Chapter 53 316
" There is a gentleman with him , mamma ," said Kitty ; " who can it be ?"
" Some acquaintance or other , my dear , I suppose ; I am sure I do not know ."
" La !" replied Kitty , " it looks just like that man that used to be with him before . Mr . what ' s-his-name . That tall , proud man ."
" Good gracious ! Mr . Darcy ! --and so it does , I vow . Well , any friend of Mr . Bingley ' s will always be welcome here , to be sure ; but else I must say that I hate the very sight of him ."
Jane looked at Elizabeth with surprise and concern . She knew but little of their meeting in Derbyshire , and therefore felt for the awkwardness which must attend her sister , in seeing him almost for the first time after receiving his explanatory letter . Both sisters were uncomfortable enough . Each felt for the other , and of course for themselves ; and their mother talked on , of her dislike of Mr . Darcy , and her resolution to be civil to him only as Mr . Bingley ' s friend , without being heard by either of them . But Elizabeth had sources of uneasiness which could not be suspected by Jane , to whom she had never yet had courage to shew Mrs . Gardiner ' s letter , or to relate her own change of sentiment towards him . To Jane , he could be only a man whose proposals she had refused , and whose merit she had undervalued ; but to her own more extensive information , he was the person to whom the whole family were indebted for the first of benefits , and whom she regarded herself with an interest , if not quite so tender , at least as reasonable and just as what Jane felt for Bingley . Her astonishment at his coming--at his coming to Netherfield , to Longbourn , and voluntarily seeking her again , was almost equal to what she had known on first witnessing his altered behaviour in Derbyshire .
The colour which had been driven from her face , returned for half a minute with an additional glow , and a smile of delight added lustre to her eyes , as she thought for that space of time that his affection and wishes must still be unshaken . But she would not be secure .