Dearest Lizzy, I hardly know what I would write, but I have bad news for you, and it cannot be delayed. Imprudent as a marriage between Mr. Wickham and our poor Lydia would be, we are now anxious to be assured it has taken place, for there is but too much reason to fear they are not gone to Scotland.
– Jane Austen
Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 46. Elizabeth receives a horrible letter from Jane to say that Lydia has run away with Wickham from Brighton to get married in Scotland. But a second even more horrible letter from Jane reveals the bad news that Wickham has no plans to marry Lydia and the pair have been traced to London.