“When you return to Mr Darcy for more advice, as I am certain you will—to your mutual credit—you may skip the lesson on abusing analogies to death. I believe you have mastered the skill.”
“A fair rebuke. Now, I believe we are finished withoverdue courtesies. We all seem to have worked out each other’s names, so perhaps we might skippresent courtesiesand go straight tointerpretationbefore my sister and I depart.”
Elizabeth smiled. There might be something to Charles Bingley after all… eventually.
“I should be happy to. Mr Darcy, with your permission?”
Interpretation
“Before we begin,” Darcy said, “I am curious how you knew I speak Spanish. It is not a topic we discussed.”
Elizabeth laughed. “My father told me you spent an afternoon readingDon Quixote.He said you had trouble with the archaic language, but otherwise seemed more skilled in the language than me.”
“That explains it. I had forgotten the book from that afternoon, to tell the truth. Bennet and I enjoyed an intense discussion about a wide range of topics, and I retained that better.”
Elizabeth wondered what awide range of topicsconsisted of, but suspected they centred on a specific subject.
“He also said somethingelseinteresting. When you finished, he said you asked to seethe other copy.”
Darcy started looking nervous as he tried to bluff. “Which other copy is that?”
“The one in the cabinet, of course.”
Darcy started fidgeting, so Elizabeth continued. “Father asked whether I had told you about the cabinet, and I assured him I had not. I asked around, and it seems nobody told you.”
He stammered a moment. “Lucky guess!”
“Lucky, yes—guess, no. It was you, was it not?”
“We can discuss it later, if you like.”
“No need. I know all I need to know. On behalf of myself and my sisters, I thank you most wholeheartedly.”
Darcy snorted rather inelegantly. “Thank me? Are you mad? Your father has a Gutenberg.”
The Gardiners nodded in understanding while the Bingleys remained confused.
“Is it time for interpretation?” Elizabeth asked brightly.
Darcy grinned.“¡Por supuesto!”
Elizabeth laughed gaily and began her translation.
“Let us begin. I opened with, ‘Buenas Tardes, Señor Darcy. Espero que nuestra visita inesperada no le cause ninguna molestia.’That was standard courtesy:‘Good afternoon, Mr Darcy. I hope you do not mind an unannounced visit.’”
“I believe I followed that much, just barely, Mr Gardiner said.”
“Mr Darcy courteously replied, ‘Por favor, considérese en su casa’—a typical Spanish welcome:‘Please consider yourself at home.’”
“I was surprised to see you here, but very happy, I can assure you,” he said gently.
“At that point I supposed a little impertinence might not be amiss.‘Le agradezco su gentil bienvenida; ¿debo entender sus amables palabras en sentido figurado o al pie de la letra?’I asked him if I should take it literally or figuratively.”
Mrs Gardiner stared at her niece. “A curious choice of response. Well beyond impertinence, I would say.”
“I can understand your concern, Mrs Gardiner,” Darcy replied, “but do the rules of propriety even apply when speaking in another language?”
Elizabeth smiled. “Perhaps I should write to Charlotte. She is my tutor on the subject, but I believe it never came up.”
