Pride and Prejudice

Chapter 60

Elizabeth's spirits soon rising to playfulness again, she

wanted Mr. Darcy to account for his having ever fallen in love

with her. "How could you begin?" said she. "I can comprehend

your going on charmingly, when you had once made a beginning;

but what could set you off in the first place?"

"I cannot fix on the hour, or the spot, or the look, or the

words, which laid the foundation. It is too long ago. I was

in the middle before I knew that I _had_ begun."

"My beauty you had early withstood, and as for my manners--my

behaviour to _you_ was at least always bordering on the uncivil,

and I never spoke to you without rather wishing to give you pain

than not. Now be sincere; did you admire me for my impertinence?"

"For the liveliness of your mind, I did."

"You may as well call it impertinence at once. It was very

little less. The fact is, that you were sick of civility, of

deference, of officious attention. You were disgusted with

the women who were always speaking, and looking, and thinking

for _your_ approbation alone. I roused, and interested you,

because I was so unlike _them_. Had you not been really

amiable, you would have hated me for it; but in spite of the

pains you took to disguise yourself, your feelings were always

noble and just; and in your heart, you thoroughly despised the

persons who so assiduously courted you. There--I have saved

you the trouble of accounting for it; and really, all things

considered, I begin to think it perfectly reasonable. To be

sure, you knew no actual good of me--but nobody thinks of

_that_ when they fall in love."

"Was there no good in your affectionate behaviour to Jane while

she was ill at Netherfield?"

"Dearest Jane! who could have done less for her? But make a

virtue of it by all means. My good qualities are under your

protection, and you are to exaggerate them as much as possible;

and, in return, it belongs to me to find occasions for teasing

and quarrelling with you as often as may be; and I shall begin

directly by asking you what made you so unwilling to come to

the point at last. What made you so shy of me, when you first

called, and afterwards dined here? Why, especially, when you

called, did you look as if you did not care about me?"

"Because you were grave and silent, and gave me no encouragement."

"But I was embarrassed."

"And so was I."

"You might have talked to me more when you came to dinner."