{{prxprp257.jpg}} || PRIDE AND PREJUDICE 257 ||

Who is to fight Wickham, and make him marry her, if he

comes away?'

As Mrs. Gardiner began to wish to be at home, it was settled

that she and her children should go to London, at the same time

that Mr. Bennet came from it. The coach, therefore, took them

the first stage of their journey, and brought its master back to

Longbourn.

Mrs. Gardiner went away in all the perplexity about Elizabeth

and her Derbyshire friend, that had attended her from that part

of the world. His name had never been voluntarily mentioned

before them by her niece; and the kind of half-expectation which

Mrs. Gardiner had formed, of their being followed by a letter

from him, had ended in nothing. Elizabeth had received none

since her return, that could come from Pemberley.

The present unhappy state of the family rendered any other

excuse for the lowness of her spirits unnecessary; nothing, there

fore, could be fairly conjectured from that, though Elizabeth,

who was by this time tolerably well acquainted with her own

feelings, was perfectly aware that, had she known nothing of

Darcy, she could have borne the dread of Lydia's infamy some-'

what better. It would have spared her, she thought, one sleepless

night out of two.

When Mr. Bennet arrived, he had all the appearance of his

usual philosophic composure. He said as little as he had ever

been in the habit of saying; made no mention of the business

that had taken him away, and it was some time before his daughters

had courage to speak of it.

It was not till the afternoon, when he joined them at tea, that

Elizabeth ventured to introduce the subject; and then, on her

briefly expressing her sorrow for what he must have endured, he

replied, 'Say nothing of that. Who should suffer but myself?

It has been my own doing, and I ought to feel it.'

'You must not be too severe upon yourself,' replied Elizabeth.

'You may well warn me against such an evil. Human nature

is so prone to fall into it! No, Lizzy, let me once in my life feel

how much I have been to blame. I am not afraid of being

overpowered by the impression. It will pass away soon enough.'

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