Summary: Chapter 46
When Elizabeth returns to her inn, she finds
two letters from Jane: the first relates that Lydia has eloped with
Wickham, the second that there is no word from the couple and that
they may not be married yet. Elizabeth panics, realizing that if
Wickham does not marry Lydia, the reputations of both Lydia and
the entire family will be ruined.
As Elizabeth rushes out to find the Gardiners, Darcy appears
and she tells him the story. Darcy immediately blames himself for
not exposing Wickham, and Elizabeth blames herself for the same
reason. She decides to return home immediately. After an apology
to Darcy and his sister for breaking their dinner engagement, Elizabeth and
the Gardiners hasten back to the Bennet home in Longbourn.
Summary: Chapter 47
On the way home, Mr. Gardiner attempts to reassure his
niece that Wickham will certainly marry Lydia because he will not
want his own career and reputation ruined. Elizabeth replies by
telling them generally about Wickham’s past behavior, without revealing
the details of his romance with Darcy’s sister. When she gets home,
Elizabeth learns that her father has gone to London in search of
Lydia and Wickham. Mrs. Bennet, of course, is hysterical, blaming
Colonel Forster for not taking care of her daughter. In private,
Jane assures Elizabeth that there was no way anyone could have known about
their sister’s attachment to Wickham. Fretfully, they examine the
letter that Lydia left for Colonel Forster’s wife, in which she looks
forward to signing her name “Lydia Wickham.”
Summary: Chapter 48
Mr. Gardiner follows Mr. Bennet to London and writes to
Longbourn a few days later with the news that the search has been
unsuccessful so far. He reports that Mr. Bennet is now going to
every hotel in turn looking for the couple. Meanwhile, a letter
arrives from Mr. Collins that, in his usual manner, accuses the
Bennets of poor parenting and notes that Lydia’s behavior reflects
poorly on the family as a whole. More time passes before Mr. Gardiner
writes to say that attempts to trace Wickham through friends and
family have failed. The letter further says, to Mrs. Bennet’s consternation,
that Mr. Bennet is returning home.
Summary: Chapter 49
Two days after Mr. Bennet returns to Longbourn, Mr. Gardiner writes
to tell him that Wickham and Lydia have been found and that Wickham
will marry her if the Bennets will guarantee him a small income.
Mr. Bennet gladly acquiesces, deciding that marriage to a scoundrel
is better than a ruined reputation.
The Bennets assume that the Gardiners have paid Wickham
a sizable amount to get him to agree to the wedding. Not “a farthing
less than ten thousand pounds,” Mr. Bennet guesses. The Bennets assume
that they owe a deep debt to their relatives. Mrs. Bennet is deliriously
happy at having Lydia married, even when her husband and daughters
point out how much it has probably cost. Her happiness is tempered
when her husband refuses to allow Wickham and Lydia to visit or
to provide his newly married daughter with money to purchase clothes.
