Episode V

Mr. Darcy, Georgiana Darcy and Mr. Bingley visit Elizabeth at the Lambton Inn soon after their arrival at Pemberley. Georgiana turns out to be a shy, polite young girl to whom Elizabeth takes a liking. Mr. Bingley is his usual cheerful self and is delighted to see Elizabeth again. During their visit, Elizabeth and her Aunt and Uncle Gardiner are invited to dine at Pemberley the following evening.

The visit to Pemberley proceeds quite smoothly. Elizabeth and Georgiana take turns playing the piano. Caroline Bingley, out of spite towards Elizabeth, makes a reference to Mr. Wickham which distresses Georgiana but the situation is handled smoothly by Elizabeth.

After Elizabeth leaves, Caroline and her sister, Mrs. Hurst, take turns criticizing Elizabeth’s appearance. Caroline, in particular, seems to be determined to do everything possible to lower Darcy’s high opinion of her. She provokes him until, finally, he retorts that he has considered Elizabeth to be one of the handsomest women of his acquaintance for many months.

The next day, Elizabeth receives two letters from Jane which bring alarming news. Lydia, her youngest sister, has eloped with Mr. Wickham. In addition, it is doubtful that Wickham has any intention of marrying her. They have disappeared without a trace and the only clue is that they may be hiding in London. While Elizabeth is recovering from shock, Mr. Darcy arrives for a visit. His thoughtful and gloomy reaction to her news of Lydia leads Elizabeth to believe that her sister’s elopement has brought disgrace to her whole family.

Elizabeth and the Gardiners return to Longbourn immediately. They find Mrs. Bennet holed up in her room, having fits and feeling sorry for herself. After Jane shows Lydia’s last, thoughtless letter to Elizabeth, there is nothing else to do but wait for news from their father who has gone to London to search for Lydia. Their wait is interrupted by a visit from the odious Mr. Collins who has ostensibly come to sympathize with the family. In fact, he is there only to gloat over the fact that he will not be involved in the Bennet family’s disgrace. Mr. Bennet finally returns from London without any news of Lydia or her whereabouts. Mr. Gardiner, who lives in London, is to continue the search alone.

Meanwhile, Lydia, the object of all this commotion, is in a small, rundown suite in London with Wickham. She is as silly as ever and very proud of her success in catching Wickham. Wickham, on the other hand, is beginning to find her immaturity tiresome.

In another disreputable part of London, we see Mr. Darcy wandering the streets purposefully searching for something or someone. After much trouble, he locates the hideout of Wickham and Lydia.

A little later, Mr. Bennet receives a letter from Mr. Gardiner. Lydia and Wickham are not yet married but will be if Mr. Bennet agrees to certain conditions. The terms of the engagement are much lighter than expected, leading Mr. Bennet to believe that Mr. Gardiner has paid a great deal of money to Wickham in order to bring about the marriage.

The successful resolution of Lydia’s elopement leads Elizabeth to regret that she initially confided in Darcy. She finds it difficult to bear that Mr. Darcy is alive in the world and thinking ill of her.

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