They were now almost at the door of the house,for she had walked fast to get rid of him;and unwilling,for her sister's sake,to provoke him,she only said in reply,with a good humoured smile,
‘Come,Mr Wickham,we are brother and sister,you know.Do not let us quarrel about the past.In future,I hope we shall be always of one mind.’
She held out her hand;he kissed it with affectionate gallantry,though he hardly knew how to look,and they entered the house.
Chapter 53
Mr Wickham was so perfectly satisfied with this conversation that he never again distressed himself,or provoked his dear sister Elizabeth,by introducing the subject of it;and she was pleased to find that she had said enough to keep him quiet.
The day of his and Lydia's departure soon came,and Mrs Bennet was forced to submit to a separation,which,as her husband by no means entered into her scheme of their all going to Newcastle,was likely to continue at least a twelvemonth.
‘Oh!my dear Lydia,’she cried,‘when shall we meet again?’
‘Oh,lord!I don't know.Not these two or three years,perhaps.’
‘Write to me very often,my dear.’
‘As often as I can.But you know married women have never much time for writing.My sisters may write to me.They will have nothing else to do.’
Mr Wickham's adieus were much more affectionate than his wife's.He smiled,looked handsome,and said many pretty things.
‘He is as fine a fellow,’said Mr Bennet,as soon as they were out of the house,‘as ever I saw.He simpers,and smirks,and makes love to us all.I am prodigiously proud of him.I defy even Sir William Lucas himself to produce a more valuable son in law.’
The loss of her daughter made Mrs Bennet very dull for several days.
‘I often think,’said she,‘that there is nothing so bad as parting with one's friends.One seems so forlorn without them.’
‘This is the consequence,you see,madam,of marrying a daughter,’said Elizabeth.‘It must make you better satisfied that your other four are single.’
‘It is no such thing.Lydia does not leave me because she is married,but only because her husband's regiment happens to be so far off.If that had been nearer,she would not have gone so soon.’
But the spiritless condition which this event threw her into was shortly relieved,and her mind opened again to the agitation of hope,by an article of news which then began to be in circulation.The housekeeper at Netherfield had received orders to prepare for the arrival of her master,who was coming down in a day or two,to shoot there for several weeks.Mrs Bennet was quite in the fidgets.She looked at Jane,and smiled and shook her head by turns.
‘Well,well,and so Mr Bingley is coming down,sister,’(for Mrs Philips first brought her the news).‘Well,so much the better.Not that I care about it,though.He is nothing to us,you know,and I am sure I never want to see him again.But,however,he is very welcome to come to Netherfield,if he likes it.And who knows what may happen?But that is nothing to us.You know,sister,we agreed long ago never to mention a word about it.And so,is it quite certain he is coming?’
‘You may depend on it,’replied the other,‘for Mrs Nicholls was in Meryton last night;I saw her passing by,and went out myself on purpose to know the truth of it;and she told me that it was certain true.He comes down on Thursday at the latest,very likely on Wednesday.She was going to the butcher's,she told me,on purpose to order in some meat on Wednesday,and she has got three couple of ducks just fit to be killed.’
Miss Bennet had not been able to hear of his coming without changing colour.It was many months since she had mentioned his name to Elizabeth;but now,as soon as they were alone together,she said,
‘I saw you look at me to day,Lizzy,when my aunt told us of the present report;and I know I appeared distressed.But don't imagine it was from any silly cause.I was only confused for the moment,because I felt that I should be looked at.I do assure you that the news does not affect me either with pleasure or pain.I am glad of one thing,that he comes alone;because we shall see the less of him.Not that I am afraid of myself,but I dread other people's remarks.’
Elizabeth did not know what to make of it.Had she not seen him in Derbyshire,she might have supposed him capable of coming there with no other view than what was acknowledged;but she still thought him partial to Jane,and she wavered as to the greater probability of his coming there with his friend's permission,or being bold enough to come without it.
‘Yet it is hard,’she sometimes thought,‘that this poor man cannot come to a house which he has legally hired,without raising all this speculation!I will leave him to himself.’
In spite of what her sister declared,and really believed to be her feelings in the expectation of his arrival,Elizabeth could easily perceive that her spirits were affected by it.They were more disturbed,more unequal,than she had often seen them.
The subject which had been so warmly canvassed between their parents,about a twelvemonth ago,was now brought forward again.
‘As soon as ever Mr Bingley comes,my dear,’said Mrs Bennet,‘you will wait on him of course.’
‘No,no.You forced me into visiting him last year,and promised,if I went to see him,he should marry one of my daughters.But it ended in nothing,and I will not be sent on a fool's errand again.’
His wife represented to him how absolutely necessary such an attention would be from all the neighbouring gentlemen,on his returning to Netherfield.
‘'Tis an etiquette I despise,’said he.‘If he wants our society,let him seek it.He knows where we live.I will not spend my hours in running after my neighbours every time they go away and come back again.’
‘Well,all I know is,that it will be abominably rude if you do not wait on him.But,however,that shan't prevent my asking him to dine here,I am determined.We must have Mrs Long and the Gouldings soon.That will make thirteen with ourselves,so there will be just room at table for him.’
