Since Mrs. Philips had no objection to receiving the young people, the Bennet sisters were free to spend the evening at their aunt’s house.
Mr. Collins had initially worried that leaving Mr. and Mrs. Bennet alone for an evening might be improper.
But Mr. Bennet insisted that he go.
So, at the appropriate time, the carriage took Mr. Collins and his five cousins to Meryton.
As soon as they entered the drawing room, they received some exciting news.
“Mr. Wickham accepted Uncle Philips’s invitation,” Lydia announced happily.
“He’s already here!”
The girls were delighted.
Mr. Collins, meanwhile, had found something else to admire.
He looked around the drawing room with great interest.
“What an impressive room!”
He examined the furniture carefully.
“It almost reminds me of one of the smaller breakfast rooms at Rosings.”
Mrs. Philips did not know whether to feel complimented.
Then Mr. Collins explained exactly what Rosings was and who owned it.
He described Lady Catherine’s enormous house and mentioned that the fireplace alone in one of her drawing rooms had cost eight hundred pounds.
Mrs. Philips was amazed.
She finally understood that comparing her room to even a small room at Rosings was supposed to be an enormous compliment.
Mr. Collins happily continued talking about Lady Catherine and her magnificent home.
Every now and then, he also mentioned his own modest house at Hunsford and all the improvements he had made there.
Mrs. Philips listened carefully.
The more he talked, the more important she thought he must be.
She was already planning to repeat everything she had heard to her neighbors.
The young Bennet sisters, however, were not nearly as interested.
They had little patience for Mr. Collins’s endless stories.
They wished there were a piano in the room, and they spent much of their time examining the rather ordinary pieces of china displayed on the mantel.
To them, the waiting seemed endless.
Eventually, the gentlemen entered the room.
Then Mr. Wickham walked in.
Elizabeth immediately realized that her earlier admiration of him had not been exaggerated at all.
The officers in the regiment were generally handsome, respectable young men.
But Wickham stood out even among them.
His face, figure, posture, and manner were all remarkably attractive.
The contrast became even greater because the man walking behind the officers was Mrs. Philips’s broad-faced husband, who looked rather uncomfortable and smelled strongly of port wine.
Almost every woman in the room looked at Wickham.
And before long, Wickham chose a seat beside Elizabeth.
He began talking to her almost immediately.
Their conversation started with nothing more exciting than the weather.
“It looks as though we’re going to have a very wet evening,” Wickham said.
“Yes, it certainly does,” Elizabeth replied.
They talked about the rain and the possibility of a wet season.
Yet somehow, Wickham made even these ordinary subjects interesting.
Elizabeth found herself enjoying every word.
With Wickham and the other officers attracting everyone’s attention, Mr. Collins became almost invisible to the younger ladies.
Mrs. Philips, however, continued listening to him.
She also made sure that he always had plenty of coffee and muffins.
When the card tables were brought out, Mr. Collins found an opportunity to repay her kindness.
He agreed to play whist with her.
“I don’t know the game very well yet,” he said.
“But I would be very pleased to improve my skills. Considering my position in life…”
Mrs. Philips was grateful that he had agreed to play.
She was also too impatient to wait for him to explain what his position in life had to do with playing cards.
At the other table, Wickham was welcomed enthusiastically.
He sat between Elizabeth and Lydia.
At first, Lydia seemed determined to keep him entirely to herself.
She talked constantly.
But Lydia was also extremely fond of lottery tickets.
Once the game began, she became completely absorbed in placing bets and reacting to the prizes.
This finally gave Wickham a chance to speak privately with Elizabeth.
Elizabeth was eager to hear what he had to say.
There was one subject she desperately wanted to ask about.
Mr. Darcy.
But she felt too uncomfortable mentioning his name herself.
Fortunately, Wickham brought him up first.
“How far is Netherfield from Meryton?” he asked.
“Not very far,” Elizabeth replied.
Wickham hesitated before asking another question.
“How long has Mr. Darcy been staying there?”
“About a month.”
Elizabeth paused.
“He is a very wealthy man, isn’t he?”
“Yes,” Wickham said. “His estate in Derbyshire is extremely valuable. He earns about ten thousand pounds a year.”
He looked at her.
“You could hardly have found anyone better qualified to tell you about Mr. Darcy.”
Elizabeth looked surprised.
“I have known his family since I was a child.”
Elizabeth stared at him.
“You certainly have a right to surprise me.”
“Especially after seeing the way you and Mr. Darcy behaved when you met yesterday.”
Wickham gave a small smile.
“Are you very well acquainted with him?”
“As well acquainted as I ever intend to be,” Elizabeth replied warmly.
“I spent four days under the same roof with him.”
“And I found him extremely unpleasant.”
“I’m probably not the best person to judge whether Mr. Darcy is pleasant or unpleasant,” Wickham said.
“I’ve known him for far too long.”
“So I can’t pretend to be completely impartial.”
“But I suspect you might be surprised if you knew what I think of him.”
“And perhaps you wouldn’t speak so openly about him anywhere else.”
He glanced around the room.
“After all, you’re among your own family here.”
“I wouldn’t say anything here that I wouldn’t say anywhere else in this neighborhood, except Netherfield.”
“Mr. Darcy isn’t popular in Hertfordshire.”
“Everyone is put off by his pride.”
“You won’t find many people here willing to speak highly of him.”
“I can’t say I’m sorry to hear that,” Wickham replied after a moment.
“No man deserves more respect than he has earned.”
“But Mr. Darcy often gets far more respect than he deserves.”
“People are impressed by his wealth and social position.”
“Others are intimidated by his cold and powerful manner.”
“They only see the version of himself that he chooses to show them.”
“From what little I’ve seen of him, I would say he’s probably bad-tempered as well.”
Wickham only shook his head.
After a moment, he asked:
“Do you think Mr. Darcy will stay in this area much longer?”
“I really don’t know.”
“I never heard anything about him leaving while I was staying at Netherfield.”
“I hope his presence here won’t cause you any problems with your plans to join the regiment.”
“Oh, no.”
“I have no intention of being driven away by Mr. Darcy.”
“If he doesn’t want to see me, then he is the one who should leave.”
“We aren’t friends, and meeting him is always painful for me.”
“But I have nothing to hide.”
“If anyone asks why I avoid him, I can tell them exactly why.”
“I have been treated terribly by him, and I deeply regret that he has become the kind of man he is.”
Elizabeth listened carefully.
“His father, the late Mr. Darcy, was one of the finest men I ever knew.”
“He was also my closest friend.”
“I can hardly be in the same room with his son without thinking about his father and everything he once did for me.”
“What Mr. Darcy has done to me is disgraceful.”
“But I could forgive him almost anything.”
“What I cannot forgive is the way he has betrayed his father’s hopes and dishonored his father’s memory.”
Elizabeth was completely absorbed.
She wanted to ask more, but she sensed that the subject was painful and decided not to press him.
Wickham moved on to safer subjects.
He talked about Meryton, the neighborhood, and the people he had met.
He seemed very pleased with everything he had seen.
“I was attracted to this regiment largely because of the people here,” he explained.
“I’ve heard that the officers are a respectable and friendly group.”
“My friend Denny also told me how pleasant their quarters are and how welcoming the people of Meryton have been.”
“I admit that I need company.”
“I’ve had my share of disappointments, and I don’t do well when I’m alone.”
“I need both work and people around me.”
“Military life wasn’t really what I originally planned.”
“But given my circumstances, it has become a good choice.”
“I was actually raised to enter the church.”
“I should have become a clergyman.”
“In fact, I would probably have a very valuable position by now if the gentleman we were just discussing had allowed it.”
Elizabeth looked surprised.
“You mean Mr. Darcy?”
“Yes.”
“His father promised me the next opportunity to take one of the best church positions under his control.”
“He was my godfather and was extremely fond of me.”
“I can never fully express how kind he was to me.”
“He wanted to make sure that I would have a secure future.”
“But when the position finally became available, it was given to someone else.”
Elizabeth stared at him.
“How could that happen?”
“If Mr. Darcy’s father promised it to you, couldn’t you take legal action?”
“There was a technical problem with the wording of the promise.”
“Unfortunately, it wasn’t strong enough for a court to enforce.”
“An honorable man would have understood exactly what his father intended.”
“But Mr. Darcy chose to interpret the promise differently.”
“He claimed that I had only been given a conditional opportunity.”
“He also accused me of wasting money and behaving irresponsibly.”
“In fact, he could accuse me of almost anything.”
“The truth is that the position became available two years ago, just when I was old enough to take it.”
“And Mr. Darcy gave it to someone else.”
“I honestly cannot think of anything I did that deserved such treatment.”
“I do have a quick temper.”
“And perhaps I have sometimes spoken too honestly about Mr. Darcy, even to his face.”
“But I can remember nothing worse than that.”
“The real problem is that we are completely different people.”
“And he simply hates me.”
Elizabeth was shocked.
“That is terrible.”
“Someone ought to expose him publicly for what he has done.”
“Perhaps someone will eventually.”
“But it won’t be me.”
“As long as I remember his father, I could never bring myself to attack his son publicly.”
Elizabeth admired him for saying this.
To her, Wickham seemed even more attractive as he spoke.
“But why?” she asked.
“What reason could Mr. Darcy possibly have for treating you so badly?”
“I believe he has always disliked me.”
“Perhaps jealousy played a part.”
“If his father hadn’t been so fond of me, his son might have tolerated me better.”
“But Mr. Darcy could never stand the fact that his father preferred me in certain ways.”
“He wasn’t able to accept that kind of competition.”
Elizabeth frowned.
“I never imagined Mr. Darcy could be this cruel.”
“I already disliked him.”
“I thought he was simply proud and looked down on other people.”
“But I never imagined he could be so deliberately unfair or revengeful.”
She thought for a moment.
“Although I do remember something.”
“One day at Netherfield, he talked about how difficult it was for him to forgive people.”
“He seemed almost proud of having an unforgiving nature.”
“Perhaps his temper really is terrible.”
“I would rather not judge him myself,” Wickham said.
“I don’t think I could be completely fair.”
Elizabeth fell silent again.
Then she spoke with renewed disbelief.
“So he could treat his father’s godson like this?”
“You were his father’s friend and favorite.”
“And you grew up with him, didn’t you?”
“You must have known each other extremely well.”
“Yes.”
“We grew up in the same parish, on the same estate.”
“Most of our childhood was spent together.”
“We lived in the same house, played together, and received the same attention from our parents.”
“My father originally worked in the same profession as your Uncle Philips.”
“But he gave that up so he could serve Mr. Darcy’s father.”
“He devoted his life to managing the Pemberley estate.”
“The late Mr. Darcy respected him enormously.”
“They were very close friends.”
“He often said that my father’s hard work had saved him a great deal of trouble.”
“Just before my father died, Mr. Darcy promised that he would provide for me.”
“I believe he made that promise because he felt both gratitude toward my father and affection for me.”
Elizabeth was astonished.
“That makes his behavior even worse.”
“I can’t understand how his pride allowed him to treat you so unfairly.”
“Even if he had no other reason to be honest with you, surely he was too proud to behave dishonestly.”
“It is strange,” Wickham admitted.
“Almost everything he does can be traced back to pride.”
“And strangely enough, his pride has often pushed him toward good behavior.”
“He gives generously.”
“He spends money freely on others.”
“He welcomes guests into his home.”
“He helps his tenants.”
“He gives money to people who are poor.”
“Much of this comes from his pride in his family.”
“He doesn’t want anyone to think that the Darcy family has fallen in reputation.”
“He wants Pemberley to remain respected.”
“That pride is a powerful influence on him.”
“He also has a strong sense of family when it comes to his sister.”
“Whatever else you may think of him, he is an extremely protective and attentive brother.”
“People often praise him for that.”
“What is Miss Darcy like?” Elizabeth asked.
Wickham’s expression changed.
“I wish I could tell you that she is kind.”
“It isn’t pleasant for me to criticize someone from the Darcy family.”
“But she is very much like her brother.”
“She is extremely proud.”
“When she was a child, however, she was completely different.”
“She was affectionate and friendly, and she was very fond of me.”
“I spent countless hours entertaining her.”
“But that relationship is gone now.”
“She is about fifteen or sixteen.”
“She is very pretty and, from what I hear, highly accomplished.”
“Since her father’s death, she has lived in London.”
“A woman lives with her and supervises her education.”
Elizabeth was quiet for a while.
She tried to talk about other things.
But eventually her curiosity returned to the subject she couldn’t stop thinking about.
“There is one thing I still don’t understand.”
“How can Mr. Bingley be such a close friend of Mr. Darcy?”
“Mr. Bingley seems cheerful and kind to everyone.”
“I truly believe he is a very good man.”
“How could someone like him become friends with Mr. Darcy?”
“Do you know Mr. Bingley?”
“Not at all.”
“But perhaps Mr. Bingley simply doesn’t know what Mr. Darcy is really like.”
“Mr. Darcy can be very charming when he wants to be.”
“He is intelligent and knows how to hold an interesting conversation.”
“Among people of his own social position, he behaves very differently.”
“His pride is always there, but around wealthy and influential people he can be generous, reasonable, honest, and respectful.”
“And, if he chooses, he can even be pleasant.”
Elizabeth was surprised by how much she had learned.
Before she could ask anything else, the whist game ended.
Everyone gathered around the other table.
Mr. Collins came over and sat between Elizabeth and Mrs. Philips.
“How did you do?” Mrs. Philips asked him.
“Not very well, I’m afraid.”
“I lost every point.”
Mrs. Philips looked concerned.
“Oh, I’m sorry!”
Mr. Collins immediately reassured her.
“Please don’t worry.”
“The money means absolutely nothing to me.”
“When people sit down to play cards, they have to accept that they may win or lose.”
“Fortunately, I am not in a financial position where five shillings matters.”
“There are certainly people who would have to worry about such an amount.”
“But thanks to Lady Catherine de Bourgh, I have no need to concern myself with such small sums.”
Wickham had been listening.
After watching Mr. Collins for a moment, he quietly asked Elizabeth:
“Is your family very close to the de Bourgh family?”
“Lady Catherine recently gave Mr. Collins his position at Hunsford.”
“I don’t know exactly how he first came to her attention.”
“But he certainly hasn’t known her for very long.”
“You do know that Lady Catherine and Lady Anne Darcy were sisters?”
Elizabeth looked surprised.
“So Lady Catherine is Mr. Darcy’s aunt?”
“Yes.”
“I had no idea.”
“I didn’t know anything about Lady Catherine or her family until just a few days ago.”
“Her daughter, Miss de Bourgh, will inherit a very large fortune.”
“And people believe that she and Mr. Darcy may eventually marry, joining their two estates.”
Elizabeth couldn’t help smiling.
She immediately thought of Miss Bingley.
If Darcy was already expected to marry his cousin, then all Miss Bingley’s efforts to impress him suddenly seemed rather pointless.
Elizabeth turned back to Wickham.
“Mr. Collins speaks very highly of Lady Catherine and her daughter.”
“But from some of the things he has told us, I suspect his gratitude has affected his judgment.”
“I think Lady Catherine is probably extremely proud and arrogant.”
“I believe you’re right,” Wickham replied.
“I haven’t seen her for many years, but I remember her very well.”
“I never liked her.”
“She was extremely commanding and rude.”
“People say she is very intelligent.”
“But I suspect her wealth and position make her seem more intelligent than she really is.”
“Her forceful manner probably adds to the impression.”
“And then there is her nephew’s pride.”
“Mr. Darcy seems determined to believe that everyone connected with him must be highly intelligent.”
Elizabeth smiled.
“That actually sounds like a very reasonable explanation.”
They continued talking happily until supper was announced.
Once the meal began, the noise of the room made private conversation impossible.
But Wickham continued to charm everyone.
Everything he said sounded natural and pleasant.
Everything he did seemed graceful.
By the time Elizabeth left, her mind was completely occupied by him.
All the way home, she thought about Mr. Wickham and everything he had told her.
She wanted to discuss it with Jane.
But she never had the chance.
Lydia talked nonstop about the lottery game.
She described every prize she had won and every one she had lost.
Mr. Collins was just as talkative.
He kept praising Mr. and Mrs. Philips, insisting that he didn’t care at all about losing at whist, listing every dish they had served at supper, and repeatedly apologizing for taking up too much of his cousins’ space.
Between Lydia and Mr. Collins, Elizabeth barely had a moment of silence before the carriage finally arrived at Longbourn.
:::