“And your assurance of it,I suppose,carried immediate conviction to him.”

“What could become of Mr. Bingley and Jane!”was a wonder which introduced the discussion of their affairs. Darcy was delighted with their engagement; his friend had given him the earliest information of it.

“From the former.I had narrowly observed her during the two visits which I had lately made here;and I was convinced of her affection.”

She expressed her gratitude again, but it was too painful a subject to each,to be dwelt on farther.

He then told her of Georgiana's delight in her acquaintance,and of her disappointment at its sudden interruption;which naturally leading to the cause of that interruption,she soon learnt that his resolution of following her from Derbyshire in quest of her sister had been formed before he quitted the inn,and that his gravity and thoughtfulness there had arisen from no other struggles than what such a purpose must comprehend.

“No indeed;I felt nothing but surprise.”

“I must ask whether you were surprised?”said Elizabeth.