Before leaving, Mrs. Gardiner gave Elizabeth some honest advice. "Lizzy," she said, "you are a sensible girl. Do not get into a relationship with Mr. Wickham. He has no money, and neither do you. It would be very unwise. You must use your head and not just your heart. Your father expects you to be responsible."
Elizabeth replied, "I will try to be wise. At the moment, I am not in love with him. But he is the most interesting man I have ever met! I can't promise to be perfect, but I promise not to be in a hurry to marry him."
Soon after, the Gardiners left for London, taking Jane with them.
Mr. Collins returned to Hertfordshire a few days later to marry Charlotte Lucas. Mrs. Bennet was still angry, but she had to accept that the marriage was happening. On the day before the wedding, Charlotte came to say goodbye. She asked Elizabeth to come and visit her in her new home in Kent. Elizabeth promised to go in March, though she did not think the visit would be very fun.
The wedding took place, and the new Mr. and Mrs. Collins left for their home. Elizabeth and Charlotte wrote to each other often, but their friendship felt different now. Elizabeth could not respect Charlotte's choice to marry such a silly man. In her letters, Charlotte described her house and her life with Lady Catherine de Bourgh. She seemed satisfied and comfortable.
Meanwhile, Jane wrote from London. She had been there for a week but had heard nothing from Caroline Bingley. Jane finally decided to visit Caroline's house. When she saw her, Caroline was cold and formal. She made many excuses for why she hadn't written. She told Jane that Mr. Bingley was very busy with Mr. Darcy and that they hardly ever saw him.
Elizabeth was worried when she read this. Four weeks passed, and Jane still had not seen Mr. Bingley. Finally, Caroline Bingley visited Jane, but she only stayed for a few minutes. She was so rude and distant that Jane could no longer ignore the truth.
Jane wrote to Elizabeth: "My dear Lizzy, you were right about Miss Bingley. She was never my true friend. I don't understand why she pretended to like me, but I will not see her again. I am also sure now that Mr. Bingley does not care for me. If he did, he would have come to see me by now. I will try to forget him and be happy with our aunt and uncle."
Elizabeth was sad for Jane, but she was also glad that Jane finally saw the truth about the Bingleys.
Around this time, Elizabeth’s feelings for Mr. Wickham also changed. He had stopped paying attention to her and was now trying to marry a girl named Miss King. Miss King had just inherited ten thousand pounds.
Elizabeth realized she wasn't actually heartbroken. She wrote to her aunt: "I am now sure I was never really in love with him. If I were in love, I would hate Miss King! But I don't. I think it is very natural for a man to want to marry a girl with money. I wish him well."
Elizabeth was proud of herself for being so sensible. She realized that while handsome young men were nice to talk to, they also needed money to live on, just like everyone else.