"But does Lydia know nothing of this? can she be ignorant of
what you and Jane seem so well to understand?"
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"Oh, yes!--that, that is the worst of all. Till I was in Kent,
and saw so much both of Mr. Darcy and his relation Colonel
Fitzwilliam, I was ignorant of the truth myself. And when I
returned home, the ----shire was to leave Meryton in a week or
fortnight's time. As that was the case, neither Jane, to whom
I related the whole, nor I, thought it necessary to make our
knowledge public; for of what use could it apparently be to any
one, that the good opinion which all the neighbourhood had of
him should then be overthrown? And even when it was settled
that Lydia should go with Mrs. Forster, the necessity of opening
her eyes to his character never occurred to me. That she could
be in any danger from the deception never entered my head.
That such a consequence as this could ensue, you may easily
believe, was far enough from my thoughts."
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