I wish you joy. If you love Mr. Darcy half as well as I do my dear Wickham, you must be very happy. It is a great comfort to have you so rich, and when you have nothing else to do, I hope you will think of us. I am sure Wickham would like a place at court very much, and I do not think we shall have quite money enough to live upon without some help. Any place would do, of about three or four hundred a year; but however, do not speak to Mr. Darcy about it, if you had rather not.
– Jane Austen
Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 61. In the novel’s last chapter, the author gives me a glimpse of what the future might be for all the characters. Here in Lydia’s congratulatory letter to Elizabeth on her marriage, we have Austen’s final word on Lydia and Wickham. It comes as no surprise that Lydia is asking for money, and for Darcy to help Wickham get a place and an income at court. Lydia’s request is almost certainly manipulated by the mercenary and fortune-seeking Wickham, who has a track record of using women to get money and is targeting his now wealthy sister-in-law and her husband Darcy.