Mrs. Charlotte Collins,
This letter will be brief, and, unfortunately, unpleasant. I believe you will be greatly disturbed by what I have to inform you of, as was I when I first was told of it earlier this evening. Lydia would argue that I should not be the one to tell you of this matter, however her attitude towards it is not appropriate for the situation, in my opinion, at least, and her elation previous to her making this announcement had everybody believing that her news was pleasant, though to some of us, it was not. Therefore, when Lydia delivered this news, it was a horrific shock to myself and the others who have disagreed with the Wickham marriage from the beginning. Hence the decision that I should be the one to tell you of this tragic event.
Therefore, I must regretfully inform you that young, innocent, foolish little Lydia is with child.
I am aware that, usually, this type of news is received with an overabundance of joy, which it was in the case of Mrs Bennet, Kitty, and Mary; however, for the rest of us, it was not so. You are already aware of my disliking towards Mr Wickham, as well as Lydia's foolishness; therefore there was not the slightest of possibilities of this news being celebrated by myself nor Jane.
I should have been expecting this to happen. Lydia is married, and marriage leads to the bearing of many children. I assume that I did not believe she would be foolish enough to do so as quickly as she has chosen to, which, if my assumption is correct, was my mistake. Underestimating Lydia's foolishness is illogical. I can only pray that Lydia, as the summers go by, could begin to realize her behavior, and perhaps, in noticing it, change the way she acts. Yet, until that happens, she will continue to embarrass myself and Mr Bennet with her actions. Lydia has been silly all of her lifetime; there is little hope for her, in my opinion.
I apologize that I have nothing pleasant to inform you of, and that this news' unpleasantness was of such a large magnitude. I wish not to burden you with worry; my only incentive was to prevent you the shock of the news as is guaranteed when presented by Lydia. I pray the rest of your day is pleasant.
Yours, Mrs Darcy
