Pride and Prejudice — Chapter Twenty-Seven (Abridged)

January and February passed quietly at Longbourn, and March was to take Elizabeth to Hunsford. At first she had not thought seriously of the visit, but Charlotte was depending on it, and Elizabeth gradually warmed to the plan. There was novelty in the scheme, and after months at home, a little change was welcome. She would travel with Sir William Lucas and his daughter Maria, stopping a night in London to see Jane on the way.

Her father would miss her, though he said little beyond asking her to write.

Her parting from Mr. Wickham was perfectly friendly, even affectionate on his side. His attentions had shifted elsewhere, but he had not forgotten that Elizabeth was the first woman to interest him, and he wished her well with real solicitude, reminding her what to expect from Lady Catherine de Bourgh. Elizabeth parted from him convinced she would always think kindly of him.

Her travelling companions offered little amusement. Sir William talked endlessly of his presentation at court, and Maria had nothing new to add; Elizabeth had heard all his absurdities before. The journey was short, however, and by noon they reached the Gardiners' house in Gracechurch Street, where Jane waited at the window to welcome them. The younger cousins crowded shyly on the stairs, and the day passed happily between shopping and an evening at the theatre.

That evening Elizabeth sat with her aunt and asked eagerly after Jane. Mrs. Gardiner admitted that although Jane tried to keep up her spirits, she still had moments of dejection, which she hoped would not last. She also described Miss Bingley's visit, which confirmed that Jane had given up the friendship entirely.

Mrs. Gardiner then teased Elizabeth about Mr. Wickham's shift of attention toward Miss King, a young woman who had just inherited ten thousand pounds, and praised her niece for taking it so calmly.

"What sort of girl is Miss King?" Mrs. Gardiner asked. "I should be sorry to think our friend mercenary."

"What is the difference," Elizabeth returned, "between the mercenary motive and the prudent one? At Christmas you worried he might marry me, because it would be imprudent; now, because he wants a girl with money, you call him mercenary."

"Only tell me what she is like, and I shall know what to think."

"A very good sort of girl, as far as I know."

"But he showed her no attention until she came into her fortune."

"Why should he, if poverty on both sides made it useless before? A man without means has little time for delicate scruples."

"Still, there is something indelicate in courting her so soon after the event."

"A poor man has no time for such decorums. If she does not object, why should we?"

"Well," said Elizabeth at last, "have it as you choose. He shall be mercenary, and she shall be foolish."

"No, Lizzy, that is not what I choose. I should be sorry to think ill of a young man who has lived so long in Derbyshire."

"Oh, if that is all, I have a poor opinion of young men from Derbyshire, and their friends in Hertfordshire are little better. Thank heaven, tomorrow I am off to find a man with no agreeable quality at all — stupid men are the only ones worth knowing."

"Take care, Lizzy — that speech savours strongly of disappointment," said Mrs. Gardiner, laughing, and accusing her niece of sounding disappointed herself.

Before the evening ended, Elizabeth received happier news: her aunt and uncle invited her to join them on a summer tour, perhaps as far as the Lakes. Nothing could have delighted her more.

"Oh, what felicity!" she rapturously cried. "What are men, compared to rocks and mountains? We shall return able to describe exactly where we have been and what we saw — unlike most travellers, who muddle it all together."