As for Wickham and Lydia,their characters suffered no revolution from the marriage of her sisters. He bore with philosophy the conviction that Elizabeth must now become acquainted with whatever of his ingratitude and falsehood had before been unknown to her;and in spite of every thing,was not wholly without hope that Darcy might yet be prevailed on to make his fortune.The congratulatory letter which Elizabeth received from Lydia on her marriage,explained to her that,by his wife at least,if not by himself,such a hope was cherished.The letter was to this effect:
Mary was the only daughter who remained at home; and she was necessarily drawn from the pursuit of accomplishments by Mrs.Bennet's being quite unable to sit alone.Mary was obliged to mix more with the world,but she could still moralize over every morning visit;and as she was no longer mortified by comparisons between her sisters' beauty and her own,it was suspected by her father that she submitted to the change without much reluctance.
Pemberley was now Georgiana's home;and the attachment of the sisters was exactly what Darcy had hoped to see.They were able to love each other even as well as they intended.Georgiana had the highest opinion in the world of Elizabeth;though at first she often listened with an astonishment bordering on alarm at her lively,sportive manner of talking to her brother.He,who had always inspired in herself a respect which almost overcame her affection,she now saw the object of open pleasantry.Her mind received knowledge which had never before fallen in her way.By Elizabeth's instructions,she began to comprehend that a woman may take liberties with her husband which a brother will not always allow in a sister more than ten years younger than himself.