“I have been thinking it over again,Elizabeth,”said her uncle,as they drove from the town;“and really,upon serious consideration, I am much more inclined than I was to judge as your eldest sister does on the matter. It appears to me so very unlikely that any young man should form such a design against a girl who is by no means unprotected or friendless,and who was actually staying in his colonel's family,that I am strongly inclined to hope the best. Could he expect that her friends would not step forward?Could he expect to be noticed again by the regiment,after such an affront to Colonel Forster?His temptation is not adequate to the risk!”
“Do you really think so?”cried Elizabeth,brightening up for a moment.
“And do you really know all this?”cried Mrs.Gardiner,whose curiosity as to the mode of her intelligence was all alive.
“It does seem,and it is most shocking indeed,”replied Elizabeth, with tears in her eyes,“that a sister's sense of decency and virtue in such a point should admit of doubt. But, really, I know not what to say.Perhaps I am not doing her justice.But she is very young;she has never been taught to think on serious subjects;and for the last half-year,nay,for a twelvemonth―she has been given up to nothing but amusement and vanity. She has been allowed to dispose of her time in the most idle and frivolous manner,and to adopt any opinions that came in her way. Since the―shire were first quartered in Meryton,nothing but love,flirtation,and officers have been in her head. She has been doing everything in her power by thinking and talking on the subject, to give greater―what shall I call it?susceptibility to her feelings;which are naturally lively enough.And we all know that Wickham has every charm of person and address that can captivate a woman.”