Chapter 51: The Last of Ado from Lydia, Thank Christ
The marriage of Lydia Bennet to Mr. George Wickham is covered in fewer words than it took me to type their names just now. The Bennets don't go, opting instead to simply host the reception afterward.
Lydia descends upon the house, practically gloating that she, the youngest sister, is now the most mature of them all because SHE, at least, has a husband. Which is largely just a point of amusement for her; she thinks the past few weeks have been a fun whirlwind of a ride, entirely oblivious to the blood, sweat, and tears that were shed behind the scenes, and very clearly obsessed over a man who only accepted her because he figured "well, I'm going on the lam anyway, might as well bring some company".
Mr. Wickham, of course, plays his part with every ounce of grace and charm he is known for, which unfortunately for him only really works if you haven't been outed as a cretin.
Elizabeth can't take very much of it and goes outside for a smoke break, but Lydia ends up finding her anyway.
"Hey Lizzy!" she says. "I was just telling everybody how my wedding day went! Do you want to hear about it too?"
"No," replies Elizabeth.
"I'm literally incapable of comprehending rejection, so I'm going to tell you!" Lydia remarks. The recap goes as soul-crushingly as you'd expect, up until the point where she starts babbling about how their uncle didn't show up at her dressing room to escort her to the altar at just the right second before the ceremony started, and she worked herself into a tizzy until she remembered that Mr. Darcy was present and that he could give her away instead.
"Oh, but I wasn't supposed to tell anybody about him!" she adds, cheerfully laughing off her betrayal of her new husband's trust.
But the damage is done, and Elizabeth becomes singularly focused on the mystery of "why the hell was Darcy at the wedding of two people he doesn't like?"