第111章[第1页/共3页]

Then after a short silence he continued:

“Yes;where else can they be so well concealed?”

“What,is he coming home,and without poor Lydia?”she cried.“Sure he will not leave London before he has found them.Who is to fight Wickham,and make him marry her,if he comes away?”

The present unhappy state of the family rendered any other excuse for the lowness of her spirits unnecessary; nothing, therefore,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 somewhat better.It would have spared her,she thought,one sleepless night out of two.

“You go to Brighton. I would not trust you so near it as Eastbourne for fifty pounds!No,Kitty,I have at last learnt to be cautious,and you will feel the effects of it.No officer is ever to enter into my house again,nor even to pass through the village. Balls will be absolutely prohibited,unless you stand up with one of your sisters.And you are never to stir out of doors till you can prove that you have spent ten minutes of every day in a rational manner.”

“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.”