Pride and Prejudice - Chapter 20
Pride and Prejudice - Bab 20
Elizabeth returned to Longbourn to find the household in despair. Her father had gone to London to search for Lydia, and Mrs. Bennet was inconsolable.
Berkat campur tangan seorang dermawan misterius, Wickham ditemukan dan dibujuk untuk menikahi Lydia. Keluarga itu selamat dari kehancuran.
"They are ruined!" she cried. "Lydia has ruined us all!"
Elizabeth mengetahui bahwa Darcy-lah yang menemukan Wickham dan melunasi hutangnya untuk memaksanya menikahi Lydia. Dia menyadari betapa dia sangat mencintainya.
Elizabeth tried to calm her mother, but it was useless. The scandal would indeed ruin the Bennet family's reputation, and finding good husbands for the remaining daughters would be nearly impossible.
Bingley kembali ke Netherfield dan melamar Jane. Dia menerima dengan gembira.
Days passed, and finally Mr. Bennet returned with news. Lydia and Wickham had been found, and they were to be married.
Akhirnya, Darcy kembali dan melamar Elizabeth lagi. Kali ini, dia menerimanya dengan bahagia. Kedua pasangan itu menikah, dan Elizabeth serta Darcy hidup bahagia di Pemberley.
"They are in London," Mr. Bennet said. "Wickham has agreed to marry Lydia, but he has demanded a large settlement."
Mrs. Bennet was overjoyed. "All is well! Lydia will be married!"
But Elizabeth was troubled. She could not understand how Wickham could afford to marry Lydia when he was supposed to be so poor.
Then she learned the truth. Mr. Darcy had been to London and had arranged everything. He had found Wickham, paid his debts, and provided the settlement that made the marriage possible.
Elizabeth was overwhelmed. Darcy had done this for her family? After she had treated him so badly, after she had rejected his proposal?
"He saved us," she whispered to Jane. "He saved Lydia and he saved our family's reputation."
But why? Why had he done it?
Then she understood. He had done it for her.
A few days later, Bingley returned to Netherfield, accompanied by Darcy. Bingley proposed to Jane, and she accepted him.
Darcy spoke to Elizabeth alone. He told her that his feelings had not changed, that he still loved her.
"I have loved you from the moment I first saw you," he said. "Nothing has changed that."
Elizabeth looked at him with tears in her eyes. She had been so blind, so foolish. But now she understood.
"And I have learned to love you," she said softly. "I love you, Fitzwilliam."
Darcy took her hands. "Then will you marry me?"
"Yes," Elizabeth said. "I will marry you."
And so, after all the misunderstandings, all the pride and prejudice, Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy found their way to each other. They learned that first impressions are often wrong, that pride can blind us to the truth, and that love can grow even in the most unlikely of places.
It was a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife. And sometimes, it is also true that a woman in possession of sense and spirit may find herself in want of a man who sees her truly and loves her for who she is.