第87章

She was wild to be at home—to hear，to see，to be upon the spot，to share with Jane in the cares that must now fall wholly upon her，in a family so deranged；a father absent，a mother incapable of exertion，and requiring constant attendance；and though almost persuaded that nothing could be done for Lydia，her uncle's interference seemed of the utmost importance，and till he entered the room，the misery of her impatience was severe. Mr.and Mrs.Gardiner had hurried back in alarm，supposing，by the servant's account，that their niece was taken suddenly ill；—but satisfying them instantly on that head，she eagerly communicated the cause of their summons，reading the two letters aloud，and dwelling on the post of the last，with trembling energy.—Though Lydia had never been a favourite with them，Mr.and Mrs.Gardiner could not but be deeply affected.Not Lydia only，but all were concerned in it；and after the first exclamations of surprise and horror，Mr.Gardiner readily promised every assistance in his power.—Elizabeth，though expecting no less，thanked him with tears of gratitude；and all three being actuated by one spirit，every thing relating to their journey was speedily settled.They were tobe off as soon as possible.'But what is to be done about Pemberley？'cried Mrs.Gardiner.'John told us Mr.Darcy was here when you sent for us；—was it so？'

'Yes；and I told him we should not be able to keep our engagement. That is all settled.'

'That is all settled；'repeated the other，as she ran into her room to prepare.'And are they upon such terms as for her to disclose the real truth！Oh，that I knew how it was！'

But wishes were vain；or at best could serve only to amuse her in the hurry and confusion of the following hour. Had Elizabeth been at leisure to be idle，she would have remained certain that all employment was impossible to one so wretched as herself；but she had her share of business as well as her aunt，and amongst the rest there were notes to be written to all their friends in Lambton，with false excuses for their sudden departure.An hour，however，saw the whole completed；and Mr.Gardiner meanwhile having settled his account at the inn，nothing remained to be done but to go；and Elizabeth，after all the misery of the morning，found herself，in a shorter space of time than she could have supposed，seated in the carriage，and on the road to Longbourn.

V

'I have been thinking it over again，Elizabeth，'said her uncle，as they drove from the town；'and really，upon serious consideration，I am much more inclined than I was to judge as your eldest sister does of the matter. It appears to me so very unlikely，that any young man should form such a design against a girl who is by no means unprotected or friendless，and who was actually staying in his colonel's family，that I am strongly inclined to hope the best.Could he expect that her friends would not step forward？Could he expect to be noticed again by the regiment，after such an affront to Colonel Forster？His temptation is not adequate to the risk.'

'Do you really think so？'cried Elizabeth，brightening up for a moment.

'Upon my word，'said Mrs. Gardiner，'I begin to be of your uncle's opinion.It is really too great a violation of decency，honour，and interest，for him to be guilty of it.I cannot think so very ill of Wickham.Can you，yourself，Lizzy，so wholly give him up，as to believe him capable of it？'

'Not perhaps of neglecting his own interest. But of every other neglect I can believe him capable.If，indeed，it should be so！But I dare not hope it.Why should they not go on to Scotland，if that had been the case？'

'In the first place，'replied Mr. Gardiner，'there is no absolute proof that they are not gone to Scotland.'

'Oh！but their removing from the chaise into an hackney coachis such a presumption！And，besides，no traces of them were to be found on the Barnet road.'

'Well，then—supposing them to be in London. They may be there，though for the purpose of concealment，for no more exceptionable purpose.It is not likely that money should be very abundant on either side；and it might strike them that they could be more economically，though less expeditiously，married in London，than in Scotland.'

'But why all this secrecy？Why any fear of detection？Why must their marriage be private？Oh！no，no，this is not likely. His most particular friend，you see by Jane's account，was persuaded of his never intending to marry her.Wickham will never marry a woman without some money.He cannot afford it.And what claims has Lydia，what attractions has she beyond youth，health，and good humour，that could make him for her sake，forego every chance of benefiting himself by marrying well？As to what restraint the apprehension of disgrace in the corps might throw on a dishonourable elopement with her，I am not able to judge；for I know nothing of the effects that such a step might produce.But as to your other objection，I am afraid it will hardly hold good.Lydia has no brothers to step forward；and he might imagine，from my father's behaviour，from his indolence and the little attention he has ever seemed to give to what was going forward in his family，that he would do as little，and think as little about it，as any father could do，in such a matter.'

'But can you think that Lydia is so lost to every thing but love of him，as to consent to live with him on any other terms than marriage？'