The trip to the theater was a much quieter affair than Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy's first experience at the theater together. Most of high society had already returned to their estates, so only a few people of Mr. Darcy's society were present. The following morning, over tea with Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner, Elizabeth and Lydia described the trip to the theater. Mostly, Lydia kept up the conversation.

"We met Mrs. Steadwell! Of course, the most fashionable are not in attendance, but the third son of a duke! He seemed to enjoy Mr. Denny and Mr. Darcy's company. Perhaps I shall dine with his family one day." Lydia paused for breath as another idea came to her. "As he clearly favored Mr. Denny, perhaps his father will even throw an engagement ball for us!"

Mr. Gardiner scoffed, tired of Lydia's antics. "Last I heard, you were not engaged. Perhaps you shall wait to make such statements until you are officially engaged. You ought to also ensure that your betrothed truly is friends with such a person. Trifling acquaintances would not hold balls, or even host a dinner, in most cases."

"Oh, la! Surely our engagement will be announced soon. I," She tried to continue, but at Elizabeth's cough, Mr. Darcy left the room with a polite nod. Flustered, she turned to Elizabeth. "Why should he not remain? He certainly knows everything, and he is practically my brother."

With a sigh, Elizabeth said, "Brother or not, I wish to spare his sensibilities. Lydia, Mr. Denny will not marry you. His feelings run elsewhere."

"But you said he might marry me!" Lydia squealed.

Elizabeth blushed, "We hoped he would, but he hopes to wed the woman he loves. You would not wish to trap him in a marriage of convenience, would you?"

Lydia pouted as there was only one way she could properly respond to such a question.

Elizabeth, knowing she had the upper hand, smiled affectionately. After a brief pause, Lydia began again. "I thought Wickham loved me. What will become of me now? I am supposed to return married."

Mrs. Gardiner pipped up. "No, you are not. You only came to London to help buy Lizzy's trousseau, remember?"

Lydia seemed to brighten at this thought. "That means I can return to Longbourn, even if I am without a husband!"

Mr. Gardiner coughed. His proper upbringing made him squirm at the thought of Lydia's behavior. If she were his daughter, she would not have a say in where her future lie. His brother-in-law had fewer scruples and would likely allow Lydia to return as though she had never run away in the first place. "There is a chance no one in Meryton will know why you truly left Meryton. There is also a chance Wickham spoke before you left together, or that someone saw you leave. While that does not seem to be the case, you never know when someone with bad intentions will strike. It would be better to limit your interactions with the people of Meryton for some time."

"What shall I do if I cannot go home?"

"You have options." Mr. Gardiner began, "You have spoken of many men you have met with Mr. Darcy. They might take a fancy to you, but you are only a guest here for a few weeks. Men of their stature will court a woman for some time before making any offer. You could live with us. I know quite a few tradesmen who might be willing to take a bride for a price. We could invite them over for dinner. You would not be required to pick one of them."

"No! I shall not be a tradesman's wife. They are so dull! I wish for excitement. Mrs. Forster wrote to me. Mr. Denny brought me her letter. She misses me. Mr. Wickham is a deserter. No one would believe his tales if he did tell anyone."

"They may despise him, but they will likely also believe such gossip." Mrs. Gardiner stated. "Surely this is not new to you."

Lydia pouted again, "It is not my fault Mr. Wickham turned out to be so cold and petty."

Elizabeth felt for her sister, but she could not allow Lydia to pretend she had no fault in her current situation. "Lydia, you should never have allowed Mr. Wickham to convince you to elope with him. A proper man will speak to father first and allow time for the banns to be read. I suppose you have learned this lesson and you will be more careful in the future. A woman's reputation is incredibly fragile, and you can bring all of us down with your foolish actions." Seeing Lydia scowl even more and knowing it was useless to argue further, she changed the conversation back to the performance.

Lydia accepted the change and described more of the people she had watched in the seats, for she had yet to learn to attend to a performance. Elizabeth could barely contribute as the performance and Mr. Darcy had stirred more of her interest. She listened carefully to Lydia's boisterous manner and inserted her own recollections when she felt Lydia was too carried away.

Mr. Bennet and Mr. Darcy joined the group when tea was refreshed. The conversation improved, for Mr. Bennet enjoyed hearing of the performance, and Mr. Darcy was able to remember enough of it despite having watched Elizabeth every moment he thought he would not be observed.