They travelled as quickly as possible, and, having slept one night on the way, reached Longbourn by dinnertime the next day.

The little Gardiners, attracted by the sight of the carriage, were standing on the steps of the house, and the joyful surprise that lit up their faces was the travellers' first welcome.

Elizabeth jumped out, gave each of them a quick kiss, and hurried into the hall, where Jane, who came running downstairs from her mother's room, met her immediately.

As Elizabeth greeted her warmly, tears filled the eyes of both sisters. The younger, though, did not lose a moment before asking whether anything had been heard of the missing pair.

'Not yet,' replied Jane.

'Is our father in town?'

'Yes, he went on Tuesday.'

'And have you heard from him often?'

'Only once, to say that he had arrived and to give me his address. He only added that he would not write again until he had something important to mention.'

'And our mother - how is she?'

'Fairly well, though her nerves are troubling her a great deal, and she is still in bed. Mary and Kitty, thank heaven, are quite well.'

'But you - how are you?' cried Elizabeth. 'You look pale. How much you must have suffered!'

Her sister told her that she was perfectly well, and their conversation, which had been continued while Mr and Mrs Gardiner were with their children, was now ended by the approach of the whole party.

Mrs Bennet, to whose room they all went, received them exactly as might be expected, with tears and expressions of sadness, angry words against Wickham, and complaints of her own sufferings. She blamed everybody but the person who, by bringing up her daughter so carelessly, was chiefly responsible for her faults.

'If I had been able,' she said, 'to go to Brighton with all my family, this would never have happened - but poor dear Lydia had no one to look after her. Poor dear child! And now here's Mr Bennet gone away, and I know he'll fight Wickham, and then he'll be killed, and what will become of us all? The Collinses will turn us out before he is cold in his grave and if you are not kind to us, brother, I do not know what we shall do.'

They all comforted her against such terrible ideas, and Mr Gardiner told her that he would go directly to London and give Mr Bennet every help in his search.