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“You must not be too severe upon yourself,” Elliot said.
“You may well warn me against such an evil. Human nature is so prone to fall into it!” Mr. Bennet replied. “But no, my boy, let me once in my life feel how much I have been to blame. I am not afraid of being overpowered by the impression. It will pass away soon enough.”
The long awaited, heavily anticipated, letter came just a few days later by express. Jack and Elliot were down by the river when it arrived but were soon made aware of its contents as Mr. Bennet joined them there.
“Read it aloud, Elliot,” he said, “for I hardly know myself what it is about.”
“It is from our uncle,” Elliot said as he scanned the page. “He writes that he is, at last, able to send some tidings of Louis and hopes they will give us satisfaction.”
“Then tell us of them!” Jack demanded.
“Soon after you left me on Saturday, I was fortunate enough to find out in what part of London they were in,” Elliot read. “The particulars I reserve till we meet. It is enough to know they are discovered. I have seen them both?—”
“Then it is as we hoped,” Jack asked. “They are married?”
“No,” Elliot said as he read on. “Our uncle has seen them both. They are not married, nor could he find there was any intention of them being so.”
Jack gasped at that.
“If you are willing to perform the engagements which I have ventured to make on your side, I hope it will not be long before they are,” Elliot continued to read. “All that is required of you is to give your permission for him to marry before he is of age, and then to assure by settlement, his equal share of the five thousand pounds secured among your children after the decease of yourself and my sister, and, moreover, to enter into an engagement of allowing Louis, during your life, one hundred pounds per annum. These are conditions which, considering everything, I had no hesitation in complying with, as far as I thought myself privileged, for you. I shall send this by express, that no time may be lost in bringing me your answer. You will easily comprehend, from these particulars, that Mr. Wickham’s circumstances are not so hopeless as they are generally believed to be,” Elliot continued. “The world has been deceived in that respect; and I am happy to say there will be some little money, even when all his debts are discharged, to settle on Louis, in addition to his own fortune. If, as I conclude will be the case, you send me full powers to act in your name throughout the whole of this business, I will immediately give direction for preparing a proper settlement. There will not be the smallest occasion for your coming to town again therefore stay quiet at Longbourn and depend on my diligence and care. Send back your answer as fast as you can and be careful to write explicitly.” Elliot paused. “Our uncle judges that it is best that they be married from their house, of which they hope you will approve,” he concluded.
“Wickham is not so undeserving, then, as we thought him,” Jack said after a moment.
“Let us write back immediately,” Elliot said, turning to walk back to the house. “And be clear the terms are to be complied with.”
“Complied with! I am only ashamed of his asking so little,” Mr. Bennet said as he and Jack followed. “But there are two things that I want very much to know. One is, how much money your uncle has laid down to bring about this marriage and the other, how am I ever to pay him.”
“What do you mean, sir?” Jack asked.
“I mean, that no man in his senses would marry Louis on so slight a temptation as one hundred a year during my life, and fifty after I am gone.”
“That is very true,” Elliot said, “This piece about his circumstances not being as desperate as we thought. They are desperate, we all know that to be the case. Wickham has no money, but he does have many debts to be discharged. There would be no money for them or anything else, I would venture.” He looked at Mr. Bennet. “How much have our uncles paid?”
“Wickham’s a fool if he takes Louis for a farthing less than ten thousand pounds.”
“Ten thousand pounds! Heaven forbid! How is half such a sum to be repaid?”
Mr. Bennet made no answer, and each of them, deep in thought, continued silent till they reached the house. Mr. Bennet then went on to the library to write his response, and Jack and Elliot went to inform Mrs. Bennet of the news.
“The worst of it is that we must be thankful for this outcome!” Elliot said as they walked upstairs. “Small as is their chance of happiness, and wretched as is his character, we are forced to rejoice!”
“I am going to comfort myself with thinking that he certainly would not marry Louis if he had not a real regard for him.”
“It is a false comfort,” Elliot said.
“Perhaps,” Jack replied. “But I must have some comfort, as I find myself worrying excessively now about our uncles. I cannot believe that ten thousand pounds, or anything like it, has been advanced. They have children of their own and may have more. How could they spare half of ten thousand pounds?”
“The kindness of our uncles is significant,” Elliot said as they approached Mrs. Bennet’s room. “Our gratitude alone will never be sufficient repayment for all they have done for Louis.”
Mrs. Bennet did not see it quite the same way. She could hardly contain herself once she heard the news and her maladies, which had been numerous, were now forgotten. Her agony turned to delight as she praised Louis rather than their uncles.
“My dear, dear Louis!” she cried. “This is delightful indeed! He will be married! I shall see him again! He will be married at just nineteen! What a wonderful boy!”
“The praise should be to our uncles,” Jack said. “Not our thoughtless brother!”
Had Elliot said such a thing Mrs. Bennet would not have heard him but given it was Jack she paused and conceded, “Yes, my good, kind brother! I knew how it would be. I knew he would manage everything!”
“At great expense!” Elliot said and Mrs. Bennet waved the words away.
