“And Lydia used to want to go to London,”added Kitty.
“She is happy then,”said her father drily;“and her residence there will probably be of some duration.”
Then after a short silence he continued:
“Lizzy,I bear you no ill-will for being justified in your advice to me last May,which,considering the event,shows some greatness of mind.”
They were interrupted by Miss Bennet,who came to fetch her mother's tea.
“This is a parade,”he cried,“which does one good;it gives such an elegance to misfortune!Another day I will do the same;I will sit in my library,in my nightcap and powdering gown,and give as much trouble as I can;or,perhaps,I may defer it till Kitty runs away.”
“I am not going to run away, papa,”said Kitty fretfully.“If I should ever go to Brighton,I would behave better than Lydia.”
“You go to Brighton. I would not trust you so near it as Eastbourne for fifty pounds!No,Kitty,I have at last learnt to be cautious,and you will feel the effects of it.No officer is ever to enter into my house again,nor even to pass through the village. Balls will be absolutely prohibited,unless you stand up with one of your sisters.And you are never to stir out of doors till you can prove that you have spent ten minutes of every day in a rational manner.”
Kitty,who took all these threats in a serious light,began to cry.
“Well,well,”said he,“do not make yourself unhappy.If you are a good girl for the next ten years,I will take you to a review at the end of them.”
