[Pride and Prejudice] Dear Lydia

Baroness Morland has lately been stranded in Devonshire with her aunt Lady Briggs.

Mrs. Briggs suffered a sudden illness last December, which nearly killed her. She suffered a lot and suffered a great shock. After recovering, she was very attached to her relatives.

As her most beloved niece, the Baroness is obliged to spend as much time with her elderly as possible. In March, she took her to Netherfield to attend a party hosted by Mr. Pitt, and then accompanied her back to Devon. , It was not until the beginning of May that I was able to escape.

She was indeed full of concern for her dear aunt, but being used to life in London and thinking about Mr. Pitt, after a few months in Devonshire, she was ready to return home.

On the second day back in London, Baroness Moran couldn't wait to visit Mr. Pitt.

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"Mrs. Wickham, you—you—why are you here," said the baroness, never expecting that when she entered the door happily, she saw Lydia in Mr. Pitt's house, and she was almost rude in surprise.

"Baroness Moran." Lydia was very happy to see her, "Have you just returned to London? I wanted to visit you when I first came, and I found out that you are still in Devonshire after I inquired."

"Thank you, I just came back from Devonshire yesterday." Baroness Moran asked calmly, "Are you—?"

Lydia held a list in her hand, "Mr. Pete is planning to hold a small dance at home in two days, please ask Lois to help him prepare it. I happen to be going to visit Mrs. Walter today, so I will help Lois Send Krell a list of things to prepare."

Clare is the servant in charge of Mr. Pete. When Mr. Pete's carriage hit Lydia, he was left to clean up the mess, so he can be regarded as Lydia's old acquaintance.

Baroness Morland and Lydia stood in the hall and talked for 5 minutes, and then she roughly figured out her situation—come to London to meet Mr. Wickham who was on vacation.

Because Lydia was still in a hurry to go to Walter's house, she expressed her joy of meeting again and politely greeted the Baroness's aunt before leaving.

Mr. Peter and several gentlemen made an appointment to meet in the lounge of the House of Lords in the morning, and they were not at home at this time. Baroness Moran often encountered such situations in the past when she came to look for him but he happened to be absent. Served myself a glass of rum shipped from the West Indies, sat down and waited patiently.

Krell personally delivered the rum to Baroness Moran, "Your drink, Baroness, Mr. Pete doesn't leave until eleven o'clock, I'm afraid you have to wait a little longer."

"It's okay, I'm not in a hurry." The baroness took the glass and smiled at him, "Thank you! Claire."

Then he asked casually, "How have you been doing lately? George has been running back and forth between Netherfield and London since he bought it. Are you guys busy?"

Claire has served Mr. Pete for many years, and he is very familiar with the Baroness, so he didn't see any outsiders, and replied directly, "Thank you for your concern, I'm fine, Mr. Pete likes life in the country, so it's not like you guessed Running so often, it's actually the second time he's been in town since Christmas."

The baroness gently stroked the wine glass with her slender and fair fingers, "Country life does have a lot of nostalgia, but when you move to a new place, you will always face the problem of lacking friends and acquaintances. I hope he lives in the country. There was no loneliness or boredom during Thurfield."

Claire smiled, "How is this possible? Mr. Pete is not a sentimental lady. He went to live in the country to enjoy the quietness and leisure there. If he wants to live in London, he can stay in London. Besides, there is Miss Mallard over there." Mrs. Wickham, Miss Mallard's friend, was also very fond of Mr. Pitt, and Mr. Pitt sometimes visited the Bennets with Miss Mallard. Mr. Goulding of Haye Park and Mr. Meryton's Mr. Robinson and others often come to Netherfield to visit, and I think this is enough for Mr. Pitt, so he will certainly not be lonely and boring."

Baroness Moran said seemingly unintentionally, "I saw Mrs. Wickham just now, and she said she came to deliver something and left. It's really weird. Does George see her as similar to Lois now? Are you close?"

Regarding the relationship between Mr. Pitt and Mrs. Wickham, Krell thinks he knows some things that others don't. The onlookers thought it was quite interesting, and it was no wonder that Mrs. Wickham was different in Mr. Pete's eyes. She smiled mysteriously, "Miss Mallard is a relative of Mr. Pete, how can this be the same."

"Oh—" the baroness drew her voice, "Claire, why do you say that?"

It's a pity that Krell, who was always willing to talk to her a few more words, refused to elaborate on this topic. Just in time, a servant came in to announce, "Mrs. de Boer is here."

Clare is the manager of Mr. Pitt's residence in London. When he heard that Mr. Pitt's godmother was coming, he ordered Mrs. de Boer to be brought into the living room and asked her to sit with the baroness.

Mrs. de Boer has always been quite polite and enthusiastic when dealing with people whose status is no lower than her own. She also knows that the Baroness is a close friend of Mr. Pitt, so she intentionally chats with her kindly after sitting down.

After the two sides talked for a while, the Baroness made an interesting discovery, "Madam, you seem to have a bad impression of Mrs. Wickham?"

"Hmph, although I am extremely reluctant to speak ill of others behind their backs, there is nothing to be polite to this kind of woman. She is even the sister-in-law of my nephew Mr. Darcy," Mrs. de Boer's face was full of contempt and disdain. Hate said, "It stands to reason that I should be tolerant of her vulgar and shameful problems for Darcy's sake. I can honestly say that Lydia Wickham is the worst female liar I know, and I will spare no effort to expose her true colors to everyone I know, lest they be deceived by her!"

"Oh!" The baroness opened her mouth slightly in surprise, "If this is the case, I think the first person you need to dissuade is your godson, Mr. Pitt. As far as I know, Mrs. Wickham has always had some contacts with him. Yes. But, with all due respect, may I ask why you think Mrs. Wickham is a bad liar?"

The fact that Lydia had teased Miss de Boer could not, of course, be told openly and in detail to all, so Mrs. de Boer demeaned Lydia as best she could in the strongest terms she could find, and finally He concluded, "Some things she has done are too bad for people to say. It is not convenient for me to say more, but please believe me, her behavior is infinitely more terrifying than what I said!"

The baroness frowned and pondered for a moment, then raised her eyes and smiled cordially at Mrs. de Boer, "Mrs. de Boer, allow me to give some unreasonable advice. I'm afraid your godson, Mr. Pitt, will not be happy to hear these words now. He seems to have a good impression of Mrs. Wickham, and he has a good impression."

Mrs. De Boer raised her eyebrows, "That woman does have some tricks to deceive people, but I will never shrink from it. Seeing my godson being deceived and ignored, tell you the truth, Baroness, I have already done everything George has been told of this woman's wicked conduct."

The baroness also raised her eyebrows with a surprised tone, "But I just saw Mrs. Wickham here this morning. If you had come half an hour earlier, you would have seen her too."

Mrs. de Boer's face suddenly became ugly, "Oh my God! This cunning woman! I don't know how she explained that matter to George and got his forgiveness, but I will never just let it go."

The baroness said in a gentle tone, "Madam, I can understand your concern for your godson, but now that he thinks Mrs. Wickham is very good, it must be difficult for him to listen to other people's harsh advice. This kind of thing If you don't handle it well, it may destroy the relationship between your godmother and godson. George and I have been friends for many years, and I really don't want to see this happen, so I want to say a few more words without being afraid of being annoying. Mrs. de Boer, If you really think there is something wrong with that woman, and you have solid evidence to prove it, you might as well use some other indirect ways to prevent her from communicating with George. I actually have some small suggestions for this, but I am afraid that you will say it out. I feel like I’m pointing fingers at you, or if there are any bad consequences in the future, you should bear a grudge against me,” he said with a soft sigh, “Oh, I really don’t know whether I should say it or not, but in fact I did it out of A painstaking care for one's friends."

Mrs. de Boer immediately asked her not to be so cautious and polite when she spoke to herself, "Oh, don't worry, Baroness, I am by no means the kind of narrow-minded person. If you have any advice, please tell me."

The baroness continued to help her with good intentions, "She is the wife and sister of your nephew Mr. Darcy, so it is Mr. Darcy who should take care of my sister-in-law and make her not do something embarrassing that will affect the dignity of all relatives and friends." What is obligatory to do...Her parents are also obliged to discipline their misbehaving daughter, and find a stable person who can speak in front of her father to persuade her father to take good care of her daughter...As far as I know, Wei In fact, Mrs. Keum has few friends who can stand on the stage, except for General Walter's family and Mrs. Pitt's cousin, Ms. Lois Mallard. As long as her friends recognize her true face, they will no longer want to talk to her. She, then she will naturally lose a lot of opportunities to appear beside Mr. Pete..."

"Oh, my dear Baroness, you've really thought of me! God, I'm more thoughtful than I thought," said Mrs. de Boer, pleasantly surprised that she had found a confidant. "I'm so sorry for George. You are such a friend who sincerely thinks about him, and I am happy for him! To tell you the truth, I have already done the first two methods you mentioned. As for the good suggestions behind, I don’t think it is difficult, and I have a solution do it."

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Lydia's London reunion with Mr. Wickham went more smoothly than she had expected.

Because of Mr. Wickham's natural appearance advantage and sweet temper, there is no shortage of women around London, a bustling place. He doesn't mind Lydia's reluctance to live with him, but feels more free.

Lydia didn't have too high demands on him, and she was satisfied as long as she didn't cause trouble and didn't bother herself. Therefore, Mr. Wickham came to Hill Street twice for dinner like a very pleasant guest, and gave her After talking vividly with Miss Mallard about a bunch of experiences at sea, the three got along well, and even Miss Mallard didn't have any objections to him. After all, it is impossible for every couple in this world to be happy. It is also a kind of luck not to interfere with each other.

"Lydia, I think you are in a good state now, as long as you can clarify the property issue in the future, there is nothing to worry about." Miss Mallard told Lydia one morning.

"I think so too, Lois," said Lydia, opening a letter she had just received from her mother, Mrs. Is it too pitiful to be lonely after love?"

Miss Mallard shrugged, "I don't worry about this for you. I didn't get married until I was 38 years old, and I don't plan to marry in the future. I live quite comfortably. Besides, you have enjoyed handsome men. How about it, anyway, I don't see anything pitiful about you."

Lydia covered her mouth and smiled, Miss Mallard's words were really more and more to her appetite.

She lowered her head to read her mother's letter. Mrs. Bennett always only loved long speeches, and her patience for writing was very limited, so the letter was not long, and she only briefly introduced the situation at home.

Jane is fine, and Mr. Bingley will be back soon; Mary is also fine, still obsessed with reading and learning; she is also fine, but needs to take care of Jane every day; Mr. Bennet is still the same, energetic and healthy Very often, I always have the time to say some sarcastic remarks to annoy my wife; finally, I mentioned that the neighbor Charlotte has been running to their house recently to chat with Jane, or to sit in Mr. Bennett's study. It made Mrs. Bennet a little strange. She didn't know what common topic Mr. Bennet and his daughter's friends had to talk about, but she didn't care too much about it, so she just talked about it as a new story.

"Strange, what does Charlotte always do with Dad?" Lydia said to herself.

Miss Mallard asked casually, "Has she taken a fancy to your father?"

"Pfft!" Lydia stared, "Lois, you are too outspoken, how is that possible?"

Because Miss Mallard stayed out of the matter, she could always look at the problem with detached and objective eyes, and her words were straightforward and without reservation, "There are only two possibilities for that Mrs. Collins and your father to suddenly become close. The first is the relationship I just had. The reason I mentioned; the second is that they discussed something together that everyone should not know, at least not your mother and sisters.”

Lydia rubbed her forehead, "Oh, Lois, why didn't you guess that they suddenly had a common hobby, so they got together to talk."

Miss Mallard continued to speak bluntly, "Unfortunately, this possibility is extremely low. I suggest that your mother be more vigilant. Even if Mrs. Collins is not coveting your father, she must be doing something that your mother does not want to see, otherwise there will be no Always hide in the study if necessary."

Lydia pondered, "What you said seems to make sense."