第93章

'You may well warn me against such an evil. Human nature is so prone to fall into it！No，Lizzy，let me once in my life feel how much I have been to blame.I am not afraid of being overpowered by the impression.It will pass away soon enough.'

'Do you suppose them to be in London？'

'Yes；where else can they be so well concealed？'

'And Lydia used to want to go to London，'added Kitty.

'She is happy，then，'said her father，drily；'and her residence there will probably be of some duration.'

Then，after a short silence，he continued，'Lizzy，I bear you no ill-will for being justified in your advice to me last May，which，considering the event，shews some greatness of mind.'

They were interrupted by Miss Bennet，who came to fetch her mother's tea.

'This is a parade，'cried he，'which does one good；it gives such an elegance to misfortune！Another day I will do the same；I will sit in my library，in my night cap and powdering gown，and give as much trouble as I can，—or，perhaps，I may defer it，till Kitty runsaway.'

'I am not going to run away，Papa，'said Kitty，fretfully；'if I should ever go to Brighton，I would behave better than Lydia.'

'You go to Brighton！—I would not trust you so near it as East Bourne，for fifty pounds！No，Kitty，I have at last learnt to be cautious，and you will feel the effects of it. No officer is ever to enter my house again，nor even to pass through the village.Balls will be absolutely prohibited，unless you stand up with one of your sisters.And you are never to stir out of doors，till you can prove，that you have spent ten minutes of every day in a rational manner.'

Kitty，who took all these threats in a serious light，began to cry.

'Well，well，'said he，'do not make yourself unhappy. If you are a good girl for the next ten years，I will take you to a review at the end of them.'

VII

T wo days after Mr. Bennet's return，as Jane and Elizabeth were walking together in the shrubbery behind the house，they saw the housekeeper coming towards them，and，concluding that she came to call them to their mother，went for-ward to meet her；but，instead of the expected summons，when they approached her，she said to Miss Bennet，'I beg your pardon，madam，for interrupting you，but I was in hopes you might have got some good news from town，so I took the liberty of coming to ask.'

'What do you mean，Hill？We have heard nothing from town.'

'Dear madam，'cried Mrs. Hill，in great astonishment，'dont you know there is an express come for master from Mr.Gardiner？He has been here this half hour，and master has had a letter.'

Away ran the girls，too eager to get in to have time for speech. They ran through the vestibule into the breakfast room；from thence to the library；—their father was in neither；and they were on the point of seeking him up stairs with their mother，when they were met by the butler，who said，

'If you are looking for my master，ma'am，he is walking towards the little copse.'

Upon this information，they instantly passed through the hall once more，and ran across the lawn after their father，who was deliberately pursuing his way towards a small wood on one side of the paddock.

Jane，who was not so light，nor so much in the habit of runningas Elizabeth，soon lagged behind，while her sister，panting for breath，came up with him，and eagerly cried out，

'Oh，Papa，what news？what news？have you heard from my uncle？'

'Yes，I have had a letter from him by express.'

'Well，and what news does it bring？good or bad？'

'What is there of good to be expected？'said he，taking the letter from his pocket；'but perhaps you would like to read it.'

Elizabeth impatiently caught it from his hand. Jane now came up.

'Read it aloud，'said their father，'for I hardly know myself what it is about.'

'Gracechurch-street，Monday，

August 2.

'My Dear Brother，

'At last I am able to send you some tidings of my niece，and such as，upon the whole，I hope will give you satisfaction. Soon after you left me on Saturday，I was fortunate enough to find out in what part of London they were.The particulars，I reserve till we meet.It is enough to know they are discovered，I have seen them both—'

'Then it is，as I always hoped，'cried Jane；'they are married！'

Elizabeth read on；'I have seen them both. They are not married，nor can I find there was any intention of being so；but if you are willing to perform the engagements which I have ventured to make on your side，I hope it will not be long before they are.All that is required of you is，to assure to your daughter，by settlement，her equal share of the five thousand pounds，securedamong your children after the decease of yourself and my sister；and，moreover，to enter into an engagement of allowing her，during your life，one hundred pounds per annum.These are conditions，which，considering every thing，I had no hesitation in complying with，as far as I thought myself privileged，for you.I shall send this by express，that no time may be lost in bringing me your answer.You will easily comprehend，from these particulars，that Mr.Wickham's circumstances are not so hopeless as they are generally believed to be.The world has been deceived in that respect；and I am happy to say，there will be some little money，even when all his debts are discharged，to settle on my niece，in addition to her own fortune.If，as I conclude will be the case，you send me full powers to act in your name，throughout the whole of this business，I will immediately give directions to Haggerston for preparing a proper settlement.There will not be the smallest occasion for your coming to town again；therefore，stay quietly at Longbourn，and depend on my diligence and care.Send back your answer as soon as you can，and be careful to write explicitly.We have judged it best，that my niece should be married from this house，of which I hope you will approve.She comes to us to-day.I shall write again as soon as any thing more is determined on.Your's，＆c.

'Edw. Gardiner.'

'Is it possible！'cried Elizabeth，when she had finished.'Can it be possible that he will marry her？'