They attacked him in various ways--with barefaced questions, ingenious suppositions, and distant surmises; but he eluded the skill of them all, and they were at last obliged to accept the second-hand intelligence of their neighbour, Lady Lucas.

In this second sentence from the passage, the author uses the word attacked

Ato show how defenseless Mr. Bennet was against the women.

Bto show that the women were assaulting Mr. Bennet physically.

Eliminate

Cto show that there was a struggle between Mr. Bennet and Mrs. Bennet.

Dto show how forcefully the women were questioning Mr. Bennet about Mr. Bingley.