Chapter 15
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Ever wondered what it would be like to become Mr Bennet, if only for a moment? Read on, imagining yourself as Mr Bennet; then, based on your knowledge of Pride & Prejudice, decide what you will do at the end of this chapter.
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Imagine your amusement a few days later, when Mr Darcy accompanies Mr Bingley to Longbourn. You attempt a private word with Lizzy to teaze her about her “noble admirer”; but, as the weather is uncommonly dry for the time of year, she, Jane and Kitty go out walking with the young gentlemen. There is no further opportunity to talk with her that day; but the next morning brings new urgency to the case.
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"Good gracious!" cries Mrs Bennet from her sentry duty by the window. "If that disagreeable Mr Darcy is not coming here again with our dear Bingley! What can he mean by being so tiresome as to be always coming here? I had no notion but he would go a-shooting, or something or other, and not disturb us with his company. What shall we do with him? Lizzy, you must walk out with him again, that he may not be in Bingley's way."
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Bingley is evidently of the same opinion. As soon as he enters the room, he says, "Mrs Bennet, have you no more lanes hereabouts in which Lizzy may lose her way again to-day?" and it is soon arranged that they will go on a longer walk, to Oakham Mount, where Mrs Bennet assures them they will find very fine views.
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In the evening, as is your habit, you withdraw to the library. You are just settling to your book, when somebody knocks loudly on the door. You bid them enter and are surprised, nay alarmed, to see Mr Darcy.
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You survey him warily as he approaches your chair, and gesture for him to sit down. But he remains standing and towers over you, more forbidding than ever.
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“Well, Mr Darcy?” you venture, at last.
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He looks at you intently. “What is your opinion of me, Sir?”
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You are so taken aback by his question that, for once, you speak frankly. “You have one quality that I admire - your ability to discourage company, particularly the female kind. You may have other good qualities, but I am unable to list them until I know you better.”
His stern features are instantly transformed by a broad smile. “I see now how you have influenced your daughter!”
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You are puzzled. “To which daughter do you refer, and how have I influenced her?”
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It is the first time you have heard him laugh. “Elizabeth has the same directness about her, and an altogether satirical bent which I find excessively entertaining.” A pause; then he is serious again. “But that is only one of many, many reasons why I come to request her hand in marriage.”
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You must have misheard. “I beg your pardon?”
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“I wish to marry Elizabeth, she wishes to marry me, and we only await your consent to make our joy complete.”
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You are both shocked and grieved. Nonetheless, you decide to give your consent, OR you withhold it.
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Which would Mr Bennet choose? Click on the link above and see if you're right.