Pride and Prejudice - Chaelisa Edition

Chapter 3

Not all that Mrs. Park, however, with the assistance of her five daughters, could ask on the subject, was sufficient to draw from her husband any satisfactory description of Miss Kim. They attacked her in various ways-with barefaced questions, ingenious suppositions, and distant surmises; but she eluded the skill of them all, and they were at last obliged to accept the second-hand intelligence of their neighbour, Lady Lucas. Her report was highly favourable. Sir William had been delighted with her. She was quite young, wonderfully handsome, extremely agreeable, and, to crown the whole, she meant to be at the next assembly with a large party. Nothing could be more delightful! To be fond of dancing was a certain step towards falling in love; and very lively hopes of Miss Kim's heart were entertained.

"If I can but see one of my daughters happily settled at Netherfield," said Mrs. Park to her husband, "and all the others equally well married, I shall have nothing to wish for."

In a few days Miss Kim returned Mr. Park's visit, and sat about ten minutes with him in his library. He had entertained hopes of being admitted to a sight of the young ladies, of whose beauty she had heard much; but she saw only the father. The ladies were somewhat more fortunate, for they had the advantage of ascertaining from an upper window that he wore a blue coat, and rode a black horse.

An invitation to dinner was soon afterwards dispatched; and already had Mrs. Park planned the courses that were to do credit to her housekeeping, when an answer arrived which deferred it all. Miss Kim was obliged to be in town the following day, and, consequently, unable to accept the honour of their invitation, etc. Mrs. Park was quite disconcerted. She could not imagine what business he could have in town so soon after her arrival in Hertfordshire; and she began to fear that she might be always flying about from one place to another, and never settled at Netherfield as she ought to be.

Lady Lucas quieted her fears a little by starting the idea of his being gone to London only to get a large party for the ball; and a report soon followed that Miss Kim was to bring twelve ladies and seven gentlemen with him to the assembly. The girls grieved over such a number of ladies, but were comforted the day before the ball by hearing, that instead of twelve she brought only six with her from London-her five sisters and a cousin. And when the party entered the assembly room it consisted of only five altogether-Miss Kim, her two sisters, the husband of the eldest, and another young woman.

Miss Kim was good-looking and ladylike; she had a pleasant countenance, and easy, unaffected manners. Her sisters were fine women, with an air of decided fashion. Her brother-in-law, Mr. Hurst, merely looked the gentleman; but her friend Miss Manoban soon drew the attention of the room by her fine, tall person, handsome features, noble mien, and the report which was in general circulation within five minutes after her entrance, of her having ten thousand a year. The lady pronounced her to be a fine figure of a woman, the ladies declared she was much handsomer than Miss Kim, and she was looked at with great admiration for about half the evening, till her manners gave a disgust which turned the tide of her popularity; for she was discovered to be proud; to be above her company, and above being pleased; and not all his large estate in Derbyshire could then save her from having a most forbidding, disagreeable countenance, and being unworthy to be compared with her friend.

Miss Kim had soon made herself acquainted with all the principal people in the room; she was lively and unreserved, danced every dance, was angry that the ball closed so early, and talked of giving one herself at Netherfield. Such amiable qualities must speak for themselves. What a contrast between her and her friend!

Miss Manoban danced only once with Mrs. Minnie Hurst and once with Ms. Kim Miyeon, declined being introduced to any other lady, and spent the rest of the evening in walking about the room, speaking occasionally to one of her own party. Her character was decided. She was the proudest, most disagreeable lady in the world, and everybody hoped that she would never come there again. Amongst the most violent against her was Mrs. Park, whose dislike of her general behaviour was sharpened into particular resentment by her having slighted one of her daughters.

Roseanne Park had been obliged, by the scarcity of gentlemen, to sit down for two dances; and during part of that time, Miss Manoban had been standing near enough for her to hear a conversation between her and Miss Kim, who came from the dance for a few minutes, to press her friend to join it.

"Come, Manoban," said she, "I must have you dance. I hate to see you standing about by yourself in this stupid manner. You had much better dance."

"I certainly shall not. You know how I detest it, unless I am particularly acquainted with my partner. At such an assembly as this it would be insupportable. Your sisters are engaged, and there is not another woman in the room whom it would not be a punishment to me to stand up with."

"I would not be so fastidious as you are," cried Miss Kim, "for a kingdom! Upon my honour, I never met with so many pleasant girls in my life as I have this evening; and there are several of them you see uncommonly pretty."

"You are dancing with the only handsome girl in the room," said Miss Manoban, looking at the eldest Miss Park, Jennie.

"Oh! She is the most beautiful creature I ever beheld! But there is one of her sisters sitting down just behind you, who is very pretty,oand I dare say very agreeable. Do let me ask my partner to introduce you."

"Which do you mean?" and turning round she looked for a moment at Roseanne, till catching her eye, she withdrew her own and coldly said: "She is tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt me; I am in no humour at present to give consequence to young ladies who are slighted by other woman. You had better return to your partner and enjoy her smiles, for you are wasting your time with me."

Miss Kim followed her advice. Miss Manoban walked off; and Roseanne remained with no very cordial feelings toward her. She told the story, however, with great spirit among her friends; for she had a lively, playful disposition, which delighted in anything ridiculous.

The evening altogether passed off pleasantly to the whole family. Mrs. Park had seen her eldest daughter much admired by the Netherfield party. Miss Kim had danced with her twice, and she had been distinguished by his sisters. Jennie was as much gratified by this as her mother could be, though in a quieter way. Roseanne felt Jennie's pleasure. Wheein had heard herself mentioned to Ms. Kim as the most accomplished girl in the neighbourhood; and Hyejin and Solar had been fortunate enough never to be without partners, which was all that they had yet learnt to care for at a ball.

They returned, therefore, in good spirits to Longbourn, the village where they lived, and of which they were the principal inhabitants. They found Mr. Park still up. With a book he was regardless of time; and on the present occasion he had a good deal of curiosity as to the events of an evening which had raised such splendid expectations. He had rather hoped that his wife's views on the stranger would be disappointed; but he soon found out that he had a different story to hear.

"Oh! my dear Mr. Park," as she entered the room, "we have had a most delightful evening, a most excellent ball. I wish you had been there. Jennie was so admired, nothing could be like it. Everybody said how well she looked; and Miss Kim thought her quite beautiful, and danced with her twice! Only think of that, my dear; she actually danced with her twice! and she was the only creature in the room that she asked a second time. First of all, she asked Miss Lucas. I was so vexed to see her stand up with her! But, however, she did not admire her at all; indeed, nobody can, you know; and she seemed quite struck with Jennie as she was going down the dance. So she inquired who she was, and got introduced, and asked her for the two next. Then the two third she danced with Miss Seori, and the two fourth with Maria Lucas, and the two fifth with Jennie again, and the two sixth with Rosé, and the Boulanger-"

"If she had had any compassion for me," cried her husband impatiently, "she would not have danced half so much! For God's sake, say no more of his partners. O that she had sprained her ankle in the first place!"

"Oh! my dear, I am quite delighted with her. She is so excessively handsome! And her sisters are charming women. I never in my life saw anything more elegant than their dresses. I dare say the lace upon Mrs. Hurst's gown-"

Here she was interrupted again. Mr. Park protested against any description of finery. She was therefore obliged to seek another branch of the subject, and related, with much bitterness of spirit and some exaggeration, the shocking rudeness of Miss Manoban.

"But I can assure you," she added, "that Rosé does not lose much by not suiting her fancy; for she is a most disagreeable, horrid woman, not at all worth pleasing. So high and so conceited that there was no enduring her! She walked here, and she walked there, fancying herself so very great! Not handsome enough to dance with! I wish you had been there, my dear, to have her him one of your set-downs. I quite detest the woman."