Elizabeth finally received an answer to her letter. As soon as she got it, she hurried to a quiet part of the woods where no one would disturb her. She sat down on a bench and opened the envelope. The letter was very long, which made her think that her aunt had a lot to tell her.
"My dear niece," the letter began. "I was surprised by your questions, but I will tell you everything. To be honest, I thought you already knew the truth! Your uncle and I believed you were the reason for Mr. Darcy’s actions. But if you truly don't know, let me explain.
The day I returned from Longbourn, Mr. Darcy came to our house. He stayed for several hours with your uncle. He told us that he had found out where Lydia and Wickham were hiding. He had even talked to them.
He left Derbyshire only one day after we did and went to London specifically to find them. He felt it was his duty to help because he had never told the public the truth about Wickham’s bad character. He believed that if people had known who Wickham really was, Lydia would never have fallen in love with him.
He found them through a woman named Mrs. Younge. She used to be his sister’s teacher, but he had fired her for being dishonest. He knew she was a friend of Wickham’s. At first, she wouldn't tell him anything, but eventually, he found the address.
Mr. Darcy saw Wickham first, and then he insisted on seeing Lydia. He tried to persuade her to leave Wickham and come home, but she refused. She didn't care about her family; she only wanted to stay with Wickham. She was sure they would get married eventually.
Since Lydia would not leave, Mr. Darcy realized the only way to save her reputation was to make the marriage happen quickly. But he soon found out that Wickham had no intention of marrying her! Wickham wanted to leave the army because of his huge gambling debts and hoped to marry a rich woman later.
However, Wickham could not resist a large amount of money. Mr. Darcy paid all of Wickham’s debts—more than a thousand pounds—and paid for his new job in the army. He also settled another thousand pounds on Lydia.
The most amazing part, Lizzy, is that Mr. Darcy insisted on paying for everything himself. Your uncle wanted to help, but Mr. Darcy was very firm. He wanted no one to know what he had done. He let your uncle take the credit so the secret would be safe.
But Lizzy, I must tell you, your uncle only agreed because he believed Mr. Darcy was doing this for you. He is a wonderful man, and I hope you are not angry with me for saying how much I like him. He hardly mentioned your name, but he was very interested in everything about you."
Elizabeth was in shock. She felt a mix of pleasure and pain. Mr. Darcy had done all of this! He had gone into the dirty parts of London to find her sister. He had met with a woman he hated and spoken to a man he despised. He had spent a fortune to save her family from disgrace.
"He did it for me," her heart whispered. But then she felt a wave of sadness. How could he ever want to be her husband now? By helping Lydia, he had become the brother-in-law of Wickham, the man he hated most in the world. His pride would surely prevent him from joining such a family. She felt so ashamed of how she had treated him in the past.
Just then, Wickham approached her in the garden.
"I hope I am not interrupting your walk, sister?" he said with a fake smile.
"You are," she replied, "but it doesn't matter."
Wickham began to talk about Pemberley. "I hear you have seen Mr. Darcy's estate. Did you talk to the housekeeper, Mrs. Reynolds? She was always very fond of me."
"Yes, she mentioned you," Elizabeth said. "She said you had gone into the army and she was afraid you had not turned out very well."
Wickham bit his lip, looking annoyed. He tried to change the subject. "I was surprised to see Darcy in London last month. I wonder what he was doing there?"
"Perhaps he was preparing for his wedding to Miss de Bourgh," Elizabeth said, testing him.
Wickham looked uncomfortable. He then started to complain about the money and the church job he felt Mr. Darcy had "stolen" from him. He wanted Elizabeth to feel sorry for him.
But Elizabeth knew the truth now. She looked at him and said calmly, "Come, Mr. Wickham. We are brother and sister now. Let us not fight about the past. I hope we will always agree in the future."
She held out her hand, and Wickham kissed it, though he looked very confused. Elizabeth walked back to the house, feeling that she finally understood the difference between a man who was charming and a man who was truly honorable.