The next morning, Elizabeth wrote to her mother and asked her to send the carriage so that she and Jane could return home that day.
But Mrs. Bennet had already decided that her daughters should stay at Netherfield until Tuesday. That would complete Jane’s full week of recovery.
So her reply was not what Elizabeth had hoped for.
She wrote that the carriage could not possibly come before Tuesday.
In a note at the end of the letter, she added that if Mr. Bingley and his sister wanted Jane and Elizabeth to stay longer, she had no objection.
Elizabeth had no intention of staying until Tuesday.
She also doubted that Bingley would ask them to stay much longer, and she did not want to appear as if she were making herself too comfortable in someone else’s house.
She therefore urged Jane to ask whether they could use Bingley’s carriage.
At last, they agreed that they should tell the family they had originally planned to leave that morning and politely ask for the carriage.
Everyone at Netherfield immediately expressed concern about their departure.
They all said they wished the sisters would stay at least one more day.
Jane was persuaded to delay their departure until the following morning.
Miss Bingley soon regretted encouraging them to stay.
She was jealous of Elizabeth and disliked her far more than she cared about keeping Jane at Netherfield.
Bingley was genuinely disappointed when he heard that Jane and Elizabeth were leaving so soon.
He repeatedly tried to convince Jane that she was not fully recovered and that traveling might make her ill again.
But Jane was certain that she was well enough to go.
Darcy, on the other hand, was pleased by the news.
Elizabeth had already stayed at Netherfield longer than he thought wise.
He found himself more attracted to her than he wanted to be. At the same time, Miss Bingley had become increasingly unpleasant toward Elizabeth and unusually irritating toward him.
Darcy decided that he must be extremely careful from now on.
He did not want Elizabeth to notice any sign of his admiration.
If she realized that he was interested in her, she might begin to believe that she could influence his future happiness.
He knew that his behavior over the previous day had already given her enough reason to suspect something.
So on Saturday, Darcy deliberately kept his distance.
He barely spoke ten words to Elizabeth all day.
At one point, they were left alone together for nearly half an hour.
Even then, Darcy kept his eyes on his book and refused to look at her.
On Sunday morning, after church, the time finally came for Jane and Elizabeth to leave.
Almost everyone was pleased that the visit was ending.
Miss Bingley suddenly became much friendlier toward Elizabeth and even more affectionate toward Jane.
When they said goodbye, she warmly told Jane that she would always be delighted to see her at either Longbourn or Netherfield.
She even gave Jane a very affectionate hug.
Then, to Elizabeth’s surprise, she held out her hand and shook it.
Elizabeth left Netherfield in excellent spirits.
But the welcome at Longbourn was far less enthusiastic.
Mrs. Bennet was surprised that they had come home so soon.
She complained that they had caused everyone unnecessary trouble and insisted that Jane would probably catch another cold because of the journey.
Mr. Bennet said very little about their return, as usual.
But he was genuinely happy to see both daughters again.
Their absence had made him realize how much life at home depended on Jane and Elizabeth being there.
That evening, the whole family gathered together.
The conversation was noticeably quieter and less enjoyable than usual because Jane and Elizabeth had been away.
Mary was, as always, completely absorbed in her studies.
She had discovered some new passages about music and human nature that she considered worth reading aloud.
She also had several serious moral observations to share, most of which sounded much like everything she had said before.
Catherine and Lydia, however, had much more exciting news.
They had plenty to tell Jane and Elizabeth about the regiment.
A great deal had happened since the previous Wednesday.
Several officers had recently had dinner with their uncle.
One of the soldiers had been punished.
And there was even a rumor that Colonel Forster was going to get married.