Circy slept peacefully.

The tree behind her tried its best to soften its bark and branches so that she could lean against it more comfortably.

Cassandra, who was lying beside her, was like a warm stove, sending heat to her body.

Therefore, when Circe opened her eyes, she was still a little dazed when she saw the night sky.

She covered her mouth and yawned delicately, but then stretched lazily, sweeping away any trace of delicateness.

She propped herself on the ground and stood up. Her fingers tapped the hem of her skirt to remove the dirt and grass stuck to it.

When she was completely upright, there was no sign that she had been sitting on the ground for most of the afternoon.

Circy slept so well that she did not notice that someone had come by. Cassandra did not think it was anything important to tell her master, so she calmly returned to her room.

Cassandra watched her master disappear at the end of the path, then turned and leapt out of the Netherfield.

— — —

Darcy had been a little absent-minded since he returned from the garden. He sat at his desk in a rare daze.

It was a good thing that he was alone in the study. If anyone had seen him, their jaws would have dropped. It turned out that he was just like other people.

It had to be said that Darcy had rarely been so troubled in all these years.

Miss Lucas was not of high status. Her father was of high status in Longborn, but not in London, not to mention that he had bought his knighthood with money.

Miss Lucas did not have a large fortune. She only had a bunch of poor relatives.

Miss Lucas was not well educated. The so-called governess her family hired was not good enough for Darcy.

Eight or ten reasons might be given for the unreasonableness of his union with Miss Lucas.

It would not be too much to say that it was unsuitable.

But Darcy could not deny that he was attracted to Miss Lucas. It was an inexplicable feeling.

It started with those beautiful eyes. But now it was not just those eyes.

This was the real reason why Darcy was alarmed.

When his affection went beyond the appreciation of those eyes, he flinched.

It was too dangerous.

Such a marriage would do him no good. It was not a choice he should make.

Then he could only reduce his contact with her.

Darcy had always been confident in his self-control.

Once he made up his mind, there was nothing he could not do.

Unfortunately, while he was struggling, the heroine in the story did not feel anything different from beginning to end.

Circy only felt that Mr. Darcy seemed to have become a little colder. But he had always been that way from the beginning, so it did not seem strange.

The most sensitive was Miss Bentley.

Previously, she was still vaguely unsure, but now she could clearly feel that Daxi had completely lost interest in Miss Lucas.

Although she did not know what had happened in the middle, could it be that her words had finally had an effect?

But the process was not so to speak, she was to to to be satisfied with the result.

The second person to notice that something was wrong was Elizabeth.

But in her opinion, Mr. Darcy, who had always been ungentlemanly towards Circy, had finally restrained himself and picked up his manners.

Even though she still couldn't get used to seeing him act all high and mighty.

So the atmosphere of the dinner was a little strange.

Miss Bentley was full of smiles, and her tone of voice was high. She talked one topic after another, and there was no awkward silence.

Anyone could see that she was in a very good mood.

Darcy also changed from his usual quiet appearance and talked from time to time. He did not miss a single topic.

Bentley thought that his friend had encountered something good today, so he looked at him with a strange look in his eyes.

Elizabeth had a load off her mind, and she was not stingy with her eloquence.

Circy ate her meal quietly. Miss Bentley was in a good mood and had no interest in finding trouble with her.

Without the trouble of being pulled into conversations from time to time, Circy was able to let her thoughts run wild and think about her various experiments. She was a little anxious to go home.

This dinner was, to some extent, the most harmonious atmosphere in the past few days.

Darcy deliberately restrained himself and did not spare any extra glances at Circy.

He was very satisfied with this. It seemed that as long as he suppressed it, these feelings would definitely be snuffed out.

After dinner, Jane came downstairs and sat for a while.

Her body had almost recovered, and she was able to walk around the room without much difficulty.

It was good to move around after lying down for so long.

Mr. Bentley had been by Jane's side since she came down, asking about her well-being and almost overflowing with concern.

He attentively prepared a blanket and hot tea, and personally fiddled with the fireplace twice to make the firewood inside burn brighter.

His eyes were practically glued to Jane. He was busy and considerate.

Miss Bentley's mood did not subside, especially when she thought that they would be leaving for home tomorrow.

Therefore, her words of concern sounded more sincere, and she even offered to let Jane sit near the fireplace.

Mr. Hesto wanted to play cards, but no one wanted to accompany him, so he finally had to lie down on the sofa and doze off.

Mrs. Hurstow played with her bracelet and ring, and occasionally interrupted her brother's conversation.

Circy seized the time to flip through the big book she had been reading for the past few days. Elizabeth sat beside her and did her work, occasionally looking up at the two people by the fireplace with a happy and satisfied smile on her lips.

Darcy picked up a book and tried to concentrate on it so that his eyes would not wander uncontrollably.

Then Miss Bentley picked up a book too.

She looked carefully at the volume in Darcy's hand, and chose the next volume of his, so that they might have something to talk about later.

Miss Bentley read her own and kept an eye on Darcy.

She did both things half-heartedly at the same time.

She was always trying to ask Darcy something, and always trying to see which page he was on.

But she never succeeded in getting him to talk.

Every time she asked a question, he would answer with a sentence and then continue to read his book.

Miss Bentley really didn't have the talent for reading. She wanted to read with relish, but after flipping through a few pages, she couldn't help but yawn. In the end, she was exhausted from reading.

She forced herself to turn a few more pages, and then closed the book and put it aside, saying: "What a pleasure it would be to spend an evening like this!

I should say there is nothing like the pleasure of reading.

You get tired of everything as soon as you start, but not of reading.

What a pity it would be if I did not have a good study when I had a home of my own! "