Pride and Prejudice

Chapter 60

It was Lydia's wedding; Jane and Elizabeth were perhaps far more nervous than Lydia herself.The family sent a carriage to a certain place to meet the newlyweds, and they would be able to drive back in the carriage by lunch time.Both sisters were uneasy about their coming, especially Jiying, who put herself in her sister's shoes and thought about how much humiliation she would have to endure if she had done such a dishonorable thing, and she felt sorry for her sister when she thought of it.

They came, and the whole family gathered in the breakfast room to meet them.When the carriage came to the door, Mrs. Bennet had a smile on her face; her husband's expression was unusually serious; her daughters were perturbed and at a loss.

Lydia's voice came from the other side of the porch, and then the door was thrown open, and Lydia rushed in; To Wickham, who came in behind, wished the couple a happy wedding, and the sonorous voice showed that she had no doubt that they would be happy.

When the two of them turned back to Mr. Bennet, he did not welcome them so warmly.His face seemed stern, and he hardly opened his mouth.The indifference of the young couple irritated him greatly.Elizabeth was disgusted, and even Jane was surprised.Lydia was still the same Lydia; rebellious, shameless, wild and coquettish, without scruples.She walked up to each sister, asking them to congratulate her, and after everyone was seated, her eyes scanned the room eagerly again, counting some small changes here, and finally said with a big smile: , she has been away from home for a while.

Wickham, like Lydia, was not at all uncomfortable.His manners had always been agreeable, and if his marriage and his character had been honorable, the smile and lightness with which he now made himself acquainted with them would have pleased the whole family.Elizabeth had not till now believed in his impudence; and she sat down to resolve that she would never again have any illusions about such a shameless man.She could not help blushing, and Jane blushed; but the young couple who had made them both blushed were not ashamed.

Even in such a situation, there is plenty to talk about.Both the bride and her mother were vying for words; and Wickham, who happened to be seated beside Elizabeth, asked her about his acquaintances in that part of the country, with such serenity and simplicity that Elizabeth felt that she did not care. It's hard to come by.It seems that what remains in the minds of this man and woman are the best memories in the world.Nothing of the past would be embarrassing to them; and Lydia spoke of many things of her own accord which her sisters could never have uttered.

"Just think about it," she cried, "it's been three months since I've been away from home; it seems to me only two weeks; and yet how much has happened in that time! I didn’t expect that I would come back after getting married! Although I also thought that it would be interesting to come back after getting married.”

Her father raised his eyes.Jane felt uneasy.Elizabeth glared; but Lydia, who had always gone her own way, went on indifferently: "Oh, mother, do people here know that I am married to-day? I was afraid they didn't; we caught up with William Golding's carriage, and to give him the news, I took down the top window of my car, took off my gloves, and put my hand on the window frame, so that he could see my wedding ring and give him Nodding and laughing."

Elizabeth could bear it no longer.She stood up.ran out of the room; she did not return until they were crossing the hall to the dining room.At this moment she happened to see Lydia stepping a few steps to her mother's right.He said to his sister, "Hey, Jane, I'm going to take your place now, and you have to stay back, because I'm a married girl."

Time and her experience of these months had not changed Lydia in the slightest from her capricious disposition, and made her more sensible.Her excitement became stronger instead.She longed to see Mrs. Philip, the Lucass and all the neighbors, and heard them address her as "Lady Wickham"; The servant looked and boasted to everyone that she was married.

"Hey, mother," she said, when they were all back in the sitting-room, "what do you think of my husband? Isn't he lovely? I bet my sisters must be very jealous of me. I hope They'll be half as lucky as I am. They should all go to Brighton. It's a good place to find a husband. Mother, it's a pity we can't all go."

"Oh, no; if I had my way we would have gone. But, Lydia, my dear girl, mother does not want you to go so far. Must it be so?"

"Oh, dear! Of course it is;—it's nothing. I'd love to go myself. You and my father and my sisters must come and see us. We'll be at Newcastle all winter, There will be plenty of balls there; I will do my best to find a suitable partner for each of my sisters."

"That's great!" said her mother.

"When you've lived long enough to go back, you can leave a sister or two with me; I dare say I can find husbands for them before the winter is over."

"I thank you here," said Elizabeth, "but I don't like your way of finding a husband."

The newlyweds can only stay at home for ten days.Wickham had been commissioned on departure from London and had to report to regimental headquarters within two weeks. "

Only Mrs. Bennet regretted the shortness of their stay; she made the most of it, taking her little daughter on visits and frequent dinners at home.This kind of banquet is welcomed by everyone; those who are not in the mood are of course willing to join in the fun, and those who are interested are more willing to come to relieve their boredom.

It was obvious to Elizabeth that Wickham's affection for Lydia, as Elizabeth had foreseen, was not comparable to Lydia's love for Wickham, and not from Wickham. and if she had not been compelled to run away by debt, she would have wondered why he, who had no love for Lydia, would have been willing to elope with her; Of course, he would not object to having a companion with him in his escape.

Lydia was very fond of him.He was her dear Wickham for a while; there was no one like him.He was the best at everything; and she believed that on the first of September he would have shot more birds than anyone else in England.

One morning, shortly after their return, she said to Elizabeth, as she sat with her two sisters:
"Lizzy, I don't think I've ever mentioned to you about my wedding. Because you weren't there when I told mother and the others. Would you like to hear how the wedding went? "

"I don't want to hear it," said Elizabeth. "I thought the matter should be mentioned as little as possible."

"Ah! what a strange fellow you are! But I must tell you how the wedding took place. We celebrated at St. Clement's, you know, because Wickham's house belongs to that parish. Arranged for all of us to be there by eleven o'clock. My uncle and aunt would go with me; the others would be waiting at the church. Oh, and on Monday morning I suddenly became flustered! I was so afraid of some accident How depressing I must have been if I postponed the wedding! While I was dressing and dressing, my aunt kept chattering as if she were preaching. But I hardly heard a word from her. Say, you may imagine, for I was thinking of my sweetheart, Wickham. I longed to know if he went to church in his fine blue coat."

"Well, we had breakfast at ten o'clock that day as usual; and I thought it would never be finished; for you should know, by the way, that my aunts and aunts were very kind to me during the days I was with them. I was very well guarded. Although I lived there for two weeks, I did not step out of the house. Not a party, not a little entertainment. To be honest, London is not very lively, but the Leiter Theater It was a show. Well, anyway, when the car that took us to church was at the gate, Uncle was summoned to talk to that nasty guy called Mr. Stern. You know, as long as the two of you get together, There's always going on and on. Well, I was so freaked out because I thought my uncle was going to abandon me; if we had delayed, it would have been impossible to get married that day. Luckily, my uncle was at 10 came back in a few minutes, and we set off at once. But, I recollected afterwards, the wedding need not be postponed if my uncle should not be there, for Mr. Darcy can still officiate."

"Mr. Darcy!" repeated Elizabeth, in great astonishment.

"Oh! yes!—he's going to church with Wickham. But, my God! I've forgotten! I shouldn't have said that at all. I told them so sincerely." Promised! What would Wickham say about me? It was a well-kept secret!"

"Since it's a secret," said Jane, "don't say a word. You can trust me to never ask."

"Oh, of course!" Although Elizabeth wanted to ask more, all she could say was, "We won't ask you any more questions."

"Thank you very much, then," said Lydia, "for if you ask I will tell you all, and Wickham will be very angry then."

Elizabeth, unable to resist the temptation to ask her further, ran away so as not to ask.

But it was impossible to keep one's ear shut in such a matter; or at least impossible without trying to find out.Mr. Darcy actually attended her sister's wedding.It was a strange thing that he should be among the people with whom he was evidently the least approachable, the least attractive to him.All sorts of conjectures in connection with it rushed into her mind; but none of them satisfied her.Those ideas which were most agreeable to her, which made Mr. Darcy's good and noble, seemed unlikely.She could not bear the torment of this idle speculation; and hastily taking a sheet of paper, she wrote a short note to her aunt, begging her to explain what Lydia had slipped, if it did not contradict her. Keep this secret act of words.

"You can easily understand how I am feeling now," she continued, "that someone who is not related to anyone in our family, and (relatively speaking) a stranger to our family, should participate in such a moment. How can this, among you, save me from curiosity. Write me at once and tell me the truth—if the matter does not have to be kept secret, as Lydia thinks; and if it must, I will I have no choice but to be content to be bored in the drum.”

"Of course I won't let it go," she said to herself when she had finished writing the letter. "My dear aunt, if you don't tell me in a fair way, I will certainly do whatever it takes to find out."

Jane's pride and sense of fidelity made it impossible for her to speak to Elizabeth in private of Lydia's revelations; and Elizabeth was glad to be so;--preferring to be alone till her inquiries were not answered satisfactorily. Waiting instead of talking to a confidant.

(End of this chapter)