[Pride and Prejudice] Another Spring of "Scumbags"

Lydia, who was happily welcomed into the house by Mrs. Hill, saw Mr. Bennet standing at the corner of the stairs on the second floor at first sight.

He looked at her calmly, without any joy in his eyes that his little daughter returned home after a long absence.

"Dad, I'm back." Lydia bent her knees towards Mr. Bennett on the stairs, her joyful voice carried a kind of joy that made people laugh, "Where are Mom and Jane? Where did they go? Why didn't they come out to welcome me?" She pouted complainingly, with the cute expression of a little girl.

——Before she recovered her memory in her previous life, she suffered a lot from this old gentleman, and after accumulating countless experiences and lessons, she learned how to deal with him.

Mr. Bennett, who rarely saw a bit of a ladylike look in Lydia, raised his eyebrows, and glanced at the tall blond and blue-eyed officer behind his little daughter, "There is a dance in town next week, your mother Take your sisters to town to get some clothes, if you want one too—and now's just in time."

"Oh! Dad! This is really too unfortunate!" Lydia stomped her feet angrily, and said to the man beside her in a reproachful tone while stomping her feet: "It's all your fault—it's all your fault Slow down our trip!"

"Yes, yes, all of this is my fault." Wickham, who had a natural understanding with his lover, immediately had to cooperate as much as possible and put on a pitiful appearance, but in front of Bennett In front of the husband, he still couldn't help arguing: "I am also worried about your body, I am afraid that you will not be able to withstand such a long journey."

Seeing this, Lydia snorted softly and raised her chin to speak, but was interrupted by Mr. Bennett, who ordered in an unquestionable tone: "Mr. Wickham is also doing it for your own good, Lydia, since You must be exhausted after staying in the carriage for such a long time, Mrs. Hill, please send Miss Lydia back to her room to have a good rest." He glanced at another woman who couldn't hide his exhaustion. Ma'am, "And this lady, please take care of me too. A long trip is really destructive to ladies."

Mrs. Hill naturally obeyed her master's orders.

The housekeeper of Colonel Foster's house also gave Mr. Bennet a grateful glance. After raising her skirt and saluting, she went upstairs with Mrs. Hill.

Only Lydia deliberately lagged behind by half a beat, and looked worriedly at her fiancé's face from an angle that Mr. Bennett could fully see. Her blue eyes were full of tension and concern.

And her deliberate behavior made Mr. Bennett's eyelids twitch even more.

After seeing off the ladies, Mr. Bennett, who had changed his decision to go to the study, went downstairs again, invited Mr. Wickham to sit down, and the maid respectfully offered refreshments.

The two sat there in silence for over an hour.

"I haven't thanked you for sending my daughter back despite the exhaustion, Mr. Wickham," Mr. Bennett, who didn't expect Wickham to have such concentration, was a little surprised, and opened the door slowly. chatterbox. "Excuse me, did Colonel Foster specifically entrust you with this?"

Wickham, who also had a lot of dealings with the gentleman in front of him, knew what Mr. Bennett was up to when he heard this. He touched his chin, showing a bit of embarrassment on his face just right, "Oh, yes, Mrs. Foster felt that it was not safe for Miss Lydia to go on the road alone, so she specially dispatched their housekeeper. And I..." He paused, his chest unconsciously heaving Woke up, "I didn't come from the command of the officer and his wife," he nervously wiped the sweat that didn't exist on his forehead with a handkerchief, "I volunteered my request, hoping to personally escort Miss Lydia back safely. "

"Obviously, you did it." Mr. Bennett looked at the handsome man in front of him with complicated eyes. "Thanks to your generosity, I saw a daughter who was unharmed. I am very relieved."

"This is what I should do," Wickham swallowed dryly twice, and his Adam's apple slipped. "There is something I think I should tell you. Of course, maybe you won't be happy about it or something... But I don't think I have the right to hide such an important thing from you."

"Tell me." Mr. Bennet looked silently at the tall officer in front of him who was so nervous that he almost passed out of shock... Although he already had five daughters, this was the first time he saw such a situation. Of course, he had a premonition , he will face four such scenes one after another, as long as his daughter is not married yet.

"Not long ago, in Brighton, I developed a sincere relationship with your daughter. I was completely captured by her, and I sincerely wanted her to be my bride," Mr. Wickham licked Licking dry lips, "thank God for your kindness, your daughter has the same deep feelings as me, and she agreed to my marriage proposal... After some consideration, we decided to come to Longbourn to ask you and your wife Agree, agree to marry your daughter to me."

"Mr. Wickham, although I really don't want to hurt you, I still have to say - my daughter doesn't have a dowry that can make you rise to the sky in one step." Mr. Bennett crossed his fingers on his lower abdomen and looked at Wickham His eyes clearly carried a hint of probing and examining.

The young officer blushed as if he had been humiliated by something. He looked at this well-known squire nearby in shock, and after a long time he murmured what he said from the bottom of his heart, "Sir, I want to ask to marry you daughter, not for a dowry."

"But everyone nearby knows that you chose to woo Miss Jin because of the dowry." Mr. Bennett took a sip of the black tea in front of him slowly.

"You're right," Wickham hung his head in embarrassment, "at that time I did have the idea of ​​getting something for nothing...but then, during those days in Brighton, my view changed completely—I I don’t want to marry a lady I don’t love for money, it will make me regret the long life in the future.”

Mr. Bennet's eyes flickered. Wickham's words reminded him of his youthful and frivolous self—couldn't he just ignore Mrs. Bennet's charming beauty at that time? He wanted to marry her wholeheartedly.

"Not everyone has the chance to regret it, Mr. Wickham. Frankly speaking, I am very touched that you can examine your heart and rein in the precipice—after all, not everyone has the courage like you, but..." Benedict Mr. Te changed the topic, "Unfortunately, you don't complain that I give my daughter too little dowry, but I have to worry about what kind of life you will give my daughter in the future." His sharp eyes looked directly at The anxious young man said, "Of course, there is an assumption before this, assuming that my daughter is already married to you——Dear Mr. Wickham, I am not deliberately making things difficult for you—but I sincerely hope that you can Understand how a father feels about his daughter."

Mr. Bennet sighed, "Lydia is my youngest daughter. Although I can't give her a good life, I have never made her work hard for three meals. I don't want her to marry because her husband can't support her." She and the children are suffering, and it's something that parents have to think about, even if it's very real and jaw-dropping."

"Mr. Bennett, of course I don't blame you for this. On the contrary, I am very moved—" The officer, who was not hit by the host of the Bennett family, said solemnly, "I know this is you No one has the right to desecrate the sincerity towards my daughter—I also understand your considerations about the future of me and Miss Lydia, yes, yes, I have nothing now, how can you be sure that I can give you I fully understand your feelings about a happy and peaceful life for my daughter, but I also ask you to give me a chance to cheer myself up."

"A chance to cheer up?" Mr. Bennett repeated with interest.

"Yes, Mr. Bennett." Wickham bravely looked straight at his future father-in-law, "Before I fell in love with your daughter, my life was muddled and I didn't have the slightest pursuit. After falling in love with you After my daughter, I realized how ridiculous I was in the past-I couldn't wait to correct it, but I was afraid that my beloved girl would be snatched away by other outstanding men in the middle of my hard work. For this reason, I just I can take a risk and make a big gamble," Wickham's voice became impassioned, "I hope you can see that your daughter and I are happy, give me two years, and I will In the past two years, I have worked hard and shown my sincerity—if by that time I still can't let you betroth your little daughter to me with peace of mind, then I will willingly let you go and never pester you again."

"You have a strong tone." Mr. Bennet said solemnly.

"That's because love has given me infinite strength and courage." Wickham, who quickly glanced at the corner of the skirt at the door, held back his teeth and said in a singing tone.

Mr. Bennett's mouth twitched, "A girl's youth is very precious, who can be sure that my daughter will not fall in love with someone else." He put the teacup in his hand on the leather cushion, "Although this sentence is not It's up to me to say, but—girls of fifteen or sixteen don't take love as seriously as adults, they are like dewdrops on flowers in the morning, and often evaporate with the sun rising."

"It may be so with other girls," said Wickham unmoved, "but your daughter is different, and it seems to me that the flower of love that bloomed because of me and Lydia did not have dew on it, It is a diamond, an indestructible existence." He said solemnly, "Mr. Bennett, you may find it ridiculous, but I still want to say - Miss Lydia and I sincerely want to be with each other. Mutual promise for life. We love each other and promise to grow old together."

"Oh, oh, oh!" Mrs. Bennett, who had been eavesdropping outside for an unknown amount of time, burst in tearfully, waving a handkerchief, "Hard-hearted Mr. Bennett! Why are you still hesitating! Promise him! Promise the poor Mr. Wickham! I'm sure he'll be kind to our daughter—what a match they are!"