Mr. Bennet got up early as well and even with his early start it was almost ten by the time his carriage slowly made it to Brighton. He dreaded having to collect Lydia; the tantrum she was about to throw would require a public response and humiliation that had been on the horizon for years. His inaction had almost created a situation that would have been impossible to recover from and a possible ruination of their entire family. His actions today would change his life forever and would also cause a very uncomfortable situation at home when Mrs. Bennet finally recovered from the news that Lydia had to be forcibly removed from Brighton.
After making a few inquiries Mr. Bennet arrived at Colonel Forster's house to a hysterical Lydia who could only scream that Lt. Wickham was going to marry her and everyone would be sorry when he came to sweep her off her feet. Mr. Bennet shouted as he entered the room in such an uncharacteristic display that Lydia stopped mid-rant with a shocked look to her father. Mr. Bennet demanded that Lydia pack her trunks and get in the carriage, and that her little visit was over. He added as she walked by him on her way to the carriage that she would never meet Lt. Wickham ever again and if she did not smarten up then she would spend the rest of her life in a nunnery where she'd be taught proper behavior.
Lydia started to weep loudly and embarrassing until her father slapped her smartly across the face. The silence that echoed in the townhouse was almost deafening and Lydia proceeded to the carriage quietly finally having some sense knocked into her for the first time in her life. Mr. Bennet stayed behind to talk with Colonel Forster and he learned that Lt. Wickham had been arrested for his outstanding debts the evening before and would not be coming to marry Lydia anytime soon. Colonel Forster also reported that Mr. Wickham had no opportunity to destroy Lydia's reputation and as long as she stayed away from Brighton she should be able to recover suitably well. Mr. Bennet was pleased to learn that Lt. Wickham would no longer be a problem but he was still embarrassed so he apologized for the actions of his wild child and told the Colonel that Lydia would no longer be accepting any invitations that were offered to her until she managed to show some decorum and then he left to take Lydia home to Longbourn.
Colonel Forster was just relieved that he would be able to retain his commission after all he did have a young bride to care for and it was very important to him to become a general one day. If Colonel Fitzwilliam had been able to prove that he could not even handle one young girl then it would be very difficult for him to make the proper connections and to achieve his goals in the future. He returned to the house and told his wife in no uncertain terms that her friendship with Lydia Bennet was not proper and would not be continued. His wife was never to contact Lydia again since it was too dangerous to associate with a young girl who did not behave appropriately.
In the carriage Lydia was met with total silence as her father tried to figure out his plan of attack. She had run wild for too long and now he'd have to deal with her before she tried to elope again with a lowly officer. God knows that her reputation was already having problems in Meryton with her shouting across streets to men she doesn't know and her constant badgering at dances and dinners was becoming embarrassing to her family. He decided to keep his plan simple, he told Lydia that she would need to drastically change her behavior or she would be sent off to a nunnery for the rest of her life. Lydia opened her mouth to protest when her father held up his hand to stop her.
He told her specifically that those were her only two options and that if she even tried to appeal to her mother for aide in countermanding his orders then she would be forbidden to leave the house even to go the Philips in Meryton until her 21st birthday. Her social life would be officially ended and she would probably never marry and end up in a nunnery anyway. Lydia's eyes filled up with tears and she hid her face in her hands as she turned away from her father and wept quietly in the carriage until they returned to Longbourn to Mrs. Bennet's loud screeching protests. Mr. Bennet surprised the whole family when he told Mrs. Bennet that her failure to teach their youngest daughters the value of propriety forced him to take the role of the primary parent in the household and neither of his two youngest daughters would travel to Meryton without him until their 18th birthdays or when he finally decided that they were responsible enough to travel without a chaperone.
They were also forbidden from attending any assemblies or parties given by the Philips unless he closely supervised them. Kitty also broke down in tears and ran up to her room to hide from her father until her mother finally prevailed against their father. The afternoon in the Bennet house finished very quiet since both of the youngest daughters were upstairs in their rooms and trying to stay out of their father's way. Mary it should be noted also contributed to the relation silence in the house. She went out to Meryton and bought a few books that she showed off at dinner to the dismay of Lydia and Kitty.
Elizabeth and Jane were basking in the new felt peace in the household and decided to celebrate by walking into Meryton every day and picking out some fabric for some new dresses that they could wear to Netherfield the next time they were invited for dinner by Miss. Bingley.
Miss Bingley's behavior had been a bit strange since the family returned to Netherfield, probably because of her treatment of Jane while she was in London. Thankfully for her Jane was of the gentle sort of temperament that she was willing to forgive slights given to her by the rude woman since she was Mr. Bingley's sister. Miss Bingley was fortunate if it had been Elizabeth Miss Bingley would never have been so lucky. Miss Bingley had been taking walks at late to Meryton to everyone's surprise since it was common knowledge that she preferred to take her brother's carriage everywhere.
She had also invited Elizabeth and Jane to Netherfield a total of four times since they returned from London barely a week earlier. For a woman that seemed to enjoy solitude in her home where she lacked the company of any women but her sister this was quite unusual. Before they left for London Jane had only visited the house when she got ill from riding in the rain and the Netherfield Ball. Elizabeth thought this was quite odd but then again Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy seemed to be visiting often as well. Maybe it was finally time for Mr. Bingley to ask for Jane's hand in marriage … but a woman could never tell even though Mama believed that this could be the only reason that the two men would have to visit the house.
She would have been talking about it constantly but she was still fighting with her husband to allow Lydia and Kitty to attend assemblies and the weekly parties given by Mrs. Philips but since Mr. Bennet refused to attend such frivolous gatherings Lydia and Kitty had barely stirred outside of the house, even to walk in the gardens. They were only permitted to walk in the gardens outside of the window in Mr. Bennet's study and this limitation infuriated Lydia so she refused to leave the house at all. She had resorted to asking Jane to pick her up a few bonnets and ribbons to decorate with but Jane refused to lend her more money than her reduced allowance gave for her spending. Lydia was not happy about the change of events but she feared her father's threat of keeping her in the house until her 21st birthday or sending her to a nunnery to speak out against him. She spent a lot of her time listening at doors to see if her mother was gaining any ground against the rules that her father had set forth.
Unfortunately for her Mr. Bennet decided to start ignoring his wife's irrational protests until she finally stopped being a horrendous role model for their youngest daughters. Even Mary had some problems socializing with people and he wanted to take her in hand and see if he could improve her behavior. Not to mention that he wouldn't love to find a better way to for her to express herself then the continuous playing and singing. Maybe he could send her to a school of sorts that would be better suited to her personality. Maybe such a trip would be helpful for her to find a good husband.
This would require some deep thought, she was not a young girl that would be attracted by the thought of marrying a redcoat nor did she seem inclined to enjoy parties that were the source of so many marriages in Meryton. Maybe a trip to London was in order … On another note it was probably time for him to have a conversation with Mr. Bingley about his intentions toward his eldest daughter, Mr. Darcy was also confusing him why would he accompany his friend to the home so many times. Mr. Darcy was a gentlemen farmer he must have been very busy but he seemed to spend a lot of time visiting his daughter. Oh well some men could be very confusing sometimes and with enough money a man could while away his time however he wished.