06-03-傲慢与偏见 [67]
Mrs Gardiner took the opportunity of Mr Bennet's return to go back to London herself，with her children．She was still longing to know how Flizabeth's relationship with Darcy had developed，but Elizabeth had not once mentioned his name，so her aunt did not dare to ask any direct questions．
When Mr Bennet arrived home，he appeared as calm as ever， but in a conversation with Elizabeth he admitted that he felt to blame for Lydia's elopement．
‘I know I should have had more control over her，’he said． ‘And，Lizzy，you were right．I should never have let her go to Brighton．’
Kitty，who was listening，said，‘Papa，if I ever went to Brighton，I'd behave much better than Lydia has done．’
‘You go to Brighton！’cried her father．‘I would not trust you within twenty kilometres of the place，for fifty pounds！ No，Kitty，I have at last learnt to be cautious，and you will feel the effects of it．No officer may ever enter the house again，or even pass through the village．And balls will be absolutely for- bidden，unless you dance only with your sisters．’
Kitty，taking these threats seriously，began to cry．
‘Well，well，’said he，‘don't make yourself unhappy．If you are a good girl for the next ten years，I’ll take you to the the- atre at the end of that time．’
Two days later，the news for which they had all been wait- ing so anxiously arrived．Mr Gardiner's letter informed them that Wickham and Lydia had been found，but that they were not married．However，certain financial arrangements had been made with Wickham．Mr Bennet was asked to pay Lydia one hundred pounds a year，as well as arranging for her to inherit her equal share of the five thousand pounds which the Bennet girls would inherit after their parents'death．If these reason- able conditions were agreed，Wickham had promised to marry Lydia．
At first Elizabeth and Jane were delighted that their sister's reputation would be saved through marriage，even to such a man as Wickham．But then their father explained that Wick- ham would never have agreed to marry Lydia，unless he had been paid a considerable amount of money immediately．They began to worry that it would be difficult to repay Mr Gardiner，who must have bribed Wickham in this way．Mrs Bennet，however，had no such worries．
‘He is her own uncle，after all！’she cried happily．‘Why shouldn't he pay？My dear，dear Lydia！Married at sixteen！ How I long to see her，and dear Wickham too！But the wed- ding clothes！I’ll write to my sister-in-law about them at once！I'm so happy．In a short time I’ll have a daughter mar- ried．Mrs Wickham！How well it sounds！’
Now that Lydia was going to be married，Elizabeth greatly regretted telling Darcy of her fears for her sister．But even if Lydia had been married in the most honourable way，it was ex- tremely unlikely that Mr Darcy would wish to connect himself with a family in which there was a close relationship with Wickham，the man he most justly disliked．She could not ex- pect him to go on caring for her，as she felt certain he had done when they met in Derbyshire．But now that she was sure he could not love her，she was convinced they could have been happy together．He seemed to be exactly the man who would have suited her．They could have usefully influenced each other．His mind might have been softened and his manners im- proved by her sociability，and she might have learnt from his greater judgement and knowledge of the world．But no such re- lationship could now teach an admiring world what happiness in marriage was really like．Instead，Wickham would marry Lydia，with little chance of happiness for either of them．
Mr and Mrs Gardiner had arranged for Lydia to be married quietly in London，from their house．At first Mr Bennet had refused to allow his youngest daughter ever to enter his house again，but eventually Jane and Elizabeth persuaded him to re- ceive
When Mr Bennet arrived home，he appeared as calm as ever， but in a conversation with Elizabeth he admitted that he felt to blame for Lydia's elopement．
‘I know I should have had more control over her，’he said． ‘And，Lizzy，you were right．I should never have let her go to Brighton．’
Kitty，who was listening，said，‘Papa，if I ever went to Brighton，I'd behave much better than Lydia has done．’
‘You go to Brighton！’cried her father．‘I would not trust you within twenty kilometres of the place，for fifty pounds！ No，Kitty，I have at last learnt to be cautious，and you will feel the effects of it．No officer may ever enter the house again，or even pass through the village．And balls will be absolutely for- bidden，unless you dance only with your sisters．’
Kitty，taking these threats seriously，began to cry．
‘Well，well，’said he，‘don't make yourself unhappy．If you are a good girl for the next ten years，I’ll take you to the the- atre at the end of that time．’
Two days later，the news for which they had all been wait- ing so anxiously arrived．Mr Gardiner's letter informed them that Wickham and Lydia had been found，but that they were not married．However，certain financial arrangements had been made with Wickham．Mr Bennet was asked to pay Lydia one hundred pounds a year，as well as arranging for her to inherit her equal share of the five thousand pounds which the Bennet girls would inherit after their parents'death．If these reason- able conditions were agreed，Wickham had promised to marry Lydia．
At first Elizabeth and Jane were delighted that their sister's reputation would be saved through marriage，even to such a man as Wickham．But then their father explained that Wick- ham would never have agreed to marry Lydia，unless he had been paid a considerable amount of money immediately．They began to worry that it would be difficult to repay Mr Gardiner，who must have bribed Wickham in this way．Mrs Bennet，however，had no such worries．
‘He is her own uncle，after all！’she cried happily．‘Why shouldn't he pay？My dear，dear Lydia！Married at sixteen！ How I long to see her，and dear Wickham too！But the wed- ding clothes！I’ll write to my sister-in-law about them at once！I'm so happy．In a short time I’ll have a daughter mar- ried．Mrs Wickham！How well it sounds！’
Now that Lydia was going to be married，Elizabeth greatly regretted telling Darcy of her fears for her sister．But even if Lydia had been married in the most honourable way，it was ex- tremely unlikely that Mr Darcy would wish to connect himself with a family in which there was a close relationship with Wickham，the man he most justly disliked．She could not ex- pect him to go on caring for her，as she felt certain he had done when they met in Derbyshire．But now that she was sure he could not love her，she was convinced they could have been happy together．He seemed to be exactly the man who would have suited her．They could have usefully influenced each other．His mind might have been softened and his manners im- proved by her sociability，and she might have learnt from his greater judgement and knowledge of the world．But no such re- lationship could now teach an admiring world what happiness in marriage was really like．Instead，Wickham would marry Lydia，with little chance of happiness for either of them．
Mr and Mrs Gardiner had arranged for Lydia to be married quietly in London，from their house．At first Mr Bennet had refused to allow his youngest daughter ever to enter his house again，but eventually Jane and Elizabeth persuaded him to re- ceive