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Elizabeth writes to Mrs. Gardiner to tell her not to worry about her promise, as Mr. Wickham is no longer showing any interest in her. Indeed, Mr. Wickham has recently been paying 34 his attentions to a Miss King, recent heiress of 10,000 pounds. Elizabeth remains cordial to him, and realizes that her ease in seeing his feelings change indicates that her own feelings for him were not very strong. Elizabeth passes some dull winter months at home before eagerly making the trip to visit Charlotte at Hunsford with Sir William and his second daughter, Maria in chapter 4.

He amuses himself with her silliness and with his own pleasures of reading and living in the country. Elizabeth is pained to see this, and especially to observe how careless Mr. Bennet has been in the raising of his daughters. After the loss of the militia, Mrs. Bennet and Kitty become unbearable to Elizabeth, as there are many fewer social events to placate and entertain them. Elizabeth’s hope is that Kitty will improve herself in the absence of the flighty and uncontrolled influence of Lydia.

She still is not satisfied by Darcy’s recounting of the relationship between Jane and Bingley, but on a second reading of the letter, she realizes that Jane’s behavior was not that of a woman in love, and that Darcy might easily have missed the signs of Jane’s deep affection for Bingley. She is pained by Darcy’s comments on her family’s behavior, but finds his critiques just, and feels some little pleasure at the complement that he offers to both Jane and Elizabeth, who rise far above their parents and sisters in his estimation.