the village

just now.



   

                   

Did she win?



   

                   

Hah! Indeed, she did not!



   

                   

But, she'd stop at nothing



   

                   

to get Mr. Bingley

interested in her Charlotte.



   

                   

Well, I'll tell you

what I'll do, my dear.



   

                   

I'll write to assure him

of my hearty consent



   

                   

to his marrying whichever

he chooses of the girls.



   

                   

Though I must saw in a good word

for my Lizzie.



   

                   

Elizabeth is not one wit

better than the others.



   

                   

But you always

give her the preference!



   

                   

Oh! They're all silly

and ignorant like most girls.



   

                   

Ahh!



   

                   

But Lizzie has some

glimmering of success.



   

                   

Mr. Bennet! How could you



   

                   

abuse your own children

in such a way?



   

                   

You think of ways of vexing me!



   

                   

You've no compassion!



   

                   

And, my poor nerves!



   

                   

Oh! You mistake me, my dear.



   

                   

I have the highest respect

for your nerves.



   

                   

I have heard you

mention them with consideration



   

                   

for the last twenty years.



   

                   

How can you be so resigned

to your daughters



   

                   

growing up to be

penniless old maids?



   

                   

Leaving everything

to that cousin of yours!



   

                   

That - that odious Mr. Collins!



   

                   

Mrs. Bennet,

for the thousandth time!



   

                   

This estate was entailed

when I inherited it.



   

                   

It must, by law,

go to a male heir.



   

                   

A male heir, Mrs. Bennet!



   

                   

And, it's possible you remember,

we have no son!



   

                   

All the more reason why you

should take some responsibility



   

                   

by getting husbands for them!



   

                   

No! You escape

into your intelligible books!



   

                   

And leave everything to me!



   

                   

Look at them!

Five of them without dowries!



   

                   

What's to become of them?



   

                   

Yes, what is to become

of the wretched creatures?



   

                   

Perhaps we should have drowned

some of them at birth.



   

                   

Mr. Bennet!



   

                   

I'm glad

you didn't drown me, Papa!



   

                   

It's much too nice

just being alive!



   

                   

Even if I never have a husband.



   

                   

Well, I hope Mr. Bingley

likes the hat.



   

                   

We are not in the way of knowing

what Mr. Bingley likes



   

                   

since we're not to meet him!



   

                   

Mary, stop playing!



   

                   

Don't keep on coughing, Kitty!

Good heavens!



   

                   

Have a little compassion

on my poor nerves!



   

                   

Well, Kitty

has no discretion in her cough.



   

                   

She times them ill.



   

                   

I don't cough

for my own amusement, Mama.



   

                   

Mama, why aren't we

to meet Mr. Bingley?



   

                   

Don't speak about Mr. Bingley!

I'm sick of him!



   

                   

Eh? Oh, I'm sorry

to hear that, my dear.



   

                   

If I'd known

that you'll feel like this,



   

                   

I shouldn't have

gone out of my way



   

                   

to make

his acquaintance last week.



   

                   

Oh! Oh! It's very unlucky!



   

                   

I even gave him tickets

to the Assembly Ball.



   

                   

And I believe, he intends to

make himself known to you there.



   

                   

Mr. Bennet, you could be wicked

and bold at times!



   

                   

Since he signed his lease

at Netherfield, my dear.



   

                   

Ohh!



   

                   

Did you tell him that

you had five daughters, Papa?



   

                   

Well, I told him



   

                   

if he ran into five of the

silliest girls in England,



   

                   

they would be my daughters.



   

                   

Do you suppose the tenants

at Netherfield are not coming?



   

                   

Very discourteous if they don't



   

                   

considering Mr. Bennet

gave them tickets.



   

                   

Don't you think we dance

beautifully together, Mr. Wickham?



   

                   

I suspect you dance beautifully

with anyone, Miss Lydia.



   

                   

And I know I do.



   

                   

Tell me, who is the lovely

creature in the blue dress?



   

                   

That lovely creature

is my sister, Elizabeth.



   

                   

Ahh! Then, I'm in luck!



   

                   

Please present me

when the dance is over.



   

                   

Lizzie! This is Mr. Wickham.

He wants to meet you.



   

                   

He thinks

you're a lovely creature.



   

                   

Someday, I'll tell you

what sort of a creature you are.



   

                   

After that introduction,



   

                   

I hardly know how to begin,

Miss Elizabeth.



   

                   

Shall I offer a remark

on the weather?



   

                   

If you can make it fit

for a young lady's ears.



   

                   

You are right. The weather

is too dangerous a subject.



   

                   

To be quite safe,



   

                   

I shall ask you

how you like it here in Meryton.



   

                   

Ahh! That's anything but safe!



   

                   

I'm just discovering

that I like it prodigiously!



   

                   

I hope you'll ask me



   

                   

when I began to like it

so prodigiously, Miss Elizabeth.



   

                   

I will.



   

                   

When did you?



   

                   

Ahh...



   

                   

The moment I saw you.



   

                   

Very pretty, sir.



   

                   

Shall I tell you what I thought

the moment I saw you?



   

                   

Only if it's pleasant!



   

                   

Oh, it is! I thought...



   

                   

You were

going to say, Miss Elizabeth?



   

                   

Oh, yes! I'm sorry, I forget!



   

                   

Ladies and gentlemen,



   

                   

Miss Bingley, Mr. Bingley

and Mr. Darcy!



   

                   

This is indeed an honor!



   

                   

Very distinguished!



   

                   

Ah, Kitty, Kitty!

Your dress is too de... (French).



   

                   

Put it up a little.



   

                   

Lydia! Lydia, there's

perspiration on your nose.



   

                   

Don't look so hot.

It's very unladylike.



   

                   

Oh, Jane. Jane, dear.



   

                   

Yes, Mama?



   

                   

Of course, you are

quite perfect, my dear!



   

                   

Lizzie, Lizzie! Do try

to make a good impression.



   

                   

You can be so appealing

when you want to be!



   

                   

Oh, ah, Mary.



   

                   

Try to sparkle a little.



   

                   

Just a little!



   

                   

A waltz, Mr. Darcy.



   

                   

Yes.



   

                   

How modern.



   

                   

Yes indeed.



   

                   

Shall we have our dance now?



   

                   

It's a pleasure.



   

                   

Oh! What a handsome young man

Mr. Darcy is!



   

                   

And so rich, too!



   

                   

His mother was a daughter of the

Marquis of Scarlingford.



   

                   

Did you hear that, Jane?

The Marquis of Scarlingford?



   

                   

And doesn't he know it!



   

                   

I like Mr. Bingley better.

Mr. Darcy is so so supercilious.



   

                   

My goodness!

He does have an air about him.



   

                   

Pray, Sir William! Who is that

uncommonly handsome girl?



   

                   

Who?



   

                   

Over there, next to the pillar.



   

                   

Oh, ah, that's Miss Bennet.



   

                   

This is our dance,

Miss Elizabeth.



   

                   

Mrs. Bennet,

may I present Mr. Bingley?



   

                   

Mrs. Bennet. Mrs. Philips.



   

                   

Miss Jane Bennet.

Miss Mary Bennet.



   

                   

Mr. Bingley,

we're all so delighted



   

                   

that you've taken Netherfield.



   

                   

Having it standing empty was

a lost to the whole neighborhood.



   

                   

Like an oyster shell

without an oyster in it.



   

                   

Well, here is the oyster, Madame.



   

                   

But, if I may be permitted

to say so,



   

                   

it is you who have the pearl!



   

                   

Charming! Charming!



   

                   

Oh, ah, Jane dear, why don't you

say something to Mr. Bingley?



   

                   

Good evening, sir.



   

                   

May I have the honor

of this dance, Miss Bennet?



   

                   

A pleasure.



   

                   

Think of having a daughter

happily settled at Netherfield.



   

                   

She'll be pricing

wedding garments tomorrow.



   

                   

Mind your manners!

Stop scratching yourself!



   

                   

Yes, Mama.



   

                   

Well! Is Miss Bingley

engaged to Mr. Darcy?



   

                   

If she is,

she ought to break it.



   

                   

Why?



   

                   

No man can be in love

and look so bored!



   

                   

Did you ever see such people,

Mr. Darcy?



   

                   

Really! I think my brother

ought to apologize



   

                   

for bringing us

to a place like this!



   

                   

He is so dreadful

and undiscriminating.



   

                   

He seems to be able

to enjoy himself in any society.



   

                   

I'm not surprised that he is



   

                   

able to enjoy himself

in that society.



   

                   

You know, Miss Bennet, you've

done a very extraordinary thing.



   

                   

What?



   

                   

You have talked to me

about all your friends in Meryton



   

                   

without saying

one malicious word.



   

                   

Oh, but, they are all

such agreeable people.



   

                   

They're kind and pleasant.



   

                   

That never prevented anyone

from talking maliciously.



   

                   

Ohh!



   

                   

To your health!

Your health!



   

                   

Now here you

and Kitty down in one gulp!



   

                   

Don't giggle!

Now raise your hands!



   

                   

Oh, look at that. Let's go!



   

                   

Yes!



   

                   

My goodness! What a hullabaloo!



   

                   

Well, they're only young ones!



   

                   

That odious Mr. Darcy!



   

                   

Looking down his nose

at everybody!



   

                   

Does he think

he is too good for us?



   

                   

Come, Sister darling!



   

                   

Isn't that delightful?



   

                   

Your liking riding

as much as I do!



   

                   

Yes.



   

                   

I hope we may be able

to ride together sometimes.



   

                   

That will be nice.



   

                   

Oh, Caroline!



   

                   

Miss Jane, will you take



   

                   

a little stroll

about the room with me?



   

                   

With pleasure!



   

                   

Oh, no, Charles!

You were not invited.



   

                   

I have a thousand things

I want to ask Miss Jane.



   

                   

You know, I've a feeling

about Mr. Bingley and Jane.



   

                   

I really have.



   

                   

Look! Look, Sister!



   

                   

Miss Bingley is being

excessively gracious to Jane.



   

                   

What did I tell you?

It's a sure sign!



   

                   

You must come over

to Netherfield one day.



   

                   

I should be so bored.



   

                   

What?



   

                   

Oh, you know! We're new out here

in the wilderness.



   

                   

We will arrange it, shall we?

Very soon?



   

                   

That will be delightful!



   

                   

Oh! This is better than

brazening it out in the open.



   

                   

Don't tell me

we haven't any partners here.



   

                   

Oh, why is England cursed with

so many more women than men?



   

                   

Darcy!



   

                   

Come! I hate to see you stalking



   

                   

about by yourself

in a stupid manner.



   

                   

Why don't you dance?



   

                   

With whom?



   

                   

Your sister is engaged



   

                   

and there isn't another woman

in the room



   

                   

that it wouldn't be a punishment

for me to stand up with.



   

                   

But the place

is full of pretty girls!



   

                   

I have noticed only one and you

seemed to have monopolised her.



   

                   

Yes, isn't she lovely?



   

                   

But, there's that

sister of hers, Miss Elizabeth.



   

                   

They say

she has quite a lively wit.



   

                   

Ugh! A provincial young lady

with a lively wit.



   

                   

Heaven preserve us!



   

                   

And, there's that

mother of hers.



   

                   

It's not the mother

you have to dance with, Darcy.



   

                   

It's the daughter.

She's charming.



   

                   

Yes. She looks tolerable enough.



   

                   

But I'm in no humor tonight



   

                   

to be of consequence

to the middle classes at play.



   

                   

What a charming man!



   

                   

Of all the arrogant,

detestable snobs!



   

                   

Oh, but, Lizzie, he didn't know

you were listening.



   

                   

What difference does that make?



   

                   

He would have said just the same

as he had.



   

                   

Oh, she looks tolerable enough!



   

                   

But I'm in no humor tonight



   

                   

to be of consequence

to the middle classes at play.



   

                   

To think how we badgered

poor Papa to get him here!



   

                   

Oh, I could!



   

                   

Oh! Praise heavens!



   

                   

I have this dance

engaged with Col. Stubbs.



   

                   

He's never learned the steps

but he likes the exercise.



   

                   

And, it gets me away

from the wall.



   

                   

But, as I was saying,



   

                   

I was about to ask you,

Sir William,



   

                   

if you would do me the kindness

to introduce me to Miss Bennet.



   

                   

Oh, certainly.



   

                   

Dancing is a charming amusement

for young people.



   

                   

In my opinion, it's one of the



   

                   

first refinements

of a polite society.



   

                   

It has the added advantage, sir,



   

                   

of being one of the

first refinements of savages.



   

                   

Every huttentot can dance.



   

                   

Oh, yes. Quite true.



   

                   

So, Miss Elizabeth, may I have

the honor to present Mr. Darcy?



   

                   

He's eager to invite you

to dance.



   

                   

Now that you had been forewarned



   

                   

of my eagerness

to dance with you,



   

                   

may I hope

that you will do me the honor?



   

                   

I'm afraid that the honor of

standing up with you, Mr. Darcy,



   

                   

is more than I can bear.

Pray, excuse me.



   

                   

Am I to understand that you



   

                   

do not wish to dance with me,

Miss Bennet?



   

                   

Sir, I'm begging to be excused.



   

                   

The loss is mine, I'm sure.



   

                   

Well, you, perhaps,

know best about that, sir.



   

                   

Miss Elizabeth,

if you're not engaged,



   

                   

will you honor me

with the next dance?



   

                   

I shall be very happy

to dance with you!



   

                   

Oh! This is Mr. Wickham,

Mr. Darcy.



   

                   

Mr. Darcy and I have met before.



   

                   

We have, indeed.



   

                   

The man must be mad.



   

                   

Mad? You're too charitable,

Miss Elizabeth.



   

                   

If you're better acquainted,

you would see in him another man.



   

                   

Have you known him a long time?



   

                   

Yes, since childhood.



   

                   

But, as you saw,

we're not on friendly terms.



   

                   

Without knowing

anything about it,



   

                   

I'm on your side.



   

                   

Thank you, Miss Elizabeth!



   

                   

You see, my father was the

steward at the Darcy estates.



   

                   

Young Darcy and I grew up

together almost like brothers.



   

                   

I mustn't trust myself

on that subject.



   

                   

After what Darcy has done to me,

I - I wouldn't be a fair judge.



   

                   

Ahh! Polka mazoorka!



   

                   

I didn't expect to find Meryton

abreast with the new fashion!



   

                   

You underrate us, Mr. Wickham.



   

                   

Meryton

is abreast with everything.



   

                   

Everything except insolence

and bad manners.



   

                   

Those London fashions

we do not admire.



   

                   

Things are working out exactly



   

                   

as I hoped the first minute

I set eyes on Mr. Bingley.



   

                   

What's this about Mr. Bingley?



   

                   

I'm dining with him

and his sister, Papa.



   

                   

This is the day!



   

                   

A great and fateful day.



   

                   

Mama, do you suppose they'll have

turtle soup for dinner?



   

                   

They're so frightfully rich!



   

                   

No, dear.

You can't expect turtle soup



   

                   

until your engagement

is actually announced!



   

                   

Now, Jane, don't forget

what I told you.



   

                   

Don't be too distant with him,



   

                   

and, be sure to laugh

when he makes a joke.



   

                   

Yes, even if it's a bad one.



   

                   

Especially if it's a bad one.



   

                   

And, dear, try to sit

where he can see you in profile.



   

                   

You know, dear, although I say

I shouldn't,



   

                   

you have the loveliest profile

in all Hamphshire.



   

                   

Mama.



   

                   

Oh! And, Jane, if Mr. Bingley



   

                   

should suggest a stroll

before dinner, don't refuse.



   

                   

For instance, they just

delightfully secluded walks



   

                   

in those shrubberies

around that field.



   

                   

Yes, Mama.



   

                   

There won't be

much strolling today, Mama.



   

                   

Oh, dear me!

I'm afraid you're right!



   

                   

Oh! And I had such hopes

for those shrubberies!



   

                   

Get out, Jane!

Get out, dear! Come on!



   

                   

I'm seated, Mama! I want to go!



   

                   

Who said you weren't going?



   

                   

Get out there and

change your clothes immediately!



   

                   

Ah, take the carriage back

to the stables, Jennings!



   

                   

And, tell the boy

to saddle Miss Jane's horse.



   

                   

Oh! But, Mama, you can't send

Jane out on horseback.



   

                   

It's going to rain

and she'll catch cold.



   

                   

Oh, fiddlesticks!



   

                   

People don't catch cold

from a few drops of water!



   

                   

Besides, if it rains,



   

                   

she won't be able

to ride home after dinner.



   

                   

They'll have to keep her

all night!



   

                   

You know dinners and a thing



   

                   

like that weather

lead to engagements.



   

                   

Your dear father and I became

engaged in a thunderstorm.



   

                   

You'll be confined here

for at least a week, Miss Bennet.



   

                   

A week!



   

                   

A week!



   

                   

I hope your mother

won't be too much upset!



   

                   

Oh! No! Mother will be deli-!



   

                   

I mean, she'll be grateful

having such good friends.



   

                   

Oh!



   

                   

Now, Jane, turn this way.



   

                   

This way.



   

                   

Now, open your mouth.



   

                   

Say, "Aahh".



   

                   

Aahh.



   

                   

Once more.



   

                   

Aahh.



   

                   

The epidermis seems to have lost

its siderotic activity.



   

                   

I detect distinct symptoms

of pyrexia.



   

                   

Oh! Is that bad, Dr. Mackintosh?



   

                   

He just means you're rather

feverish, Miss Jane.



   

                   

Oh!



   

                   

There is also acute coryza

of the nasal cavities



   

                   

accompanied by local

inflammation of the larynx.



   

                   

Not to mention

some pulmonary congestion,



   

                   

and, neuralgic pains

in the temporal region.



   

                   

In other words, Miss Jane,



   

                   

you have a bad cold

and a headache.



   

                   

What do you want us to do,

Doctor?



   

                   

I would advise the immediate

application of a sinepism.



   

                   

A sidepicip?



   

                   

A massive plaster.



   

                   

There seems to be someone

coming up the drive.



   

                   

It would appear to be one

of your sisters. Miss Elizabeth.



   

                   

Well, then,

I'll go down and meet her.



   

                   

Come in, Miss Elizabeth.



   

                   

Oh! How do you do, Mr. Bingley?

We got Jane's note this morning.



   

                   

She'll be so happy to see you.



   

                   

Thank you.



   

                   

Ah, this way, Miss Elizabeth.



   

                   

Please forgive me, Miss Bingley.



   

                   

I'm afraid

it's a great intrusion.



   

                   

My uneasiness about my sister

must be my excuse.



   

                   

It's just a little cold,

that's all.



   

                   

Ah, but, Dr. Mackintosh says

there's some fever.



   

                   

It doesn't amount to anything.

Nothing to get agitated about.



   

                   

I thought I heard your voice,

Miss Elizabeth.



   

                   

Have you come

to visit your sister?



   

                   

And, she seems actually

to have walked.



   

                   

The horses

were needed at the farm.



   

                   

I had no alternative.



   

                   

Oh, you didn't come alone,

I hope.



   

                   

All alone.



   

                   

But how shocking!

Don't you think so, Mr. Darcy?



   

                   

Is it shocking for a young lady

to be concerned about her sister?



   

                   

But to have come

all this way unaccompanied!



   

                   

And, on foot!



   

                   

Mr. Bingley, would it be possible

for me to see Jane?



   

                   

At once! I'll take you up myself!



   

                   

Papa, listen to Mary!



   

                   

I can't help listening, my dear.



   

                   

Will you be quiet?!



   

                   

Mama, the sun is shining!

May I go to the village?



   

                   

Uhm!



   

                   

May I go, too, Mama?



   

                   

Well, I suppose so.



   

                   

Oh! Stop that caterwauling!



   

                   

Has anybody heard how Jane is

this morning?



   

                   

Eh, Mr. Bingley sent a note

over by his groom.



   

                   

She's much better.



   

                   

Such a happy idea of mine,

sending her off in the rain!



   

                   

Yes, but, then, Jane must have

all the credit



   

                   

for having caught the cold,

my dear.



   

                   

How much longer

are Elizabeth and Jane



   

                   

going to stay at Netherfield?



   

                   

Well! We're hoping



   

                   

Elizabeth can manage

to catch a cold of her own,



   

                   

and, stay long enough

to get engaged to Mr. Darcy!



   

                   

Then, if a good snowstorm

could be arranged,



   

                   

we'd send Kitty over.



   

                   

And, if a young man

should happen to be in the house,



   

                   

a young man who likes singing,

of course,



   

                   

who can discuss philosophy,

Mary could go.



   

                   

Then, if a dashing young soldier



   

                   

in a handsome uniform

should appear for Lydia,



   

                   

everything would be perfect,

my dear!



   

                   

Just a little marmalade, please,

Kitty, girl.



   

                   

That's twenty-and-ten

for the game.



   

                   

I have two-and-twenty on me.



   

                   

Oh! Miss Eliza,

is your patient asleep?



   

                   

Is she better, Miss Elizabeth?



   

                   

Yes, her fever is quite gone.



   

                   

I'm so glad! Ah, will you

join us in a game of cards?



   

                   

No, thank you. Please continue

with whatever you were playing.



   

                   

I'd enjoy looking

at some of your books, if I may.



   

                   

Miss Eliza is a great reader,

I'm sure.



   

                   

And has no pleasure in anything

so frivolous as cards.



   

                   

Is that true, Miss Elizabeth?



   

                   

Not at all.

I'm not a great reader



   

                   

and I have pleasure

in many frivolous things.



   

                   

Thank you.



   

                   

I'm sure you have pleasure

in nursing your sister.



   

                   

And, I hope

it will soon be increased



   

                   

by seeing her quite well.



   

                   

Thank you. I think

she may be taken home tomorrow.



   

                   

Oh! Not so soon!



   

                   

I'm afraid so.



   

                   

You see, my mother is expecting

a visit from our Cousin Collins



   

                   

whom none of us has ever seen.



   

                   

Well, naturally,

you're curious to see her.



   

                   

My Cousin Collins is a man.



   

                   

But, we are curious to see him.

Naturally.



   

                   

Miss Jane mustn't go out

until the doctor advises it.



   

                   

Cousin or no cousin.



   

                   

There are others in the library

if you care for none of these.



   

                   

This will suit me perfectly.

Thank you.



   

                   

What a delightful library

you have at Pembley, Mr. Darcy!



   

                   

It ought to be good.



   

                   

It's the work

of many generations.



   

                   

Shall we continue, Darcy?



   

                   

You and Miss Bingley play.



   

                   

I really must finish my letter

to my sister.



   

                   

How I long to see

your sister again, Mr. Darcy!



   

                   

I've never met anyone

who delighted me so much.



   

                   

Such a countenance!

Such manners!



   

                   

And so extremely accomplished

for one of her age!



   

                   

It's amazing to me



   

                   

how young ladies

can have the patience



   

                   

to be so accomplished

as they all are.



   

                   

All young ladies

are not accomplished, Charles.



   

                   

All I know are.



   

                   

Aren't all

you know accomplished, Darcy?



   

                   

I can't boast of knowing



   

                   

more than half a dozen

who are really so.



   

                   

Nor I!

What do you think, Miss Eliza?



   

                   

I think that you and Mr. Darcy

must comprehend a great deal



   

                   

in your idea

of the accomplished woman.



   

                   

I do.



   

                   

Oh, certainly! No one can

really be esteemed accomplished,



   

                   

unless, you have

a thorough knowledge



   

                   

of music, singing, dancing,

and, the modern languages.



   

                   

Besides, she must also possess

a certain something



   

                   

in the tone of her voice,



   

                   

in her address,

in her expressions,



   

                   

as well as,

in her figure and carriage.



   

                   

To which you must add

something more substantial



   

                   

in the improvement of her mind

by extensive reading.



   

                   

I'm no longer surprised that you

know only six accomplished women.



   

                   

I've wondered your knowing any!



   

                   

Caroline, are we to discuss

this subject further?



   

                   

Or shall we play piquet?



   

                   

Oh, I don't wish to play cards,

Charles.



   

                   

I think I'd prefer a book, too.



   

                   

After all, there's no enjoyment

like reading.



   

                   

I'll play with you, Mr. Bingley.



   

                   

You cut.



   

                   

Do you like dancing,

Miss Elizabeth?



   

                   

Love it!



   

                   

As soon as your sister

has fully recovered,



   

                   

I shall give a ball.



   

                   

Oh! That's a delightful idea!



   

                   

Pray tell your sister

that I'm delighted



   

                   

to hear of her grogress in music.



   

                   

And let her know

that I'm quite in raptures



   

                   

with her beautiful design

for a table.



   

                   

Will you allow me to defer

your raptures to her again?



   

                   

I really haven't room

to do them justice.



   

                   

It's of rare consequence.

I shall see her soon.



   

                   

I'm hungry. May I get you

some food, Miss Elizabeth?



   

                   

No, thank you.



   

                   

Miss Eliza, let me persuade you



   

                   

to join me in taking

a turn about the room.



   

                   

You'll find it very refreshing

after sitting for so long.



   

                   

With pleasure!



   

                   

Mr. Darcy, will you join us?



   

                   

Ah, no, thank you.



   

                   

I can imagine only two motives

for your walking with,



   

                   

either of which my joining

you would interfere.



   

                   

What does he mean by that,

Miss Elizabeth?



   

                   

If I read

his character correctly,



   

                   

he means to be severe upon us.



   

                   

And the best way of

disappointing him is not to ask.



   

                   

I'm not sure

that your character reading



   

                   

is too brilliant,

Miss Elizabeth.



   

                   

Anyway, I must know.



   

                   

Pray explain what the

two motives might be, Mr. Darcy.



   

                   

I've not the smallest objection

to explaining.



   

                   

Either you have

secret affairs to discuss,



   

                   

or, you are conscious

that your figures show



   

                   

to the greatest advantage

while walking.



   

                   

In the first place, I should be

completely in your way.



   

                   

And, in the second,



   

                   

I can admire you much better

from where I am.



   

                   

Perfectly abominable!



   

                   

What shall we do to punish him,

Miss Eliza?



   

                   

As you know him so well,



   

                   

I shall leave

his punishment to you.



   

                   

I must go up and see Jane.

Good night.



   

                   

Good night.



   

                   

Why disclaim punishment,

Miss Elizabeth,



   

                   

when you deliberately inflict it

by leaving us so soon?



   

                   

If my departure

is any punishment, Mr. Darcy,



   

                   

you are quite right.



   

                   

My character reading

is not too brilliant.



   

                   

Good night, sir.



   

                   

Charming, my dear! Charming!

But, ah, that will do!



   

                   

Eh, Mary. Mary!

That's quite enough, dear.



   

                   

I'm so glad

I went to fetch Jane myself.



   

                   

If only to see the look

in Mr. Bingley's eyes



   

                   

when he assisted her

into the carriage.



   

                   

Oh, Jane dear! There you are!



   

                   

Oh, Jane!



   

                   

Are you feeling better, dearest?



   

                   

Oh! Much better!



   

                   

Jane dear, I was talking

about dear Mr. Bingley.



   

                   

What a charming son-in-law

he will be!



   

                   

But, he hasn't proposed yet,

has he, Mama?



   

                   

He will! I told him some things

about Jane before I left.



   

                   

Mama!



   

                   

Only that you have the loveliest

disposition in the world!



   

                   

And, I let drop the fact



   

                   

that you had declined any number

of marriage proposals.



   

                   

Oh, Mama, you didn't!



   

                   

Of course, I did!

Didn't I, Lizzie?



   

                   

I'm afraid you did, Mama.



   

                   

And I set that arrogant Mr. Darcy

down, too, before I left!



   

                   

Did you hear what I said to him,

Lizzie?



   

                   

Yes. I heard only too clearly.



   

                   

Oh, ah, Matthews,

is dinner ready?



   

                   

Yes, milady.



   

                   

Good! I'm starving!



   

                   

So am I! How long

do we have to wait



   

                   

for this Collins person?



   

                   

Matthews, go upstairs

and tell Mr. Collins



   

                   

we're waiting dinner for him!



   

                   

Very well, Madame.



   

                   

Insufferable creature!



   

                   

After all, Mama,

it isn't his fault



   

                   

that he is to inherit

the estate someday.



   

                   

To think we have to feed the man



   

                   

who is waiting to snatch

the bread out of our mouths!



   

                   

Scheming to rob us

of everything we have



   

                   

the moment

your poor dear father is dead!



   

                   

Ahem. I sometimes think,

my dear,



   

                   

that you've taken



   

                   

an unnecessarily gloomy view

about my future.



   

                   

Well, Papa, tell us

what he is really like.



   

                   

Well, from the little

I saw of him



   

                   

between the front door

and his bedroom,



   

                   

I should say that he was

an uncommonly fine specimen.



   

                   

Here he comes!



   

                   

I have heard much, Madame,



   

                   

of the charm and beauty

of your daughters.



   

                   

Madame, I have heard much

about the charm and beau-!



   

                   

Oh, heavens!

What a pudding face!



   

                   

Perhaps

he has beauties of character.



   

                   

Yes, perhaps, my dear.

But, we shall see.



   

                   

I trust I haven't

kept you waiting, sir.



   

                   

Not at all, sir. Not at all.



   

                   

And now, let me present you

to Mrs. Bennet and my daughters.



   

                   

Mrs. Bennet, my dear, Mr. Collins.



   

                   

How do you do, Mr. Collins?



   

                   

I trust your journey

was not too fatiguing.



   

                   

Oh, Madame, the fatigues

of the journey



   

                   

have been melted away



   

                   

by the warmth

of your gracious hospitality.



   

                   

Uhm, my daughters, Mr. Collins.

This is Jane.



   

                   

This is indeed a privilege.



   

                   

Kitty.



   

                   

Another privilege.



   

                   

Lydia, our youngest.



   

                   

Mary.



   

                   

And Elizabeth.



   

                   

I'm quite overpowered.



   

                   

Madame, I have heard

much of the charm



   

                   

and beauty of your daughters.



   

                   

May I say that their fame

falls far short of the reality?



   

                   

Unfortunately, looks



   

                   

aren't the only things

that count, Mr. Collins.



   

                   

Even a beautiful girl

must have money.



   

                   

And, things are settled

so very ugly in this family.



   

                   

Ah, quite so, Madame.



   

                   

Well, speaking of beauty,

it might interest you to know



   

                   

that my taste in it

was formed by the expert opinion



   

                   

of my distinguished patroness,

Lady Catherine de Bourgh.



   

                   

Uh-hmm, Mr. Collins,

would you tell us something



   

                   

about your

distinguished patroness?



   

                   

Oh, Lady Catherine!



   

                   

Never in my life, sir,

have I witnessed



   

                   

such behavior

in a person of the rank.



   

                   

Such affability and

- condescension!



   

                   

You surprise me, sir!



   

                   

I had heard of Lady Catherine -



   

                   

as a very proud

and haughty woman!



   

                   

Such is the vulgar opinion, sir!



   

                   

But, I can assure you,



   

                   

although I act

as her Ladyship's librarian,



   

                   

she has always spoken to me as

she would to any other gentleman.



   

                   

Not really!



   

                   

And, now, let me give you

a further instance



   

                   

of her Ladyship's

extraordinary condescension.



   

                   

She advised me to marry

as soon as I could,



   

                   

and, actually promised

to call upon my wife!



   

                   

Provided, of course,

I choose with discretion.



   

                   

Oh! Do explain yourself,

Mr. Collins.



   

                   

As you all well know,



   

                   

when a certain

melancholic event occurs,



   

                   

I shall be the involuntary means

of disinheriting your daughters.



   

                   

I have long felt it my duty



   

                   

to make such reparation

as within my power.



   

                   

I quite understand, Mr. Collins!



   

                   

Unfortunately, I cannot

make amends to more than one.



   

                   

The difficulty now is, ah,

one of, ah, choice.



   

                   

I think, perhaps, Miss Jane.



   

                   

I'm sorry to disappoint you,

Mr. Collins,



   

                   

but, Jane is practically engaged.



   

                   

We are expecting a proposal

any moment now.



   

                   

Well, then, ah, Miss Elizabeth.



   

                   

That is,

if there is no prior claim.



   

                   

Oh, none!

Ah, none that we know of.



   

                   

Dinner is served, Madame.



   

                   

And, now, my dear Mr. Collins,



   

                   

shall we adjourn

to the dining room?



   

                   

Pray taste the cold punch,

Mr. Darcy,



   

                   

and, see

if it's properly blended.



   

                   

Excellent!



   

                   

Have it served at once, Roberts.



   

                   

Very well, Madame.



   

                   

Entertaining the rustics

is not as difficult as I feared.



   

                   

Any simple childish games seems

to amuse them excessively.



   

                   

Stop swinging!

I'm going to fall!



   

                   

You are not going to fall,

dummy!



   

                   

Miss Elizabeth!



   

                   

Miss Elizabeth!



   

                   

Miss Elizabeth!



   

                   

Miss Elizabeth!



   

                   

Miss Elizabeth!



   

                   

Miss Elizabeth! Miss Elizabeth!



   

                   

Well, sir! Sir!

I beg your pardon, sir!



   

                   

Do you - do you happen to know

Miss Elizabeth Bennet, sir?



   

                   

I do, sir.



   

                   

Has she - has she passed

this way, may I ask?



   

                   

No, sir.

She has not passed this spot.



   

                   

I suggest that you try

the other side of the lake, sir.



   

                   

I'm obliged to you, sir.



   

                   

All clear.



   

                   

Thank you, Mr. Darcy.



   

                   

You saved me from one

of the most



   

                   

dangerous bores

in the country.



   

                   

If the dragon returns, then,



   

                   

George will know

how to deal with him.



   

                   

Meanwhile, what do you say

to a little target practice?



   

                   

Very well.



   

                   

Are you a good shot with the

bow and arrow, Mr. Darcy?



   

                   

Tolerable.



   

                   

Only - tolerable?



   

                   

Well, it's a fine old sport.



   

                   

And one in which even a

young lady can become proficient.



   

                   

So I heard.



   

                   

At a short range, of course.

And, with a light bow.



   

                   

Hmm! What a bad shot!



   

                   

On the contrary, well done!



   

                   

Well, it might have been worse.

Now, it's your turn.



   

                   

Now, the bow - in the left hand.

Ah! This way.



   

                   

So... the arrow goes like this.



   

                   

Now, these three fingers

- one, two, three.



   

                   

Now, the left arm, straight.

Straight, straight, straight.



   

                   

Now, turn sideways

toward the target.



   

                   

Aim the bull's eye.



   

                   

Yes, that's right.



   

                   

Bull's eye.



   

                   

And, another bull's eye.



   

                   

Next time I talk to a young lady

about archery,



   

                   

I wouldn't be so patronizing.



   

                   

Yes! Thank you for the lesson.



   

                   

Thank you for taking it so well.



   

                   

Most men would be offended.

And, rightly.



   

                   

Would you mind telling me,

Miss Bennet,



   

                   

why you are so determined

to offend me?



   

                   

Is that possible, Mr. Darcy?



   

                   

I thought you were invulnerable!



   

                   

You always look so - impassive.



   

                   

Perhaps you don't laugh enough.



   

                   

You may be right.



   

                   

But, you haven't

answered my question.



   

                   

Mr. Darcy, you promised to give me

a lesson with the darts.



   

                   

I give no more instructions

to young ladies.



   

                   

They're apt

to give instructions to me.



   

                   

What do you say, Miss Bingley?



   

                   

Miss Elizabeth thinks

I do not laugh enough.



   

                   

I should be sorry to see you

laugh more than you do.



   

                   

To me,

there's something so unrefined



   

                   

about excessive laughter.



   

                   

Oh! If you want to be really

refined, you have to be dead.



   

                   

There's no one as dignified

as a mummy.



   

                   

And, now, may I ask you

a question, Mr. Darcy?



   

                   

By all means!



   

                   

What would you think of a man



   

                   

who had everything

the world has to offer?



   

                   

Birth, breeding, wealth,

- good looks.



   

                   

Even charm,

when he chose to exercise it.



   

                   

What would be your opinion

of a man of such gifts -



   

                   

who refused to accept

an introduction to another man



   

                   

who was poor

and of no consequence?



   

                   

I shall reserve my opinion



   

                   

until I knew the circumstances

of that particular case.



   

                   

Do you suppose the gentleman



   

                   

will reveal those circumstances

if he were asked?



   

                   

No. A gentleman does not have

to explain his action.



   

                   

He expects people

to give him credit



   

                   

for being a man of honor

and integrity.



   

                   

And, now, if you will excuse me,

I will retrieve the arrows.



   

                   

Miss Eliza! May I warn you

as a friend



   

                   

not to take George Wickham

too seriously.



   

                   

Oh! You knew

I referred to Mr. Wickham.



   

                   

Of course! I know that



   

                   

he goes about saying that

he's been ill-used by Mr. Darcy.



   

                   

While I'm ignorant

of the particulars,



   

                   

I know that

what he says is not true.



   

                   

How clever of you,

my dear Miss Bingley,



   

                   

to know something of which

you are ignorant.



   

                   

I've always found George Wickham



   

                   

to be a man

of absolutely no principle.



   

                   

But, there! What can you expect

of one of his low descent?



   

                   

I will tell you exactly

of what I expect.



   

                   

Kindness. Honor.

Generosity. Truthfulness.



   

                   

And, I might add that



   

                   

I expect precisely the same

from persons of high descent.



   

                   

Oh, Mr. Darcy, Miss Bingley

is eager for her lessons.



   

                   

I hope you will enjoy it,

Miss Bingley.



   

                   

And, that you will learn



   

                   

to direct your dart

with greater accuracy.



   

                   

Such insolence and bad manners!



   

                   

Pray, what do you think

of her now, Mr. Darcy?



   

                   

I think she handles

a bow and arrow superbly.



   

                   

Flow gently



   

                   

Sweet aspen



   

                   

Among thy green vale



   

                   

Flow gently



   

                   

I'll sing thee



   

                   

Your song in thy praise



   

                   

My Mary is asleep



   

                   

By thy murmuring stream



   

                   

Flow gently



   

                   

Sweet after



   

                   

Disturb not her dream.



   

                   

That stub-bob whose echo



   

                   

Resounds from the hill



   

                   

Hear ye wild wind



   

                   

Sleek black bird



   

                   

In yonder thorny dale.



   

                   

Oh! Green prairie stare laughing



   

                   

Thy screaming forebear



   

                   

I charge you



   

                   

This sterling morn



   

                   

My slumbering fair.



   

                   

Charming, Miss Mary! Charming!



   

                   

Would you favor us

with another selection?



   

                   

Well, if you really insist!



   

                   

Papa, you must make her stop!



   

                   

Alright, dear. Sshhh!



   

                   

Very good, Mary dear! Very good!



   

                   

But, Papa! This is another song!



   

                   

Eh?! Oh! Never mind, my dear.



    

                   

You've delighted us

quite long enough.



    

                   

Give the other young ladies



    

                   

a chance to make

exhibitions of themselves.



    

                   

Oh, Miss Elizabeth,

allow me to congratulate you.



    

                   

On what?



    

                   

On your family, of course.



    

                   

A talented young singer.



    

                   

A cousin distinguished

for his wit and learning.



    

                   

Two young sisters who're

the toast of the Officers' Mess.



    

                   

A mother who is a most

interesting conversationalist.



    

                   

To say nothing of your own

dexterity with a bow and arrow.



    

                   

Such an interesting

accomplished family.



    

                   

Miss Elizabeth, I'm afraid



    

                   

something has happened

to disturb you.



    

                   

Nothing at all, thank you.



    

                   

Are you sure

there is nothing I can do?



    

                   

You could leave me to make

a fool of myself alone,



    

                   

if you don't mind.



    

                   

It's hard to imagine

you making a fool of yourself.



    

                   

Well, I do frequently!



    

                   

Isn't that what I was doing

this afternoon?



    

                   

I'd rather admire what you did

this afternoon, Miss Elizabeth.



    

                   

The resentment

of what you believed



    

                   

to be an injustice showed

courage and loyalty.



    

                   

I could wish that

I might possess a friend



    

                   

who'd defend me as ably as

Mr. Wickham was defended today.



    

                   

You're very puzzling, Mr. Darcy.



    

                   

At this moment, it's difficult

to believe that you're so proud.



    

                   

At this moment,

it's difficult to believe



    

                   

that you are so prejudiced.



    

                   

Shall we not call quits

and start again?



    

                   

Oh, Lizzie, Mr. Bingley



    

                   

is going to arrange

a highland rill for us!



    

                   

Come along!



    

                   

Yes. Please do.



    

                   

Shall we?



    

                   

I must insist that you look at

Jane and Mr. Bingley!



    

                   

The dear boy makes no secret

of his admiration.



    

                   

And which she was ill and healed



    

                   

at Netherfield

completed the conquest.



    

                   

I knew it would.



    

                   

Wasn't it clever of me

to send her over in the rain?



    

                   

And, of course, dear Jane will see



    

                   

that the other girls

have the opportunity



    

                   

of meeting all sorts of

rich young men.



    

                   

I can't imagine you'd drink

so much punch, Kitty!



    

                   

Now you're quite tipsy!



    

                   

I am not!



    

                   

Hold on! Hold on!



    

                   

Hello, Lizzie! Hello, Mr. Darcy!



    

                   

Look at Kitty!

She's a drunken door!



    

                   

I am not!



    

                   

Ladies and gentlemen!



    

                   

If you will choose your partners,

we'll all have a highland rill.



    

                   

Such a gay dance, the rill!



    

                   

Won't you allow me

to take you in?



    

                   

I'm sure

there must be many young men



    

                   

who are eager to dance with you.



    

                   

Well, Miss Elizabeth!

Do you recall? The first dance.



    

                   

Oh, sir! Will you please accept

the humble apology of one



    

                   

who has only just learned

that you are the nephew



    

                   

of my esteemed patroness,

Lady Catherine de Bourgh?



    

                   

Indeed.



    

                   

You will be happy to learn that,

when I left her two weeks ago,



    

                   

your gracious aunt

was enjoying the best of health.



    

                   

What graciousness!

What condescension!



    

                   

What snobbery!



    

                   

Miss Eliza, please remember that



    

                   

Mr. Darcy is a nephew of

Lady Catherine de Bourgh!



    

                   

I do, Mr. Collins.



    

                   

I also remember that Mr. Darcy



    

                   

is the sort of person

who offers his friendship,



    

                   

and, then, at the first test

of loyalty, withdraws it.



    

                   

Shall we go inside?



    

                   

Of course!





 

                   

Ohh! Little fellow,

please don't cry!



 

                   

Oh, there's Lizzie!



 

                   

Lizzie! Lizzie! Come and see

how pretty this is!



 

                   

Oh! That's charming, Kitty.



 

                   

Why don't you make it bigger?



 

                   

We could put it around Mr. Collins

when he grows too much of a bore.



 

                   

Lizzie! How can you speak like

that about your charming cousin?



 

                   

Oh, there you are, Mrs. Bennet.



 

                   

Oh! Oh, Mr. Collins!

We were just talking about you.



  

                   

I thought you're walking

with Jane, Mr. Collins.



  

                   

I left Miss Jane in the garden



  

                   

with Miss Charlotte

and the new puppies.



  

                   

I think I'll join them.



  

                   

One moment, please,

Miss Elizabeth.



  

                   

Ah, Madame,

may I have the permission



  

                   

to solicit a private interview

with your daughter, Elizabeth?



  

                   

Private!



  

                   

Well, I - really -



  

                   

Yes, indeed!

Lizzie will be only too happy!



  

                   

Come, Kitty!

I want you upstairs.



  

                   

Why do you keep winking, Mama?



  

                   

Winking? My! I wasn't winking!



  

                   

But, you were, Mama!



  

                   

Don't contradict! Come, Kitty!



  

                   

But, Mama! Mr. Collins has

nothing private to say to me!



  

                   

No nonsense, Lizzie!



  

                   

Lizzie, I desire you to stay

where you are! Come, Kitty!



  

                   

Come, Kitty!



  

                   

Believe me,

my dear Miss Elizabeth,



  

                   

your modesty does you

no disservice in my eyes.



  

                   

Wait! You could hardly doubt

the purport of my discourse.



  

                   

My intentions mean too much

to be mistaken.



  

                   

I have singled you out as the

companion of my future life.



  

                   

Please! Before my feelings

run away with me,



  

                   

let me state my reasons

for marrying you.



  

                   

First, I regard it

as the duty of every gentleman



  

                   

in easy circumstances to marry.



  

                   

Secondly, I'm convinced it would

add greatly to my happiness.



  

                   

And, thirdly,

I think it only right that,



  

                   

since I am to inherit

your father's estate,



  

                   

I should try and keep it

in the family.



  

                   

And, fourthly, it is the



  

                   

particular wish

of that very noble lady,



  

                   

whom I have the honor

to call my patroness,



  

                   

Lady Catherine de Bourgh.



  

                   

These, dear Miss Elizabeth,

are my motives.



  

                   

And, now,

there's nothing for me - but,



  

                   

for me to assure you

of the violence of my affection.



  

                   

Why, you are too hasty, sir!



  

                   

You forget that

I have made no answer.



  

                   

Let me do so at once.



  

                   

I appreciate

the honor of your proposal,



  

                   

Oh, my dear Miss Elizabeth!



  

                   

But, I must decline with thanks!



  

                   

I understand,

my dear Miss Elizabeth,



  

                   

that it is the delicate and

charming custom of young ladies



  

                   

to say no when they mean yes,

even three or four refusals.



  

                   

I am, therefore, by no means



  

                   

discouraged

by what you have said.



  

                   

Upon my word, sir!

You are very hardly discouraged!



  

                   

Ah, my dear!



  

                   

Mr. Collins,

you have made your offer,



  

                   

I have refused it!



  

                   

You can, therefore,

take possession of this estate



  

                   

without the least compassion

or selfreproach



  

                   

whenever it falls to you.



  

                   

So, let's regard the incident

as closed.



  

                   

But, my dear Miss Elizabeth,



  

                   

I think you ought

to take into consideration



  

                   

that in spite of your loveliness

and amiable qualifications,



  

                   

you are practically penniless.



  

                   

And, it's by no means certain



  

                   

that another offer of marriage

may ever be made to you.



  

                   

Well, by all the-!



  

                   

So, I must, therefore,

attribute your refusal of me



  

                   

to your wish of

increasing my love by suspense!



  

                   

Which is, I'm told, the usual

practice of elegant females!



  

                   

Believe me, sir! I am not

one of those elegant females



  

                   

who takes pleasure

in tormenting a respectable man.



  

                   

I am a rational creature speaking

the truth from her heart.



  

                   

Ahh! Thank you!

You make me feel certain,



  

                   

the way

my proposal is sanctioned



  

                   

by the authority of your parents,

you would plainly say yes!



  

                   

Ohh!



  

                   

Oh, Papa!



  

                   

What is it, dear?

Lizzie!



  

                   

Oh, Papa, dear! I must tell you!



  

                   

Well, come into the library.



  

                   

Lizzie, bu-!



  

                   

Oh, my dear future son-in-law!



  

                   

Let me be the first

to wish you joy!



  

                   

Well, thank you, Madame.



  

                   

Indeed, I trust

I have a good reason for joy.



  

                   

Of course, I know that

my cousin's refusal



  

                   

naturally springs

from her bashful modesty.



  

                   

Refusal!



  

                   

With Lizzie, that does not mean

bashful modesty!



  

                   

But, never mind, Mr. Collins!



  

                   

She's a very foolish

headstrong girl



   

                   

and does not know

her own interest!



   

                   

Foolish? Headstrong? Dear me!



   

                   

Those failures will not make her

a very desirable wife!



   

                   

Oh, but, you quite

misunderstand, Mr. Collins!



   

                   

Lizzie is only headstrong

in matters such as this!



   

                   

Ah, you just wait, Mr. Collins!



   

                   

Mr. Bennet always brings her

to reason!



   

                   

Headstrong! Foolish! Dear me!



   

                   

Lady Catherine

will never approve!



   

                   

Mr. Bennet! Mr. Bennet!

We are all in an uproar!



   

                   

Lizzie has refused to marry

Mr. Collins!



   

                   

You must force her

to change her mind immediately!



   

                   

Or, he will change his

and not have her!



   

                   

In which event, my dear,



   

                   

the matter will be settled

to the satisfaction of both!



   

                   

Please be serious! Speak to her!



   

                   

Tell her you insist

upon her marrying him!



   

                   

Lizzie.



   

                   

Yes, Papa?



   

                   

Your mother insists

that you accept Mr. Collins.



   

                   

Isn't that so, Mrs. Bennet?



   

                   

Or else,

I shall never see her again.



   

                   

An unhappy alternative

is before you, Elizabeth.



   

                   

Your mother

will never see you again



   

                   

if you do not marry Mr. Collins.



   

                   

And I will never see you again

if you do.



   

                   

Dear Papa!



   

                   

But, Mama! You have no right

to open Jane's letter!



   

                   

It's against the principles of

Magna Carta.



   

                   

No right to open

my own daughter's letters?



   

                   

I-I've never heard

of such thing!



   

                   

Besides,

dear Jane need never know.



   

                   

Oh! I'm sure it's a proposal!

I can feel it in my bones!



   

                   

My dearest Jane,



   

                   

Oh! Oh! She's lost him!

She's lost him!



   

                   

We lost two of them!



   

                   

What is lost, Mama?



   

                   

Your husbands!



   

                   

You throw away Mr. Collins, and,



   

                   

now, here's Jane,

losing Mr. Bingley!



   

                   

What are you talking about,

Mama?



   

                   

Read that!

No, no, it belongs to Jane.



   

                   

I-I thought it was a declaration,

so, I opened it.



   

                   

They're gone!

They've gone to London.



   

                   

Well, who's gone to London?



   

                   

Mr. Bingley,

his sister and Mr. Darcy!



   

                   

They packed up and left

without even saying goodbye!



   

                   

Read it!

Read what Mr. Bingley has to say!



   

                   

Lizzie!



   

                   

Well! Nobody is going to miss

that high and mighty Mr. Darcy!



   

                   

Oh, do be quiet, Lydia!



   

                   

Without a sign of a proposal!



   

                   

After his

compromising attentions to Jane!



   

                   

Mama!

He did not compromise Jane.



   

                   

He is a very

undeserving young man!



   

                   

My only comfort is

he should die of a broken heart!



   

                   

But, he'll be sorry!



   

                   

Mr. Wickham.



   

                   

Oh, how do you do, Mr. Wickham?



   

                   

You'll excuse me, but, I'm much

too upset to talk to anyone.



   

                   

Liizie will give you tea.



   

                   

Oh! I'm sorry you're disturbed,

Madame.



   

                   

My visit is ill-timed,

I'm afraid.



   

                   

No, no!



   

                   

Mama has just had some rather

surprising news, that's all.



   

                   

She'll be herself again

in no time, honestly.



   

                   

I heard some surprising news

myself this morning.



   

                   

Really?



   

                   

Yes! But, it was good news!



   

                   

It is?



   

                   

Good news, indeed!



   

                   

Well?



   

                   

Mr. Darcy has left Netherfield.



   

                   

So I hear.



   

                   

Well, don't you want to know

why he went?



   

                   

I should like very much to know.



   

                   

His conscience drove him away,

Miss Elizabeth.



   

                   

You mean he was ashamed of his

behavior at the Assembly Ball.



   

                   

Oh, that was nothing.



   

                   

Thank you.



   

                   

Maybe the insult Mr. Darcy

likes to add to injury.



   

                   

Miss Elizabeth, having confided

so much of my story to you,



   

                   

I'd like you

to understand the rest.



   

                   

Would it bother you?



   

                   

No. On the contrary,

I'm deeply interested.



   

                   

How kind

and sympathetic you are!



   

                   

Would it surprise you to learn



   

                   

that I was once intended

for the church, Miss Elizabeth?



   

                   

Really? Oh, you seem so

well-fitted for the Army.



   

                   

I have no taste for soldiering!



   

                   

The church ought to have been

my profession.



   

                   

And, would have been if Mr. Darcy



   

                   

hadn't chosen to disregard

his father's will.



   

                   

Disregard a will?

Oh, how could he?



   

                   

For a man of honor,

it would have been impossible.



   

                   

But Darcy chose to regard the

annuity which his father left me,



   

                   

provided I entered the church,



   

                   

as a mere recommendation

and not a bequest.



   

                   

I knew Mr. Darcy

was proud and arrogant.



   

                   

I never imagined him

dishonorable!



   

                   

He should be publicly exposed!



   

                   

Not by me, Miss Elizabeth.



   

                   

While I remember the father,



   

                   

I could never bring myself

to disgrace the son.



   

                   

I admire your generosity,

Mr. Wickham.



   

                   

Thank you, Miss Elizabeth!



   

                   

Your sympathy

means very much to me!



   

                   

Oh, there you are!



   

                   

We won't let you keep him,

Lizzie!



   

                   

He's got to come

and play with us.



   

                   

You are going to be my partner,

Mr. Wickham.



   

                   

What an honor!



   

                   

I'm being kidnapped,

Miss Elizabeth!



   

                   

Won't you join us,

Miss Elizabeth?



   

                   

Come on, Lizzie!



   

                   

Oh, no, thanks, Mr. James!

Later, perhaps.



   

                   

Why, Jane!



   

                   

Oh, Lizzie!



   

                   

You let that Caroline Bingley

make you cry, I'll shake you!



   

                   

She says none of them



   

                   

intend to return

to Netherfield this winter.



   

                   

She means she intends

none of them to return.



   

                   

Oh, Lizzie!

How can you think that?



   

                   

After all, he is his own master.



   

                   

Look. Read this part.



   

                   

My brother has long had

an affectionate interest



   

                   

in Mr. Darcy's sister, Georgiana.



   

                   

And, during the next few months

in London,



   

                   

both families are hoping

that their attachment



   

                   

will flower into an event



   

                   

which will secure

the happiness of us all.



   

                   

You see, she knows her brother

is fond of someone else.



   

                   

Doesn't want me

to have any false hope.



   

                   

She knows her brother

is in love with you.



   

                   

She doesn't intend that

he shall marry into a family



   

                   

of such low descent.



   

                   

Lizzie!

What are you talking about?



   

                   

Oh! Never mind!



   

                   

You'll see, dearest,

he'll come back to you.



   

                   

Who could stay away from you

for long, dearest?



   

                   

Now, come along down with me

and we'll have some tea.



   

                   

Alright.



   

                   

Lizzie, are you

really indifferent



   

                   

to Mr. Darcy's departure

as you seem?



   

                   

Indifferent?

I'm delighted he's gone!



   

                   

Wait till I tell you



   

                   

the monstrous thing

he did to Mr. Wickham!



   

                   

It's absurd, Sir William!



   

                   

I shall never believe it!

Never!



   

                   

Mr. Collins came here expressly



   

                   

to propose marriage

to one of my daughters!



   

                   

That may have been his purpose

in coming here, Mrs. Bennet,



   

                   

Oh! There you are, Elizabeth!

This is all your fault!



   

                   

What's my fault, Mama?



   

                   

He says Charlotte

is going to marry Mr. Collins!



   

                   

If that isn't your fault,

I don't know whose it is!



   

                   

Charlotte!



   

                   

How delightful, Sir William!



   

                   

Ah, thank you, Miss Jane.



   

                   

But, - Charlotte! Charlotte

is going to marry Mr. Collins?



   

                   

On Tuesday week, to be precise.



   

                   

Lady Catherine de Bourgh doesn't

believe in long engagements.



   

                   

But, Sir William, Mr. Collins

wants to marry Lizzie!



   

                   

Oh, Lydia, be quiet!



   

                   

The child is right, Lizzie.



   

                   

Are you quite sure, Sir William,



   

                   

that you

haven't been misinformed?



   

                   

I'm quite positive, Mrs. Bennet!



   

                   

Mrs. Bennet!



   

                   

There you are. Come in there

and share in the rejoicing.



   

                   

Oh, dear Mrs. Bennet, I know

you'll understand my feelings!



   

                   

Such a happy event!



   

                   

But, then,

to lose one's dearest daughter!



   

                   

Oh! Well,

I'm still quite overcome!



   

                   

It's probably

the unexpectedness of it



   

                   

that has overcome you,

Lady Lucas!



   

                   

And Mr. Collins' conduct

is so very odd!



   

                   

Perhaps some tea

will revive you.



   

                   

Lizzie.



   

                   

Dear Charlotte, l-!



   

                   

Come with me.



   

                   

Well, Lady Lucas!



   

                   

Little did I think

that Charlotte



   

                   

would one day take my place

as mistress of this house!



   

                   

No doubt she and Mr. Collins



   

                   

would like to

go over the place thoroughly



   

                   

and see

what they're going to inherit.



   

                   

Mr. Collins, why don't you go

to the pantry



   

                   

and get the maid

to show you the silver?



   

                   

Oh, Charlotte dear, I beg you!

Postpone the marriage for a time.



   

                   

I'm only thinking

of your happiness.



   

                   

Happiness, Lizzie?



   

                   

In marriage, happiness

is just a matter of chance.



   

                   

But, Charlotte!

His defects of character.



   

                   

You know him so little.



   

                   

Well, ignorance is bliss,

Lizzie.



   

                   

If one is to spend one's life

with a person,



   

                   

it's best to know as little

as possible of his defects.



   

                   

After all, one would

find them out soon enough.



   

                   

Well, luckily

it isn't the end of the world.



   

                   

You must come and visit me,

Lizzie.



   

                   

Very soon! Promise?



   

                   

I promise.



   

                   

Good.



   

                   

Put those over there, Harry.



   

                   

Yes, Madame.



   

                   

Put those

on that chair over there.



   

                   

Bring them all against the wall.



   

                   

Put it down. That's fine.



   

                   

That will be all, Nelly.

Thank you, Madame.



   

                   

Thank you.

That's very kind of you.



   

                   

You're welcome, Miss.



   

                   

Now, Lizzie, give me your keys.



   

                   

Don't you bother, Charlotte.

I'll do this myself.



   

                   

Oh, no, you're not!

You're my guest.



   

                   

You're going to sit by

and look on.



   

                   

But, Charlotte!



   

                   

This is my house

and you'll do just as I say.



   

                   

I tremble and obey.



   

                   

Well, while you're unpacking,



   

                   

I'll remove the dust

and change my dress.



   

                   

Did you have a hard time



   

                   

persuading your mother

to let you come?



   

                   

Oh, no.

No, it wasn't so difficult.



   

                   

Jane went to London, you know,

to stay with Aunt Gardner.



   

                   

Of course, she had

to had somebody to go with her.



   

                   

And, Papa found

some writing to do.



   

                   

So he was quite delighted to get

a couple of us out of the house.



   

                   

Two daughters out of five,



   

                   

that represents -

forty percent of the noise.



   

                   

Why, Lizzie! This is daring!



   

                   

It is, isn't it? I haven't dared

show it to Mama.



   

                   

Mr. Collins!



   

                   

Mr. Collins!



   

                   

Oh, Lizzie! Do look!



   

                   

Well, what?



   

                   

It's Lady Catherine de Bourgh

and her daughter, Anne.



   

                   

Oh! Is that all?



   

                   

I expected at least that the

pigs had gone into the garden.



   

                   

Oh, pigs!

I must go down at once!



   

                   

Oh! Is my hair tidy?



   

                   

So, that's the great

Lady Catherine.



   

                   

Now, I see

where he learned his manners.



   

                   

Where who learned his manners?



   

                   

Why, Mr. Darcy, of course!



   

                   

I'll be back in a moment,

my dear.



   

                   

Here she is, Mr. Collins.

Proceed.



   

                   

Your Ladyship.



   

                   

How do you do, Mrs. Collins?



   

                   

Miss de Bourgh.



   

                   

How do you do?



   

                   

Now, let me see, Lady Catherine.



   

                   

A fellow petticoat

for Mrs. Hodge.



   

                   

A quarter pound of tea

for old Marcus Brett.



   

                   

And, a handwoven cloth

for the Burtons.



   

                   

But, nothing for the Smiths,

do you understand?



   

                   

Nothing whatever.



   

                   

You must learn, Mrs. Collins,

to draw a firm line



   

                   

between the deserving poor

and the undeserving.



   

                   

What wise benevolence!



   

                   

Are the chicken seedlings

satisfactory?



   

                   

They've fallen to half a little

these last days.



   

                   

Then, give them half full,

Mrs. Collins.



   

                   

If that has no effect, then,

it means they're incorrigible.



   

                   

It must be killed and boiled!

Killed and boiled.



   

                   

There, my love, you're not

getting a cold, I hope.



   

                   

A little, Mama.



   

                   

Ahh.



   

                   

Well, Mr. Collins, I shall expect

you all to dinner this evening.



   

                   

Goodbye, Mrs. Collins. Goodbye.



   

                   

Permit me to say

how much I appreciate



   

                   

Drive on, Smith.



   

                   

Your ladyship's

affability and kindness.



   

                   

What extraordinary condescension!



   

                   

I'm quite delighted of this,

for Miss Elizabeth's sake.



   

                   

Now, my dear Miss Elizabeth,

permit me to show you



   

                   

some of the priceless art

treasures of Lady Catherine's.



   

                   

This is one of the

finest timepieces captured.



   

                   

Observe the noble proportions,

Miss Eliza.



   

                   

And, the ornaments,

what magnificence!



   

                   

What taste!



   

                   

Very true, Mr. Collins.

Very true.



   

                   

I've never met a painter

or an architect



   

                   

who did not congratulate me

upon my taste.



   

                   

There! What did I say?



   

                   

And, now, let me call your

attention to the mantlepiece.



   

                   

Observe, Miss Eliza, solid

marble entirely hand-carved.



   

                   

Well, Mrs. Collins,

you will be surprised



   

                   

to find someone you know

dining with us this evening.



   

                   

Oh! There you are!



   

                   

I was just about

to tell the ladies, Darcy,



   

                   

of your sudden arrival

at Rosings this afternoon.



   

                   

Mr. Darcy!



   

                   

Miss Elizabeth!



   

                   

A happy meeting, Miss Elizabeth.



   

                   

Mrs. Collins, you know

one of my nephews, I believe.



   

                   

Darcy! Darcy!



   

                   

A pleasure, Mrs. Collins.



   

                   

And this is another nephew,

Col. Fitzwilliam, Mrs. Collins.



   

                   

Miss Elizabeth Bennet,

Col. Fitzwilliam.



   

                   

And, oh, yes,

Mr. Collins. Mr. Collins.



   

                   

How do you do?



   

                   

I thought you were in London,

Mr. Darcy.



   

                   

Oh, yes. But, my cousin and I

left there this morning.



   

                   

Rather unexpectedly,

as a matter of fact.



   

                   

Oh, your departure seemed to be

rather unexpected, Mr. Darcy.



   

                   

You know, Miss Elizabeth,

I have thought a great deal



   

                   

of what you said to me

at Netherfield that day -



   

                   

Thank you... about laughing more.

I've tried to follow your advice.



   

                   

I hope it worked.

Do you feel happier now?



   

                   

I've never felt more miserable

in my life.



   

                   

It's doubtless

the lack of exercise.



   

                   

You'll feel happier

when the hunting season begins.



   

                   

Well, Darcy!



   

                   

Now I know what took you

into Herfordshire this summer.



   

                   

You also know

what drove him out again.



   

                   

He liked the landscape

well enough



   

                   

but the natives, Col. Fitzwilliam,

the natives!



   

                   

What boors! What savages!

Utterly insupportable!



   

                   

Isn't that so, Mr. Darcy?



   

                   

It evidently amuses you

to think so, Miss Elizabeth.



   

                   

Miss Bennet! Come here.



   

                   

Mrs. Collins,

go and talk to your husband.



   

                   

I wish to speak to Miss Bennet.



   

                   

Yes, Lady Catherine.



   

                   

Be seated.



   

                   

Have you any accomplishments,

Miss Bennet?



   

                   

Accomplishments!

Well, I - don't know



   

                   

whether Mr. Darcy

would think I had.



   

                   

Do you sing and play?



   

                   

A little.



   

                   

You should perform for us

one day.



   

                   

Our instrument here is one

of the best in the country.



   

                   

You have several sisters,

I understand.



   

                   

Four.

Four. No brothers?



   

                   

None, unfortunately for us.



   

                   

Ah, yes. Your father's estate



   

                   

is entailed to Mr. Collins,

I believe.



   

                   

It is.



   

                   

For Mrs. Collins's sake,

I'm glad of it.



   

                   

Otherwise, I see no occasion



   

                   

for entailing estates away

from the female line.



   

                   

When you marry, Darcy,

don't make that mistake.



   

                   

It was never made in

Sir Louis de Bourgh's family.



   

                   

Anne, as you know,

is the sole heiress.



   

                   

Do you draw, Miss Bennet?



   

                   

No, Lady Catherine.



   

                   

What? None of you?



   

                   

Not one of us.



   

                   

But, how strange! Why didn't

your governess see to that?



   

                   

We never had a governess.



   

                   

No governess? I have never heard

such a thing!



   

                   

Miss Bennet seems to have got on



   

                   

very well without one,

Aunt Catherine.



   

                   

Don't talk nonsense, Darcy!



   

                   

Are there any of your younger

sisters out in the society?



   

                   

All of them.



   

                   

All?! How very odd!



   

                   

Really, Lady Catherine,

I think it would be very hard



   

                   

on younger sisters to be kept

without society or amusement



   

                   

until the elder ones

were married.



   

                   

It would hardly promote

sisterly affection



   

                   

or even delicacy of mind.



   

                   

Upon my word, Miss Bennet!



   

                   

You express your opinions

very decidedly.



   

                   

Miss Bennet is nothing

if not decided, Aunt Catherine.



   

                   

Dinner is served, milady!



   

                   

Come. I hate cold soup.

Your arm, Fitzwilliam.



   

                   

May I be allowed to continue your

interrogations during dinner.



   

                   

There are so many things

I should like to find out.



   

                   

That seems to be

a family failing, sir.



   

                   

No, Darcy. You are

to take Anne into dinner.



   

                   

Mr. Collins will take Miss Bennet.



   

                   

I'm afraid you'll have to

go in alone, Mrs. Collins.



   

                   

Mr. Darcy's sister, Georgiana,

is a very accomplished musician.



   

                   

And, I, too, should have been

a great proficient,



   

                   

if I'd ever learned.



   

                   

You would have been proficient

in anything, Lady Catherine.



   

                   

So would Anne.



   

                   

That goes without saying.



   

                   

Darcy.



   

                   

Do come here.



   

                   

Sit down. Sit down.



   

                   

I was just telling Mrs. Collins



   

                   

how exquisitely dear Anne

would have played



   

                   

if I had permitted her to study.



   

                   

I don't doubt it.



   

                   

Your dear mother

was so fond of Anne.



   

                   

Yes, I know.



   

                   

"You have an only daughter",



   

                   

she would say to me,

"and, I have an only son."



   

                   

"It's just the Providence that



   

                   

created them for one another.",

she used to say.



   

                   

Incredible!

- Ah, I-I mean, exactly.



   

                   

Ah, I-I mean, excuse me.



   

                   

Oh, don't stop, Miss Elizabeth.

That was charming!



   

                   

Isn't that

the right time to stop



   

                   

when people still think

you're charming?



   

                   

If I went on, you might

change your mind.



   

                   

Ah-eh, Miss Bennet.



   

                   

I'm summoned.



   

                   

That was quite creditable,

my dear.



   

                   

Miss Bennet wouldn't play at all

badly if she practised more.



   

                   

Practice, Miss Bennet. Practice.

You can't do enough of it.



   

                   

Mrs. Collins has no pianoforte,

of course,



   

                   

but, you're - you're very welcome

to practice here everyday.



   

                   

Oh! Thank you, Lady Catherine!



   

                   

There's a very fair instrument



   

                   

in the housekeeper's room,

you'll disturb no one there.



   

                   

You are really too gracious,

Lady Catherine,



   

                   

but, I shouldn't care

to disturb the housekeeper.



   

                   

I protest, Aunt Catherine!



   

                   

Why talk of practising when

Miss Bennet should be playing?



   

                   

Come, Miss Bennet! I insist

on your favoring us again.



   

                   

There is, needless to say,

a rich assortment of music here.



   

                   

My aunt means quite kindly,

Miss Elizabeth.



   

                   

Her manner is sometimes

a little unfortunate.



   

                   

Having already met you,



   

                   

I was happily prepared

for your aunt's manner.



   

                   

Lizzie, Mr. Darcy is in the study.



   

                   

He's been waiting for you

for nearly an hour.



   

                   

Let him wait!

I don't want to see him.



   

                   

I never want to see him again.



   

                   

Lizzie, what's happened?

What's come over you?



   

                   

Do you want to know

the real reason



   

                   

why Mr. Bingley left Netherfield

for London?



   

                   

His High Mightiness, Mr. Darcy!



   

                   

But, I thought

it was Caroline Bingley!



   

                   

She was only half the reason.



   

                   

I just heard about it by chance



   

                   

this very moment

from Col. Fitzwilliam.



   

                   

Col. Fitzwilliam?!



   

                   

Of course, he didn't know

I was Jane's sister.



   

                   

He was just holding forth



   

                   

about the virtues

of his precious cousin!



   

                   

Telling me how unselfish he was,



   

                   

and, about the amount of trouble

he'd gone to



   

                   

to save his friend Bingley

from an impossible marriage!



   

                   

Oh!



   

                   

You can tell your Mr. Darcy

that I am not at home!



   

                   

But, he must

have seen you come in.



   

                   

I can't tell him that.



   

                   

After all,

he is Lady Catherine's nephew.



   

                   

Lizzie, for - my sake.



   

                   

Very well, Charlotte!

For your sake!



   

                   

Good morning, Miss Elizabeth.



   

                   

Good morning, Mr. Darcy.



   

                   

Mrs. Collins gave me leave

to wait on you.



   

                   

It's no use!

I've struggled in vain!



   

                   

I must tell you

how much I admire and love you.



   

                   

Miss Elizabeth, - my life

and happiness are in your hands.



   

                   

This last week, since I left Netherfield,



   

                   

had been empty,

meaningless days and nights.



   

                   

I thought that I could

put you out of my mind.



   

                   

That inclination

would give way to judgment.



   

                   

I've walked

the streets of London



   

                   

reminding myself of the

unsuitability of such a marriage.



   

                   

Ah, the obstacles between us.



   

                   

But, it won't do.



   

                   

I can struggle

against you no longer.



   

                   

Mr. Darcy!



   

                   

I've reminded myself

again and again



   

                   

that I have obligations

of family and position.



   

                   

Obligations I was born to.

Nothing I tell myself matters!



   

                   

I love you!



   

                   

I love you!



   

                   

Do you know what you're saying?



   

                   

Yes, my darling!

I'm asking you to marry me.



   

                   

Do you expect me to thank you



   

                   

for this extraordinary offer

of marriage?



   

                   

Am I supposed to feel flattered



   

                   

that you have so overcome

your aversion to my family



   

                   

that you are ready

to marry into it?



   

                   

But, do you expect me to be glad



   

                   

that your family

is inferior to mine?



   

                   

Oh! I suppose I should

congratulate you



   

                   

on winning the battle



   

                   

between your unwilling affection

and my unworthiness.



   

                   

But, you see, I have

never desired your good opinion.



   

                   

And, if you were not

so lacking in perception,



   

                   

you might have spared yourself

my refusal!



   

                   

Is-is this the only reply

I'm to be honored with?



   

                   

I might, perhaps, deserve to be

told why I am rejected,



   

                   

and, with so little civility.



   

                   

I also might deserve to know



   

                   

why determined evidently

to offend and insult me!



   

                   

You chose to tell me that

you liked me against your will.



   

                   

Against your reason,

against even your character.



   

                   

Why, if the

manner of my expression



   

                   

The manner of your proposal



   

                   

is only one reason

for my incivility,



   

                   

if I had been uncivil.



   

                   

Even had my feelings

been favorable,



   

                   

which they never could have been,



   

                   

believe me, even if they had,



   

                   

I'd still have every reason

in the world



   

                   

of being to think ill of you.



   

                   

Do you think

anything would tempt me



   

                   

to accept the man

who has destroyed



   

                   

the happiness of my sister?



   

                   

The sweetest soul

that ever lived!



   

                   

How could you do it?



   

                   

Knowing Jane,

how could you hurt her so?



   

                   

In observing them together,



   

                   

I could not believe

that she really loved Charles!



   

                   

As his friend, I considered it

my duty to advise his course.



   

                   

But, even without this,

your character



   

                   

was clearly revealed

in your treatment of Mr. Wickham!



   

                   

You take an eager interest

in that gentleman's concern!



   

                   

And who that knows

his misfortunes



   

                   

could fail to take an interest?



   

                   

His misfortunes!



   

                   

Brought on by your injustice

and betrayal!



   

                   

Where Wickham is concerned,

I have nothing to say.



   

                   

In other words,

you dare not speak



   

                   

because you know you're guilty!



   

                   

And, that is your opinion of me?



   

                   

Perhaps my faults

might have been overlooked



   

                   

had I concealed my struggles

and flattered you



   

                   

that no doubt of my course

had ever entered my mind.



   

                   

I made the mistake

of being honest with you.



   

                   

Honesty is a greatly

overrated virtue!



   

                   

Silence, in this case, would

have been more agreeable!



   

                   

But I'm not ashamed of my

scruples about your family!



   

                   

They were natural!



   

                   

And should have been

kept to yourself!



   

                   

This isn't

a distasteful subject!



   

                   

Your arrogance! Your conceit!



   

                   

Your selfish disregard

of other people's feelings



   

                   

made me dislike you

from the first!



   

                   

I-I, I haven't known you a week

before I decided



   

                   

you were the last man

in the world



   

                   

I'd ever be prevailed upon

to marry!



   

                   

You've said quite enough, Madame!

I understand your feelings.



   

                   

And, of now, only to be ashamed

of having confessed my own.



   

                   

Forgive me for having taken up

so much of your valuable time.



   

                   

And accept my best wishes

for your health - and happiness.



   

                   

Oh!



   

                   

Oh!



   

                   

Allow me, Miss Eliza.



   

                   

Lizzie!



   

                   

Oh, Jane!



   

                   

Lizzie!



   

                   

I thought

you were still in London.



   

                   

No, they sent for me this morning.



   

                   

Lizzie, it's so awful!



   

                   

What is it?



   

                   

It's poor little Lydia.

She's run away with Mr. Wickham.



   

                   

Mr. Wickham!



   

                   

And, they didn't go

to Gretna Green.



   

                   

Lizzie, they're not married!



   

                   

Not married?



   

                   

And, we can't find them anywhere.



   

                   

Oh, Jane!



   

                   

You tell Charlotte.

I'm going in.



   

                   

Beware of Officers,

I kept on telling her!



   

                   

They're fickle and unprincipled!



   

                   

They never have a six pence!



   

                   

You're right there, my dear.



   

                   

Mr. Wickham owes money

to every tradesman in Meryton.



   

                   

Not to mention gambling debts



   

                   

that owes six hundred pounds,

at the very least!



   

                   

Lizzie!



   

                   

Lizzie!



   

                   

Oh, Lizzie! Oh!



   

                   

Oh! You don't know

how I have suffered, Lizzie!



   

                   

Such - such spasms,

such - palpitations,



   

                   

such - fragileness!

Find your sister!



   

                   

Yes. Yes, Mama, I know. I know.



   

                   

What? No broth

with bird feathers?



   

                   

Oh! I forgot those!



   

                   

When did it happen,

Aunt Philips?



   

                   

Only yesterday. It seems they're

hiding somewhere in London.



   

                   

Your father

has gone to look for them.



   

                   

Yes. And you know what will

happen when he finds them.



   

                   

He'll challenge Mr. Wickham to

a duel and he'll be killed!



   

                   

And, then,

what will become of us?



   

                   

Those Collinses will turn us out

before he is cold in his grave.



   

                   

Oh! The vultures!

They're here already!



   

                   

Oohh!



   

                   

Sshh! Mama!



   

                   

Oh, Mrs. Bennet!

I just heard the news!



   

                   

It's too dreadful!



   

                   

Oh!



   

                   

Oh, Mrs. Bennet! Mrs. Bennet!



   

                   

Your little misfortune which

no lapse of time can mediate.



   

                   

No lapse of time, Mrs. Philips.



   

                   

The death of your daughter



   

                   

would have been a blessing

compared to this.



   

                   

Mr. Collins!



   

                   

What is it, my dear?



   

                   

Poor Mrs. Bennet!

You're distressing her!



   

                   

Distressing her?

I'm bringing her consolation.



   

                   

Oh!



   

                   

May I add, Madame,



   

                   

that this false step

of one of your daughters



   

                   

must prove very injurious unto

the fortunes of all the others.



   

                   

Oh, he's right! He's right!



   

                   

They'll never get married now.

What's to become of them?



   

                   

I shudder to think



   

                   

what Lady Catherine will say

to all these.



   

                   

Miss Elizabeth,

Mr. Darcy just called.



   

                   

I've shown him into the library.



   

                   

Mr. Darcy!



   

                   

Oohh, that odious man!

Don't you see him, Lizzie!



   

                   

Oh, Madame, don't forget



   

                   

that Mr. Darcy is a nephew

of Lady Catherine de Bourgh.



   

                   

Or, perhaps, it would be better

if I saw him, Miss Eliza.



   

                   

Thank you, Mr. Collins,

I prefer to see him myself.



   

                   

Oh, Mr. Collins!



   

                   

Mr. Darcy, what brings you here?



   

                   

Fear no alarm, Madame.



   

                   

I've no intention of reopening

a painful subject.



   

                   

After what you said to me

the other day,



   

                   

that chapter

is definitely - closed.



   

                   

Bad news travels fast,

Miss Bennet.



   

                   

A few hours

after you left Hansford,



   

                   

I heard about George Wickham

and your sister.



   

                   

I felt it

my duty to come at once.



   

                   

To try and fault us, I suppose.



   

                   

To offer you my services.



   

                   

Miss Bennet,

I told you the other day



   

                   

that where George Wickham

was concerned,



   

                   

I chose to be silent.



   

                   

What has happened to your sister

has made me change my mind.



   

                   

You have a right to the truth.



   

                   

George Wickham will never marry

your sister, Miss Bennet.



   

                   

Her case was not the first.



   

                   

You mean that Wickham



   

                   

My own sister, Georgiana.



   

                   

Your sister?



   

                   

Yes. She was younger

even than Lydia.



   

                   

Oh, Mr. Darcy!



   

                   

Georgiana has a considerable

fortune in her own right.



   

                   

His plan was to elope with her.



   

                   

And, then, under the threat of

publishing her disgrace,



   

                   

to force my consent

to their marriage.



   

                   

By the mercy of Providence,

I discovered the plot in time.



   

                   

Your sister

has been misfortunate.



   

                   

Miss Elizabeth, may I ask



   

                   

if everything possible

is being done to recover her?



   

                   

My father has gone to London.



   

                   

He and my uncle

are searching for her.



   

                   

If there is any help

that I could give,



   

                   

I would be only too happy.



   

                   

Thank you.

I'm sure they will find her.



   

                   

It will all be settled, somehow.



   

                   

I'm afraid I've stayed too long.

Goodbye.



   

                   

Goodbye.



   

                   

This is, perhaps, the last time

I shall see you.



   

                   

God bless you, Elizabeth.



   

                   

Mr. Darcy!



   

                   

Oh, Lizzie.



   

                   

Oh, oh! I thought it was -

I... has he gone?



   

                   

Yes. He's just riding away.



   

                   

Riding away.



   

                   

Will he ever ride back?



   

                   

That chapter is definitely

- closed.



   

                   

Lizzie,

what are you talking about?



   

                   

Oh, Jane. Jane, you don't know

what happened at Hansford!



   

                   

Something so extraordinary!

So unbelievable!



   

                   

What?



   

                   

He asked me to marry him.



   

                   

Who, Lizzie?



   

                   

Mr. Darcy.



   

                   

Mr. Darcy?! Oh, Lizzie,

what did you say to him?



   

                   

What did I say to him?



   

                   

What did I say to him?



   

                   

I said I hated him. I said

I never wanted to see him again.



   

                   

Now, suddenly,

I... Jane, I love him!



   

                   

You love him?



   

                   

I'm so dreadfully unhappy!



   

                   

Lizzie, dearest!



   

                   

I brought it all on myself!

It's all my own stupid fault!



   

                   

Heavens! How could

I have misjudged him so?



   

                   

Oh! What a fool I've been!

What a despicable fool!



   

                   

Oh, Lizzie dearest,

we all make mistakes! You must



   

                   

Oh, how selfish I'm being!



   

                   

As if I were the only one

to be made unhappy.



   

                   

Poor Jane, my darling!



   

                   

Why, you've never done

anything wrong!



   

                   

Look what's happened to you?

Ohh! It's not fair!



   

                   

Oh, Lizzie,

I'm not really unhappy.



   

                   

It was worse in the beginning



   

                   

when I was always expecting him

to write or even to come back.



   

                   

But, I don't do that anymore.

I just dream of him.



   

                   

Lizzie, you've got to learn

to dream, like I do!



   

                   

Sometimes I dream

we're out walking in the woods,



   

                   

and, primroses are out.



   

                   

Sometimes he comes

riding up to the door.



   

                   

Riding on a white horse, Lizzie!



   

                   

Then, he goes in, and,

I'm waiting for him.



   

                   

And, sometimes we're dancing -

and, it's the waltz, Lizzie.



   

                   

And the music's playing

and the lights are shining.



   

                   

Oh, it feels as if

it would be going forever!



   

                   

Oh, Lizzie! You shouldn't have

let me go on like this!



   

                   

Oh! Well done, Mr. Darcy!



   

                   

The question is, what to do now?



   

                   

Aahh! More news from Meryton!



   

                   

Another bulletin about your

beloved Bennets, Charles.



   

                   

There is still no trace

of Lydia or Wickham.



   

                   

Poor old Mr. Bennet

has come home in despair.



   

                   

Do you mean that

they have given up the search?



   

                   

So it seems.



   

                   

Listen!



   

                   

At the Assembly Ball last week,



   

                   

the Bennet family

was conspicuous by its absence.



   

                   

Shall I tell you why?



   

                   

Because the

Entertainment Committee



   

                   

had dropped a gentle hint



   

                   

that, in view of the scandal,



   

                   

its presence

would not be welcome.



   

                   

Isn't that exquisitely funny,

Mr. Darcy?



   

                   

Exquisitely! Just think



   

                   

how you would roll with laughter

if it happened to yourself.



   

                   

Only yesterday, I saw

her sisters, Jane and Elizabeth,



   

                   

almost running down

Market Street,



   

                   

in an attempt

to escape from their disgrace.



   

                   

That's what comes

of your chattering, Caroline!



   

                   

I'm sorry, Darcy.



   

                   

I've ruined your table,

I'm afraid.



   

                   

It's nothing, Charles.



   

                   

It might have happened to anybody

in the same circumstances.



   

                   

I'd better stop playing -

before something worse happens.



   

                   

Oh.

Good night, Darcy.



   

                   

Good night.



   

                   

Good night, Caroline.



   

                   

Ohh! Ohh! I don't believe



   

                   

I shall ever get back

my strength.



   

                   

It won't be long now, Mama.



   

                   

You'll feel so much better when

we've moved away from this place.



   

                   

Won't she, Papa?



   

                   

Well, I sincerely hope so.



   

                   

It's harsh

with that sad associations



   

                   

and other people

being so dreadfully unkind.



   

                   

It's no wonder you're ill!



   

                   

Here's some

delicious chicken broth, Mama.



   

                   

Now, you must eat it

while it's hot.



   

                   

No! No, thank you, Lizzie.

I couldn't!



   

                   

You don't know how ill I feel!



   

                   

Did you say

it was chicken broth?



   

                   

Well, perhaps!

...family great effort!



   

                   

There, Mama! There!



   

                   

Papa! What was that

you were saying about



   

                   

those nice cheap lodgings you

had all by the sea?



   

                   

At Margot, my dear?



   

                   

Yes.



   

                   

Margot! To think

that it should come to Margot!



   

                   

No, Lizzie,

I - I couldn't eat anymore!



   

                   

Not after that!



   

                   

Oh, but, Mama!



   

                   

Everyone says Margot's

such a charming place



   

                   

and so less expensive!



   

                   

Besides, what does it matter

where we go?



   

                   

As long as we go together!



   

                   

Yes, Mama. We'll make

a little world of our own.



   

                   

Yes! A Bennet eutopia, my dear!



   

                   

A domestic paradise,

where nobody



   

                   

shall ever talk more than

is strictly necessary.



   

                   

Oh, Mr. Bennet!



   

                   

Where nobody shall ever play

scales on the piano, Lizzie.



   

                   

Where nobody shall ever even

think of bonnets



   

                   

or tea parties or gossip or

I shall tell Mama or tell Papa!



   

                   

Papa! Papa!



   

                   

Oh! My poor nerves!



   

                   

Stop squabbling, you two,

for goodness' sake!



   

                   

Mary says I can't take my

musical box to the new house!



   

                   

Listen to it!



   

                   

It's not nearly as bad

as your horrid old bird!



   

                   

Harry is not a horrid old bird!



   

                   

And, if you think that I can

bear to listen to that thing



   

                   

Aren't you ashamed of yourselves

with poor Mama so ill?



   

                   

A Bennet eutopia, my dear.



   

                   

But, Lizzie, it's not fair!



   

                   

If Mary can take her parrot, why

shouldn't I take my musical box?



   

                   

Well, why shouldn't we

take the piano?



   

                   

Why shouldn't Papa take all

the books in his library?



   

                   

And, why should poor Mama



   

                   

have to leave her

collection of china behind?



   

                   

Come along!

You tell Mama you're sorry.



   

                   

Go on!



   

                   

I'm sorry, Mama.



   

                   

We oughtn't to have made

such a fuss.



   

                   

I'm sorry.



   

                   

Ah-hmm! Mr. Collins!



   

                   

I took the liberty

of coming across the garden.



   

                   

I knew you'd permit it.



   

                   

Come in, Mr. Collins. Come in.



   

                   

Thank you, Mr. Bennet. Thank you.



   

                   

Oh, ladies!



   

                   

Miss Eliza.



   

                   

I - I trust, Madame,

I've seen you in better health.



   

                   

I wish you did, Mr. Collins.



   

                   

Nobody can imagine

how weak I feel!



   

                   

As if I were fading away!



   

                   

Well, it's not to be wondered at

in the circumstances!



   

                   

I'm sorry to see that Mr. Bennet

also looks far from well.



   

                   

He seems to have aged

a great deal



   

                   

in the last few weeks,



   

                   

don't you think so, Miss Eliza?



   

                   

Does he? Perhaps

the wish is farther



   

                   

from the thought, Mr. Collins.



   

                   

I suppose you have heard that



   

                   

we are leaving

Longbourn, Mr. Collins.



   

                   

A wise decision, Madame.



   

                   

Find somewhere remote

and secluded spot



   

                   

where no one has ever heard

of your unhappy daughter.



   

                   

Oh, my poor little Lydia!

What can have happened to her?



   

                   

What is it, Papa?



   

                   

It's from your Uncle Gardner.

He's found Lydia.



   

                   

He's found her?



   

                   

Yes.



   

                   

And Wickham asked for

a thousand pounds at your death,



   

                   

and, a hundred pounds a year

during your lifetime.



   

                   

These terms seemed moderate,



   

                   

and, I - took upon myself



   

                   

the responsibility

of agreeing to him.



   

                   

He's agreed to Wickham's terms.



   

                   

He doesn't seem to be

asking very much, does he?



   

                   

Considering what he'd demanded

when -



   

                   

I mean, considering -

the sort of man he is.



   

                   

Why do you think he's content

with so little, Papa?



   

                   

Well, this is

what your uncle says.



   

                   

Here. Postscript.



   

                   

It seems that Wickham



   

                   

recently came into a very

considerable sum of money.



   

                   

Oh, I see!

Well, that explains it!



   

                   

No! It doesn't explain anything,

my child!



   

                   

We know that Wickham's in debt.



   

                   

We know he's extravagant.

We know he's a gambler.



   

                   

And, yet, suddenly,

he has so much money



   

                   

that he'll take a girl

like Lydia for two pounds a week.



   

                   

There are two things

I want to know.



   

                   

One is, how much money



   

                   

your uncle has laid down

to bring this about.



   

                   

The other is,

how can I ever repay him?



   

                   

Oh, well! Let's go and break the

good news to your mother!



   

                   

Oh! What's that?



   

                   

What can it mean?



   

                   

It's Lydia!



   

                   

They're married! Mama!



   

                   

Married?!



   

                   

Mama! Mama! It's Lydia!

They're married!



   

                   

What?!

They're married!



   

                   

Mama!

Oohh!



   

                   

Look, Mama!



   

                   

A ring!



   

                   

Oh, my dear, dear son-in-law!

May I give you a hug, too?



   

                   

What do you think of that,

Kitty?



   

                   

It's better

than one of your old books!



   

                   

Well, Jane!



   

                   

Oh, Lydia!



   

                   

Elizabeth!



   

                   

You can't imagine

what fun we've had!



   

                   

Oh, Mama!



   

                   

That will do for now.



   

                   

Did you see?

We got the liveries secondhand.



   

                   

But, they're awfully smart,

don't you think so?



   

                   

Are they your servants?



   

                   

We're rich, Mama!



   

                   

Rich! Oh, my sweetest child!

Rich!



   

                   

May I ask how you have suddenly

become so rich, Mr. Wickham?



   

                   

Well, it was quite a surprise!



   

                   

One of my - my uncles

died a few weeks ago.



   

                   

An uncle I haven't seen

since childhood.



   

                   

He'd been living in Jamaica.



   

                   

Yes, Jamaica!



   

                   

And he left you a fortune?



   

                   

Of modest competence.

But, its coming was very timely.



   

                   

Very timely, indeed.



   

                   

Very timely.



   

                   

Oh, dear George!



   

                   

We're all so proud of you,

aren't we, Lizzie?



   

                   

Oh, prodigiously!



   

                   

So handsome and so distinguished!



   

                   

And, two footmen and liveries!



   

                   

Come, my lambs! Oh, think of it!



   

                   

A daughter married!

And, only sixteen last June!



   

                   

Papa!



   

                   

Mr. Bennet! Mr. Bennet!



   

                   

We shan't have

to leave Longbourn!



   

                   

People can't say anything now

that they're married!



   

                   

We won't have to go to Margot!



   

                   

Why, how glum you look, Papa!



   

                   

What's happened?

What does all these mean?



   

                   

Oh, how do you do, Mr. Collins?



   

                   

Aren't you funny,

seeing you about?



   

                   

Oh, I forgot! Wicky, Papa!



   

                   

If you will excuse me, my dear.



   

                   

Goodbye, Mr. Collins.



   

                   

Oh, well. Papa will get

to like you in time, Wicky.



   

                   

Nobody can help liking you!



   

                   

Don't you envy me, Lizzie?



   

                   

Ask me that question again

five years from now.



   

                   

Five years?! Oh! Who cares

what happens in five years!



   

                   

Oh, Mama,

do you think the servants



   

                   

would like to see my ring?



   

                   

I'm sure of it!



   

                   

Well, then, let's all go out

to the kitchen!



   

                   

Come along!

I want everybody to see!



    

                   

Oh, you, too, Mr. Collins!



    

                   

We old married people

must stick together!



    

                   

Lady Catherine de Bourgh!



    

                   

Lady Catherine! Lady Catherine!



    

                   

What an honor

for this humble house!



    

                   

No honor was intended,

Mr. Collins.



    

                   

Mrs. Bennet, I presume.



    

                   

How do you do, Lady Catherine?



    

                   

Ah, such a pleasure

to make your acquaintance!



    

                   

Ah, ah, do come in!



    

                   

Thank you.



    

                   

Miss Bennet.



    

                   

Come right in, Lady Catherine!

Come right in!



    

                   

Ah, won't you, ah, sit down?



    

                   

Stupid child!



    

                   

Things had been

in such a confusion today!



    

                   

So I see.



    

                   

Yes. Yes.



    

                   

I wish to speak

to Miss Elizabeth Bennet.



    

                   

Oh, ah, Elizabeth!



    

                   

Here, Lizzie. Lady Catherine

wishes to speak to you.



    

                   

I wish to speak to Miss Bennet

- alone.



    

                   

Will you kindly leave us,

Mrs. Bennet?



    

                   

Oh, certainly, Ma'am!

If you wish it.



    

                   

I do wish it.



    

                   

Ah, come, children!



    

                   

I hope we shall all

have the pleasure



    

                   

of seeing you later,

Lady Catherine.



    

                   

Possibly, Mrs. Bennet. Possibly.



    

                   

Ah, yes.



    

                   

Mr. Collins!



    

                   

Be seated, Miss Bennet.



    

                   

Oh! My poor nerves! Awk! Awk!



    

                   

Oh! He's very young.



    

                   

Come, come!

Be seated, Miss Bennet.



    

                   

Stop dawdling!



    

                   

Miss Bennet,

a report has reached me



    

                   

of a most alarming nature!



    

                   

I was told that you,

Miss Elizabeth Bennet,



    

                   

was shortly to be engaged

to my nephew, Mr. Darcy.



    

                   

Of course, I could not believe



    

                   

this report

could possibly be true!



    

                   

Nevertheless,

I immediately resolved



    

                   

upon setting out to see you.



    

                   

If it could not

possibly be true, Madame,



    

                   

I wonder you gave yourself

the trouble of coming so far.



    

                   

I came to insist

upon the report of being



    

                   

universally contradicted.



    

                   

But won't your coming here seem

- rather to confirm it?



    

                   

Insolent headstrong girl!

I'm ashamed of you!



    

                   

Is this your gratitude for my

attentions to you at Rosings?



    

                   

Miss Bennet,

I am not to be trifled with!



    

                   

Has my nephew made you

an offer of marriage?



    

                   

You have declared that

to be impossible.



    

                   

Impossible? I have the power

to make it impossible.



    

                   

Are you aware that, as trustee

of my sister's estate,



    

                   

I can strip Mr. Darcy

of every shilling he has?



    

                   

And, if he were to marry

against my wishes,



    

                   

I should not hesitate

in carrying out my power.



    

                   

Now, what have you to say?



    

                   

Nothing whatever!



    

                   

I take no interest in matters

that are none of my business.



    

                   

Ahh! Bold ones, my girl!

Bold ones!



    

                   

But, remember this!

Marry him and you will be poor!



    

                   

That would be no novelty for me,

Lady Catherine.



    

                   

Once and for all,

are you engaged to him?



    

                   

No, I am not.



    

                   

Ahh! And, will you promise me



    

                   

never to enter

into such an engagement?



    

                   

No, I will not!



    

                   

Ahh! So you do expect him

to propose to you?



    

                   

I have no right

to expect anything,



    

                   

excepting, perhaps,

never to see him again.



    

                   

What? Do you have

the impertinence



    

                   

to proclaim that

he isn't in love with you?



    

                   

I can't imagine that

he would be. Not now.



    

                   

Then, why his kind consideration

for your sister?



    

                   

Was that the act of a man

who isn't in love?



    

                   

I don't know

what you are talking about!



    

                   

Possibly, you don't!

But that rascal, Wickham, does!



    

                   

Lmagine it! My nephew, Darcy,



    

                   

scouring the courts and alleys

of London looking for him!



    

                   

Huh! Setting him up

with an income!



    

                   

Forcing him to marry that silly

little - libertied jibbit!



    

                   

Did he do that? Oohh!



    

                   

Thank you for telling me,

Lady Catherine! Thank you!



    

                   

I will not be thanked!



    

                   

Let us have no more of this

mammering, Miss Bennet!



    

                   

I shall not leave this house



    

                   

until you have given me

the assurance for which I asked!



    

                   

In that case, Lady Catherine,

I had better ring for the butler!



    

                   

He will show you to your bedroom.



    

                   

Or, if you decide, after all,

not to stay,



    

                   

he will conduct you

to your carriage.



    

                   

Yes, Miss Elizabeth?



    

                   

Oh, Matthews,

I had the impression



    

                   

that her Ladyship wishes

to be taken to her carriage.



    

                   

Goodbye, Lady Catherine.



    

                   

I take no leave of you,

Miss Bennet.



    

                   

I send no compliments

to your mother!



    

                   

You deserve no such attention!



    

                   

I am seriously displeased!



    

                   

Well?



    

                   

A blank refusal.



    

                   

She refuses to see me?



    

                   

She refuses not to see you!



    

                   

Did she?



    

                   

Most impertinently! And,

that's not the worst, Darcy.



    

                   

I told her - that I could



    

                   

strip you of your fortune

if I chose to.



    

                   

But, she refused to be

the least bit impressed!



    

                   

You see?



    

                   

Yes, I see, Darcy.

I grant I was wrong about that.



    

                   

But, there's one thing

I can't agree with.



    

                   

You told me at Rosings -

she was nothing if not decided!



    

                   

That's not true.



    

                   

The young woman

is positively obstinate!



    

                   

What?

Did she refuse anything else?



    

                   

Well, she may have refused

to refuse to marry you!



    

                   

Why, Darcy! Darcy! What manners!



    

                   

Have you gone mad?



    

                   

Yes, yes! Quite mad!



    

                   

And I don't believe I should

ever be quite sane again!



    

                   

But, you wouldn't wish me to be,

would you?



    

                   

No, I don't think I would.

She's right for you, Darcy.



    

                   

You were a spoiled child.



    

                   

But, we don't want

to go on spoiling you!



    

                   

What you need is a woman

who will stand up to you.



    

                   

I think you've found her!



    

                   

Well, Darcy,

help me into my carriage!



    

                   

How can I ever thank you,

Aunt Catherine?



    

                   

Upon my word!



    

                   

I'm not accustomed to

so much gratitude!



    

                   

Everybody seems to be

thanking me today.



    

                   

Drive on, Smith.



    

                   

Don't stand there

and keep me waiting!



    

                   

Shut the door, Darcy!



    

                   

Go into the house.



    

                   

How do you do, Mrs. Bennet?



    

                   

Mr. Darcy!

Well, this is an honor!



    

                   

First, Lady Catherine.

And, now, you!



    

                   

I was traveling

with my aunt, and,



    

                   

I thought I would give myself

the pleasure



    

                   

Jane! Jane!



    

                   

Mama, I can't find Jane anywhere.



    

                   

Ohh!



    

                   

How do you do, Miss Elizabeth?



    

                   

How do you do?



    

                   

Jane is somewhere in the garden,

I believe!



    

                   

Oh, Miss Jane! I have a message

for her from the Bingleys.



    

                   

Should we - should we -



    

                   

Oh, why, yes! Yes!



    

                   

See if we could - find her?

Let's do that!



    

                   

Will you excuse us, Madame?



    

                   

Very gladly, Mr. Darcy!



    

                   

Miss Bennet!



    

                   

I have a confession to make.



    

                   

I didn't tell the exact truth,

I'm afraid,



    

                   

about the message

from the Bingleys.



    

                   

You mean they didn't send one?



    

                   

They didn't send one

for the good reason



    

                   

that Charles Bingley

had every intention



    

                   

of bringing it himself.



    

                   

Himself?!



    

                   

Yes. He came back

to Netherfield last night.



    

                   

I was rather expecting

to see him here this afternoon.



    

                   

Aahh!



    

                   

Oh, Mr. Darcy,

this is your doing!



    

                   

Shall I tell you

who is really responsible



    

                   

for your sister's happiness,

Miss Elizabeth?



    

                   

Caroline Bingley.



    

                   

Miss Bingley?



    

                   

Yes. She sent her brother back



    

                   

by dwelling on all the reasons

why he should stay away.



    

                   

Ohh!



    

                   

I only approved the decision



    

                   

that he had already taken

on his own account.



    

                   

Mr. Darcy,

there's something else.



    

                   

I hardly know

how to put it into words!



    

                   

What you did for Lydia.



    

                   

I have - but, I assure you

I did nothing, Miss Bennet.



    

                   

Lady Catherine

was not of that opinion.



    

                   

What? But I never gave her leave

to tell you that!



    

                   

Gave her leave?!



    

                   

Do you mean to say

that Lady Catherine



    

                   

I have - wanted to know



    

                   

if I would be welcome.

She came as my ambassador.



    

                   

Your ambassador?



    

                   

I never imagined that that was

the language of diplomacy!



    

                   

You know, she likes you,

in spite of her language.



    

                   

Me?



    

                   

Yes! She really does!



    

                   

Oh! I wish I had known it!

I wouldn't have been so rude.



    

                   

But that was what she liked.



    

                   

People flatter her so much

she enjoys an occasional change.



    

                   

I'm afraid I gave her

a good change this afternoon.



    

                   

She went away delighted!



    

                   

You evidently confirmed

the good opinion



    

                   

she'd formed of you at Rosings.



    

                   

I don't know

what to say or think!



    

                   

Except that - you must allow me



    

                   

to thank you for

- what you did for Lydia.



    

                   

And, if the facts were known

to the rest of my family,



    

                   

I should not merely have

my own gratitude to express!



    

                   

If you must thank me,

let it be for yourself alone.



    

                   

Whatever I did,

I thought only of you.



    

                   

Oh, Mr. Darcy!



    

                   

When I think of

how I've misjudged you!



    

                   

The - the horrible things

I said...



    

                   

l- I'm so ashamed!



    

                   

Oh, no!

It's I who should be ashamed!



    

                   

Of my arrogance!

Of my stupid pride!



    

                   

Of all! Except one thing!

One thing!



    

                   

I'm not ashamed

of having loved you!



    

                   

Elizabeth,

- dare I ask you again?



    

                   

Elizabeth!

Dear, beautiful lizzie!



    

                   

Lord bless my soul!



    

                   

Mr. Bennet! Mr. Bennet!



    

                   

Miracles will never cease,

Mrs. Bennet!



    

                   

Mr. Darcy!

Who would have believed it?!



    

                   

Oh, my sweetest,

sweetest Lizzie!



    

                   

What pinmoney she'll have!



    

                   

What jewels! What carriages!



    

                   

Jane's is nothing to it!



    

                   

Absolutely nothing! Oh!

And, such a charming man!



    

                   

I do hope you will overlook

my having disliked him so much.



    

                   

Oh, dear, dear Mr. Darcy!

A house in town.



    

                   

Ten thousand pounds a year!



    

                   

Of course, poor Jane

will only have five.



    

                   

Oh! I wonder if there's any dish

he's particularly fond of?



    

                   

I'll-I'll go to the kitchen

at once!



    

                   

Flow gently



    

                   

Sweet aspen



    

                   

Among thy green vale



    

                   

Flow gently



    

                   

I'll sing thee



    

                   

Your song in thy praise



    

                   

The green prairie stare laughing



    

                   

Mr. Bennet! Mr. Bennet!



    

                   

Thy screaming forebear

Look!



    

                   

I charge you



    

                   

This sterling morn



    

                   

My slumbering fair.



    

                   

Well, perhaps, it's lucky



    

                   

we didn't drown any of them

at birth, my dear!



    

                   

Mr. Bennet, you must find out

what money they have.



    

                   

Col. Foster can tell you

about Mr. Denny.



    

                   

And, Sir William knows

all about Mr. Witherington.



    

                   

You must go at once, Mr. Bennet!

This very afternoon!



    

                   

Oohh! Think of it!

Three of them married!



    

                   

And, the other two,

just tottering on the brink!











  

 
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