's not being killed in a duel.
    Mrs. Gardiner and the children were to remain in Hertfordshire a few days
longer, as the former thought her presence might be serviceable to her nieces.
She shared in their attendance on Mrs. Bennet, and was a great comfort to them,
in their hours of freedom. Their other aunt also visited them frequently, and
always, as she said, with the design of cheering and heartening them up, though
as she never came without reporting some fresh instance of Wickham's
extravagance or irregularity, she seldom went away without leaving them more
dispirited than she found them.
    All Meryton seemed striving to blacken the man, who, but three months
before, had been almost an angel of light. He was declared to be in debt to
every tradesman in the place, and his intrigues, all honoured with the title of
seduction, had been extended into every tradesman's family. Every body declared
that he was the wickedest young man in the world; and every body began to find
out, that they had always distrusted the appearance of his goodness. Elizabeth,
though she did not credit above half of what was said, believed enough to make
her former assurance of her sister's ruin still more certain; and even Jane, who
believed still less of it, became almost hopeless, more especially as the time
was now come, when if they had gone to Scotland, which she had never before
entirely despaired of, they must in all probability have gained some news of
them.
    Mr. Gardiner left Longbourn on Sunday; on Tuesday, his wife received a
letter from him; it told them, that on his arrival, he had immediately found out
his brother, and persuaded him to come to Gracechurch street. That Mr. Bennet
had been to Epsom and Clapham, before his arrival, but without gaining any
satisfactory information; and that he was now determined to enquire at all the
principal hotels in town, as Mr. Bennet thought it possible they might have gone
to one of them, on their first coming to London, before they procured lodgings.
Mr. Gardiner himself did not expect any success from this measure, but as his
brother was eager in it, he meant to assist him in pursuing it. He added, that
Mr. Bennet seemed wholly disinclined at present, to leave London, and promised
to write again very soon. There was also a postscript to this effect.
    »I have written to Colonel Forster to desire him to find out, if possible,
from some of the young man's intimates in the
