The day of Lydia’s wedding visit finally arrived.
Jane and Elizabeth were probably more nervous about seeing her than Lydia was about seeing them. A carriage had been sent to meet the newlyweds, and they were expected back at Longbourn by dinner.
Jane felt especially uneasy. She could not help imagining how embarrassed Lydia ought to feel after everything that had happened.
When the carriage arrived, the whole family was waiting in the breakfast room.
Mrs. Bennet was beaming with happiness.
Mr. Bennet looked extremely serious.
Jane and Elizabeth were both nervous and uncomfortable.
Lydia’s voice could be heard before she even entered the room. The door opened, and she rushed inside.
Her mother immediately threw her arms around her.
“My dear Lydia! Welcome home!”
She then warmly greeted Wickham and congratulated them both as if nothing had ever gone wrong.
Mr. Bennet’s welcome was very different.
He barely spoke, and his expression became even more severe.
The cheerful confidence of the newly married couple clearly irritated him.
Elizabeth was disgusted.
Even Jane was shocked.
Lydia, however, had not changed at all.
She was still loud, careless, fearless, and completely unaware of how embarrassing her behavior was.
She went from one sister to another, demanding congratulations.
Once they were all seated, she looked around the room and noticed several small changes.
“My goodness, it has been ages since I was here!”
Wickham seemed just as comfortable as Lydia.
His manners were so pleasant that, if his character and marriage had been respectable, his easy smile would probably have made everyone happy to welcome him into the family.
Elizabeth had never realized quite how shameless he could be.
She decided she would never again underestimate the boldness of an arrogant man.
She and Jane both blushed with embarrassment.
Lydia and Wickham did not seem embarrassed in the slightest.
There was certainly no shortage of conversation.
Mrs. Bennet and Lydia were both talking so quickly that they could hardly keep up with each other.
Wickham happened to sit beside Elizabeth and began asking about people he knew in the neighborhood.
He spoke so easily that Elizabeth found it difficult to answer him with the same confidence.
They both behaved as though the past had been nothing but happy memories.
Lydia even brought up subjects that Jane and Elizabeth would never have mentioned themselves.
“Can you believe it has been three months since I left?” Lydia said.
“It feels like only two weeks ago! And yet so much has happened.”
“When I left, I never imagined I would come back married.”
“Well, I did think it would be great fun if I did!”
Mr. Bennet looked up sharply.
Jane looked deeply uncomfortable.
Elizabeth gave Lydia a warning look.
Lydia ignored all of them.
“Oh, Mama, do people around here know that I got married today?”
“I was worried they might not!”
“We passed William Goulding in his carriage on the way here, so I made sure he saw my ring.”
“I rolled down the window, took off my glove, and put my hand where he could see it.”
“Then I smiled and bowed at him!”
Elizabeth could take no more.
She quickly left the room.
She did not return until she heard everyone heading toward the dining room.
When she joined them, she saw Lydia proudly walking beside her mother.
Lydia turned to Jane.
“Jane, I’m taking your place now.”
“You’ll have to sit farther down because I’m a married woman!”
Lydia’s confidence only grew as the day went on.
She could not wait to see Mrs. Philips, the Lucases, and everyone else in the neighborhood.
She wanted to hear every one of them call her “Mrs. Wickham.”
After dinner, she even went around showing her wedding ring to Mrs. Hill and the two housemaids.
When everyone returned to the breakfast room, Lydia turned to her mother.
“Well, Mama, what do you think of my husband?”
“Isn’t he wonderful?”
“I’m sure all my sisters are jealous of me.”
“I only hope they can have half the luck I’ve had.”
“They really ought to go to Brighton. That’s the place to find husbands!”
“What a pity we didn’t all go there.”
“You’re absolutely right,” Mrs. Bennet said.
“If I had been allowed to choose, we certainly would have gone.”
“But, Lydia, I don’t like the idea of you living so far away. Do you really have to go?”
“Oh, of course!”
“It’s nothing to worry about. I’ll love it.”
“You and Papa and my sisters must come and visit us.”
“We’ll be in Newcastle all winter, and I’m sure there will be plenty of balls.”
“I’ll make sure all my sisters find good dancing partners.”
“I would love that!” Mrs. Bennet exclaimed.
“And when you leave, perhaps you can let one or two of my sisters stay with us.”
“I’m sure I can find husbands for them before winter is over.”
“Thank you for offering,” Elizabeth said.
“But I’m not sure I like your method of finding husbands for us.”
The newlyweds were only going to stay for ten days.
Wickham had received his military commission before leaving London, and he was expected to join his regiment in about two weeks.
Mrs. Bennet was the only person who was unhappy about their short stay.
She made full use of the time by taking Lydia around to visit everyone and by holding frequent parties at Longbourn.
The parties were welcome to almost everyone.
For those who actually enjoyed thinking, avoiding a quiet evening with the Bennet family was especially appealing.
Elizabeth quickly realized that Wickham’s feelings for Lydia were exactly what she had expected.
He cared about her, but nowhere near as much as she cared about him.
Elizabeth had already understood that Lydia’s love had been the main reason for their escape.
Wickham had probably gone along with it because his financial situation had left him desperate.
And if he needed a companion while running away from his problems, Lydia had been more than willing to fill that role.
Lydia, meanwhile, adored him.
To her, he was still her wonderful Wickham.
No one could possibly compare with him.
Everything he did was perfect.
She was even certain that he would shoot more birds on the first day of hunting season than any other man in the country.
One morning, Lydia was sitting with Jane and Elizabeth when she suddenly turned to Elizabeth.
“Lizzy, I don’t think I ever told you about my wedding.”
“You weren’t there when I told Mama and everyone else the whole story.”
“Aren’t you curious to know how everything happened?”
“Not really,” Elizabeth replied.
“I think the less said about it, the better.”
“Oh, you’re so strange!”
“But I have to tell you.”
“We were married at St. Clement’s because Wickham was living in that parish.”
“We had planned for everyone to be there by eleven.”
“My uncle and aunt and I were supposed to go together, while the others met us at the church.”
“Monday morning came, and I was terribly nervous.”
“I was so afraid something would happen and stop the wedding.”
“I would have completely lost my mind if that had happened.”
“My aunt kept talking to me while I was getting dressed.”
“She kept giving me advice as if she were preaching a sermon.”
“But I hardly heard anything she said.”
“I was too busy thinking about my dear Wickham.”
“I kept wondering whether he would wear his blue coat.”
“We had breakfast at ten, just as usual.”
“I thought breakfast would never end.”
“And you know what?”
“My uncle and aunt had been absolutely dreadful while I was staying with them.”
“I was there for two whole weeks, and I never went anywhere!”
“Not one party. Not one outing. Nothing!”
“London was rather quiet, I suppose, but the Little Theatre was still open.”
“Then, just as the carriage arrived, my uncle was called away on business.”
“To that horrible Mr. Stone.”
“And once my uncle gets involved in business with someone, he can take forever!”
“I was terrified.”
“My uncle was supposed to give me away.”
“If we arrived too late, we couldn’t be married that day.”
“Fortunately, he came back after only ten minutes, and we finally left.”
“Although I realized afterward that even if he hadn’t returned, the wedding could still have gone ahead.”
“Mr. Darcy could have given me away.”
“Mr. Darcy?”
Elizabeth stared at her in complete surprise.
“Oh, yes!”
“He was supposed to come with Wickham.”
“But goodness, I wasn’t supposed to tell you that!”
“I completely forgot.”
“I promised them I would keep it secret.”
“What will Wickham say?”
“It was supposed to remain a secret!”
“If it was meant to be secret,” Jane said gently, “then don’t say anything more.”
“You can trust me not to ask questions.”
“Of course,” Elizabeth added, even though she was burning with curiosity.
“We won’t ask you anything.”
“Thank you!”
“Because if you did ask, I’d probably tell you everything.”
“And then Wickham would be furious with me.”
Elizabeth knew exactly what Lydia’s answer meant.
The more she was told not to ask, the more curious she became.
So she quickly left the room before she could ask anything.
But Elizabeth could not simply forget what she had heard.
Mr. Darcy had attended Lydia’s wedding.
That made no sense.
He had almost no reason to be there, and certainly no obvious reason to help Wickham.
A dozen possibilities immediately rushed through Elizabeth’s mind.
Some explanations made her feel hopeful because they showed Darcy in a generous light.
Unfortunately, those explanations also seemed the least likely.
She could not stand not knowing.
She quickly found some paper and wrote to her aunt.
She politely asked whether her aunt could explain what Lydia had accidentally revealed, as long as doing so did not break the promise of secrecy.
She wrote:
“I’m sure you can understand how curious I must be.”
“How could someone who has no real connection with our family, and who is practically a stranger to us, have been present at such an important moment?”
“Please write to me as soon as possible and explain what happened.”
“Of course, if there is a very good reason why this must remain secret, then I will have to accept that I cannot know.”
Elizabeth paused, then added to herself:
“But I certainly won’t be satisfied for long.”
“If my dear aunt refuses to tell me honestly, I may have to find out through tricks and secret questions.”
Jane’s strong sense of loyalty prevented her from privately discussing Lydia’s careless revelation with Elizabeth.
Elizabeth was actually glad of that.
Until she knew whether her aunt would answer her questions, she preferred to keep her curiosity to herself.