第 四十八 章 · 第48章

The whole party were in hopes of a letter from Mr. Bennet the next

morning, but the post came in without bringing a single line from him.

His family knew him to be, on all common occasions, a most negligent and

dilatory correspondent; but at such a time they had hoped for exertion.

They were forced to conclude, that he had no pleasing intelligence to

send; but even of _that_ they would have been glad to be certain. Mr.

Gardiner had waited only for the letters before he set off.

When he was gone, they were certain at least of receiving constant

information of what was going on; and their uncle promised, at parting,

to prevail on Mr. Bennet to return to Longbourn as soon as he could, to

the great consolation of his sister, who considered it as the only

security for her husband’s not being killed in a duel.

Mrs. Gardiner and the children were to remain in Hertfordshire a few

days longer, as the former thought her presence might be serviceable to

her nieces. She shared in their attendance on Mrs. Bennet, and was a

great comfort to them in their hours of freedom. Their other aunt also

visited them frequently, and always, as she said, with the design of

cheering and heartening them up--though, as she never came without

reporting some fresh instance of Wickham’s extravagance or irregularity,

she seldom went away without leaving them more dispirited than she found

them.

All Meryton seemed striving to blacken the man who, but three months

before, had been almost an angel of light. He was declared to be in debt

to every tradesman in the place, and his intrigues, all honoured with

the title of seduction, had been extended into every tradesman’s family.

Everybody declared that he was the wickedest young man in the world; and

everybody began to find out that they had always distrusted the

appearance of his goodness. Elizabeth, though she did not credit above

half of what was said, believed enough to make her former assurance of

her sister’s ruin still more certain; and even Jane, who believed still

less of it, became almost hopeless, more especially as the time was now

come, when, if they had gone to Scotland, which she had never before

entirely despaired of, they must in all probability have gained some

news of them