P&P 7-9

"That they should marry, small as is their chance of happiness, and wreched as his character, we are forced to rejoice!" (231).

The family knows that they must just make the best of the situation. To force the couple apart would be even more shameful, because now that Lydia has lost her virginity to Wickham, it is doubtful another man would marry her, and she'd die with a terrible reputation.

"She had scarcely needed her present observation to be satisfied, from the reason of things, that their elopement had been brought on by the strength of her love, rather than by his; and she would have wondered why, without violently caring for her, he chose to elope with her at all, had she not felt certain that his flight was rendered necessary by distress of circumstances" (241).

It's obvious (to Lizzy at least) that Wickham isn't really in love with Lydia. It's almost obnoxious that Lydia hasn't realized this herself, since she had been living with him alone. One would think that he, someone who always seemed so nice but was, in reality, very individualistic and spiteful, wouldn't be hard to read when they weren't really in love. It should have been obvious to Lydia that her "angel" wasn't really an angel at all. I'm sure he must have been cold towards her, because he didn't love her (he didn't even have any special interest in her at all).