After a week filled with talk of love, marriage, and their happy future, Mr. Collins had to leave Charlotte when Saturday arrived.
The separation was difficult for him, but he was already making plans for his wedding.
He expected that when he returned to Hertfordshire, the wedding date would soon be decided. The thought of becoming a married man clearly made him very happy.
He said goodbye to the Bennet family with his usual seriousness, wished his cousins health and happiness, and once again promised Mr. Bennet a letter of thanks.
Not long after the Gardiners and Jane had left Hertfordshire, Mr. Collins returned.
Fortunately for Mrs. Bennet, he stayed with the Lucases, so his presence at Longbourn was no longer a problem.
His wedding was now very close.
Mrs. Bennet had finally accepted that it was going to happen, although she could not resist saying, in a rather bitter voice, that she hoped they would be happy.
The wedding was to take place on Thursday.
On Wednesday, Charlotte came to Longbourn to say goodbye.
When she stood up to leave, Elizabeth felt embarrassed by her mother’s cold and unwilling good wishes.
She sincerely cared about Charlotte, so she walked downstairs with her.
“I hope you will write to me often, Eliza,” Charlotte said.
“You can be sure I will.”
“And I have one more favor to ask.”
“Will you come and visit me?”
“I hope we will see each other often in Hertfordshire.”
“I probably won’t leave Kent for quite some time.”
“So promise me you will come to Hunsford.”
Elizabeth could not refuse.
She was not expecting the visit to be especially enjoyable, but she agreed.
“My father and Maria are coming to stay with me in March,” Charlotte added.
“I hope you will come with them.”
“Honestly, Eliza, you will be just as welcome in my home as either of them.”
The wedding took place as planned.
After the ceremony, Charlotte and Mr. Collins left for Kent.
As usual, everyone had plenty to say about the marriage.
Elizabeth soon received a letter from her friend, and their correspondence continued as regularly as before.
But it could never be quite as open as it once had been.
Whenever Elizabeth wrote to Charlotte, she could not forget that the closeness they had once shared was gone.
She continued writing because she valued their old friendship, not because she felt that everything was still the same.
At first, Elizabeth eagerly opened Charlotte’s letters.
She wanted to know what Charlotte thought of her new home.
She was also curious about Lady Catherine and wondered whether Charlotte would admit to being happy.
But when Elizabeth read the letters, she found exactly what she had expected.
Charlotte seemed cheerful and comfortable.
She praised almost everything around her.
She liked the house, the furniture, the neighborhood, and even the roads.
She also described Lady Catherine as extremely kind and helpful.
It sounded very much like Mr. Collins’s exaggerated descriptions of Hunsford and Rosings, only made more reasonable.
Elizabeth decided that she would have to visit the place herself before she could understand what Charlotte’s life was really like.
Jane had already written to Elizabeth to let her know that she and the Gardiners had arrived safely in London.
When Jane wrote again, Elizabeth hoped she would have some news about Bingley.
She did not have to wait long.
Jane had already been in London for a week, but she had neither seen nor heard from Caroline Bingley.
Jane tried to explain it by assuming that her last letter from Longbourn had somehow been lost.
“My aunt is going into that part of London tomorrow,” Jane wrote.
“I will go with her and take the opportunity to visit Caroline in Grosvenor Street.”
Jane wrote again after making the visit.
“I did not think Caroline looked very happy,” she told Elizabeth.
“But she was pleased to see me.”
“She even complained that I had not told her I was coming to London.”
“So I was right. My last letter never reached her.”
“Of course, I asked about her brother.”
“He is well, but he spends almost all his time with Mr. Darcy, so they hardly ever see him.”
“I also learned that Miss Darcy was expected to dine with them.”
“I wish I could meet her.”
“My visit was quite short because Caroline and Mrs. Hurst were going out.”
“I expect I will see them again soon.”
Elizabeth shook her head after reading the letter.
It confirmed her suspicion.
The only way Bingley was likely to discover that Jane was in London was by chance.
Four weeks passed.
Jane still had not seen Bingley.
She tried to convince herself that she did not care, but she could no longer ignore Caroline’s behavior.
For two weeks, Jane waited at home every morning, always finding another excuse for Caroline’s failure to visit.
Eventually, Caroline came.
But her visit was so short, and her behavior had changed so completely, that Jane could no longer pretend everything was normal.
She immediately wrote to Elizabeth.
“My dear Lizzy, I know you won’t take pleasure in hearing that you were right and I was wrong about Caroline’s friendship.”
“But please don’t think I was foolish to trust her.”
“Considering how she behaved before, I think my confidence in her was completely natural.”
“If the same thing happened again, I would probably make the same mistake.”
“Caroline did not visit me until yesterday.”
“In all that time, I received not even a short note from her.”
“When she finally came, it was obvious that she did not really want to be there.”
“She gave me a brief and formal apology for not visiting sooner.”
“She did not say anything about wanting to see me again.”
“She behaved so differently that, when she left, I decided I could no longer continue the friendship.”
“I feel sorry for her, even though I cannot excuse her behavior.”
“She was wrong to single me out for such special attention in the first place.”
“I can honestly say that every attempt to become close friends came from her.”
“But I pity her because I believe she knows she has behaved badly.”
“I am almost certain that her concern for her brother is the reason.”
“I don’t need to explain it any further.”
“Even though we know her worries are unnecessary, they may still explain why she treated me this way.”
“Bingley means so much to his sister that I cannot blame her for worrying about him.”
“Still, I cannot understand why she is worried now.”
“If he really cared about me, surely we would have met again by now.”
“She herself made it clear that he knows I am in London.”
“And yet, from the way she talks, it almost seems as though she is trying to convince herself that he truly prefers Miss Darcy.”
“I cannot understand it.”
“If I were not afraid of being unfair, I might almost think there is something dishonest about the whole situation.”
“But I will try not to think about painful things.”
“I will think instead about what makes me happy: your love and the constant kindness of our dear aunt and uncle.”
“Please write to me soon.”
“Caroline mentioned that her brother might never return to Netherfield and that they might give up the house.”
“But she did not seem certain, so perhaps we should not talk about it yet.”
“I am very glad to hear that your friends in Hunsford are doing well.”
“Please visit them with Sir William and Maria.”
“I am sure you will have a pleasant time there.”
Elizabeth felt sorry after reading Jane’s letter.
But she was also relieved.
At least Jane would no longer be deceived by Caroline.
As for Bingley, Elizabeth had completely given up hope.
She no longer wanted him to return to Jane.
The more she thought about his behavior, the lower her opinion of him became.
In fact, she almost hoped he really would marry Miss Darcy.
If Wickham’s story was true, perhaps Bingley would one day regret giving up Jane.
Around this time, Mrs. Gardiner reminded Elizabeth of the promise she had made concerning Wickham.
Elizabeth was able to give her aunt an answer, although it was not quite the answer she had expected.
Wickham’s attention toward Elizabeth had disappeared.
He was no longer interested in her.
He had begun showing interest in another young woman.
Elizabeth had noticed the change, but it did not hurt her very much.
Her feelings for Wickham had never been very deep.
Her pride was satisfied by the thought that, if money had not been an issue, she might have been the woman he chose.
The young woman who now attracted Wickham had recently received ten thousand pounds.
That fortune was clearly a major part of her appeal.
Elizabeth did not blame Wickham for wanting financial security.
In this situation, she could understand his decision.
She imagined that giving up his interest in her might have been difficult for him, but she also believed that choosing a financially secure future was sensible for both of them.
So she could honestly wish him happiness.
Elizabeth explained all of this to Mrs. Gardiner in her next letter.
“I am now certain, dear Aunt, that I was never truly in love with Mr. Wickham.”
“If I had really loved him deeply, I would hate even hearing his name now.”
“I would probably wish him every possible misfortune.”
“But I don’t feel anything like that.”
“I still have warm feelings toward him.”
“And strangely enough, I don’t even dislike Miss King.”
“I cannot bring myself to hate her.”
“In fact, I can easily believe that she is a perfectly good young woman.”
“There can be no real love involved if I can feel this way.”
“I think my caution has protected me.”
“Perhaps I would seem more interesting to everyone if I were desperately in love with him.”
“But I cannot honestly say that I regret not being in that position.”
“Sometimes being important to someone can come at far too high a price.”
“Kitty and Lydia are much more upset about Wickham’s change of heart than I am.”
“They are still young and inexperienced.”
“They have not yet learned the rather unpleasant truth that handsome young men need money to live on too, just like everyone else.”