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After Lydia is married, she and Wickham come to Longbourn for a visit before joining Wickham's new regiment in the North. She is as silly as ever and very proud of her success in catching Wickham, even offering to get husbands for her sisters. But she accidentally lets slip that Darcy was at her wedding. Elizabeth writes to Mrs Gardiner for an explanation.—Anonymous

When the news has come from the Gardiners that Lydia and Wickham have been found and will be married, Mrs. Bennet is giddy with happiness, and starts arranging details of the wedding at Longbourn. It is pointed out that it can't be that way: Lydia can't come to Longbourn as an unmarried fallen woman; she will have to have gotten married first. Mrs. Bennet accepts that. Her emotions, never a model of stability even in the best of times, gyrate wildly.

The wedding takes place in London, attended only by Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner and Mr. Darcy. A letter from Mr. Gardiner says that Wickham has resigned from the militia, and will be sent to a regiment in Newcastle, in the North of England. Mr. Gardiner will satisfy Wickham's Brighton debts, if Mr. Bennet will satisfy the Meryton debts, of which he encloses a multiple-page list. Mrs. Bennet, as usual, carries on with incredibly silly plans for the newlyweds.

Lydia and Wickham come to Longbourn for a final visit before heading North. While the four sisters (other than Mary, who has no use for such things) are walking on the grounds, Lydia lets slip that Mr. Darcy had been at the wedding, a fact which she was supposed to have kept secret.

Elizabeth writes to Mrs. Gardiner asking for information about this. Mrs. Gardiner replies that Darcy had insisted on bearing all of the expense, secretly, while Mr. Gardiner took all the credit for it. Mr. Darcy admitted that the whole situation had been his fault, for not exposing Wickham's bad character.

There is more subtly vicious sparring between Elizabeth and Wickham. She makes clear that she knows the story but has no wish to continue the hostility.

Lydia and Wickham leave for the North. There is a charming moment at this point, with several of the Bennets being their quintessential selves. Mary plays the piano by herself. Kitty works on refurbishing a bonnet, getting frustrated and unhappy, and throwing her work across the room. Mrs. Bennet is upstairs in bed, moaning and groaning while maids try to attend to her. Mr. Bennet is in his study, enjoying a book and a glass of wine. Elizabeth is in her room, looking in a mirror and perhaps wondering what the future holds for her.

News comes from town that Mr. Bingley has returned and is moving back into the Netherfield estate. Jane privately tells Lizzy that she is quite over him and will not be affected by his return; Lizzy does not believe her. Mrs. Bennet is of course very upset that he did not immediately come to visit.

Bingley and Darcy drop by unexpectedly. Mrs. Bennet is very cordial to them. Bingley says he isn't sure how long he will stay. Lizzy and Darcy exchange surreptitious glances. The visit is somewhat awkward for everyone. After the visitors leave, Jane once again tells Lizzy that she is indifferent to Bingley, and Lizzy once again doesn't believe her. Lizzy says that Bingley may be in love with Jane after all.

The next day at Bingley's Netherfield estate, Darcy has finally revealed that he had separated Jane from Bingley, and concealed her presence when she was in London. Bingley is furious. Darcy apologizes, and says that he believed Jane and Bingley weren't really interested in each other, and he now sees that he was wrong in this. Bingley asks if he has Darcy's blessing. "Do you need my blessing?" "No, but I should like to know I have it all the same." "Then go to it." Darcy leaves for London.

Bingley goes to it. He arrives at Longbourn. Mrs. Bennet his beside herself with excitement, and wants Jane to get dressed instantly. (Kitty has a typical experience here. She asks Mary about a locket, and Mary makes a typically obnoxious and arrogant reply. Kitty responds, in a manner perhaps not in keeping with dignified Regency era behavior, by sticking out her tongue at Mary. Then their mother makes a remark that slights Kitty, who runs off, crying.) After much confusion and uproar, Jane and Bingley meet downstairs in the drawing room. Kitty, Lizzy, Mary, and Mrs. Bennet are there also. Mrs. Bennet makes winking gestures at the other girls, suggesting that she would like them to leave. She finally does get everyone except Bingley and Jane out of the room.

Mrs. Bennet and the three girls are upstairs. Lizzy wants to go downstairs; her mother says "Stay where you are. Five more minutes will do the trick." When Lizzy goes downstairs, five minutes have done the trick; Bingley has proposed.

After the news has spread through the household and Bingley is leaving, Mr. Bennet makes one of his typical droll comments: "There are few men whose society I can tolerate with equanimity. I believe you may turn out to be one of them."

Lady Catherine de Bourge arrives, in an extremely large and elegant carriage. She hurls several imperious insults about the family, the house, and the grounds. She demands that Lizzy go outside for a private conversation. She says that she has heard a rumor that her nephew, Mr. Darcy, is about to be engaged to Lizzy. Lizzy was not aware of this. Lady de Bourge is incredibly rude and arrogant about everything. She insists that Darcy has been engaged, since infancy, to her daughter Anne. The encounter is spectacularly nasty. Lizzy, no shrinking violet when it comes to verbal sparring, gives no ground whatsoever, even though the rumor about being engaged to Darcy was a complete surprise to her.

After Lady de Bourge leaves, Mr. Bennet tells Lizzy of a letter he just received from Mr. Collins. It seems that Mr. Collins believes that Mr. Darcy is about to propose to Lizzy, and that Lady de Bourge is not happy about it. Mr. Bennet is aware that Lady de Bourge has just visited, and says "I suppose she came to refuse her consent, eh?" He finds the whole thing amusing.

The next day, Bingley and Darcy visit. Bingley says that it is a nice day, and they should all (he, Darcy, Jane, Lizzy, and Kitty) go for a walk, which they do. After a while, Kitty leaves the others to go visit with her friend Maria Lucas. The other four continue--Bingley and Jane in front, Darcy and Lizzy a short distance behind.

Lizzy thanks Darcy for his kindness and generosity in straightening out the situation with Lydia; she is the only one in the family who knows that Darcy did this. Darcy says that, though he respects the family, he did what he did specifically for Elizabeth. He says that his feelings toward her are unchanged from what they were when he proposed to her a few months back. If her feelings are the same as when she rejected him, he will say no more. He says that, when Lady Catherine de Bourge reported the rumor that he and Elizabeth would soon be engaged, and that Elizabeth had refused to deny this, it gave him hope that her feelings had changed. Elizabeth says that her feelings have turned around completely. Darcy expresses remorse for his behavior at the time that led to her rejection of him, and Elizabeth expresses remorse for her words at the time. Darcy recalls Elizabeth's words "Had you behaved in a more gentleman-like manner" and that "I could not have addressed you in any possible way that could have induced you to accept me." Elizabeth expresses her regret for having said such things. Darcy says "As a child I was given good principles, but was left to follow them in pride and conceit, and such I might still have been but for you, dearest, loveliest Elizabeth."

Back at home, Lizzy has a hard time convincing Jane that she and Darcy are engaged. She also has a hard time convincing her father, but he finally comes around, saying "I could not have parted with you to anyone less worthy, Lizzy."

A double wedding is performed, for Bingley and Jane, and for Darcy and Elizabeth. It is attended by everyone involved in the story except Wickham, Lydia, Lady de Bourge, and her daughter Anne.