{"id":"01KJRRE0RQCNAFV1JWYCDP2BA5","cid":"bafkreidasxmr2ft7kzmcvk76u7bzpumcqaujvhehm5jqqiyhrnl6u6zuva","type":"text_chunk","properties":{"char_end":556480,"char_start":548693,"chunk_index":77,"chunk_total":108,"estimated_tokens":1947,"label":"Longbourn, heard in what manner he spoke of the ma","source_file_key":"pride-and-prejudice","text":"Longbourn, heard in what manner he spoke of the man who had behaved with\r\nsuch forbearance and liberality towards him. And there are other\r\ncircumstances which I am not at liberty--which it is not worth while to\r\nrelate; but his lies about the whole Pemberley family are endless. From\r\nwhat he said of Miss Darcy, I was thoroughly prepared to see a proud,\r\nreserved, disagreeable girl. Yet he knew to the contrary himself. He\r\nmust know that she was as amiable and unpretending as we have found\r\nher.”\r\n\r\n“But does Lydia know nothing of this? can she be ignorant of what you\r\nand Jane seem so well to understand?”\r\n\r\n“Oh, yes!--that, that is the worst of all. Till I was in Kent, and saw\r\nso much both of Mr. Darcy and his relation Colonel Fitzwilliam, I was\r\nignorant of the truth myself. And when I returned home the ----shire\r\nwas to leave Meryton in a week or fortnight’s time. As that was the\r\ncase, neither Jane, to whom I related the whole, nor I, thought it\r\nnecessary to make our knowledge public; for of what use could it\r\napparently be to anyone, that the good opinion, which all the\r\nneighbourhood had of him, should then be overthrown? And even when it\r\nwas settled that Lydia should go with Mrs. Forster, the necessity of\r\nopening her eyes to his character never occurred to me. That _she_ could\r\nbe in any danger from the deception never entered my head. That such a\r\nconsequence as _this_ should ensue, you may easily believe was far\r\nenough from my thoughts.”\r\n\r\n“When they all removed to Brighton, therefore, you had no reason, I\r\nsuppose, to believe them fond of each other?”\r\n\r\n“Not the slightest. I can remember no symptom of affection on either\r\nside; and had anything of the kind been perceptible, you must be aware\r\nthat ours is not a family on which it could be thrown away. When first\r\nhe entered the corps, she was ready enough to admire him; but so we all\r\nwere. Every girl in or near Meryton was out of her senses about him for\r\nthe first two months: but he never distinguished _her_ by any particular\r\nattention; and, consequently, after a moderate period of extravagant and\r\nwild admiration, her fancy for him gave way, and others of the regiment,\r\nwho treated her with more distinction, again became her favourites.”\r\n\r\nIt may be easily believed, that however little of novelty could be added\r\nto their fears, hopes, and conjectures, on this interesting subject by\r\nits repeated discussion, no other could detain them from it long, during\r\nthe whole of the journey. From Elizabeth’s thoughts it was never absent.\r\nFixed there by the keenest of all anguish, self-reproach, she could\r\nfind no interval of ease or forgetfulness.\r\n\r\nThey travelled as expeditiously as possible; and sleeping one night on\r\nthe road, reached Longbourn by dinnertime the next day. It was a comfort\r\nto Elizabeth to consider that Jane could not have been wearied by long\r\nexpectations.\r\n\r\nThe little Gardiners, attracted by the sight of a chaise, were standing\r\non the steps of the house, as they entered the paddock; and when the\r\ncarriage drove up to the door, the joyful surprise that lighted up their\r\nfaces and displayed itself over their whole bodies, in a variety of\r\ncapers and frisks, was the first pleasing earnest of their welcome.\r\n\r\nElizabeth jumped out; and after giving each of them a hasty kiss,\r\nhurried into the vestibule, where Jane, who came running downstairs from\r\nher mother’s apartment, immediately met her.\r\n\r\nElizabeth, as she affectionately embraced her, whilst tears filled the\r\neyes of both, lost not a moment in asking whether anything had been\r\nheard of the fugitives.\r\n\r\n“Not yet,” replied Jane. “But now that my dear uncle is come, I hope\r\neverything will be well.”\r\n\r\n“Is my father in town?”\r\n\r\n“Yes, he went on Tuesday, as I wrote you word.”\r\n\r\n“And have you heard from him often?”\r\n\r\n“We have heard only once. He wrote me a few lines on Wednesday, to say\r\nthat he had arrived in safety, and to give me his directions, which I\r\nparticularly begged him to do. He merely added, that he should not write\r\nagain, till he had something of importance to mention.”\r\n\r\n“And my mother--how is she? How are you all?”\r\n\r\n“My mother is tolerably well, I trust; though her spirits are greatly\r\nshaken. She is upstairs, and will have great satisfaction in seeing you\r\nall. She does not yet leave her dressing-room. Mary and Kitty, thank\r\nHeaven! are quite well.”\r\n\r\n“But you--how are you?” cried Elizabeth. “You look pale. How much you\r\nmust have gone through!”\r\n\r\nHer sister, however, assured her of her being perfectly well; and their\r\nconversation, which had been passing while Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner were\r\nengaged with their children, was now put an end to by the approach of\r\nthe whole party. Jane ran to her uncle and aunt, and welcomed and\r\nthanked them both, with alternate smiles and tears.\r\n\r\nWhen they were all in the drawing-room, the questions which Elizabeth\r\nhad already asked were of course repeated by the others, and they soon\r\nfound that Jane had no intelligence to give. The sanguine hope of good,\r\nhowever, which the benevolence of her heart suggested, had not yet\r\ndeserted her; she still expected that it would all end well, and that\r\nevery morning would bring some letter, either from Lydia or her father,\r\nto explain their proceedings, and, perhaps, announce the marriage.\r\n\r\nMrs. Bennet, to whose apartment they all repaired, after a few minutes’\r\nconversation together, received them exactly as might be expected; with\r\ntears and lamentations of regret, invectives against the villainous\r\nconduct of Wickham, and complaints of her own sufferings and ill-usage;\r\nblaming everybody but the person to whose ill-judging indulgence the\r\nerrors of her daughter must be principally owing.\r\n\r\n“If I had been able,” said she, “to carry my point in going to Brighton\r\nwith all my family, _this_ would not have happened: but poor dear Lydia\r\nhad nobody to take care of her. Why did the Forsters ever let her go out\r\nof their sight? I am sure there was some great neglect or other on their\r\nside, for she is not the kind of girl to do such a thing, if she had\r\nbeen well looked after. I always thought they were very unfit to have\r\nthe charge of her; but I was over-ruled, as I always am. Poor, dear\r\nchild! And now here’s Mr. Bennet gone away, and I know he will fight\r\nWickham, wherever he meets him, and then he will be killed, and what is\r\nto become of us all? The Collinses will turn us out, before he is cold\r\nin his grave; and if you are not kind to us, brother, I do not know what\r\nwe shall do.”\r\n\r\nThey all exclaimed against such terrific ideas; and Mr. Gardiner, after\r\ngeneral assurances of his affection for her and all her family, told her\r\nthat he meant to be in London the very next day, and would assist Mr.\r\nBennet in every endeavour for recovering Lydia.\r\n\r\n“Do not give way to useless alarm,” added he: “though it is right to be\r\nprepared for the worst, there is no occasion to look on it as certain.\r\nIt is not quite a week since they left Brighton. In a few days more, we\r\nmay gain some news of them; and till we know that they are not married,\r\nand have no design of marrying, do not let us give the matter over as\r\nlost. As soon as I get to town, I shall go to my brother, and make him\r\ncome home with me to Gracechurch Street, and then we may consult\r\ntogether as to what is to be done.”\r\n\r\n“Oh, my dear brother,” replied Mrs. Bennet, “that is exactly what I\r\ncould most wish for. And now do, when you get to town, find them out,\r\nwherever they may be; and if they are not married already, _make_ them\r\nmarry. And as for wedding clothes, do not let them wait for that, but\r\ntell Lydia she shall have as much money as she chooses to buy them,\r\nafter they are married. And, above all things, keep Mr. Bennet from\r\nfighting."},"relationships":[{"peer":"01KJRRD3TNE5A6AKAVXSRFT9RC","peer_label":"pride-and-prejudice","peer_type":"text","predicate":"derived_from"},{"peer":"01KJRRC2C7K6XERRJES8143XGV","peer_type":"collection","predicate":"collection"},{"peer":"01KJRREZJBEM6MWHW485H9DS9F","peer_label":"mr darcy","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"person","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:30:16.183Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRREZGM87R12EADFF6YZZG3","peer_label":"jane bennet","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"person","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:30:16.183Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRRF080QQFQRJXDVEZJMPV0","peer_label":"miss darcy","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"person","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:30:16.183Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRRF7YPKAMRSS5AR5RC8DQN","peer_label":"colonel fitzwilliam","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"person","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:30:16.183Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRRFD19WJWJEDTWJS731HG5","peer_label":"kent","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"place","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:30:16.183Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRREY6RHWPTVXJ7SHB3NE6F","peer_label":"lydia bennet","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"person","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:30:16.183Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRRF0YV9NV5WVK4WWSM736Q","peer_label":"meryton","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"place","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:30:16.183Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRRF8GGJND4AG8N2BX042GX","peer_label":"mrs forster","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"person","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:30:16.183Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRRFHCFKWNB76H6D7Q9YB2V","peer_label":"brighton","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"place","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:30:16.183Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRREZKG263C7SQSDV3TZ5MX","peer_label":"elizabeth bennet","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"person","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:30:16.183Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRREYSZYA9P29KKXYZVTJ15","peer_label":"mr gardiner","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"person","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:30:16.183Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRRF0VGMTTKPRSDMPY969CW","peer_label":"longbourn","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"place","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:30:16.183Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRREYT564P5405ZE4Q76ZF5","peer_label":"mrs bennet","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"person","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:30:16.183Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRREYW2V9QH9GNRQRJT67GK","peer_label":"mr bennet","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"person","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:30:16.183Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRREY63WYEJRTN7FS2QXC2P","peer_label":"mary bennet","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"person","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:30:16.183Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRRFA63SH24KA7N4R2W9MAJ","peer_label":"wickham","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"person","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:30:16.183Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRREZJ8A0QJK2TXKT8DT57S","peer_label":"pemberley","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"estate","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:30:16.183Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRRFA40KB2X9VYTN7AYFV3S","peer_label":"gracechurch street","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"street","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:30:16.183Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRREYZ36C2F9Z4KP5F6ANMZ","peer_label":"london","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"city","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:30:16.183Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRREYSAZT646RSHT9C5XPKR","peer_label":"mrs gardiner","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"person","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:30:16.183Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRRG81ND40BGRK6HFWQS7EE","peer_label":"catherine kitty bennet","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"person","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:30:16.183Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRRG85A6594PCRA5K88KTVR","peer_label":"collins family","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"family","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:30:16.183Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRRG855NJ0B1SJJF5V7YB6D","peer_label":"gardiner children","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"group","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:30:16.183Z"}}],"ver":2,"created_at":"2026-03-03T02:29:01.335Z","ts":"2026-03-03T02:30:16.909Z","edited_by":{"method":"system","user_id":"01KJ60XQBHJ0GBGTP9X8HXAPPM"}}