Longbourn

An express comes from Colonel Foster to report that Lydia has run away with Mr. Wickham. Mrs. Hill tends to Mrs. Bennet in her distress. Sarah huddles in James’s bed, missing him.

Sarah takes a letter to the post office for Jane. She envies Lydia, thinking, “[I]t was something, it must be something, to be with the man you wanted. Even if it was just Wickham, there must be joy in it” (272). Jane tells Sarah she is a good girl.

Polly reports on Colonel Foster’s visit, describing Lydia’s departure. The postmistress reports that the militia officers left unsettled accounts, gambling debts, and molested women. Mrs. Hill feels sorry for Lydia, whom she cared for as a child; “[W]hat a poor, poor bargain she had made of herself,” Mrs. Hill thinks (277). Mr. Bennet will go look for Lydia and asks Mrs. Hill to pack for him. She resents that he will search for Lydia but not James. Sarah tries to ask Colonel Forster about James, and he scolds her for asking his assistance. Sarah breaks a dish in the kitchen, then sweeps up the pieces.