[Pride and Prejudice] Dear Lydia

Lydia followed Miss Mallard to the party hosted by the Earl of Chatham, and was surprised to hear that the Earl did not live with his son when he left. He and Mr. Pitt each had a residence in the city.

When I went to the place, I found that compared with Mr. Pitt's residence, Lord Chatham's house was more spacious and fashionable. The living room was brightly lit, elegantly decorated, and full of style.

In order not to be rude, Lydia carefully dressed up before going out, more serious than going to the grandest ball.For the first time, Miss Mallard also departed from her usual austerity, wearing a long gray muslin dress with a long double layer of beads and a pale bow choker.The two appeared handsomely together in the Earl of Chatham's drawing room.

Mr. Peter was helping his father entertain the guests. When he saw Lydia and Miss Mallard walking into the hall together, his eyes lit up. He felt that Lydia's dress today was the most graceful and elegant he had ever seen. She looked beautiful. colorful.

But after a few more glances, Mr. Pete frowned and became worried again.His father is a person who is keen on painting and has always been very sensitive to the word "beauty". Mrs. Wickham's dress is too beautiful tonight, maybe it will suddenly catch his eyes.

It stands to reason that Mr. Pete is not a suspicious person, and he doesn't want to interfere with his father's private life.

But this time Lady Wickham was involved, and his father, the Earl of Chatham, had shown an extraordinary preference for Lady Wickham from the first, and he could not help worrying about it.

Preventing problems before they are burned is what a rigorous and serious person should do most.

Lydia and Miss Mallard came to him first, and after greeting each other, Mr. Pitt complimented Lydia very restrainedly, "Mrs. Wickham, you are very beautiful today, and you look in good spirits."

"Thank you. I appreciate the compliment!"

Miss Mallard coughed, and Mr. Pitt turned to her, "Lois, you look very well dressed today, very elegant."

Miss Mallard was dissatisfied with her cousin's reaction, and thought I didn't remind you to praise me, but I wanted to remind you not to be so courteous to Lydia.

Just as he was about to speak again, he vaguely reminded him that Mr. Pete had already suggested to Lydia that they go to the side to drink a cup of hot drink prepared by Mrs. Mina to refresh themselves before there were many guests.

Mrs. Mina is the favorite cook of the Earl of Chatham. No matter where the Earl goes, she will be accompanied by her servants. She has a superb skill in making delicious hot drinks with spirits, crushed almonds, egg liquid and some special spices. Skills, the taste of fun made by her is unique, and you can't drink it elsewhere.

Lydia readily agreed to this tempting suggestion, so Mr. Pete personally accompanied them to the long table where the drinks were placed, first picked up a glass and handed it to his cousin, Miss Mallard, and then carefully selected a glass and it was served After a while, he handed it to Lydia, "Mrs. Wickham, please try it."

"Thank you!" Lydia took it, tasted it, and found that the taste was really good. It was indeed the drink provided by the Earl's house, and it was better than what she drank elsewhere, so she raised the glass and wanted to take advantage of the temperature. Close your mouth and drink the whole glass.

Another gentleman came by just at this moment, and Mr Pitt turned to greet him, not wanting to make too much of a turn, and bumped his elbow into Lydia's glass hand, and Lydia said, 'Oops' With a sound, the cup in his hand was knocked over.

The accident happened unexpectedly. Although both Lydia and Mr. Pete stepped back in a hurry, it was of no avail. Half of a large glass of fun wine was spilled on Lydia, and the other part was served on Mr. Pete's sleeve. The ground was also sprinkled a lot.

Miss Mallard exclaimed in a low voice, "My God, how did this happen!"

Lydia's skirt became unreadable in an instant, it was stained the color of wine, and it was wet from the chest down, and the wet part stuck to her body.

Mr. Pitt's image is not much better than Lydia's. Unfortunately, he is wearing a new coat today. The material is the most fashionable thin wool in London this season. It should be thinner and softer, and it fits comfortably. Unfortunately, it can't help the blisters, and the place where the wine is stained immediately shows a large group of stains.

Lydia looked at her drink very depressedly, and wanted to complain about how Mr. Pete could be so careless, but she was embarrassed to say more after seeing that Mr. Pete was also in a mess.

Mr. Pete was dumbfounded by the sudden accident, and then he realized that he was extremely sorry, "It was all my carelessness, I am so sorry, Mrs. Wickham, please forgive my negligence! Are you all right?"

Lydia took a deep breath, suppressed the troubles in her heart, and smiled, "It's okay, but I need you to ask you to find a maid to take me to the room to clean up."

Mr. Pitt seemed to be very guilty of this little accident he had accidentally caused, and with a face of apology, he found a clever maid and asked her to take Lydia upstairs to the guest room to tidy up the messy clothes.

Miss Mallard went upstairs together, and watched Lydia take off her wet skirt and hand it to the maid to wash, "What should I do now? There must be no suitable clothes for you here, so I have to send a servant back Take it," she suggested.

Lydia pouted, seeing such a fact as soon as she entered the door affected her mood, and she agreed helplessly, "That's the way it is. I hope the dinner party here is not over when I get the clothes back."

Miss Mallard was also somewhat disappointed by this matter, "Then I'll find a fast-running servant to do this." After speaking, she left in a hurry.

"Hey, hey, Lois!" Lydia called Miss Mallard from behind, wanting her to let the maid just now bring her a book for entertainment, so as not to be bored, but Miss Mallard's movements Has always been swift, has quickly gone downstairs.

Lydia was helpless, she was only wearing corsets and petticoats, and she was wrapped in a small blanket provided by the maid. It was not cold, but this kind of image could not go out and wander around anyway, and could only be honest. stay in the room.

"Mrs. Wickham, I'm afraid you'll be bored sitting alone, so I'll bring you two books..." The door was suddenly pushed open, and Mr. Pitt strode in. After seeing Lydia's appearance clearly, he didn't know what to say. He made a sound and opened his eyes slightly.

Lydia was embarrassed, she was actually dressed from top to bottom, and she didn't reveal the parts that shouldn't be exposed, but this kind of attire wearing only a petticoat corset is really invisible, so I have to pretend to be calm and thank you, " Thank you."

I stretched out my hand to pick it up, and as soon as I lifted my arm, the blanket was not tightly wrapped. I could feel a chill on my chest, so I quickly withdrew my hand, complaining in my heart why the maid brought me such a small blanket, and I laughed dryly, "Trouble Just put it on the table for me. I can’t find a change of clothes here, so I have to wait like this, and Lois has already ordered the servant to go back and get it.”

Mr. Pete's eyes swept across her quickly, then he looked away and coughed, "Sorry, I was in a hurry to see you, and I forgot to knock on the door first."

Handed two books to Lydia's hand stretched out from under the blanket, "Look and pass the time." Then he said, "Wait a minute, my father should be able to find a few here that you can temporarily wear The clothes I'm wearing have already been taken out by someone." After speaking, he turned around and went out again.

Although he seemed calm, his speech and movements were very stiff, probably more embarrassing than Lydia.

This reaction from Mr. Pitt reassured Lydia well that she was not the one who was most uncomfortable.Looking at the hastily closed door and shaking her head, Lydia picked up the book in her hand and flipped through it.

Mr. Pitt had sent her two recent copies of the Quarterly Review, a popular but conservative journal, which Mr. Bennet was too lazy to read, so Longbourne did not subscribe.

Lydia is a little interested in this kind of reading material. Because she is too advanced in thinking, she sometimes unknowingly speaks some inappropriate arguments, so she needs to read such conservative reading material frequently as a reference.I have been borrowing from Walter's house recently, and Mr. Pete saw it once, but he remembered it unexpectedly, and found two copies for him, which is considered intentional.

After less than 5 minutes, a maid brought her some long skirts, "Mrs. Wickham, Mr. Pete said he didn't know which one you like, so let me bring them all and pick one for yourself." .”

"Oh, that's great," Lydia said thankfully that she finally didn't have to spend a deserted night alone in her room wrapped in a blanket.

Spread out a few skirts and take a closer look. The materials of the clothes are very good, and the workmanship is exquisite. The lace ribbons on the skirt corners and cuffs are very high-end. Ask the maid, "Is this the clothes of an old lady?" With such a style and color, maybe she will be just right in another 30 years.