{"id":"01KJRRE0N9FRVFCX86XV0B10K2","cid":"bafkreif5aefv4wag6q3kinuz237egvhin63nmjmapxykym5bcs2ibmourq","type":"text_chunk","properties":{"char_end":257656,"char_start":249725,"chunk_index":35,"chunk_total":108,"estimated_tokens":1983,"label":"“Why will you think so? It must be his own doing","source_file_key":"pride-and-prejudice","text":"\r\n“Why will you think so? It must be his own doing; he is his own master.\r\nBut you do not know _all_. I _will_ read you the passage which\r\nparticularly hurts me. I will have no reserves from _you_. ‘Mr. Darcy is\r\nimpatient to see his sister; and to confess the truth, _we_ are scarcely\r\nless eager to meet her again. I really do not think Georgiana Darcy has\r\nher equal for beauty, elegance, and accomplishments; and the affection\r\nshe inspires in Louisa and myself is heightened into something still\r\nmore interesting from the hope we dare to entertain of her being\r\nhereafter our sister. I do not know whether I ever before mentioned to\r\nyou my feelings on this subject, but I will not leave the country\r\nwithout confiding them, and I trust you will not esteem them\r\nunreasonable. My brother admires her greatly already; he will have\r\nfrequent opportunity now of seeing her on the most intimate footing; her\r\nrelations all wish the connection as much as his own; and a sister’s\r\npartiality is not misleading me, I think, when I call Charles most\r\ncapable of engaging any woman’s heart. With all these circumstances to\r\nfavour an attachment, and nothing to prevent it, am I wrong, my dearest\r\nJane, in indulging the hope of an event which will secure the happiness\r\nof so many?’ What think you of _this_ sentence, my dear Lizzy?” said\r\nJane, as she finished it. “Is it not clear enough? Does it not expressly\r\ndeclare that Caroline neither expects nor wishes me to be her sister;\r\nthat she is perfectly convinced of her brother’s indifference; and that\r\nif she suspects the nature of my feelings for him she means (most\r\nkindly!) to put me on my guard. Can there be any other opinion on the\r\nsubject?”\r\n\r\n“Yes, there can; for mine is totally different. Will you hear it?”\r\n\r\n“Most willingly.”\r\n\r\n“You shall have it in a few words. Miss Bingley sees that her brother is\r\nin love with you and wants him to marry Miss Darcy. She follows him to\r\ntown in the hope of keeping him there, and tries to persuade you that he\r\ndoes not care about you.”\r\n\r\nJane shook her head.\r\n\r\n“Indeed, Jane, you ought to believe me. No one who has ever seen you\r\ntogether can doubt his affection; Miss Bingley, I am sure, cannot: she\r\nis not such a simpleton. Could she have seen half as much love in Mr.\r\nDarcy for herself, she would have ordered her wedding clothes. But the\r\ncase is this:--we are not rich enough or grand enough for them; and she\r\nis the more anxious to get Miss Darcy for her brother, from the notion\r\nthat when there has been _one_ inter-marriage, she may have less trouble\r\nin achieving a second; in which there is certainly some ingenuity, and I\r\ndare say it would succeed if Miss de Bourgh were out of the way. But, my\r\ndearest Jane, you cannot seriously imagine that, because Miss Bingley\r\ntells you her brother greatly admires Miss Darcy, he is in the smallest\r\ndegree less sensible of _your_ merit than when he took leave of you on\r\nTuesday; or that it will be in her power to persuade him that, instead\r\nof being in love with you, he is very much in love with her friend.”\r\n\r\n“If we thought alike of Miss Bingley,” replied Jane, “your\r\nrepresentation of all this might make me quite easy. But I know the\r\nfoundation is unjust. Caroline is incapable of wilfully deceiving\r\nanyone; and all that I can hope in this case is, that she is deceived\r\nherself.”\r\n\r\n“That is right. You could not have started a more happy idea, since you\r\nwill not take comfort in mine: believe her to be deceived, by all means.\r\nYou have now done your duty by her, and must fret no longer.”\r\n\r\n“But, my dear sister, can I be happy, even supposing the best, in\r\naccepting a man whose sisters and friends are all wishing him to marry\r\nelsewhere?”\r\n\r\n“You must decide for yourself,” said Elizabeth; “and if, upon mature\r\ndeliberation, you find that the misery of disobliging his two sisters is\r\nmore than equivalent to the happiness of being his wife, I advise you,\r\nby all means, to refuse him.”\r\n\r\n“How can you talk so?” said Jane, faintly smiling; “you must know, that,\r\nthough I should be exceedingly grieved at their disapprobation, I could\r\nnot hesitate.”\r\n\r\n“I did not think you would; and that being the case, I cannot consider\r\nyour situation with much compassion.”\r\n\r\n“But if he returns no more this winter, my choice will never be\r\nrequired. A thousand things may arise in six months.”\r\n\r\nThe idea of his returning no more Elizabeth treated with the utmost\r\ncontempt. It appeared to her merely the suggestion of Caroline’s\r\ninterested wishes; and she could not for a moment suppose that those\r\nwishes, however openly or artfully spoken, could influence a young man\r\nso totally independent of everyone.\r\n\r\nShe represented to her sister, as forcibly as possible, what she felt on\r\nthe subject, and had soon the pleasure of seeing its happy effect.\r\nJane’s temper was not desponding; and she was gradually led to hope,\r\nthough the diffidence of affection sometimes overcame the hope, that\r\nBingley would return to Netherfield, and answer every wish of her heart.\r\n\r\nThey agreed that Mrs. Bennet should only hear of the departure of the\r\nfamily, without being alarmed on the score of the gentleman’s conduct;\r\nbut even this partial communication gave her a great deal of concern,\r\nand she bewailed it as exceedingly unlucky that the ladies should happen\r\nto go away just as they were all getting so intimate together. After\r\nlamenting it, however, at some length, she had the consolation of\r\nthinking that Mr. Bingley would be soon down again, and soon dining at\r\nLongbourn; and the conclusion of all was the comfortable declaration,\r\nthat, though he had been invited only to a family dinner, she would take\r\ncare to have two full courses.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n[Illustration]\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nCHAPTER XXII.\r\n\r\n\r\n[Illustration]\r\n\r\nThe Bennets were engaged to dine with the Lucases; and again, during the\r\nchief of the day, was Miss Lucas so kind as to listen to Mr. Collins.\r\nElizabeth took an opportunity of thanking her. “It keeps him in good\r\nhumour,” said she, “and I am more obliged to you than I can express.”\r\n\r\nCharlotte assured her friend of her satisfaction in being useful, and\r\nthat it amply repaid her for the little sacrifice of her time. This was\r\nvery amiable; but Charlotte’s kindness extended farther than Elizabeth\r\nhad any conception of:--its object was nothing less than to secure her\r\nfrom any return of Mr. Collins’s addresses, by engaging them towards\r\nherself. Such was Miss Lucas’s scheme; and appearances were so\r\nfavourable, that when they parted at night, she would have felt almost\r\nsure of success if he had not been to leave Hertfordshire so very soon.\r\nBut here she did injustice to the fire and independence of his\r\ncharacter; for it led him to escape out of Longbourn House the next\r\nmorning with admirable slyness, and hasten to Lucas Lodge to throw\r\nhimself at her feet. He was anxious to avoid the notice of his cousins,\r\nfrom a conviction that, if they saw him depart, they could not fail to\r\nconjecture his design, and he was not willing to have the attempt known\r\ntill its success could be known likewise; for, though feeling almost\r\nsecure, and with reason, for Charlotte had been tolerably encouraging,\r\nhe was comparatively diffident since the adventure of Wednesday. His\r\nreception, however, was of the most flattering kind. Miss Lucas\r\nperceived him from an upper window as he walked towards the house, and\r\ninstantly set out to meet him accidentally in the lane. But little had\r\nshe dared to hope that so much love and eloquence awaited her there.\r\n\r\nIn as short a time as Mr. Collins’s long speeches would allow,\r\neverything was settled between them to the satisfaction of both; and as\r\nthey entered the house, he earnestly entreated her to name the day that\r\nwas to make him the happiest of men; and though such a solicitation must\r\nbe waived for the present, the lady felt no inclination to trifle with\r\nhis happiness."},"relationships":[{"peer":"01KJRRD3TNE5A6AKAVXSRFT9RC","peer_label":"pride-and-prejudice","peer_type":"text","predicate":"derived_from"},{"peer":"01KJRRC2C7K6XERRJES8143XGV","peer_type":"collection","predicate":"collection"},{"peer":"01KJRREZKG263C7SQSDV3TZ5MX","peer_label":"elizabeth bennet","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"person","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:29:46.576Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRREZGM87R12EADFF6YZZG3","peer_label":"jane bennet","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"person","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:29:46.576Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRREZJBEM6MWHW485H9DS9F","peer_label":"mr darcy","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"person","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:29:46.576Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRRFA09NE4B0H592GFW4GC8","peer_label":"louisa hurst","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"person","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:29:46.576Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRRF7M6PWKTFGVY5GSW3MFX","peer_label":"caroline bingley","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"person","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:29:46.576Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRRF9M2538MHHJ98FNAFJA7","peer_label":"georgiana darcy","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"person","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:29:46.576Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRRF111GQ37KKZWSA5T7428","peer_label":"miss de bourgh","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"person","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:29:46.576Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRRF0886HKAEXJPHPK5R594","peer_label":"charles bingley","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"person","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:29:46.576Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRREYT564P5405ZE4Q76ZF5","peer_label":"mrs bennet","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"person","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:29:46.576Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRREZFDNHD81TMSJQPDWV69","peer_label":"charlotte lucas","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"person","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:29:46.576Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRREY6ZWGAT4FYVDEM6VE2E","peer_label":"mr collins","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"person","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:29:46.576Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRREZGXA5G45WS8FVH5R7BE","peer_label":"netherfield","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"estate","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:29:46.576Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRRF7VA665FKK6CM48CN8K0","peer_label":"longbourn","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"estate","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:29:46.576Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRREYW19YDDGRB70B483ZRV","peer_label":"hertfordshire","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"county","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:29:46.576Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRRFB3ARCP6B09WMTBGQERJ","peer_label":"the lucases family","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"family","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:29:46.576Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRRFB2W0AGAN82QAZEQRQGB","peer_label":"the bennets family","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"family","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:29:46.576Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRRFB6WEWTPCCS1NCDWWVPC","peer_label":"chapter xxii","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"document_section","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:29:46.576Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRRFB5M59Q4BE285XQZ1D06","peer_label":"lucas lodge","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"estate","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:29:46.576Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRRFB9KEGGCXEF6WRHPCPWX","peer_label":"mr collinss proposal to charlotte lucas","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"event","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:29:46.576Z"}}],"ver":2,"created_at":"2026-03-03T02:29:01.225Z","ts":"2026-03-03T02:29:47.464Z","edited_by":{"method":"system","user_id":"01KJ60XQBHJ0GBGTP9X8HXAPPM"}}