Pride and Prejudice; Sense and Sensibility

Chapter 54 Miss Lydia is getting married soon
Mr. Bennett has been back for two days.

Jane and Elizabeth were walking in the bushes behind the house that day, when they saw the housekeeper coming towards them, and they thought it was their mother who had sent her to tell them to go back, so they went forward.When I got to the housekeeper, I realized that something was wrong. It turned out that she didn't come to call them.

She said to Jane: "Miss, please forgive me for interrupting your conversation, but I expect you must have good news from the city, so I will venture to ask."

"What do you mean, Hill? We haven't heard anything from town."

Grandma Hill exclaimed in surprise:
"My dear lady, don't you know that Mr. Gardiner has sent a letter to the master? He has been here half an hour."

The two ladies ran away, hurried home, and there was no time to say anything.The two of them ran through the gate, came to the sitting room, and from the sitting room to the study.The father was not seen in either place, and was going up the stairs to find him at the mother's when he met the cook again.

The cook said, "Miss, you are looking for the master. He is going for a walk in the woods."

When they heard this, they walked down the hall again, and ran across a meadow to find their father, who was walking leisurely towards a small wood next to the paddock.

Jane was not as slender as Elizabeth, nor as good at running, so she fell behind all at once.

Seeing that the younger sister ran to her father out of breath, she couldn't wait to shout:

"Dad, what's the news? Have you received a letter from your uncle?"

"Yes, he sent a letter."

"Well, what's the news in the letter? Good news or bad news?"

"What good news?" he said, drawing the letter from his pocket. "Perhaps you can read it with pleasure."

Elizabeth hastily took the letter from him.Jane also caught up.

"Read it," said the father, "I don't know what the letter says."

Tennji Street
Monday, August [-]

Dear brother-in-law:
At last I have been able to tell you something about my niece, which I hope will generally satisfy you.Fortunately, after you left on Saturday, I found out where they both lived in London.I will tell you the details when we meet.All you need to know is that I've found them.I've seen them both...

When Jane heard this, she couldn't help shouting: "Then, I'm looking forward to it now! They're married!"

Elizabeth went on to read:
I've seen them both.They're not married, and I don't see any intention of them getting married.But I venture to make you a condition, that they shall be married before long, if you will do so.The only thing I ask of you is that you have arranged for your daughters an inheritance of [-] pounds to give to them after you and your sister die, so please immediately give this niece what she deserves.You'll have to make a contract with her, giving her another hundred pounds a year for as long as you live.I have considered these conditions over and over again, and I think I have the right to make decisions for you, so I agreed without hesitation.I have sent you this letter so that I may hear from you immediately.

When you know these particulars, you will see that Mr. Wickham was not so helpless and helpless as is commonly supposed.Most people get this thing wrong.I was glad that the niece would be able to earn more money for her when Wickham had paid her debts, besides the money in his own name.If you are willing to let me handle this matter on your behalf based on what I have said, then I will immediately order Haston to go through the property transfer procedures.You don't have to go to town anymore, you can stay at Longbourn without worry.Please rest assured that I am diligent and careful in my work.

Please reply to me as soon as possible, and take the trouble to write clearly.We thought it best to let the niece marry out of this house, and I'm sure you'll agree.She is coming to us today.If there are other circumstances, you should let me know at any time.There is not much time left.

Edward Gardner
Elizabeth finished reading the letter and asked: "Is it possible that he should marry her?"

"Then," said her sister, "Wickham is not so useless as we think. Congratulations, dear papa."

"Have you written an answer?" asked Elizabeth.

"No answer was written, but it must be written at once."

So she begged him most earnestly to go home and write without delay.

She cried: "Dear papa, go back to writing at once. You know, there is no time for a minute or a second in such matters."

Jane said: "If you are afraid of trouble, let me write it for you."

The father replied: "I really don't want to write, but I can't do it without writing."

As he spoke, he turned and went back into the house with them.

Elizabeth said: "May I ask you something? I think you will agree to all the conditions he puts forward, right?"

"Yes! I feel ashamed that he wants so little."

"They must be married! And that's what he is."

"Yes! Why not? They must get married. There is no other way. But there are two things I really want to find out--the first one, how much money did your uncle spend to make this happen?" The first thing; the second thing, how can I repay him the money in the future?"

Jane cried, "Money! Uncle! What do you mean, papa?"

"I mean that no one in the clearest mind would marry Lydia, because she has nothing to attract people's attention. I gave her a hundred pounds a year when I was alive, and only five pounds in total when I died. A thousand pounds."

"That's true," said Elizabeth, "but it never occurred to me before. He'll pay off his debts, and he'll pay more! Oh, it must have been done on his behalf by my uncle! What a generous and kind man!" I'm afraid of hurting himself. It will cost him a lot of money."

"Wickham," said my father, "would be a fool if he agreed to marry Lydia for less than ten thousand pounds. He and I have only just become related, and I ought not to speak ill of him."

"Ten thousand pounds! God forbid! Even half of it, how can I pay it back?"

Mr. Bennet did not answer.Everyone turned their heads and remained silent.

Back home, the father went to the study to write letters, and the daughters went into the dining room.

As soon as the sisters left their father, the sister cried out: "They are going to be married! How strange! But we are very thankful. They are married at last. Although they may not be very happy, and his character is so bad." , yet we ought to be glad. Oh, Lydia!"

Jane said: "I thought about it for a while, and I felt comforted. If he didn't really love Lydia, he would never marry her. Even if my kind uncle paid off some debts for him, I don't believe that he would pay ten thousand in advance. It’s such a huge amount. My uncle has so many children, and he may have children in the future. Even if he is asked to take five thousand pounds, how can he take it out?”

"If we only know how much Wickham owes," said Elizabeth, "and how much money has been given to our sister in his name, then we shall know how much Mr. Gardner has done them, for Wickham Coleham has no son of his own. The kindness of uncle and aunt can never be repaid in this life. They took Lydia home, protected her personally, and saved her face. How much they sacrificed their own interests, it was a lifetime. Thank you very much. Lydia must be with them now! If she is not ashamed of such kindness, she is not worthy of happiness. How ashamed she will be when she sees her aunt!"

Jane said: "We should forget about the past between the two of them as soon as possible. I hope they will still be happy, and I believe so. Since he has agreed to marry her, it can prove that he has thought about the right way. They can respect each other." If you love each other, you will naturally become stable. I believe that the two of them will live in peace and order from now on, and people will forget their ridiculous behavior in the past."

"Since they have already committed absurd behavior," Elizabeth replied, "then neither you nor I, nor anyone else, can forget it, but there is no need to talk about it."

The two sisters thought that their mother might not know anything about it until now, so they went to the study and asked their father if he would let his mother know.

Father was writing a letter, and without raising his head, he just said to them coldly, "It's up to you."

"May we take uncle's letter and read it to her?"

"Take what you like, and go away."

Elizabeth took the letter from his desk, and the sisters went upstairs together.Mary and Katie were both at Mrs. Bennett's, so it only had to be communicated once and everyone knew.They revealed a little bit of good news, and then released the letter of belief.Mrs. Bennet could not contain her joy.

Jane was delighted as soon as she had read the passage in which Lydia might soon be married, and the further she went on the more delighted she was.She is so happy and excited now, just as she was so worried and frightened and restless a while ago.As long as she heard that her daughter was about to marry, she was satisfied.She was not troubled by the fear of her daughter's happiness, nor was she ashamed by the thought of her misbehavior.

"My dear Lydia!" she exclaimed, "this is so delightful! She's getting married! I can see her again! She's married at sixteen! Thanks to my kind brother I've known things couldn't be messed up--I've known he has a way of getting everything right. How I'd like to see her, dear Wickham! But the clothes, the dowry! I want Write and talk to your sister-in-law at once. Lizzy, dear, go down-stairs and ask your father how much he will give her as a dowry. Wait a minute, I'll go myself. Kitty, ring the bell for Hill. I'll be dressed in a moment. My dear Lydia! How glad I am when we meet!"

The eldest daughter, seeing her so carried away, talked of how much the family owed to Mr. Gardner for distracting her mind and giving her some relief.

"Oh," cried the mother, "that's very good. Who would do such a favor if it weren't for his own uncle? You know, if he hadn't got such a family, all his money would be me and mine." The children; he used to send us gifts only, and this time we really got his favor. Ouch! I'm so glad. I'll have a daughter married in a little while. She's going to be Wick Mrs Ham! What a lovely title! She won't be sixteen in June. My dear Jane, I'm too excited to write a letter, but I'll tell you, and you write for me. About money We will discuss the issue with your father later, but everything should be ordered right away."

So, she reported the names of a large piece of cloth in detail: fine foreign yarn, calico, linen... She could not wait to buy everything in one go, and it was with great difficulty that Jane persuaded her to let the She waited to discuss it when her father was free, and said that a day late was completely irrelevant.Because my mother was too happy for a while, she was not as stubborn as usual.She thought of some other tricks.

"I'm going down to Meryton as soon as I'm dressed," she said, "to tell my sister, Mrs. Philips, the good news. When I come back, I'll drop by Mrs. Lucas and Lang. Mrs. G. Kitty, go down-stairs, and tell them to harness my carriage. It will refresh my spirits a lot, boys. What can I do for you in Meryton? Oh, here comes Hill. My good Hill, have you heard the good news? Miss Lydia is getting married soon. On her wedding day, you can all enjoy a bowl of 'Punqu'. "

Hill immediately expressed great pleasure.She congratulated Elizabeth and others one by one.Later, Elizabeth couldn't stand this stupid situation anymore, so she hid in her room.

Poor Lydia, she was not much better off, but not so badly so that she had to be thankful.She does have to be thankful.Although thinking about the future situation, she felt that it would be difficult for her younger sister to obtain the happiness she deserved, and it would be difficult for her to enjoy the worldly wealth and glory; however, as long as she recalled that she was still so worried two hours ago, she felt that the current situation was really serious. Very honored.

(End of this chapter)