Chapter 49 Chapter Forty-eight

The next morning, everyone expected Mr. Bennet to send a letter, but when the postman came, he did not bring a single piece of paper from him.The family members knew that he was always too lazy to write letters, and that he always procrastinated if he could; but at such a time, they all hoped that he would be more reluctant.Since there was no letter, they had to think that he had nothing pleasant to report, and even so they wanted to make things clear.Mr. Gardiner also wished to see a few letters before leaving. After Mr. Gardiner's absence, it was thought that at least some of the goings-on would be heard from time to time.As he went away, he promised to go and persuade Mr. Bennet to return as soon as possible.When their mother heard these words, she was very comforted, and she thought that only in this way could she ensure that her husband would not be killed in the duel.

Mrs. Gardiner and her children were staying in Hertfordshire for a few more days, as she thought it would give her nieces a helping hand.She could attend to Mrs. Bennet for them, and comfort them when they were free.My aunt also came to see them often, and according to her own statement, the purpose of her visit was to make them happy and cheer them up. However, she never came without talking about Wickham's extravagance and prostitution. Give new examples.Every time she went away it made them even more depressed than before she hadn't come. Three months ago, nearly all of Meryton were adoring the man; three months later, all of Meryton were speaking ill of him.They said he owed a debt to every merchant in the area; they called him a seducer of women, and said that every merchant's house had been spoiled by him.Everyone said he was the worst young man in the world; everyone began to find that they had never trusted his hypocritical features.Although Elizabeth only half-believed these words, she had long believed that her sister would be destroyed in his hands, so of course she was even more convinced.Jane, who was not even half-suspicious, was almost disappointed, for so much time had passed, and if they had gone to Scotland, there would be news by now, even if she had never felt Completely disappointed, and of course disappointed now.

Mr. Gardiner left Longbourn on Sunday.On Tuesday his wife received a letter from him.The letter said that as soon as he got there, he found his brother-in-law and persuaded him to go to Tian'en Temple Street.He added that Mr. Bennet had been to Epsom and Clapham before he came to London, but had not found anything satisfactory; Mr. Bennet thinks that when Wickham and Lydia arrived in London, they probably stayed in a hotel first, and then slowly looked for a house.Mr. Gardiner himself did not count on the success of this method; the brother-in-law, who insisted on it, could only help him to proceed.It also stated that Mr. Bennet had no intention of leaving London at all for the time being, and he promised to write another letter shortly.The letter also included the following postscript:

I have written to Colonel Forster to ask him to get as many of the young lad's best friends in the militia as he can to inquire if Wickham has any relatives who know what part of the town he is hiding in.It would be very useful if we had such people to consult and get some clues.We still have no way of knowing.Perhaps Colonel Forster will try to make this work to our satisfaction.But when I thought about it again, it occurred to me that Liz probably knew the situation better than anyone else.Will know what relatives he has now. Elizabeth was well aware of why she received such admiration, but it was a pity that she could not provide any satisfactory materials, so she could not bear such compliments.

She had never heard of Wickham's relatives and friends, except that he had spoken of his own parents, both of whom had been dead for many years.Some of his friends in the so-and-so county militia may provide some information. Although she can't have too much hope for this, she might as well try it after all. The Langbourne family lived very anxiously every day, and the most anxious time was waiting for the postman to deliver the letter.Regardless of whether the letter reported good news or bad news, it was always told to everyone, and I hoped that there would be important news the next day.

Though Mr. Gardiner had not yet sent them a second letter, they had a letter from elsewhere, and it turned out that Mr. Collins had sent a letter to their father.Ji Ying had been entrusted by her father to open and read all the letters on his behalf, so she came to read this letter.Elizabeth also knew that Mr. Collins' letters were always written strangely, so she read them together beside Jane.The letter reads as follows: From Mr. Elder: I received a letter from Hertfordshire yesterday, and I learned that Mr. Wang is very upset and distressed.Wen Zhi, who is not a flattery and a humble man, expresses deep sympathy to Mr. personally or to the old and young in the family.As far as the status and position of not being a sycophant is concerned, I should express my condolences, not to mention being in harmony with the Zunfu, I feel that there is no shirkable responsibility.For all reason, this unfortunate incident is unavoidable. Once the reputation of Gai's family is ruined, there will never be a day to clean it up. What is worse than this to hurt the hearts of parents in the world?I knew this earlier, but I hope that it will be lucky for him to die as soon as possible.If you are not a sycophant, you can only express your condolences and condolences, so you can talk about magnanimity.According to her wife, Charlotte, Ling Ai's wanton running this time was actually caused by her daily over-indulgence, which is especially sad.But I don't think that Ling Ai's young age is as good as Ji, but she made a big mistake, which also shows her own bad nature; sir, you don't have to blame yourself too much.A few days ago, I met Mrs. Caitlin and her daughter, and told me about it. The wife and others also felt differently from the unsyring couple.Mrs. Domon coincided with her foolish opinion, thinking that Ling Ai's misstep this time would humiliate her family's prestige, so that her future relatives would be discouraged, and her sister's life-long happiness would be affected, which was a matter of concern.Thinking of this, Ling Nian couldn't help but recall what happened in November last year, and he felt very lucky, otherwise, it would be a done deal, and he would surely bring shame on himself and suffer a lot.Mr. Jingqi is good at comforting himself, letting him belittle himself and reaping the fruit of himself is not worthy of pity. (abbreviated below)

Mr. Gardiner did not write a second letter to Longbourne till Colonel Forster's reply had come.There was no good news in the letter.It was not known whether Wickham had any relations with him, but it was known that he had indeed no living relatives.He used to have a lot of friends, but since he joined the militia, he seems to have become estranged from them all, so there is no one to report some news about him.The reason why he kept this secret this time is said to be because he left with a large gambling debt, which he was now too poor to pay, and because he was afraid of being discovered by Lydia's relatives and friends.Colonel Forster thought that more than a thousand pounds would be needed to settle his debts at Brighton.Although he has a lot of debts in this town, his gambling debts are even more considerable.Mr. Gardiner had no intention of keeping these matters from the Longbourn family.Ji Ying was terrified when she heard this, and couldn't help shouting: "What a gambler!"It was a complete surprise; I hadn't even thought of it.

Mr. Gardiner's letter added that their father would be home tomorrow (Saturday).It turned out that the two of them worked hard, but they had no results, and they were very depressed. Therefore, Mr. Bennet agreed to his uncle's request and went home immediately, leaving everything to Gardiner.The daughters thought that since their mother was so worried that their father would be beaten to death, they would be very proud when they heard the news, but they didn't know it was not always the case. Mrs. Bennet exclaimed: What!Did he come back alone without finding poor Lydia?Surely he should not have left London since he had not found them both.Who else would fight Wickham when he was gone, and force him to marry Lydia?

Mrs. Gardiner, too, was beginning to want to go home, and resolved to take the children back to London on the very day Mr. Bennet left for Longbourne.On the day of departure, a carriage can be sent from here to take her to the first stop, and then pick up the master by the way. After Mrs. Gardiner's departure, she was still confused about Elizabeth and her friend in Derbyshire, as she had been in Derbyshire ever since.The niece never took the initiative to mention his name in front of her uncles and parents.She thought that when she came back, the gentleman would have a letter, but it didn't turn out.Elizabeth had never received a letter from Pemberley.

She saw her niece depressed; but, since such unfortunate events happened in the family, it was inevitable, and there was no need to implicate this phenomenon in other causes.So she still couldn't figure it out.Only Elizabeth knew her own mind, and she thought that if she had not known Darcy, the disgrace of Lydia might have made her feel a little better, and might save her a few sleepless nights. When Mr. Bennet returned home, he still looked happy.He still didn't talk much as usual, and didn't mention what he was going out for this time, and it took a long time for the daughters to dare to mention it.

It was not until the afternoon, when he had tea with them, that Elizabeth spoke boldly of the matter.She first said briefly that he must have suffered a lot this time, which made her very sad, but he replied: Don't say such things.Who is to blame but myself?What I do by myself should be my own responsibility. Elizabeth comforted him and said: Don't blame yourself too much. Your persuasion is also in vain.It is human nature to feel sorry for ourselves!No, Liz, I've never felt sorry for myself in my life, let me have a taste of it this time.I am not afraid of becoming sick from depression.This kind of thing will pass in a flash. Did you think they were going to be in London? Yes, where else could they hide so well? Kitty added: And Lydia always wanted to go to London. The father said coldly: Well, she is proud of it, and she may live there for a while. After a moment of silence, he went on to say: Liz, the words you persuaded me in May were indeed correct. I don't blame you at all. Judging from the current incident, you are indeed wise. Miss Bennet interrupted their conversation by bringing in tea for her mother. Mr. Bennet exclaimed: This is what is called a blessing, and it is very comfortable; and it is unlucky to forget the elegance!Someday I'll come and do what you do, and sit in my study, in my nightcap and pajamas, and make as much trouble as I can; or when Kitty has run away. Kitty said angrily: "I won't elope, father, and if I go to Brighton I'll be more behaved than Lydia." You go to Brighton!Even if you wanted to go as close as East Langbourne and ask me to bet fifty pounds with someone, I wouldn't dare!No, Kitty, at least I've learned to be careful, and I'll show you what I can do.From now on, any military officer will not be allowed to come to my door, or even pass through our village.You're never allowed to go to a ball unless you dance among your sisters; and you're never allowed to go out of the house unless you've been there at least ten minutes a day to behave like a human being. Kitty took these threats seriously, and burst into tears. Mr. Bennet said quickly: Come on, come on, don't be sad.If you can be a good girl for ten years from today, then when the ten years expire, I will definitely take you to see the military parade.