Immediately after the wedding, Jane and her new husband left on a honeymoon tour that was to last about six weeks.
The Gardiners and Elizabeth left the day after the wedding on their trip to the North. Because of Mr. Gardiner's growing business, they were not able to spend as much time as they had originally planned, so they spent most of their time in Derbyshire instead of the Lake Country. As Mrs. Gardiner had been raised in the village of Lambton, this was where they spent most of their time so she could reconnect with people that she had previously known. They even toured the grand estate of Pemberley in spite of Elizabeth's reluctance to go anywhere near the place. She did not want to meet Mr. Darcy there as it would have been too embarrassing for the both of them after how acrimoniously they had parted in Hunsford. Elizabeth agreed to tour the estate only after she heard that the Darcys were not in residence at the moment. She was very impressed by the magnificence and elegance of Pemberley's house, gardens, and extensive woods. When she thought that she could have been mistress of all that she saw, she felt pangs of regret about her decision.
She was astonished when the housekeeper, Mrs. Reynolds, described Mr. Darcy as "the sweetest, most generous-hearted boy in the world." She added that he was the kindest of masters and said, "I have never heard a cross word from him in my life." Elizabeth was confused at this description of him as she had had the distinct impression from his behaviour in Meryton that he was unbearably arrogant and proud. She could not reconcile this view of him with her own opposite opinion, but she assumed that such words from a senior staff member who had known him for so long must be reliable. She began to wonder if he acted so differently when he was at home compared to how he was among people he did not know so well. Was it possible that he was only overly reserved among strangers and found it difficult to form friendships with new acquaintances?
After touring the manor house, they were passed to the head gardener for a tour of the extensive flower beds and gardens. Again, these were not overly formal, but the many graveled paths invited them to wander and enjoy the many different flowers that were then in bloom. Elizabeth especially liked the roses for their many bright colours and pleasant smells. Everywhere she looked, she found nothing but beauty surrounding her.
When they finally left Lambton to begin their slow journey home, she was still confused. Just touring the magnificent house and gardens forced her to reconsider her thoughts about Mr. Darcy. How could such a proud and haughty gentleman be responsible for such beauty and the high approval of his staff? Did Pemberley reflect the good taste of its master? Had she misunderstood him all along? She had a lot to think about.
Not long after Jane's wedding, Mr. Bennet was not overly surprised to receive a letter from Colonel Forster in Brighton. Mr. Bennet had worried that Elizabeth would prove to be correct in her fears about Lydia's behaviour while she was out of their immediate control. Colonel Forster wrote that while Miss Lydia had acted quite properly when she was first in Brighton, recently her conduct was becoming more reckless and his wife did not seem to be able to restrain her. He said that if her behaviour continued to get worse, he feared that it could lead to irreparable damage to her reputation. There were just too many officers and entertainments to keep track of what she was doing at all times. The Colonel asked Mr. Bennet to come to Brighton to take her back home as soon as he was able.
Naturally, this letter caused an uproar at Longbourn as Mrs. Bennet discounted the Colonel's concerns. She did not want to limit Lydia's time in Brighton and could not believe that she would do anything that might reflect badly on the whole family. When her husband stated his intent to go to Brighton to bring Lydia home, she tried to convince him not to go. However, he was adamant that he had to go, remembering his promise to Elizabeth. When Mrs. Bennet found that he would not be dissuaded, she said that she wanted to go with him as it had been a very long time since she had been in that seaside town. Mr. Bennet was not enthusiastic about having his wife's company, but he finally gave in and agreed to let her go with him.
Being cooped up in their carriage with his wife on the trip to Brighton was as bad as he had feared. She was so excited that she talked incessantly about the many delights they would find there and the good times that she had had in that town before she was married. When they arrived in Brighton, they drove straight to the guest house that Colonel Forster had recommended. This proved to be a large two-story house in a respectable area of the town, and not too far from the military encampment.
They were lucky as they managed to book two separate rooms near the top of the main staircase. When they were settled in their rooms, it was too late to go to the military camp that day, so they had dinner and retired for the night. The next morning, they went to the camp and were eventually directed to Colonel Forster's headquarters. The encampment was quite large as many regiments were gathered there for the summer. The Colonel was expecting them as Mr. Bennet had sent a message to say that they were coming to take Lydia home. The Colonel took them to the house that he had rented and they found Lydia there with Mrs. Forster. Lydia was amazed to see her parents as she had not been told by the Colonel that he had written to them.
Mrs. Bennet greeted her daughter with a hug, "Lydia! How wonderful to see you! Is this not a great surprise! It has been a long time since I was in Brighton, so I wanted to see it again. How have you been enjoying your stay here? It is wonderful to see so many fine officers in their red coats. This is like being in heaven."
"Mother! What are you doing here? I did not know that you were coming."
"Your Father decided that you have been here long enough, so he wanted to come to bring you home. I convinced him to let me come with him, so here we are. I was here many years ago and remember how delightful a town it is. How have you been enjoying your stay?"
After his wife and daughter gushed over the many events and conquests that Lydia had made, Mr. Bennet finally managed to speak of their returning to Longbourn. While he was keen to return home as soon as possible, his wife and daughter managed to convince him to stay in Brighton for just a couple more days so they could enjoy some of the entertainments before they left. Lydia was especially eager to attend the officers' ball that was scheduled in just two days. Mrs. Forster graciously extended invitations to this ball to Lydia's parents. Mr. Bennet had planned to have Lydia come to stay with them immediately so she could be more under his control, but their rooming house did not have any more rooms available. He reluctantly had to leave her under the care of the Forsters, but made plans to leave for home the morning after the officers' ball.
Mr. Bennet did insist that Lydia would be with them every day until they left for home. She was returned to the Forsters' residence only late in the day and he insisted that she not be allowed to go anywhere without them. Lydia was not happy about this, but was given no choice in the matter. They were busy every day, touring the beach, the town, and visiting several exhibitions. The day of the ball arrived; Lydia and her mother prevailed upon Mr. Bennet to allow Lydia to go back to the Forsters' residence in plenty of time to dress in her finest.
Mr. Bennet, as was his custom, did not want to attend the ball at all, but he decided that he could not permit his wife and daughter to go without him. His reluctance to go was strengthened by an upset stomach, which he feared was caused by something that he had eaten that day. When they arrived at the ball, Lydia was immediately surrounded by officers requesting her hand for dances. Her dance card was quickly filled. Similarly, Mrs. Bennet's hand was also solicited for dancing, so her card was also soon filled. Even though she was a mature lady, the shortage of young ladies that evening made many of the officers who wanted to dance consider her as an acceptable partner. Of course, she was delighted to find herself so popular with the officers.
Mr. Bennet did not plan to dance at all, especially as his stomach continued to bother him. In fact, it got worse during the evening, so bad that he decided that they should all go home at the supper break. When he suggested that, both his wife and daughter were aghast as they were both having so much fun. They had danced every dance and had partaken liberally of the punch, which, as several officers had secretly managed to add their own contributions to the mix, made them quite light-headed. While Mr. Bennet was trying to convince them to leave right away, Colonel and Mrs. Forster overhead them and, at his wife's entreaties, the Colonel assured Mr. Bennet that he would look after the ladies and make sure that they would both be escorted home safely. As Mr. Bennet was feeling so miserable, he agreed and left without them.
As might be expected, the Bennet ladies had an even better time without his hovering presence. Lieutenant Wickham paid very close attention to both of them and made sure their glasses were always filled to the brim. When the final tune was played, Colonel Forster, as he promised, took control of Lydia and she left for his house with his wife. He was going to drive Mrs. Bennet to her rooming house, but, as this was out of the way, he agreed when Wickham offered to escort her himself. The Colonel was not completely comfortable with this plan, but he was sure that Mrs. Bennet would be much safer with the lieutenant than if Wickham had asked to escort her daughter. He certainly would not have agreed to such a scheme. He was still a bit worried about Mrs. Bennet as it was obvious that she was feeling the effects of the many glasses of punch that she had drunk.
When Wickham and Mrs. Bennet arrived at her temporary residence, he helped her from the carriage and had to hang on to her when she stumbled on getting out. He saw that she was feeling no pain and was very giddy; she kept giggling about what a fine specimen of an officer he was. He gallantly said, "My dear lady, will you allow me to escort you in as I want to make sure that you make it safely? My concern is that the cobblestones are rough and I do not want you to fall and hurt yourself."
Mrs. Bennet was giggling like a young girl and agreed. She held on to his arm tightly and pressed herself against him while they went to the door. The outer door was not locked, so he opened it for her. "My dear Mr. Wickham, my room is at the top of these stairs. I am not sure I can navigate them alone. Would you mind lending me your arm while we go up?"
Wickham had not planned, nor expected, that she would allow him to escort her right to her room, but he proved his gallantry by acquiescing and they slowly made it up the steps with her holding on to him tightly. "Which is your room?" he said when they reached the top.
"Right here." She whispered to him, "I may need some help with my buttons. Would you be a gentleman and help a lady in distress?" With these words she pulled him into her room, closed the door, turned to him, and pressed her bountiful assets against his chest. Now, Wickham's clear preference had always been for impressionable young women and even younger girls, so he did not usually think of women of Mrs. Bennet's age in any carnal way. She must be at least 40! However, she was here, her bed was near, and she was obviously available right here and now for whatever he wanted from her. He had no qualms about using her even though she had drunk so much punch that she could barely stand. As he had not been successful with the fairer sex since he had arrived in Brighton, he was in need of the kind of relief that she was clearly eager to provide. He remembered a colleague saying, in his praise of older women, 'They do not yell, they do not tell, and they are as grateful as h*ll.' So Wickham gratefully accepted her offer and gave the lady what she wanted. But he hated these noisy old beds! The noise almost enough to distract him from his energetic exertions with the lady. However, once he was fully engaged, nothing could have distracted him from finishing what he had started.