Chapter 51
The Wickhams come to Longbourn
English edition
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1 Longbourn rests in late-summer quiet before the newly married couple arrives.
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2 Mrs. Bennet turns towards the breakfast-room door with a broadening smile
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3 Lydia rushes into Mrs. Bennet’s rapturous embrace
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4 Mrs. Bennet warmly welcomes Wickham as her son-in-law.
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5 Mr. Bennet settles into a grave silence as the family's welcome continues around him.
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6 Lydia and Mrs. Bennet fill Longbourn’s breakfast room with delighted conversation.
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7 Lydia reenacts her display of her wedding ring, smiling toward her mother as she boasts.
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8 Lydia displays her wedding ring while Jane presses her hands together at the table
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9 Elizabeth holds Lydia in a steady, expressive look, her disgust contained within rigid composure.
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10 Elizabeth pauses at the dining-parlour threshold as Lydia claims the chair beside Mrs. Bennet.
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11 Lydia claims Jane’s place beside Mrs. Bennet as a married woman
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12 Lydia shows her wedding ring to Mrs. Hill and two housemaids in the servants’ room
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13 Lydia presents her wedding ring to Mrs. Hill and the two housemaids.
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14 Lydia offers her wedding ring for admiration above the scrubbed pine table.
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15 Lydia declares that her sisters must envy her marriage, basking in Mrs. Bennet’s approval.
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16 During the Wickhams’ visit, Elizabeth finds ease among the neighbours
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17 Lydia’s delighted devotion meets Wickham’s easy attention to the surrounding company.
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18 Lydia rests her hand on Wickham’s forearm, absorbed in her husband.
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19 Lydia’s wedding-ringed hand rests affectionately on Wickham’s sleeve.
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20 Lydia invites Elizabeth to admire her wedding story during a quiet morning with Jane
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21 Elizabeth gently refuses to hear the wedding account, but Lydia leans forward, eager to begin.
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22 Lydia recounts her wedding and Wickham's appearance while her sisters listen uneasily
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23 Lydia cheerfully recounts her uncle’s timely return, seeking Elizabeth’s approval.
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24 Lydia casually names Darcy as a possible substitute at her wedding.
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25 Elizabeth repeats Mr. Darcy’s name in utter amazement.
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26 Lydia’s ring hand rises too late to check her disclosure of Darcy’s presence at the wedding.
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27 Jane quietly promises to respect Lydia’s secret.
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28 Lydia’s cheerful promise of silence tempts Elizabeth to question her.
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29 Elizabeth leaves the conversation before curiosity can overcome her promise of silence.
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30 Elizabeth crosses the breakfast-room threshold before curiosity can overcome her promise of silence.
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31 Elizabeth sits alone with paper and quill, unsettled by Darcy’s presence at Lydia’s wedding.
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32 Elizabeth takes up her quill to write to her aunt about Darcy at Lydia's wedding
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33 Elizabeth begins her private inquiry to Mrs. Gardiner.
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34 Elizabeth writes to Mrs. Gardiner, asking why Darcy was at the wedding
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35 Elizabeth rests her hands beside her completed letter to Mrs. Gardiner.
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36 Jane preserves Lydia’s confidence through gentle silence.
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37 Elizabeth pauses beside her finished letter, keeping her inquiry close.
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38 An empty window seat in the Bennet sisters' bedroom
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39 Elizabeth’s finished letter lies beside her resting quill.
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