{"id":"01KJRRE0SM1ZNGYFNS1R4GFNF5","cid":"bafkreicwck5chjbwb7sjagovik3zv5x4los5bwvkhcr75prnti5iwdqiz4","type":"text_chunk","properties":{"char_end":620226,"char_start":612244,"chunk_index":86,"chunk_total":108,"estimated_tokens":1996,"label":"if that were the case, he was not the young man to","source_file_key":"pride-and-prejudice","text":"if that were the case, he was not the young man to resist an opportunity\r\nof having a companion.\r\n\r\nLydia was exceedingly fond of him. He was her dear Wickham on every\r\noccasion; no one was to be put in competition with him. He did\r\neverything best in the world; and she was sure he would kill more birds\r\non the first of September than anybody else in the country.\r\n\r\nOne morning, soon after their arrival, as she was sitting with her two\r\nelder sisters, she said to Elizabeth,--\r\n\r\n“Lizzy, I never gave _you_ an account of my wedding, I believe. You were\r\nnot by, when I told mamma, and the others, all about it. Are not you\r\ncurious to hear how it was managed?”\r\n\r\n“No, really,” replied Elizabeth; “I think there cannot be too little\r\nsaid on the subject.”\r\n\r\n“La! You are so strange! But I must tell you how it went off. We were\r\nmarried, you know, at St. Clement’s, because Wickham’s lodgings were in\r\nthat parish. And it was settled that we should all be there by eleven\r\no’clock. My uncle and aunt and I were to go together; and the others\r\nwere to meet us at the church.\r\n\r\n“Well, Monday morning came, and I was in such a fuss! I was so afraid,\r\nyou know, that something would happen to put it off, and then I should\r\nhave gone quite distracted. And there was my aunt, all the time I was\r\ndressing, preaching and talking away just as if she was reading a\r\nsermon. However, I did not hear above one word in ten, for I was\r\nthinking, you may suppose, of my dear Wickham. I longed to know whether\r\nhe would be married in his blue coat.\r\n\r\n“Well, and so we breakfasted at ten as usual: I thought it would never\r\nbe over; for, by the bye, you are to understand that my uncle and aunt\r\nwere horrid unpleasant all the time I was with them. If you’ll believe\r\nme, I did not once put my foot out of doors, though I was there a\r\nfortnight. Not one party, or scheme, or anything! To be sure, London was\r\nrather thin, but, however, the Little Theatre was open.\r\n\r\n“Well, and so, just as the carriage came to the door, my uncle was\r\ncalled away upon business to that horrid man Mr. Stone. And then, you\r\nknow, when once they get together, there is no end of it. Well, I was so\r\nfrightened I did not know what to do, for my uncle was to give me away;\r\nand if we were beyond the hour we could not be married all day. But,\r\nluckily, he came back again in ten minutes’ time, and then we all set\r\nout. However, I recollected afterwards, that if he _had_ been prevented\r\ngoing, the wedding need not be put off, for Mr. Darcy might have done as\r\nwell.”\r\n\r\n“Mr. Darcy!” repeated Elizabeth, in utter amazement.\r\n\r\n“Oh, yes! he was to come there with Wickham, you know. But, gracious me!\r\nI quite forgot! I ought not to have said a word about it. I promised\r\nthem so faithfully! What will Wickham say? It was to be such a secret!”\r\n\r\n“If it was to be a secret,” said Jane, “say not another word on the\r\nsubject. You may depend upon my seeking no further.”\r\n\r\n“Oh, certainly,” said Elizabeth, though burning with curiosity; “we will\r\nask you no questions.”\r\n\r\n“Thank you,” said Lydia; “for if you did, I should certainly tell you\r\nall, and then Wickham would be so angry.”\r\n\r\nOn such encouragement to ask, Elizabeth was forced to put it out of her\r\npower, by running away.\r\n\r\nBut to live in ignorance on such a point was impossible; or at least it\r\nwas impossible not to try for information. Mr. Darcy had been at her\r\nsister’s wedding. It was exactly a scene, and exactly among people,\r\nwhere he had apparently least to do, and least temptation to go.\r\nConjectures as to the meaning of it, rapid and wild, hurried into her\r\nbrain; but she was satisfied with none. Those that best pleased her, as\r\nplacing his conduct in the noblest light, seemed most improbable. She\r\ncould not bear such suspense; and hastily seizing a sheet of paper,\r\nwrote a short letter to her aunt, to request an explanation of what\r\nLydia had dropped, if it were compatible with the secrecy which had been\r\nintended.\r\n\r\n“You may readily comprehend,” she added, “what my curiosity must be to\r\nknow how a person unconnected with any of us, and, comparatively\r\nspeaking, a stranger to our family, should have been amongst you at such\r\na time. Pray write instantly, and let me understand it--unless it is,\r\nfor very cogent reasons, to remain in the secrecy which Lydia seems to\r\nthink necessary; and then I must endeavour to be satisfied with\r\nignorance.”\r\n\r\n“Not that I _shall_, though,” she added to herself, and she finished the\r\nletter; “and, my dear aunt, if you do not tell me in an honourable\r\nmanner, I shall certainly be reduced to tricks and stratagems to find it\r\nout.”\r\n\r\nJane’s delicate sense of honour would not allow her to speak to\r\nElizabeth privately of what Lydia had let fall; Elizabeth was glad of\r\nit:--till it appeared whether her inquiries would receive any\r\nsatisfaction, she had rather be without a confidante.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n[Illustration:\r\n\r\n“I am sure she did not listen.”\r\n]\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nCHAPTER LII.\r\n\r\n\r\n[Illustration]\r\n\r\nElizabeth had the satisfaction of receiving an answer to her letter as\r\nsoon as she possibly could. She was no sooner in possession of it, than\r\nhurrying into the little copse, where she was least likely to be\r\ninterrupted, she sat down on one of the benches, and prepared to be\r\nhappy; for the length of the letter convinced her that it did not\r\ncontain a denial.\r\n\r\n     /* RIGHT “Gracechurch Street, _Sept. 6_. */\r\n\r\n“My dear Niece,\r\n\r\n     “I have just received your letter, and shall devote this whole\r\n     morning to answering it, as I foresee that a _little_ writing will\r\n     not comprise what I have to tell you. I must confess myself\r\n     surprised by your application; I did not expect it from _you_.\r\n     Don’t think me angry, however, for I only mean to let you know,\r\n     that I had not imagined such inquiries to be necessary on _your_\r\n     side. If you do not choose to understand me, forgive my\r\n     impertinence. Your uncle is as much surprised as I am; and nothing\r\n     but the belief of your being a party concerned would have allowed\r\n     him to act as he has done. But if you are really innocent and\r\n     ignorant, I must be more explicit. On the very day of my coming\r\n     home from Longbourn, your uncle had a most unexpected visitor. Mr.\r\n     Darcy called, and was shut up with him several hours. It was all\r\n     over before I arrived; so my curiosity was not so dreadfully racked\r\n     as _yours_ seems to have been. He came to tell Mr. Gardiner that he\r\n     had found out where your sister and Mr. Wickham were, and that he\r\n     had seen and talked with them both--Wickham repeatedly, Lydia once.\r\n     From what I can collect, he left Derbyshire only one day after\r\n     ourselves, and came to town with the resolution of hunting for\r\n     them. The motive professed was his conviction of its being owing to\r\n     himself that Wickham’s worthlessness had not been so well known as\r\n     to make it impossible for any young woman of character to love or\r\n     confide in him. He generously imputed the whole to his mistaken\r\n     pride, and confessed that he had before thought it beneath him to\r\n     lay his private actions open to the world. His character was to\r\n     speak for itself. He called it, therefore, his duty to step\r\n     forward, and endeavour to remedy an evil which had been brought on\r\n     by himself. If he _had another_ motive, I am sure it would never\r\n     disgrace him. He had been some days in town before he was able to\r\n     discover them; but he had something to direct his search, which was\r\n     more than _we_ had; and the consciousness of this was another\r\n     reason for his resolving to follow us. There is a lady, it seems, a\r\n     Mrs. Younge, who was some time ago governess to Miss Darcy, and was\r\n     dismissed from her charge on some cause of disapprobation, though\r\n     he did not say what. She then took a large house in Edward Street,\r\n     and has since maintained herself by letting lodgings."},"relationships":[{"peer":"01KJRRD3TNE5A6AKAVXSRFT9RC","peer_label":"pride-and-prejudice","peer_type":"text","predicate":"derived_from"},{"peer":"01KJRRC2C7K6XERRJES8143XGV","peer_type":"collection","predicate":"collection"},{"peer":"01KJRREYT564P5405ZE4Q76ZF5","peer_label":"mrs bennet","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"person","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:30:40.660Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRRFNYFWQCWCA086FZSQXY2","peer_label":"lydia and wickhams wedding","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"event","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:30:40.660Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRREY6RHWPTVXJ7SHB3NE6F","peer_label":"lydia bennet","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"person","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:30:40.660Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRREYS51T78NJZ45CYXSXS9","peer_label":"george wickham","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"person","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:30:40.660Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRREZKG263C7SQSDV3TZ5MX","peer_label":"elizabeth bennet","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"person","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:30:40.660Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRREYSZYA9P29KKXYZVTJ15","peer_label":"mr gardiner","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"person","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:30:40.660Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRREYSAZT646RSHT9C5XPKR","peer_label":"mrs gardiner","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"person","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:30:40.660Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRREYZ36C2F9Z4KP5F6ANMZ","peer_label":"london","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"city","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:30:40.660Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRRF9YT9F8Z9BAXYRC3SHK6","peer_label":"fitzwilliam darcy","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"person","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:30:40.660Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRREZGM87R12EADFF6YZZG3","peer_label":"jane bennet","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"person","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:30:40.660Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRRF7VA665FKK6CM48CN8K0","peer_label":"longbourn","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"estate","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:30:40.660Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRREZH1WA49EQP66J0ZHR6G","peer_label":"derbyshire","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"county","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:30:40.660Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRRFDX23X9DEXD8ADB689CC","peer_label":"mrs younge","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"person","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:30:40.660Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRRF9M2538MHHJ98FNAFJA7","peer_label":"georgiana darcy","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"person","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:30:40.660Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRRFA40KB2X9VYTN7AYFV3S","peer_label":"gracechurch street","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"street","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:30:40.660Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRRGZ6SZPC56GZ07JNRWM3C","peer_label":"st clements church","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"church","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:30:40.660Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRRGZAPGEH3SR361QXTJZH9","peer_label":"the little theatre","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"theatre","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:30:40.660Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRRGZ9YHXG4WNS5G85H96TR","peer_label":"mr stone","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"person","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:30:40.660Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRRGZBE6C32PV3AE5W04J38","peer_label":"chapter lii","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"document_section","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:30:40.660Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRRGZHNKDB93B6YDGGC2NKR","peer_label":"mrs gardiners explanation letter","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"document","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:30:40.660Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRRGZTPQ366F4AQHG9DET1V","peer_label":"edward street","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"street","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:30:40.660Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRRGZC5WWVNJ9ZWY172TWM7","peer_label":"elizabeths inquiry letter","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"document","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:30:40.660Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRRGZZ15XEQAJ1YH2KTPE9X","peer_label":"wickhams worthlessness","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"concept","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:30:40.660Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRRGZZNQ19CZCBJCQG0VT2Y","peer_label":"darcys mistaken pride","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"concept","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:30:40.660Z"}},{"peer":"01KJRRH03TACD3Y7B5853PF8CT","peer_label":"september 6th","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"date","extracted_at":"2026-03-03T02:30:40.660Z"}}],"ver":2,"created_at":"2026-03-03T02:29:01.364Z","ts":"2026-03-03T02:30:41.566Z","edited_by":{"method":"system","user_id":"01KJ60XQBHJ0GBGTP9X8HXAPPM"}}