[Pride and Prejudice] Becoming Katherine Bennett

On the afternoon of the day the letter was received, Colonel Foster arrived at Longbourne amidst the anxious eyes of the Bennetts.

He brought even worse news.

Originally, Mrs. Bennet was very angry because Catherine said that her sister had eloped. She thought that it would not be shameful for Lydia to marry the man she loved in Scotland when she was young. She criticized Catherine's words, but she couldn't answer Catherine's rhetorical question. : "Then why are you so sad, Mom?"

Mrs. Bennet couldn't come up with an answer, and spent the whole day in grief, calling out her nerves feebly.

In comparison, Mr. Bennett is much calmer. He has always been negligent with Lydia, he doesn't like this little daughter, and he has long believed that she is unrestrained and has bad behavior. He is not too surprised to hear such news. To think it was no surprise that this happened to Lydia, who, by marrying such a meager earner, was of her own making for how poor she would be.

Catherine and Elizabeth were the two most disturbed members of the family.Especially Catherine.She guessed vaguely that Wickham might not marry her sister, as the family thought.

She walked up and down the room pale and anxious, but there was nothing she could do until Colonel Foster arrived to give a more detailed account.

"Sit down and rest, Kitty, you've been walking up and down the house for half a day," said Elizabeth.

"I can't sit down, Lizzie, Wickham the bastard, the bastard!!!" Catherine gritted her teeth, wishing she could go back in time, and she would personally make this scumbag no longer capable of deceiving others.

"Kitty, I know you don't like Wickham very much, but now that it's over, we can only accept the fact that he's going to be our brother-in-law."

Catherine said: "That's up to him. I haven't dared to say it in front of my parents. Lizzie, if they really want to get married, why don't you ask their parents' permission?"

"Lydia may be afraid that they will not agree to her marrying Wickham. After all, Wickham is too poor and has a low income. It is not a good choice for Lydia. That's why they went to Scotland and got married there. Don't worry about these things, you don't need your parents' permission to get married."

"Do you believe this explanation, because she guessed that she disagreed, so she was going to elope? Why did she think her parents would disagree? Put aside whether you agree or not, Lizzie, is Lydia such a character? On the contrary, she must think This marriage is the best thing in the world, and she will let the whole family bless her! And what kind of person is Wickham? He is mercenary, despicable and cunning, devoid of conscience, and can do anything! "

Elizabeth looked at her, her expression gradually panicked: "No, Catherine, don't think so badly of Wickham..."

"It's not as bad as I imagined, Lizzie, please forgive me for being considerate of other people's desires, but I promise that every word of the news I said is true. Wickham once abducted people to run away with him! He is so vile and shameless." It's a familiar matter!"

"My God!" Elizabeth jumped up from her chair, "it's not true, Kitty!!"

"I'm sorry, but it is."

Elizabeth trembled, tears welling in her eyes.Catherine had never seen Elizabeth with such a fragile expression before, she hurriedly hugged her sister's shoulders, and kept apologizing, saying that she was too arbitrary and shouldn't have drawn conclusions so early, and everything would be discussed after Colonel Foster came.

However, the information brought by Colonel Foster completely panicked the Bennett family except Catherine.

In the letter, Colonel Foster only wrote that Lydia and Wickham disappeared, claiming to be going to Scotland.That was not a lie to them, Lydia had indeed written in a note to Mrs Foster, saying they were going to Gretna Green.

But after seeing Colonel Foster, he brought the news he had asked all the way.A close friend of Wickham's, Denny, told Colonel Foster that Wickham told himself that he had no intention of going to Scotland at all because he had no intention of marrying Lydia.And he had to leave the militia because he owed a lot of debt and was chased by the creditor. He ran away to escape the debt. As for why he took Lydia with him when he ran, no one has yet Know. ②

Colonel Foster did not finish his sentence.But the Bennett family, who are very familiar with Lydia's character and style, can hear what he has not said: I am afraid that Lydia will send it to the door.

After hearing what Denny said, Colonel Foster immediately set out to track the whereabouts of the two of them. He didn't dare to stop, chasing all the way from Brighton to Clapham, and then to London, but his ability was limited and he couldn't Find two people.Seeing that no new clues could be found for the time being, and worried that the Bennett family was too worried, he rushed to Longburn first.

The news of Colonel Foster made Catherine's heart sink completely, and she felt the fear of extinction.Her face was pale, and she remained silent for a long time, unable to recover.There was a buzzing in her head, as if someone had hit her heart and head with a huge stone hammer, and there were bursts of tinnitus in her ears.

Mrs. Bennet fainted on the spot after hearing what Colonel Foster had said, and especially after he said sadly but very firmly that he guessed Wickham would not marry Lydia.And Mr. Bennett also lost the calm and calm demeanor that Catherine was used to, and communicated with Colonel Foster with an unprecedented panic, stopping and stammering.Elizabeth and Mary surrounded Mrs. Bennet, called the servant to help her upstairs, and arranged for other servants to call the doctor, and the house was in complete chaos.

In the midst of the chaos, Catherine let go of her clenched fist, not letting anyone see that the pointy nails she had maintained for the wedding had scratched out traces of blood red on her palms.She stood up, didn't look at the person who was panicking because of Mrs. Bennet, and didn't look at the father who was almost inarticulate. She walked slowly to Colonel Foster with a strange composure, and asked softly: " I have something to ask you."

"Please tell me, Miss Catherine."

"Is Wickham deserting the militia in this way?"

Colonel Fausta froze.

Catherine's tone was calm, but there was an icy chill in her words: "If you catch him back, how will he be treated?"

Colonel Foster was quiet for a long time before replying cautiously: "Miss, he cannot be regarded as a deserter in this situation. He left some news and just left. The militia is not as strict as the regular army, so you can decide to withdraw."

Catherine expressed her thanks in disappointment, and then sat back in her seat, bowing her head in silence.

Mr. Bennet and Colonel Foster had agreed to set off for London in the morning to meet Wickham and Lydia, and Catherine made no comment on their plans.

While they were conferring, she went upstairs and wrote three letters.The first letter was to Jane, which briefly told about Lydia's elopement, let her decide whether to tell Mr. Walker, let her wait for her father and Colonel Foster in London, and the second letter was to Gardner Uncle, I implore uncle to spend some time on this family scandal, the third letter...

Catherine stared at the "Mr. Darcy" on the letter in a daze, her expression was indifferent, neither sad nor happy.She is like a wooden figure who has forgotten the ability to cry and laugh.She knew that the bad news might spread throughout Meridon or even beyond tomorrow, and her husband Darcy, whom everyone envied, would know soon.

After hearing the news of her sister's elopement, Catherine had the time and mood to think about Darcy.

What will her husband think when he finds out about this?How would you feel about her?How would she judge her family?

It's ridiculous for her to ask him to tolerate her family so righteously.But if she thinks in another way, if she is Darcy, can she face such a scandal that just proves that the family is not upbringing without changing her face?If she were Darcy's relatives, would she be willing to have such an outstanding gentleman marry a girl whose conditions were far inferior to his, and now such embarrassing things happened in the family?

The answer is self-evident.

And apart from these, what would he think of her?Will he abandon her because of her family's extremely bad reputation?Even if he doesn't abandon her, he may never look down on her.

Catherine suddenly wanted to cry. She didn't understand what she had done wrong, why life always set up so many obstacles for her, and kept torturing her.Every time she worked hard for a long time, she thought she finally saw the dawn, but all hope would be cut off quickly.Those good things that represent hope and happiness never seem to want to be associated with her.

Catherine was in a daze for a long time, and when she came back to her senses, she realized that she had already cried, and the tears were falling silently, just like countless times before.

But maybe, no one will gently hold her face in the future to coax her to stop crying.

How cruel this incident was, as if someone was tearing her freshly scabbed scar vigorously, revealing mottled wounds and bright red blood.If I never got it, maybe it wouldn't be so painful.

Catherine raised her hand to wipe away her tears vigorously, and added another sentence at the end of the letter in the blurred eyes.

"No matter what you think of my family and sister, or how you have new ideas about you and me, I want to shamelessly beg you to provide me with some convenience, and we will talk after I settle this matter. Da Si, please."

This is the first time that Catherine has used the word "seek" to someone after living for so many years.She used to have a lot of self-esteem and never wanted to use such humble words.But at this moment, she can't take care of anything anymore, she can't bear the double blow.

It turns out that falling in love with someone will really make you weak. No matter how strong you were in the past, from the day you fell in love, you will no longer be covered in scales.

He made her vulnerable.No one can really hurt her except him.

Catherine stuffed the letter into an envelope and called the servant, telling him to leave for London overnight, and he must hand over the letter to the three gentlemen and ladies.

At night, Catherine lay on the bed, staring at the night outside the window quietly, without any sleepiness.At three o'clock in the morning, Elizabeth held the candle holder and pushed open the door.

The two sisters looked at each other in silence. Elizabeth walked to Catherine's bed, put down the wax table, took off her shoes and climbed onto the bed, and looked out the window silently with her sister.They lay quietly side by side, and the atmosphere was heavy and oppressive.

"Why is Lydia like this?" whispered Elizabeth. "Don't she know that if she can't get married, she..."

Elizabeth was unwilling to say the rest, but Catherine said indifferently: "I will be hanged or become a prostitute."

Elizabeth cried: "Why did this happen, my God."

"I always thought Lydia was frivolous, but I didn't expect her to be so shameless. Anyone who has a little bit of conscience, who is not so selfish and self-centered, should know that her actions will bring harm to herself and her family. She has inherited all the shortcomings of her parents very well, and is even better, she is more selfish than her father, and more stupid than her mother."

"Kitty..." Elizabeth gently covered her sister's mouth, "Stop talking, okay?"

"It's true whether I say it or not. But I won't say it, Lizzie, it's over, and we've got to work it out first."

"What do you want to do, Kitty, you have the best ideas."

"I..." Catherine was hesitating whether to tell Elizabeth what she really thought, when suddenly, she heard a very slight knocking sound.

Once, twice.The stone hit the window, making a crisp sound.

Catherine sat up in bed, startling Elizabeth.She looked at Catherine for no reason, and when she was about to ask, she saw Catherine jump off the bed and run to the window, then immediately grabbed a skirt and put it on, and went downstairs quickly.

Elizabeth seemed to understand something, she went to the window.

In the night, Mr. Darcy stood in front of the door, his reflection cast long on the ground in the candlelight.A few seconds later, Catherine also appeared at the door, but she stopped when she ran about two meters away from the other party.

Elizabeth's heart clenched tightly.She understood her sister's fear, and she wondered why Mr. Darcy was so late.

Could it be that he heard the bad news and wanted to break off the engagement with Catherine?

However, before Elizabeth's wild thoughts were over, she saw Darcy striding forward, reducing the distance between him and Catherine to the minimum, opening her arms, and hugging her into her arms.Catherine was dazed for a long time before slowly hugging him back, and buried her head deeply in Darcy's chest.

For some reason, Elizabeth suddenly remembered, Catherine wrote in the book "Alice", the moving oath of Viscount Cairns when the hero and heroine got married.

“…Whether poor or rich, in health or in sickness, we will support each other, have each other, love each other, and cherish each other until death do us part.”

"You are my weakness and also my armor."