Pride and Prejudice

Chapter 56 (2)
"If I could," said she, "do as I like. The whole family go to Brighton together, and nothing like this would happen; and poor Lydia is left alone, Why did the Fosters let her run around by herself? I bet they both must not be doing their duty, because Lydia is not the kind of kid to do that kind of thing as long as she manages a little I've long thought they couldn't take care of her; but my words are always spoken and heard, my poor child. Mr. Bennet is gone too, and I know he'll fight whenever he sees Wickham. Yes, he will be beaten to death, so what will we do with our family? Before his bones are cold, Mr. and Mrs. Collins will come to the door and drive us out; brother, if you don't help, I really don't know what we are going to do. What will happen to this family?"

There was a strong disapproval of her dreadful ideas, and Mr Gardiner told her that he would take care of herself and her family, and then said that he was leaving for London tomorrow to do what he could to help Bennet Sir finds Lydia.

"You needn't be unduly alarmed," he went on, "while the worst should be expected, there's no reason to take it as a certainty. The two of them haven't been out of Brighton for less than a week, and in a few days. , we might get some news of them, and it would be a disappointment only if we learned that they were not married, nor had any intention of marrying. I shall go to my brother-in-law as soon as I come We went to live with our family on Ensi Street, and then we started to discuss what to do."

"Oh! my good brother," replied Mrs. Bennet, "you speak just as I like. When you are in town, wherever they may be, find them; and if they have not Marry, marry them both. Don't make them wait for wedding dresses, you tell Lydia she can buy as much dresses as she wants when they're married. Above all, don't call Bennet Sir, do it. Tell him I am in a terrible state--I am out of my wits with fright, and I am often trembling, trembling, back convulsing, headache and beating heart, restless day and night. Tell Lydia again, Don't buy dresses until you see me, because she doesn't know which one has the best stuff. Oh, brother, you're so kind! I know you'll make it all right."

Although Mr. Gardiner once again told her that he would do his best in this matter, he could not help admonishing her that her hopes should be as modest as her fears; She did not leave until dinner time, after which she continued to vent her feelings to her housekeeper, who followed her in the house when the daughters were away.

Although her brothers and sisters didn't think it was necessary to keep her in isolation, they didn't object, because they knew that if she was allowed to eat with everyone, she would not be able to control herself when the servants served the food. If she speaks carelessly, she will make people laugh at her. Thinking about it this way, I think it's better to let this housekeeper they trust the most stay with her, and let her tell all her worries and anxieties to only this one person. up.

Mary and Kitty were presently in the dining-room, too busy in their rooms until now to show themselves.One just got out of the pile of books, and the other just finished putting on makeup.Both faces were calm, and there was no perceptible change in either of them, except that Kitty's tone of voice was a little more anxious than usual; this was either because of her grief at the loss of a beloved sister, or because of the event. feel annoyed.As for Mary, Yan Ran was still her usual appearance. Just after she sat down at the table, she whispered to Elizabeth thoughtfully and solemnly:

"It's a most unfortunate event, and it's likely to be discussed. We must ride the tide of evil and pour out our sisterly compassion into our wounded hearts. "

Seeing that Elizabeth was unwilling to answer, she went on: "This incident is unfortunate for Lydia, but we can learn useful lessons from it; Mistakes lead to untold ruin—her reputation can be both good and ruined—and frivolous injustice to the opposite sex, she can never do too much to guard against.”

Elizabeth couldn't help raising her eyes in surprise, but she didn't speak out because she felt depressed.But Mary continued to console herself with such moral precepts she had read from books.

In the afternoon the two young ladies of the Bennet family finally had half an hour of heart-to-heart talk; Elizabeth at once seized the opportunity to ask Jane many questions, and Jane was just as eager to—do it. answer.The two sisters first sighed together at the terrible consequences of the incident, which Elizabeth thought was inevitable, and Miss Bennet thought it was not impossible; then Elizabeth said: "Tell me all the details about it. , as long as I haven't heard of it. What did Colonel Forster say? Didn't he notice anything before they eloped? He must've seen them together a lot."

"Colonel Forster did admit that he had suspected that there was something special between them, especially on Lydia's side, but found nothing to alarm him. I feel sorry for him too. Very interested and helpful. He was going to come to us to explain the situation before he thought they would not go to Scotland;

"Danny doesn't think Wickham will marry her, does he? Did he know beforehand of their intention to elope? Has Colonel Forster ever seen Danny himself?"

"Yes, but when he asked him, Danny categorically denied that he knew of their plans, and would not say what he really thought about the matter. He didn't say anything more about his thinking they wouldn't get married— —I thus hope that his meaning may have been misunderstood before."

"I don't think anyone in the family suspected that they would get married before Colonel Forster came?"

"How could such an idea come into our minds! I was a little uneasy--worrying that my little sister would not be happy marrying him. Because I already knew that he was not a good character. Neither did my father and mother at all. They just thought the marriage a little hasty, they thought. Kitty confessed that in Lydia's last letter to her she had spoken of her intention to take this step, naturally because she knew better than we did, Kitty It was smug at the time. She seemed to know they were in love weeks ago."

"But wouldn't it be before they got to Brighton?"

"No, I don't think so."

"Is Colonel Forster showing contempt for Wickham? Does he know what he really is?"

"I have to admit that Colonel Forster doesn't speak as well of Wickham as he used to. He thinks he acts recklessly and lives a loose life. Since this unfortunate incident, it has been said that he is leaving the Mack. Litton had many debts; but I hope these are rumours."

"Oh, Jane, if we hadn't been so secret, if we'd both told about him, this wouldn't have happened!"

"Perhaps it would be better for us to do that," replied her sister, "but it always seems bad to expose a man's past mistakes without knowing his present character. Our conduct With the best motives."

"Has Colonel Forster told you Lydia's message to his wife?"

"He brought this brief note for us to read."

Jane took the letter out of her folder, and gave it to Elizabeth.The letter reads like this: ?

"Dear Harriet:
You'll laugh when you know where I've been, and I can't help laughing myself at the thought of how surprised you'll be when I'm gone tomorrow morning.I'm going to Glena Meadows, and you'd be a fool if you couldn't guess with whom I was going, because there's only one man I love in this world, and he's my angel.I'll never be happy without him, so don't make a fuss about my passing.You needn't write to my Longbourne family about my departure if you don't want to, because when I write to them and put Lydia Wickham's name at the bottom, then my family People's surprises will be even greater.What a fun joke!I laughed so hard I could barely write.Please apologize to Pratt for not being able to dance with him tonight.Tell him I hope he'll forgive me when he knows all this, and that I'll dance with him to my heart's content at the next ball we meet.I sent for my clothes when I got to Longbourn; I wish you would tell Charlie I had a long tear in my muslin dress and ask him to help me before packing Sew it.goodbye.Give my regards to Colonel Foster, and I wish you a toast to our voyage.

Your good friend Lydia Bennet"

"Ah! what a brainless Lydia!" cried Elizabeth, when she had finished reading. "It is possible to write such a letter at such a time. But it shows, at least, that she was very interested in the matter." The object of the trip was taken very seriously. Whatever disgrace Covingham might afterwards induce her to do, it was not on her part. Our poor father! When he read the letter he You must be pissed off."

"I've never seen anyone so terrified. He couldn't say a word. The mother fell ill immediately, and the whole family was in a mess!"

"Oh, Jane," cried Elizabeth excitedly, "did all the servants in the house find out about it that day?"

"I don't know—I hope I don't—but it's not easy to keep a secret under the circumstances. Mother's hysteria is back, and despite my best efforts to reassure her, I'm afraid I can't do enough. As expected. I have almost been overwhelmed by the horror of what might happen in the future."

"Your care of your mother is so hard on you. You don't look well. Oh! If only I were at home! You have to do everything alone. It's too hard for you."

"Mary and Kitty are very nice, I think they would have helped me share the hard work, but I don't think they should be burdened. Kitty is weak, and Mary studies so hard, it shouldn't disturb their rest. Time. Fortunately on Tuesday Aunt Philip came to Longbourn as soon as Father was away; and I stayed with me till Thursday. Her presence was a great comfort to our family and a great service to us, Rue. Mrs. Cass was good to us, too; she came to comfort us on Wednesday mornings, and said she and her daughters would be of service if they were needed."

"She had better stay at her house," cried Elizabeth; "perhaps she meant well, but the neighbors had to see as few of them as possible after such a misfortune happened. Help was impossible; consolation was unbearable." ...Let them stand a little farther away and enjoy their misfortune."

Elizabeth then asked about the steps her father planned to take when he was in town.

"I think," replied Jane, "that his plan was to go to Epsom first, as they were changing coaches there, and he wanted to see the coachmen, and see if he could hear anything from them. News. His chief object must have been to find out the number of the cab they were in at Clapham. For he thought it might attract attention when a man and a woman changed from one cab to another, So he thought of doing some research in Clapham. He only had to find out at which door the coachman let his guests out, so he decided to go there and find out, maybe he could find out the number of the coach and where it was parked. I don’t know if he has any other plans; he left in such a hurry, and he was in such a bad mood, it’s not easy for me to find out so much.”

(End of this chapter)