Lydia and Mary - An adaptation of Pride and Prejudice

Chapter 7

A week later...

I awoke to the sound of pounding hooves and carriage wheels spinning. Feeling a need to find out who might have come to visit us so early in the morning, I quickly got dressed and hurried down to the main entrance of the house.

Standing by the door was a teenager who seemed to be slightly younger than I was. She was sobbing vigorously and had a handkerchief in her hand. The rest of the family surrounded her, and behind her stood an older couple, the Gardiners probably, both looking extremely confused.

'What's happened, my darling?' Mama asked; 'Where's Mr. Wickham?' The teenager continued sobbing, not looking up to answer her mother's questions. Pulling out a piece of paper from his pocket, Mr. Gardiner handed it to Mama who read it before handing it to Papa. 'We are ruined!' She cried whilst reading it. 'How could you have been so silly as to tell Edward so, Mr. Bennet! What will others think? Everybody will know about it soon enough, and our family's reputation will be ruined! No respectable man would want to marry our other daughters, and who will provide for them when you are dead!?' she continued, pushing the letter into her husband's hands.

I stepped forward, ready to yell at her as my rage surged within me once more upon hearing what she'd said. However, before I had the chance to do so, Papa turned to Uncle Gardiner and said, 'Hadn't you noticed that the handwriting's different? This letter wasn't written by me. Is there not some way to rectify the situation? Lydia has to marry Mr. Wickham.'

'No.' I cried; my anger intense. Everyone turned to stare at me, probably remembering what I'd said on the day when Uncle Gardiner's letter regarding Lydia's disappearance arrived. I looked at them all, my gaze direct. 'No woman should have to marry somebody who doesn't love her just so as to patch up a mistake that she's made. Besides, it was likely to be Wickham's fault too, and not entirely Lydia's. Since none of us actually know what happened, perhaps we should let Lydia tell us her side of the story.'

'But what about the letter that she'd left behind on the day she ran away?' Aunt Gardiner said, referring to the rude and thoughtless letter that Lydia had written, and left lying on the table on the day of her departure with Mr. Wickham. 'Lydia, what exactly happened?' I said gently, ignoring Aunt Gardiner glare and resting my hand on Lydia's shoulder. 'I thought he loved me initially... I really did...' she said through sobs. 'The letter?' Aunt Gardiner pressed. 'I didn't write it. Wickham left it on the table before taking my hand and asking me to follow him out. He had two horses waiting outside and he told me to get onto one of them. Getting onto the other horse, he took its reins and told me that we would only be gone for a while, but instead he took me to an inn that was located miles away and did all sorts of awful things to me. I was unwilling to follow him initially, but he insisted that I did.' She said, still crying.

I turned around to Papa and looked him square in the face. 'How can you allow Lydia to marry Mr. Wickham?' I questioned him; 'Is our family's reputation more important than Lydia's well-being?' Looking back at Lydia, I said, 'Nobody would blame you for running away if you told them what had really taken place. Besides, I sure you'll be able to find a husband who deserves you if you do choose to get married in future. You'll just have to show him that the girl who ran away deliberately wasn't you, and that you will never do such a thing.' 'Moreover,' I proceeded, turning to Papa; 'Marriage isn't the only way for a woman to provide herself with financial security. Even if my sisters and I do not manage to get married, we can still support ourselves by working as governesses. Please, you can't force Lydia to marry Mr. Wickham after what he's done to her, it just isn't right.' He nodded in agreement, and, facing Lydia he said, 'I'm really sorry Lydia, I just didn't know. I wouldn't have even thought about getting you to marry Mr. Wickham if I had known sooner. Of course, you shouldn't marry Mr. Wickham, and, as Mary's said, you can all support yourselves by working as governesses even if you do not end up getting married...'