Pride and Prejudice as summarized by Caleb, Part 4

When we last left our heroes they had just been attacked by a hoard of microbots and they had only barely escaped with their lives...

"I am not fast."

Oh oops. Wrong storyline. (sorry I just watched Big Hero 6 :P)

Anyway, picking up where we left off in Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth is still getting over the shock of Darcy's proposal. Only the next day she is out walking when he hands her a letter he wrote the night after his failed proposal.

Right now I think he wishes e-mail existed - or at least some alternative to a quill pen...

Elizabeth reads the letter and discovers the true story of Darcy's actions...

Wickham, it turns out, was not interested in a "living," and due to his frivolous lifestyle Darcy wasn't inclined to give it to him. Finally, Wickham attempted to elope with Georgina, Darcy's beloved little sister whom he is fiercely protective of.

Darcy caught them at the last second, thankfully, and no damage was done, but there was no way Wickham would be getting his living now. 

As for Jane and Bingley, Darcy observed that Jane didn't show much affection towards Bingley (what Darcy doesn't know is that Jane usually hides such feelings). The main reason he separated them, though, was that the sisters' family behaved rather inappropriately at the Netherfield ball.

Armed with this information, Elizabeth comes back home, unsure of what to do next or how much to tell the locals. Soon after, Lydia goes to Brighton to stay with the officers, and Elizabeth gets the break she needs, traveling with her aunt and uncle Mr. and Mrs. Gardener, a pleasant couple from London, up into the north country. 

It's rather hard to believe that Mr. Gardiner is actually Mrs. Bennet's younger brother, the difference between them is striking.

They travel to a town near Pemberley, Darcy's estate. Mrs. Gardiner suggests that they go for a tour of the place, and Elizabeth accepts - once she learns Darcy is out of town.

"That could've been mine..."

They are shown around the house and the housekeeper tells Elizabeth that the Darcy she knows was nothing like the one Elizabeth knew. 

What surprises Elizabeth even more is when Darcy suddenly shows up as they're exiting the house.

"And...how is your family?" (he repeats this like 2 or 3 times)

Although Mr. Darcy is rather awkward at first while getting over the surprise of Elizabeth's appearance, once he's past that he's surprisingly nice. Mr. and Mrs. Gardener find him a pleasant man, and they begin to notice that Elizabeth and Darcy seem to maybe like each other.

Darcy comes to call shortly afterward at the inn where Elizabeth is staying, and he brings Bingley with him. Bingley is, thankfully, still interested in Jane, and Darcy ends up inviting Elizabeth and the Gardeners to Pemberley for dinner, where Elizabeth gets to meet Darcy's sister, Georgiana.

(this is from the 2005 movie but I liked this scene...in the book and in the 1995 version Georgiana is much more timid)

While at the inn soon after this, Elizabeth gets a letter from her sister Jane and hears the dreadful news: Lydia has run off with Wickham, and their whereabouts are unknown. Darcy shows up just after she reads this, and leaves quickly after he hears the news. Elizabeth thinks he has given up on her because of the disgrace this has brought to her family, and quickly finds her aunt and uncle and comes home as soon as she can.

One more post should finish this up, that will be coming soon!