Two days after Mr. Bennet returned home, Jane and Elizabeth were walking through the garden behind the house when they saw Mrs. Hill, the housekeeper, coming toward them.
They assumed she had been sent to call them back to their mother, so they walked over to meet her.
Instead, Mrs. Hill stopped in front of Jane.
“I’m sorry to interrupt you, Miss Bennet,” she said, “but I was hoping you might have heard some good news from London. So I came to ask.”
Jane looked surprised.
“Good news? We haven’t heard anything from London.”
Mrs. Hill stared at her in disbelief.
“Don’t you know? A messenger has just arrived with a letter for Mr. Bennet from Mr. Gardiner. He’s been here for half an hour, and your father has already received the letter.”
The two girls immediately hurried back toward the house.
They rushed through the entrance hall and into the breakfast room, but their father was nowhere to be found. They hurried into the library, but it was empty too.
Just as they were about to run upstairs and ask their mother, the butler stopped them.
“If you’re looking for Mr. Bennet, ma’am, he’s gone toward the little woods.”
Jane and Elizabeth quickly crossed the hall again and ran out onto the lawn.
Their father was walking slowly toward a small group of trees beside the paddock.
Elizabeth was much faster than Jane and soon caught up with him. She was almost out of breath.
“Papa! What news? Have you heard from Uncle Gardiner?”
“Yes,” Mr. Bennet replied. “He sent me a letter by express.”
“Well? What does he say? Is it good news or bad news?”
Mr. Bennet took the letter from his pocket.
“What good news could we possibly expect?”
Then he held out the letter.
“But perhaps you would like to read it yourself.”
Elizabeth eagerly took it from his hand.
Jane finally caught up with them.
“Read it aloud,” Mr. Bennet said. “I’m not entirely sure what to make of it myself.”
Elizabeth unfolded the letter.
It was dated Monday, August 2, from Gracechurch Street.
“My dear brother,
“At last I can give you some news about Lydia, and I hope that, considering everything, it will satisfy you.
“Soon after you left me on Saturday, I managed to discover where Lydia and Mr. Wickham were staying in London. I will explain the details when we meet.
“For now, it is enough to tell you that I found them and have spoken to them both.”
Jane immediately interrupted.
“Then they’re married! Just as I always hoped!”
Elizabeth continued reading.
“They are not married, and from everything I can discover, they had no intention of getting married.
“However, if you are willing to agree to the arrangements I have made on your behalf, I believe the marriage can take place very soon.
“All that is required of you is to guarantee Lydia’s share of the five thousand pounds that will eventually be divided among your children after your death and your wife’s.
“You must also promise to give Lydia one hundred pounds a year for the rest of your life.
“Considering the circumstances, I had no hesitation in agreeing to these conditions as far as I felt I had the right to act for you.
“I will send this letter by express because we must lose no time.
“You will also understand from this that Mr. Wickham’s financial situation is not quite as hopeless as everyone believed. Once his debts are paid, there should still be some money left for Lydia, in addition to her own fortune.
“If you give me full authority to act in your name, I will immediately instruct Haggerston to prepare the marriage settlement.
“There is no need for you to return to London. Please remain quietly at Longbourn and leave everything to me.
“Send your answer as quickly as possible, and make sure your instructions are clear.
“We thought it best for Lydia to be married from our house. I hope you will approve.
“She is coming to stay with us today.
“I will write again as soon as we know more.
“Yours sincerely,
“Edw. Gardiner.”
Elizabeth slowly lowered the letter.
“Is this really possible?”
She looked at her father.
“Is Mr. Wickham actually going to marry Lydia?”
Jane was relieved.
“Then Wickham cannot be as hopeless as we thought. My dear father, I congratulate you.”
“Have you replied to Uncle Gardiner yet?” Elizabeth asked.
“No,” Mr. Bennet said. “But I must do it soon.”
Elizabeth immediately became anxious.
“Papa, please don’t wait any longer. Come back inside and write the letter now. Every moment matters.”
Jane offered to help.
“I can write it for you if you don’t want to do it yourself.”
“I certainly don’t want to do it myself,” Mr. Bennet replied. “But it has to be done.”
He turned around and walked back toward the house with his daughters.
Elizabeth hesitated before asking another question.
“And I suppose we have to agree to all the conditions Uncle Gardiner mentioned?”
“Agree to them?”
Mr. Bennet gave a dry smile.
“I’m only ashamed that Wickham asked for so little.”
“But they really have to get married,” Elizabeth said. “Even though he is such a man.”
“Yes. They have to marry. There is no other solution.”
Mr. Bennet sighed.
“But there are two things I very much want to know.”
“What are they?”
“First, how much money your uncle has had to spend to make this happen. Second, how on earth I am ever going to repay him.”
Jane looked shocked.
“Money? What do you mean, Papa?”
“I mean that no sensible man would marry Lydia for the promise of one hundred pounds a year while I am alive and fifty pounds a year after I die.”
Elizabeth thought about it.
“That’s true. I hadn’t considered that.”
She suddenly understood.
“Then Uncle Gardiner must have paid a great deal himself. He has been so generous. I’m afraid he may have put himself in financial difficulty to help us.”
“A small amount of money couldn’t possibly have solved all of this,” she added.
“No,” Mr. Bennet agreed.
“Wickham would be a fool if he married Lydia for anything less than ten thousand pounds. I should hate to think so badly of him at the very beginning of our relationship.”
“Ten thousand pounds!”
Elizabeth was horrified.
“Heaven help us! How could we ever repay that?”
Mr. Bennet said nothing.
They continued walking in silence, each lost in thought.
When they reached the house, Mr. Bennet went straight to the library to write his reply.
Jane and Elizabeth went into the breakfast room.
“They really are going to be married!” Elizabeth exclaimed once they were alone.
“How strange this all is.”
She shook her head.
“We’re actually expected to be grateful that Lydia is going to marry a man like Wickham. Their chances of being happy together are so small, and his character is so terrible.”
She sighed.
“Oh, Lydia.”
Jane tried to look at the situation more hopefully.
“I comfort myself by thinking that Wickham would not marry Lydia if he didn’t care about her at all.”
“Uncle Gardiner may have helped him financially, but I cannot believe he has given him ten thousand pounds or anything close to that.”
“He has children of his own, and he may have more someday. How could he possibly spare that much money?”
Elizabeth nodded.
“If we ever discover exactly how much Wickham owed and how much money was actually settled on Lydia, then we’ll know what Uncle Gardiner has done for them.”
“Wickham certainly had nothing of his own.”
Elizabeth’s expression softened.
“We can never repay Uncle and Aunt Gardiner for what they have done.”
“They have taken Lydia into their own home and given her their protection and respect. That sacrifice alone means more than we could ever properly thank them for.”
“By now, Lydia is probably already with them.”
Elizabeth shook her head.
“I can only hope that being confronted with all their kindness will finally make her understand how foolish she has been.”
Jane gently replied,
“We should try to forget what has happened on both sides.”
“I truly hope they will be happy.”
“If Wickham is willing to marry her, perhaps he has finally begun to understand what he has done wrong.”
“Their love for each other may help them settle down. Perhaps they will live quietly and sensibly, and in time people will stop talking about their past mistakes.”
Elizabeth was less convinced.
“Their behavior has been so reckless that neither you nor I, nor anyone else, could ever completely forget it.”
“There is no point pretending otherwise.”
Just then, the sisters remembered their mother.
Mrs. Bennet almost certainly knew nothing about what had happened.
They went into the library and asked their father whether they should tell her.
Mr. Bennet was busy writing.
“Do whatever you like,” he said without looking up.
“May we take Uncle Gardiner’s letter with us and read it to her?”
“Take whatever you want. Just leave me alone.”
Elizabeth picked up the letter from the desk, and the two sisters went upstairs.
Mary and Kitty were already with Mrs. Bennet, so one announcement would be enough for everyone.
Jane first prepared her mother for some good news, then began reading the letter aloud.
Mrs. Bennet could barely contain her excitement.
The moment Jane read that Lydia would probably be married soon, her joy exploded.
Every sentence that followed only made her happier.
The thought of Lydia getting married was enough for her. She had no concern about whether Lydia would actually be happy, nor did she seem troubled by anything Lydia had done.
“My dear, dear Lydia!”
“This is wonderful!”
“She is going to be married!”
“I’ll see her again!”
“And she’ll be married at sixteen!”
“My dear brother! I knew he would manage everything!”
“How I long to see her!”
“And dear Wickham too!”
“But what about the wedding clothes?”
“I must write to my sister Gardiner immediately.”
“Lizzy, go downstairs and ask your father how much money he will give Lydia.”
“Wait! I’ll go myself.”
“Kitty, ring the bell for Hill. I’ll get dressed at once.”
“My dear Lydia!”
“How happy we shall all be when she comes home!”
Jane tried to calm her mother down.
“We really must remember how much Uncle Gardiner has done for us.”
“We believe he has agreed to help Mr. Wickham financially.”
Mrs. Bennet was completely unconcerned.
“Well, of course! Who else would do it but her own uncle?”
“If he didn’t have a family of his own, all his money would have belonged to me and my children anyway.”
“And this is the first time he has ever done anything for us apart from giving us a few presents.”
“Oh, I am so happy!”
“In a short time, I’ll have a married daughter.”
“Mrs. Wickham!”
“How beautiful that sounds!”
“And Lydia was only sixteen last June!”
Mrs. Bennet was so excited that she could hardly think straight.
“My dear Jane, I’m too nervous to write a letter.”
“I’ll dictate it, and you can write it for me.”
“We can talk to your father about the money afterward.”
“But the wedding clothes must be ordered immediately!”
She immediately began discussing fabrics and dresses.
She was already planning orders for calico, muslin, cambric, and everything else she thought Lydia would need.
Fortunately, Jane managed to persuade her to wait until Mr. Bennet was free so they could discuss the money first.
“One day won’t make any difference,” Jane reminded her.
For once, Mrs. Bennet was too happy to argue.
But she soon came up with another plan.
“I’ll go to Meryton as soon as I’m dressed.”
“I have to tell my sister Philips the wonderful news.”
“On the way back, I can visit Lady Lucas and Mrs. Long too.”
“Kitty, go downstairs and order the carriage.”
“I’m sure going out will do me good.”
“Girls, do you want me to bring anything back from Meryton?”
“Oh, here comes Hill!”
“My dear Hill, have you heard the wonderful news?”
“Miss Lydia is going to be married!”
“And there will be plenty of punch for everyone at the wedding!”
Mrs. Hill immediately joined in the celebration.
Elizabeth smiled and accepted her congratulations, but she was quickly tired of all the excitement.
She quietly escaped to her own room so she could think.
Poor Lydia’s situation was still far from good.
Even though she was going to be married, Elizabeth could not honestly expect her sister to have a happy or prosperous life.
Still, compared with the terrible outcome they had feared only two hours earlier, this was something to be thankful for.
For now, at least, Lydia was going to be saved from the worst consequences of her foolish actions.