幸せな結末（Happily Ever After）

プライドと偏見 - 第20章

Pride and Prejudice - Chapter 20

謎の恩人の介入により、ウィカムは発見され、リディアと結婚するよう説得される。家族は破滅から救われる。

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.

エリザベスは、ウィカムを見つけ出し、借金を肩代わりしてリディアと結婚させたのがダーシーであることを知る。彼女は彼がどれほど自分を愛しているかを悟る。

"They are ruined!" she cried. "Lydia has ruined us all!"

ビングリーがネザーフィールドに戻り、ジェーンにプロポーズする。彼女は喜んで承諾する。

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.

ついにダーシーが戻り、エリザベスに再びプロポーズする。今回、彼女は幸せに承諾する。2組のカップルは結婚し、エリザベスとダーシーはペンバリーで幸せに暮らす。

Days passed, and finally Mr. Bennet returned with news. Lydia and Wickham had been found, and they were to be married.

"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.