Nothing much happened in the Bennet family after Charlotte’s marriage.
January and February passed quietly, with little to break the routine except walks to Meryton, which were sometimes cold and sometimes muddy.
March would bring Elizabeth to Hunsford.
At first, she had not been particularly interested in making the trip.
But Charlotte was clearly looking forward to her visit, and Elizabeth gradually became more excited about it too.
She had missed Charlotte and wanted to see her again.
Time had also softened some of her dislike of Mr. Collins.
The trip would give her a welcome change from Longbourn.
With a mother like Mrs. Bennet and sisters who were not always pleasant company, home was hardly perfect.
A little time away would do her good.
She would also get to see Jane in London along the way.
As the departure date approached, Elizabeth found herself hoping nothing would happen to delay the journey.
Everything went according to plan.
Elizabeth would travel with Sir William Lucas and his second daughter, Maria.
They also decided to spend a night in London, which made the journey even more attractive to Elizabeth.
The only thing she disliked about leaving was saying goodbye to her father.
Mr. Bennet would certainly miss her.
And when the time actually came, he seemed much less pleased about her leaving than he had pretended.
He asked her to write to him and almost promised that he would write back.
Elizabeth’s goodbye with Wickham was friendly.
On his side, it seemed even warmer.
Although Wickham was now interested in another woman, he had not forgotten that Elizabeth had been the first woman to attract his attention.
She had been the first to listen to his story and sympathize with him.
She had also been the first woman he openly admired.
When they said goodbye, he sincerely wished her a pleasant journey.
He reminded her that she was about to meet Lady Catherine de Bourgh and jokingly hoped that they would continue to agree about her, just as they agreed about almost everyone else.
There was so much warmth and interest in his manner that Elizabeth felt she would always have a special affection for him.
She left him convinced that, whether he married or remained single, Wickham would always be her perfect example of a charming and agreeable man.
The next morning, Elizabeth’s traveling companions did nothing to make her think less highly of Wickham.
Sir William Lucas and his daughter Maria were pleasant enough, but neither had much interesting to say.
Their conversation was about as entertaining as the constant rattling of the carriage.
Elizabeth enjoyed foolishness when it was amusing, but she had heard Sir William’s favorite stories far too many times.
He had nothing new to tell her about being knighted or about the honor of being presented at court.
Even his endless politeness had become tiresome.
The journey was only about twenty-four miles, and they had left early enough to reach Gracechurch Street around noon.
As the carriage approached her uncle and aunt’s house, Elizabeth saw Jane standing at a window, watching for them.
The moment Elizabeth entered the house, Jane was there to welcome her.
Elizabeth looked closely at her sister’s face and was happy to see that Jane was still healthy and as beautiful as ever.
On the stairs stood a group of young cousins.
They had been too excited to wait in the sitting room, but they were also too shy to come downstairs because they had not seen Elizabeth for nearly a year.
The house was filled with happiness and affection.
Elizabeth spent a wonderful day with her family.
The morning was busy with shopping and other activities.
That evening, they all went to the theater.
Later, Elizabeth found a chance to sit privately with her aunt.
Naturally, their first topic was Jane.
Elizabeth asked many questions.
She was more saddened than surprised to learn that Jane still had moments when she felt low.
Jane always tried hard to remain cheerful, but she could not completely hide her disappointment.
Still, Mrs. Gardiner believed that these periods of sadness would gradually pass.
She also told Elizabeth more about Caroline Bingley’s visit.
She described several conversations she had had with Jane.
From everything Jane had said, it was clear that she had finally decided to end her friendship with Caroline.
Mrs. Gardiner then teased Elizabeth about Wickham’s loss of interest in her.
She was impressed that Elizabeth seemed to be taking it so calmly.
“But, my dear Elizabeth,” she added, “what do you think of Miss King?”
“I would hate to believe that our friend is only interested in her money.”
“Tell me, Aunt, what exactly is the difference between being practical and being greedy when it comes to marriage?”
“When does sensible thinking end and love of money begin?”
“Last Christmas, you were worried that Wickham might marry me because I had no money.”
“Now he is interested in a woman with ten thousand pounds, and suddenly you are worried that he is being greedy.”
“If you tell me what kind of girl Miss King is, then perhaps I will know what to think.”
“She seems to be a very nice girl.”
“I have never heard anything bad about her.”
“But Wickham never paid her any special attention until her grandfather died and she inherited the money, didn’t he?”
“No.”
“But why should he have?”
“If he was not supposed to pursue me because I had no fortune, why would he pursue a girl he did not care about when she was also poor?”
“Still, it seems rather tasteless for him to become interested in her so soon after she inherited the money.”
“A man who is struggling financially cannot always afford to follow all the polite rules that comfortable people expect.”
“If Miss King doesn’t mind, why should we?”
“Her willingness to accept it doesn’t make his behavior right.”
“It may simply mean that she lacks good judgment or proper feelings about the matter.”
“All right,” Elizabeth said.
“You can have it your way.”
“Wickham can be greedy, and Miss King can be foolish.”
“No, Lizzy. That isn’t what I want.”
“You know I would be sorry to think badly of a young man who has spent so much of his life in Derbyshire.”
“Oh, if that’s all that matters, then I already have a very low opinion of young men from Derbyshire.”
“And the men they become close to in Hertfordshire aren’t much better.”
“I am tired of all of them.”
“Thank goodness I am leaving tomorrow.”
“At least in Hunsford I will meet a man who has absolutely no attractive qualities.”
“He has neither good manners nor good sense.”
“Perhaps stupid men are the only men worth knowing after all.”
“Be careful, Lizzy,” Mrs. Gardiner said.
“That sounds very much like the voice of a disappointed woman.”
Before the theater evening ended, Elizabeth received an unexpected invitation.
Her aunt and uncle were planning a pleasure trip for the summer and wanted Elizabeth to come with them.
“We haven’t decided exactly how far we will travel,” Mrs. Gardiner said.
“But we may go as far as the Lakes.”
Elizabeth could hardly have been happier.
She immediately accepted the invitation.
“My dear Aunt!”
“What wonderful news!”
“You have completely brought me back to life.”
“Goodbye to disappointment and bad moods!”
“What do men matter when there are mountains and beautiful landscapes to enjoy?”
“We are going to have an amazing time.”
“And when we come home, we won’t be like those travelers who return with nothing useful to say about where they have been.”
“We will actually remember everything.”
“We will know exactly where we went and what we saw.”
“Lakes, mountains, and rivers won’t all become mixed together in our memories.”
“And when we describe a particular place, we won’t start arguing about where everything was located.”
“Let’s at least try to make our first descriptions of our travels less unbearable than everyone else’s.”