{"id":"01KJRRE0S58MA7KA0NTZNS1X9D","cid":"bafkreibivpvi3dtrahokcajjrlbq3fc552x6sotzgswmsmlzganl4qgt74","type":"text_chunk","properties":{"char_end":584437,"char_start":576593,"chunk_index":81,"chunk_total":108,"estimated_tokens":1961,"label":"and the kind of half-expectation which Mrs. Gardin","source_file_key":"pride-and-prejudice","text":"and the kind of half-expectation which Mrs. Gardiner had formed, of\r\ntheir being followed by a letter from him, had ended in nothing.\r\nElizabeth had received none since her return, that could come from\r\nPemberley.\r\n\r\nThe present unhappy state of the family rendered any other excuse for\r\nthe lowness of her spirits unnecessary; nothing, therefore, could be\r\nfairly conjectured from _that_,--though Elizabeth, who was by this time\r\ntolerably well acquainted with her own feelings, was perfectly aware\r\nthat, had she known nothing of Darcy, she could have borne the dread of\r\nLydia’s infamy somewhat better. It would have spared her, she thought,\r\none sleepless night out of two.\r\n\r\nWhen Mr. Bennet arrived, he had all the appearance of his usual\r\nphilosophic composure. He said as little as he had ever been in the\r\nhabit of saying; made no mention of the business that had taken him\r\naway; and it was some time before his daughters had courage to speak of\r\nit.\r\n\r\nIt was not till the afternoon, when he joined them at tea, that\r\nElizabeth ventured to introduce the subject; and then, on her briefly\r\nexpressing her sorrow for what he must have endured, he replied, “Say\r\nnothing of that. Who should suffer but myself? It has been my own doing,\r\nand I ought to feel it.”\r\n\r\n“You must not be too severe upon yourself,” replied Elizabeth.\r\n\r\n“You may well warn me against such an evil. Human nature is so prone to\r\nfall into it! No, Lizzy, let me once in my life feel how much I have\r\nbeen to blame. I am not afraid of being overpowered by the impression.\r\nIt will pass away soon enough.”\r\n\r\n“Do you suppose them to be in London?”\r\n\r\n“Yes; where else can they be so well concealed?”\r\n\r\n“And Lydia used to want to go to London,” added Kitty.\r\n\r\n“She is happy, then,” said her father, drily; “and her residence there\r\nwill probably be of some duration.”\r\n\r\nThen, after a short silence, he continued, “Lizzy, I bear you no\r\nill-will for being justified in your advice to me last May, which,\r\nconsidering the event, shows some greatness of mind.”\r\n\r\nThey were interrupted by Miss Bennet, who came to fetch her mother’s\r\ntea.\r\n\r\n“This is a parade,” cried he, “which does one good; it gives such an\r\nelegance to misfortune! Another day I will do the same; I will sit in my\r\nlibrary, in my nightcap and powdering gown, and give as much trouble as\r\nI can,--or perhaps I may defer it till Kitty runs away.”\r\n\r\n“I am not going to run away, papa,” said Kitty, fretfully. “If _I_\r\nshould ever go to Brighton, I would behave better than Lydia.”\r\n\r\n“_You_ go to Brighton! I would not trust you so near it as Eastbourne,\r\nfor fifty pounds! No, Kitty, I have at least learnt to be cautious, and\r\nyou will feel the effects of it. No officer is ever to enter my house\r\nagain, nor even to pass through the village. Balls will be absolutely\r\nprohibited, unless you stand up with one of your sisters. And you are\r\nnever to stir out of doors, till you can prove that you have spent ten\r\nminutes of every day in a rational manner.”\r\n\r\nKitty, who took all these threats in a serious light, began to cry.\r\n\r\n“Well, well,” said he, “do not make yourself unhappy. If you are a good\r\ngirl for the next ten years, I will take you to a review at the end of\r\nthem.”\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n[Illustration]\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nCHAPTER XLIX.\r\n\r\n\r\n[Illustration]\r\n\r\nTwo days after Mr. Bennet’s return, as Jane and Elizabeth were walking\r\ntogether in the shrubbery behind the house, they saw the housekeeper\r\ncoming towards them, and concluding that she came to call them to their\r\nmother, went forward to meet her; but instead of the expected summons,\r\nwhen they approached her, she said to Miss Bennet, “I beg your pardon,\r\nmadam, for interrupting you, but I was in hopes you might have got some\r\ngood news from town, so I took the liberty of coming to ask.”\r\n\r\n“What do you mean, Hill? We have heard nothing from town.”\r\n\r\n“Dear madam,” cried Mrs. Hill, in great astonishment, “don’t you know\r\nthere is an express come for master from Mr. Gardiner? He has been here\r\nthis half hour, and master has had a letter.”\r\n\r\nAway ran the girls, too eager to get in to have time for speech. They\r\nran through the vestibule into the breakfast-room; from thence to the\r\nlibrary;--their father was in neither; and they were on the point of\r\nseeking him upstairs with their mother, when they were met by the\r\nbutler, who said,--\r\n\r\n“If you are looking for my master, ma’am, he is walking towards the\r\nlittle copse.”\r\n\r\nUpon this information, they instantly passed through the hall once more,\r\nand ran across the lawn after their father, who was deliberately\r\npursuing his way towards a small wood on one side of the paddock.\r\n\r\nJane, who was not so light, nor so much in the habit of running as\r\nElizabeth, soon lagged behind, while her sister, panting for breath,\r\ncame up with him, and eagerly cried out,--\r\n\r\n“Oh, papa, what news? what news? have you heard from my uncle?”\r\n\r\n“Yes, I have had a letter from him by express.”\r\n\r\n“Well, and what news does it bring--good or bad?”\r\n\r\n“What is there of good to be expected?” said he, taking the letter from\r\nhis pocket; “but perhaps you would like to read it.”\r\n\r\nElizabeth impatiently caught it from his hand. Jane now came up.\r\n\r\n“Read it aloud,” said their father, “for I hardly know myself what it is\r\nabout.”\r\n\r\n     /* RIGHT “Gracechurch Street, _Monday, August 2_. */\r\n\r\n“My dear Brother,\r\n\r\n     “At last I am able to send you some tidings of my niece, and such\r\n     as, upon the whole, I hope will give you satisfaction. Soon after\r\n     you left me on Saturday, I was fortunate enough to find out in what\r\n     part of London they were. The particulars I reserve till we meet.\r\n     It is enough to know they are discovered: I have seen them\r\n     both----”\r\n\r\n     [Illustration:\r\n\r\n“But perhaps you would like to read it”\r\n\r\n     [_Copyright 1894 by George Allen._]]\r\n\r\n     “Then it is as I always hoped,” cried Jane: “they are married!”\r\n\r\n     Elizabeth read on: “I have seen them both. They are not married,\r\n     nor can I find there was any intention of being so; but if you are\r\n     willing to perform the engagements which I have ventured to make on\r\n     your side, I hope it will not be long before they are. All that is\r\n     required of you is, to assure to your daughter, by settlement, her\r\n     equal share of the five thousand pounds, secured among your\r\n     children after the decease of yourself and my sister; and,\r\n     moreover, to enter into an engagement of allowing her, during your\r\n     life, one hundred pounds per annum. These are conditions which,\r\n     considering everything, I had no hesitation in complying with, as\r\n     far as I thought myself privileged, for you. I shall send this by\r\n     express, that no time may be lost in bringing me your answer. You\r\n     will easily comprehend, from these particulars, that Mr. Wickham’s\r\n     circumstances are not so hopeless as they are generally believed to\r\n     be. The world has been deceived in that respect; and I am happy to\r\n     say, there will be some little money, even when all his debts are\r\n     discharged, to settle on my niece, in addition to her own fortune.\r\n     If, as I conclude will be the case, you send me full powers to act\r\n     in your name throughout the whole of this business, I will\r\n     immediately give directions to Haggerston for preparing a proper\r\n     settlement. There will not be the smallest occasion for your coming\r\n     to town again; therefore stay quietly at Longbourn, and depend on\r\n     my diligence and care. Send back your answer as soon as you can,\r\n     and be careful to write explicitly. We have judged it best that my\r\n     niece should be married from this house, of which I hope you will\r\n     approve. She comes to us to-day. I shall write again as soon as\r\n     anything more is determined on. Yours, etc.\r\n\r\n“EDW."},"relationships":[{"peer":"01KJRRD3TNE5A6AKAVXSRFT9RC","peer_label":"pride-and-prejudice","peer_type":"text","predicate":"derived_from"},{"peer":"01KJRRC2C7K6XERRJES8143XGV","peer_type":"collection","predicate":"collection"},{"peer":"01KJRREYW2V9QH9GNRQRJT67GK","peer_label":"mr bennet","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"person","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:30:06.279Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRREZKG263C7SQSDV3TZ5MX","peer_label":"elizabeth bennet","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"person","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:30:06.279Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRREY6RHWPTVXJ7SHB3NE6F","peer_label":"lydia bennet","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"person","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:30:06.279Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRREZJBEM6MWHW485H9DS9F","peer_label":"mr 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