Chapter 43 244
" I was never more surprised than by his behaviour to us . It was more than civil ; it was really attentive ; and there was no necessity for such attention . His acquaintance with Elizabeth was very trifling ."
" To be sure , Lizzy ," said her aunt , " he is not so handsome as Wickham ; or , rather , he has not Wickham ' s countenance , for his features are perfectly good . But how came you to tell me that he was so disagreeable ?"
Elizabeth excused herself as well as she could ; said that she had liked him better when they had met in Kent than before , and that she had never seen him so pleasant as this morning .
" But perhaps he may be a little whimsical in his civilities ," replied her uncle . " Your great men often are ; and therefore I shall not take him at his word , as he might change his mind another day , and warn me off his grounds ."
Elizabeth felt that they had entirely misunderstood his character , but said nothing .
" From what we have seen of him ," continued Mrs . Gardiner , " I really should not have thought that he could have behaved in so cruel a way by anybody as he has done by poor Wickham . He has not an ill-natured look . On the contrary , there is something pleasing about his mouth when he speaks . And there is something of dignity in his countenance that would not give one an unfavourable idea of his heart . But , to be sure , the good lady who showed us his house did give him a most flaming character ! I could hardly help laughing aloud sometimes . But he is a liberal master , I suppose , and that in the eye of a servant comprehends every virtue ."
Elizabeth here felt herself called on to say something in vindication of his behaviour to Wickham ; and therefore gave them to understand , in as guarded a manner as she could , that by what she had heard from his relations in Kent , his actions were capable of a very different construction ; and that his character was by no means so faulty , nor Wickham ' s so amiable , as they had been considered in Hertfordshire . In confirmation of