Pride and Prejudice — Chapter Thirty (Abridged)

Sir William stayed at Hunsford for only a week. Before he left, he was happy to see that his daughter had a comfortable home, a good husband, and a good neighbor. While he was there, Mr. Collins spent his mornings driving him around the countryside. After Sir William left, everyone went back to their normal routines. Elizabeth was glad that they did not see much more of Mr. Collins, because he spent most of the day working in the garden or reading and writing in his own room, which looked out onto the road. The room where the women sat faced the back of the house. At first, Elizabeth wondered why Charlotte did not use the nicer, sunnier room instead. But she soon understood: if the room were more pleasant, Mr. Collins would spend more time there. Charlotte had planned it that way on purpose, and Elizabeth admired her for it.

From their sitting room, they could not see the road, so they depended on Mr. Collins to tell them which carriages passed by, especially Miss De Bourgh's small carriage. He reported this almost every day, even though it happened all the time. Miss De Bourgh sometimes stopped to talk with Charlotte for a few minutes but almost never got out of her carriage.

Mr. Collins visited Rosings, Lady Catherine's grand house, nearly every day, and his wife often went with him. At first, Elizabeth could not understand why they spent so much time there, until she remembered that Mr. Collins hoped Lady Catherine might help him get an even better position someday. Lady Catherine also visited the Collinses sometimes. When she did, she noticed everything: she looked at their sewing, told them to do it differently, criticized their furniture, and complained that their portions of meat were too large. Elizabeth realized that Lady Catherine controlled not only her own house but the whole village, solving arguments among the poor families and telling everyone what to do.

Elizabeth spent her days pleasantly enough. She enjoyed talking with Charlotte and took long walks outside, especially along a quiet path at the edge of the park where no one else went. There, she felt free from Lady Catherine's watchful eyes.

Two weeks passed this way. As Easter approached, Elizabeth learned that Mr. Darcy was coming to visit his aunt at Rosings. Lady Catherine was delighted, since she hoped Darcy would marry her daughter, Miss De Bourgh. Elizabeth did not particularly like Darcy, but she thought his visit would at least be something new and interesting.

Mr. Collins was so eager for news of Darcy's arrival that he watched the road all morning. When he finally saw the carriage, he rushed home to tell everyone. The next day, he went to Rosings and returned with two gentlemen: Mr. Darcy and his cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam. Charlotte was thrilled, joking that Elizabeth deserved the credit for such an early visit.

When the men arrived, Colonel Fitzwilliam was friendly and easy to talk to. Darcy, however, was quiet and formal, as he had always been. He greeted Mrs. Collins politely, but for a while he said almost nothing. Eventually he asked Elizabeth about her family. She answered simply, then added, "My sister has been in London for three months. Have you seen her there?" She was testing him. She wanted to know if he felt guilty about keeping Jane and Mr. Bingley apart. Darcy looked slightly embarrassed and said he had never happened to meet her. Soon after, the two gentlemen left.