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第108章(第1页)

“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。”

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