exceedingly angry by the contents of her nephew's letter, that Charlotte, really rejoicing in the
match, was anxious to get away till the storm was blown over. At such a moment, the arrival of
her friend was a sincere pleasure to Elizabeth, though in the course of their meetings she must
sometimes think the pleasure dearly bought, when she saw Mr. Darcy exposed to all the parading
and obsequious civility of her husband. He bore it, however, with admirable calmness. He could
even listen to Sir William Lucas, when he complimented him on carrying away the brightest
jewel of the country, and expressed his hopes of their all meeting frequently at St. James's, with
very decent composure. If he did shrug his shoulders, it was not till Sir William was out of sight.
Mrs. Phillips's vulgarity was another, and perhaps a greater, tax on his forbearance; and though
Mrs. Phillips, as well as her sister, stood in too much awe of him to speak with the familiarity
which Bingley's good humour encouraged, yet, whenever she DID speak, she must be vulgar.
Nor was her respect for him, though it made her more quiet, at all likely to make her more
elegant. Elizabeth did all she could to shield him from the frequent notice of either, and was ever
anxious to keep him to herself, and to those of her family with whom he might converse without
mortification; and though the uncomfortable feelings arising from all this took from the season
of courtship much of its pleasure, it added to the hope of the future; and she looked forward with
delight to the time when they should be removed from society so little pleasing to either, to all
the comfort and elegance of their family party at Pemberley.
Chapter 61
Happy for all her maternal feelings was the day on which Mrs. Bennet got rid of her two most
deserving daughters. With what delighted pride she afterwards visited Mrs. Bingley, and talked
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of Mrs. Darcy, may be guessed. I wish I could say, for the sake of her family, that the
accomplishment of her earnest desire in the establishment of so many of her children produced
so happy an effect as to make her a sensible, amiable, well-informed woman for the rest of her
life; though perhaps it was lucky for her husband, who might not have relished domestic felicity
in so unusual a form, that she still was occasionally nervous and invariably silly.
Mr. Bennet missed his second daughter exceedingly; his affection for her drew him oftener from
home than any thing else could do. He delighted in going to Pemberley, especially when he was
least expected.
Mr. Bingley and Jane remained at Netherfield only a twelvemonth. So near a vicinity to her
mother and Meryton relations was not desirable even to HIS easy temper, or HER affectionate
heart. The darling wish of his sisters was then gratified; he bought an estate in a neighbouring
county to Derbyshire, and Jane and Elizabeth, in addition to every other source of happiness,
were within thirty miles of each other.
Kitty, to her very material advantage, spent the chief of her time with her two elder sisters. In
society so superior to what she had generally known, her improvement was great. She was not of
so ungovernable a temper as Lydia; and, removed from the influence of Lydia's example, she
became, by proper attention and management, less irritable, less ignorant, and less insipid. From
the farther disadvantage of Lydia's society she was of course carefully kept, and though Mrs.
Wickham frequently invited her to come and stay with her, with the promise of balls and young
men, her father would never consent to her going.
Mary was the only daughter who remained at home; and she was necessarily drawn from the
pursuit of accomplishments by Mrs. Bennet's being quite unable to sit alone. Mary was obliged
to mix more with the world, but she could still moralize over every morning visit; and as she was
no longer mortified by comparisons between her sisters' beauty and her own, it was suspected by
her father that she submitted to the change without much reluctance.
As for Wickham and Lydia, their characters suffered no revolution from the marriage of her
sisters. He bore with philosophy the conviction that Elizabeth must now become acquainted with
whatever of his ingratitude and falsehood had before been unknown to her; and in spite of every
thing, was not wholly without hope that Darcy might yet be prevailed on to make his fortune.
The congratulatory letter which Elizabeth received from Lydia on her marriage, explained to her
that, by his wife at least, if not by himself, such a hope was cherished. The letter was to this
effect:
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"MY DEAR LIZZY,
"I wish you joy. If you love Mr. Darcy half as well as I do my dear Wickham, you must be very
happy. It is a great comfort to have you so rich, and when you have nothing else to do, I hope
you will think of us. I am sure Wickham would like a place at court very much, and I do not
think we shall have quite money enough to live upon without some help. Any place would do, of
about three or four hundred a year; but however, do not speak to Mr. Darcy about it, if you had
rather not.
"Yours, etc."
As it happened that Elizabeth had MUCH rather not, she endeavoured in her answer to put an
end to every entreaty and expectation of the kind. Such relief, however, as it was in her power to
afford, by the practice of what might be called economy in her own private expences, she
frequently sent them. It had always been evident to her that such an income as theirs, under the
direction of two persons so extravagant in their wants, and heedless of the future, must be very
insufficient to their support; and whenever they changed their quarters, either Jane or herself
were sure of being applied to for some little assistance towards discharging their bills. Their
manner of living, even when the restoration of peace dismissed them to a home, was unsettled in
the extreme. They were always moving from place to place in quest of a cheap situation, and
always spending more than they ought. His affection for her soon sunk into indifference; her's
lasted a little longer; and in spite of her youth and her manners, she retained all the claims to
reputation which her marriage had given her.
Though Darcy could never receive HIM at Pemberley, yet, for Elizabeth's sake, he assisted him
farther in his profession. Lydia was occasionally a visitor there, when her husband was gone to
enjoy himself in London or Bath; and with the Bingleys they both of them frequently staid so
long, that even Bingley's good humour was overcome, and he proceeded so far as to talk of
giving them a hint to be gone.
Miss Bingley was very deeply mortified by Darcy's marriage; but as she thought it advisable to
retain the right of visiting at Pemberley, she dropt all her resentment; was fonder than ever of
Georgiana, almost as attentive to Darcy as heretofore, and paid off every arrear of civility to
Elizabeth.
Pemberley was now Georgiana's home; and the attachment of the sisters was exactly what Darcy
had hoped to see. They were able to love each other even as well as they intended. Georgiana