Chapter 11 Country Life 5 "Or, do you want to make money?"...
Heather suddenly remembered that she had seen many officers in red uniforms in the hall before, and she wondered if Mr. Wickham was among them. Maybe Darcy was so unhappy just now because Wickham and Elizabeth had a dispute.
Heather saluted him and said, "Hello, Mr. Darcy, I heard my niece mention you. But how did you know my name?"
Darcy replied, "There should be no one present today who doesn't know your name. Just now, information about you has spread throughout the room."
That was so unfortunate. Heather really regretted following Mrs. Bennett to the final appearance. She should have slipped in first like Lydia and the others.
"If I had mentioned my niece to you as Miss Elizabeth Bennet, I'm afraid it wouldn't be a good comment, would it?"
Heather smiled awkwardly. That's not true, otherwise how could it be called Pride and Prejudice?
At this moment, Mr. Darcy really looked like a proud guy who was pretending to be serious even though he cared a lot.
Both sides fell into silence again, tacitly understanding each other.
But soon, Heather had a brilliant idea.
Why are you still looking for a partner? Isn’t there a suitable candidate right in front of you?
Heather thought for a second and decided to speak directly.
"Excuse me, Mr. Darcy, do you have any money?"
"Or, do you want to make money?"
After Heather finished speaking, the air became more like a dead silence.
She turned her head and saw that Mr. Darcy's expressionless face, which had never changed, showed an expression of shock.
He looked like he wanted to turn around and leave, but he also seemed to think that such a respectable lady would not ask such a rude question for no reason.
Hazel quickly added, "Now that all walks of life in the city are developing industry, I'm afraid there won't be so many people renting land when those factories are built. Besides, food prices will definitely fall after the war. Mr. Darcy, you don't think that investing all your money in land will be a permanent solution, do you?"
Darcy looked at her in surprise. He didn't expect that what she was going to say was like this.
"So, does Mrs. Lawrence have any suitable investment opportunities that she would like me to partner with?"
Hessel nodded and said, "Yes, I wonder if you have heard that the operators of the Birmingham-Liverpool Canal are raising seed capital?"
“Birmingham-Liverpool Canal?!”
Darcy never expected that Heather was talking about investing in the infrastructure industry. He thought she would ask him to sponsor an exhibition hall in London or invest in a textile factory.
"That's right." Hazel was about to explain her plan in detail to Darcy when the music outside turned into a piano solo, and it seemed to be the one Mary was going to play at the ball.
"Oh, God, I actually forgot about my appointment with Mary. I'm going to enjoy a piano performance. If you are interested, we can talk next time. Bye!"
Heather lowered her head and walked through the crowd, finding a position where she could just barely see Mary's profile, and began to appreciate her performance.
Mary's piano skills are indeed as good as she said. Even an outsider can see the results of her hard work and practice.
She chose a song that looked quite complicated. Her fingers flew across the keys quickly. Many of the notes required jumping two octaves. Just by looking at the movements of her hands, you could tell that she had put in a lot of hard work.
However, she did not seem to win the appreciation and praise from people around her as she wished.
Heather noticed that many people near the piano started talking to each other while listening, without even looking at the performer.
Apparently, Mary's performance was not very popular.
After the song ended, someone suggested that Mary sing a song for everyone.
Mary readily agreed and began to sing, even singing several verses in a row.
Now Heather could see that Mary's talent in singing might not be as good as her talent in playing the piano. Her vocal range was not wide, and she felt a sense of strain when singing high notes.
She wanted to show off, but she had no confidence because she rarely received genuine praise. So although she dared to stand there and sing song after song, her posture was very nervous.
The voices around them grew louder, and Heather saw Elizabeth winking at Mary anxiously, trying to stop her from singing. She seemed to find it embarrassing to have such a talentless and attention-seeking sister.
After another song ended, Mr. Bennett also received his daughter's signal. He stopped Mary and asked her to give time to other girls to perform.
Although Mr. Bennett's tone was as gentle and considerate as possible, Mary was still a little flustered.
Mary tried her best to hide her inner panic, maintaining a stiff smile as she left the piano.
Soon the next girl sat down and won warm applause.
Poor Mary, no one usually pays attention to her, and every time she musters up the courage to express herself, it backfires.
She rushed out of the crowd in a panic. Heather, who was waiting outside, grabbed her arm and led her to the door.
Mary could have pretended not to care, after all, similar situations had happened to her several times in her adult life, but when Heather touched her arm, she couldn't help it and her eyes turned red.
"Don't cry, Mary." Heather squeezed her wrist subtly. "The ball is almost over. We can go wait in the carriage and be back soon."
They sat in the carriage for a while, and Mary calmed down on her own.
She firmly believed that the song she chose today was not suitable, and said that she must prepare a more difficult and more interesting performance next time.
Heather said nothing, letting her lean on his shoulder.
It was not until the end of the ball that everyone had left one after another, and the other members of the Bennett family were personally escorted out by the host.
Mrs. Bennet was so excited that she started talking non-stop with Hazel as soon as she got in the car, describing how much Mr. Bingley liked Jane and how many dances he had invited her to tonight. She would not be surprised if he proposed to her early tomorrow morning.
Heather thought her sister would ask her where she had been all night, but it was obvious that Mr. Bingley had occupied all her attention, leaving her no time to care about anyone else.
It was Jane who first asked where Hazel had been: "Aunt Hazel, you haven't been dancing tonight, and you haven't been with your mother. Mr. Bingley said he wanted to say hello to you."
Heather replied vaguely, "There were too many people in the hall, and I felt a bit bored, so I went to the balcony."
In fact, Heather had no idea how many ballroom dance steps she still remembered. Having some memory in her mind was one thing, but actually practicing them was another. She didn't want to be stepped on or step on others.
Mrs. Bennett was very satisfied. "It's all right for Heather. Her face is the center of attention wherever she goes, and it has been like this since she was a child. During the first dance tonight, you don't know how many men rushed forward to greet her. Jane's matter is more urgent, and Heather can't steal Jane's limelight now!"
Heather agreed reluctantly. She didn't want to steal the limelight, but the compliments from her straightforward sister did make her feel a lot happier.
It was already very late when we got home. No one had the energy to say anything more, so we just went back to our rooms to sleep.
Because I slept too late the day before, breakfast was postponed to ten o'clock the next day.
They thought it would be a leisurely morning for everyone to sleep in, but before breakfast was even served on the table, the ladies of the Bennett family saw from the window that two gentlemen were approaching their house on horseback.
"Oh my goodness, it's Mr. Bingley! And Mr. Darcy!"
Mrs. Bennett hurried to the window to look out.
Mr. Bingley, on his horse, saw the figures at the window, and with one hand he took off his hat and saluted the ladies.
Mr. Darcy still looked arrogant and inhuman.
The ladies quickly stepped back.
Mr. Bingley has been a frequent visitor to the Bennet family recently, but Mr. Darcy's sudden appearance makes everyone feel very strange.
Even Lydia turned around and asked Elizabeth: "Mr. Darcy hasn't come to visit our house with Mr. Bingley for a long time. Is there anything he wants to do today? Do you know, Lizzie?"
Elizabeth replied, "How should I know about him!"
She also found it very strange, as she had obviously parted ways on bad terms after dancing with Mr. Darcy last night.
Mr. Darcy's arrogance and Miss Bingley's contempt for Mr. Wickham's background made her more determined than ever to think. As Mr. Wickham said, Mr. Darcy must have done something unkind to him out of jealousy.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
