“Howwasitpossiblethatsuchanideashouldenterourbrains?Ifeltalittleuneasy—alittlefearfulofmysistershappinesswithhiminmarriage,becauseIknewthathisconducthadnotbeenalwaysquiteright。Myfatherandmotherknewnothingofthat;theyonlyfelthowimprudentamatchitmustbe。Kittythenowned,withaverynaturaltriumphonknowingmorethantherestofus,thatinLydiaslastlettershehadpreparedherforsuchastep。Shehadknown,itseems,oftheirbeinginlovewitheachother,manyweeks。”
“ButnotbeforetheywenttoBrighton?”
“No,Ibelievenot。”
“AnddidColonelForsterappeartothinkillofWickhamhimself?Doesheknowhisrealcharacter?”
“ImustconfessthathedidnotspeaksowellofWickhamasheformerlydid。Hebelievedhimtobeimprudentandextravagant。Andsincethissadaffairhastakenplace,itissaidthatheleftMerytongreatlyindebt;butIhopethismaybefalse。”
“Oh,Jane,hadwebeenlesssecret,hadwetoldwhatweknewofhim,thiscouldnothavehappened!”
“Perhapsitwouldhavebeenbetter,”repliedhersister。
“Buttoexposetheformerfaultsofanypersonwithoutknowingwhattheirpresentfeelingswere,seemedunjustifiable。Weactedwiththebestintentions。”
“CouldColonelForsterrepeattheparticularsofLydiasnotetohiswife?”
“Hebroughtitwithhimforustosee。”
Janethentookitfromherpocket-book,andgaveittoElizabeth。Thesewerethecontents:
“MYDEARHARRIET,
“YouwilllaughwhenyouknowwhereIamgone,andIcannothelplaughingmyselfatyoursurpriseto-morrowmorning,assoonasIammissed。IamgoingtoGretnaGreen,andifyoucannotguesswithwho,Ishallthinkyouasimpleton,forthereisbutonemanintheworldIlove,andheisanangel。Ishouldneverbehappywithouthim,sothinkitnoharmtobeoff。YouneednotsendthemwordatLongbournofmygoing,ifyoudonotlikeit,foritwillmakethesurprisethegreater,whenIwritetothemandsignmynameLydiaWickham。Whatagoodjokeitwillbe!Icanhardlywriteforlaughing。PraymakemyexcusestoPrattfornotkeepingmyengagement,anddancingwithhimto-night。TellhimIhopehewillexcusemewhenheknowsall;andtellhimIwilldancewithhimatthenextballwemeet,withgreatpleasure。IshallsendformyclotheswhenIgettoLongbourn;butIwishyouwouldtellSallytomendagreatslitinmyworkedmuslingownbeforetheyarepackedup。Good-bye。GivemylovetoColonelForster。Ihopeyouwilldrinktoourgoodjourney。
“Youraffectionatefriend,
“LYDIABENNET。”
“Oh!thoughtless,thoughtlessLydia!”criedElizabethwhenshehadfinishedit。“Whataletteristhis,tobewrittenatsuchamoment!Butatleastitshowsthatshewasseriousonthesubjectoftheirjourney。Whateverhemightafterwardspersuadeherto,itwasnotonhersideaschemeofinfamy。Mypoorfather!howhemusthavefeltit!”
“Ineversawanyonesoshocked。Hecouldnotspeakawordforfulltenminutes。Mymotherwastakenillimmediately,andthewholehouseinsuchconfusion!”
“Oh!Jane,”criedElizabeth,“wasthereaservantbelongingtoitwhodidnotknowthewholestorybeforetheendoftheday?”
“Idonotknow。Ihopetherewas。Buttobeguardedatsuchatimeisverydifficult。Mymotherwasinhysterics,andthoughIendeavouredtogivehereveryassistanceinmypower,IamafraidIdidnotdosomuchasImighthavedone!Butthehorrorofwhatmightpossiblyhappenalmosttookfrommemyfaculties。”
“Yourattendanceuponherhasbeentoomuchforyou。Youdonotlookwell。OhthatIhadbeenwithyou!Youhavehadeverycareandanxietyuponyourselfalone。”
“MaryandKittyhavebeenverykind,andwouldhavesharedineveryfatigue,Iamsure;butIdidnotthinkitrightforeitherofthem。Kittyisslightanddelicate;andMarystudiessomuch,thatherhoursofreposeshouldnotbebrokeninon。MyauntPhillipscametoLongbournonTuesday,aftermyfatherwentaway;andwassogoodastostaytillThursdaywithme。Shewasofgreatuseandcomforttousall。AndLadyLucashasbeenverykind;shewalkedhereonWednesdaymorningtocondolewithus,andofferedherservices,oranyofherdaughters,iftheyshouldbeofusetous。”
“Shehadbetterhavestayedathome,”criedElizabeth;“perhapsshemeantwell,but,undersuchamisfortuneasthis,onecannotseetoolittleofonesneighbours。Assistanceisimpossible;condolenceinsufferable。Letthemtriumphoverusatadistance,andbesatisfied。”
Shethenproceededtoinquireintothemeasureswhichherfatherhadintendedtopursue,whileintown,fortherecoveryofhisdaughter。
“HemeantIbelieve,”repliedJane,“togotoEpsom,theplacewheretheylastchangedhorses,seethepostilionsandtryifanythingcouldbemadeoutfromthem。HisprincipalobjectmustbetodiscoverthenumberofthehackneycoachwhichtookthemfromClapham。IthadcomewithafarefromLondon;andashethoughtthatthecircumstanceofagentlemanandladysremovingfromonecarriageintoanothermightberemarkedhemeanttomakeinquiriesatClapham。Ifhecouldanyhowdiscoveratwhathousethecoachmanhadbeforesetdownhisfare,hedeterminedtomakeinquiriesthere,andhopeditmightnotbeimpossibletofindoutthestandandnumberofthecoach。Idonotknowofanyotherdesignsthathehadformed;buthewasinsuchahurrytobegone,andhisspiritssogreatlydiscomposed,thatIhaddifficultyinfindingoutevensomuchasthis。”