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“Do not give way to useless alarm,”added he;“though it is right to be prepared for the worst,there is no occasion to look on it as certain.It is not quite a week since they left Brighton.In a few days more,we may gain some news of them;and till we know that they are not married,and have no design of marrying,do not let us give the matter over as lost.As soon as I get to town I shall go to my brother,and make him come home with me to Gracechurch Street;and then we may consult together as to what is to be done.”
“Oh! my dear brother,”replied Mrs. Bennet,“that is exactly what I could most wish for.And now do,when you get to town, find them out,wherever they may be;and if they are not married already,make them marry.And as for wedding clothes,do not let them wait for that,but tell Lydia she shall have as much money as she chooses to buy them,after they are married.And,above all things,keep Mr.Bennet from fighting.Tell him what a dreadful state I am in,that I am frighted out of my wits—and have such tremblings,such flutterings,all over me—such spasms in my side and pains in my head,and such beatings at heart,that I can get no rest by night nor by day.And tell my dear Lydia not to give any directions about her clothes till she has seen me,for she does not know which are the best warehouses.Oh,brother,how kind you are!I know you will contrive it all.”
But Mr. Gardiner, though he assured her again of his earnest endeavours in the cause, could not avoid recommending moderation to her,as well in her hopes as her fear;and after talking with her in this manner till dinner was on the table,they all left her to vent all her feelings on the housekeeper,who attended in the absence of her daughters.
Though her brother and sister were persuaded that there was no real occasion for such a seclusion from the family,they did not attempt to oppose it,for they knew that she had not prudence enough to hold her tongue before the servants,while they waited at table,and judged it better that one only of the household,and the one whom they could most trust should comprehend all her fears and solicitude on the subject.
In the dining-room they were soon joined by Mary and Kitty, who had been too busily engaged in their separate apartments to make their appearance before.One came from her books,and the other from her toilette.The faces of both,however,were tolerably calm;and no change was visible in either,except that the loss of her favourite sister,or the anger which she had herself incurred in this business,had given more of fretfulness than usual to the accents of Kitty.As for Mary,she was mistress enough of herself to whisper to Elizabeth,with a countenance of grave reflection, soon after they were seated at table:
“This is a most unfortunate affair, and will probably be much talked of.But we must stem the tide of malice,and pour into the wounded bosoms of each other the balm of sisterly consolation.”
Then, perceiving in Elizabeth no inclination of replying, she added,“Unhappy as the event must be for Lydia, we may draw from it this useful lesson: that loss of virtue in a female is irretrievable; that one false step involves her in endless ruin;that her reputation is no less brittle than it is beautiful;and that she cannot be too much guarded in her behaviour towards the undeserving of the other sex.”
Elizabeth lifted up her eyes in amazement,but was too much oppressed to make any reply.Mary,however,continued to console herself with such kind of moral extractions from the evil before them.
In the afternoon,the two elder Miss Bennets were able to be for half-an-hour by themselves; and Elizabeth instantly availed herself of the opportunity of making any inquiries, which Jane was equally eager to satisfy.After joining in general lamentations over the dreadful sequel of this event,which Elizabeth considered as all but certain,and Miss Bennet could not assert to be wholly impossible,the former continued the subject,by saying,“But tell me all and everything about it which I have not already heard. Give me further particulars.What did Colonel Forster say?Had they no apprehension of anything before the elopement took place?They must have seen them together for ever.”
“Colonel Forster did own that he had often suspected some partiality,especially on Lydia's side,but nothing to give him any alarm.I am so grieved for him!His behaviour was attentive and kind to the utmost.He was coming to us,in order to assure us of his concern,before he had any idea of their not being gone to Scotland:when that apprehension first got abroad,it hastened his journey.”
“And was Denny convinced that Wickham would not marry? Did he know of their intending to go off?Had Colonel Forster seen Denny himself?”
“Yes; but, when questioned by him, Denny denied knowing anything of their plans,and would not give his real opinion about it. He did not repeat his persuasion of their not marrying—and from that, I am inclined to hope, he might have been misunderstood before.”
“And till Colonel Forster came himself, not one of you entertained a doubt,I suppose,of their being really married?”
