Chapter 21
Caroline's Letter from Netherfield
English edition
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1 Collins attends to Charlotte at the breakfast table, a stiff shoulder turned to Elizabeth
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2 Charlotte’s patient attention absorbs Mr. Collins’s wounded formality.
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3 Mrs. Bennet curtly pushes away her untouched toast.
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4 Mr. Collins carries his wounded pride into breakfast, chewing with ceremonious composure.
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5 Mrs. Philips and the Bennet sisters lament Wickham's absence from the Netherfield ball.
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6 Wickham quietly admits to Elizabeth that his absence from the ball was his own choice.
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7 Wickham quietly presents his absence from the ball as considerate restraint.
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8 Elizabeth enjoys Wickham’s particular attention as they walk ahead toward Longbourn.
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9 Walking home to Longbourn, Elizabeth meets Wickham’s attentive gaze with a pleased smile.
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10 Jane and Elizabeth have gone upstairs with Caroline’s letter.
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11 Jane lingers over Caroline's letter, the first colour leaving her cheeks
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12 Jane’s thumb rests beside a passage in Caroline’s elegant letter.
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13 Jane pauses at the drawing-room doorway and silently invites Elizabeth to follow.
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14 Jane tells Elizabeth that the Netherfield party has left for London.
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15 Jane reads Caroline's warm professions with trust and the first quiet hurt of separation
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16 Elizabeth listens to Caroline’s extravagant professions of friendship with composed scepticism.
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17 Elizabeth offers Jane the hopeful prospect of becoming Caroline Bingley’s sister through marriage.
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18 Jane traces Caroline's handwriting, which implies Bingley will remain away all winter
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19 Jane reads Caroline's Christmas wishes aloud, composed but with lowered, hurt eyes
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20 Elizabeth challenges Caroline’s intentions with a quick, pointed reply.
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21 Jane turns Caroline’s letter to the passage that wounds her most.
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22 Jane’s fingertip stops beside the mention of Georgiana in Caroline’s letter.
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23 Jane sets down Caroline's letter and turns to Elizabeth, fearing the answer she seeks
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24 Elizabeth leans toward Jane, offering her own confident reading of Caroline’s letter.
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25 Jane answers Elizabeth’s reassurance with a restrained shake of her head.
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26 Elizabeth appeals to Jane to trust Bingley's affection despite Caroline's ambitions.
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27 Jane gently defends Caroline’s character, her palm settled on the letter.
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28 Elizabeth answers Jane with affectionate mock gravity.
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29 Jane’s faint answering smile reveals her quiet certainty that she would accept Bingley.
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30 Jane’s brief smile fades as she considers six months of separation.
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31 Caroline’s letter lies loosely folded beside its opened envelope on the dressing-table.
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32 Elizabeth’s earnest reassurance draws Jane toward the first tentative hope of Bingley’s return.
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33 Mrs. Bennet laments the Netherfield ladies' departure as Jane and Elizabeth listen calmly
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34 The empty drawing-room at Longbourn holds the quiet aftermath of Mrs. Bennet’s reassurance.
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