(At the parsonage. The inhabitants are getting ready to go to dinner at Lady Catherine’s. Charlotte and her mother are on stage and Elizabeth comes in.) (Right)
Charlotte: Oh, Lizzie, you are dressed already. We won’t leave for awhile yet.
(the bell rings) Well, who can that be?
(Mr. Fitzwilliam comes in, Left, carrying a parcel)
Fiz: I’m playing postman, and have brought you a package of barley for your poultry. Good day, Lady Lucas and Miss Bennett. While I am at it, I’ll fetch Darcy home for dinner.
Charlotte: Mr. Darcy? Why, he isn’t here!
Fitz: Oh, well I am mistaken then. I thought I heard him say he was going to stop by.
Elizabeth: We’re leaving very soon ourselves, Mr. Fitzwilliam, why not stay a while and go on with us?
Charlotte: Yes, do. Please be seated. You must excuse me while I dress.
Lady Lucas: Pray, please excuse me, too. We shall be right back. (they exit, right)
Fitz: This is an unexpected pleasure, Miss Bennett.
Elizabeth: Thank you, Mr. Fitzwilliam.
Fitz: You knew my cousin while he was in the country with Mr. Bingley, is that right?
Elizabeth: Yes. Do you know Mr. Bingley?
Fitz: Yes, a little. They’re good friends.
Elizabeth: Yes, they are. Mr. Darcy takes very good care of Mr. Bingley.
Fitz: You hit it just right. He does watch out for him. Bingley is much in his debt, in fact, for Darcy recently saved him from a very imprudent marriage.
Elizabeth: Oh! I see. How did Mr. Darcy do that?
Fitz: I don’t know the whole story. I think he separated them somehow.
Elizabeth: Did he give you his reasons?
Fitz: Evidently there was some strong objection to the lady.
Elizabeth: I see. I don’t see what right Mr. Darcy had to decide. I’m sure it made his friend very unhappy. (catches herself) But, then perhaps, he didn’t really care for the lady after all.
Fitz: He seemed to care for a while. I think he’s recovered by now, however.
Elizabeth: I see.
(Mr. Collins enters) (right)
Mr. Collins: Is everyone ready? We mustn’t be late. Lady Catherine cannot abide tardiness. Mr. Fitzwilliam, good-day. Come, everyone come. I hope you are ready, Miss Bennett.
(Charlotte and her mother and father appear)(right)
Mr. Collins: Everyone looks very nice. I hope, Miss Bennett, that you won’t worry because you can’t dress as elegantly as Lady Catherine and her daughter; she will like you just as well. She likes everyone to dress according to their station in life. Come along.
Elizabeth: I beg you to go on without me. Suddenly I have a terrible headache.
Charlotte: Lizzie, what can I do?
Elizabeth: Nothing at all. I’ll be fine after a rest. Please go on and enjoy yourselves.
Fitz: Miss Bennett, I’m sorry. Your absence will be a great loss to us all.
Elizabeth: (sighs) Thank you.
(The others leave her, saying good-bye)(Left)
Mr. Collins: (Just as he goes) Take my advice and come along if you get better. I’m sure Lady Catherine will be displeased that you stayed behind. (he exits)
Elizabeth: Well! She will have to be displeased then. I could never face Mr. Darcy after what I’ve heard. What could possibly be objectionable about Jane, except her lack of money. (She goes to the piano and plays a few notes, but upset and restless, she quits and exits to her room. Right. A few moments pass and then the doorbell rings. Mr. Darcy enters the room, left; she enters from right, the opposite side and they stand silent for a moment.)
Mr. Darcy: Are you alright? I met the others on the road and they said you were not well.
Elizabeth: I’m alright, thank you. (very coldly) (She sits down in chair on right, and Mr. D. also sits on couch. After a minute he gets up and walks around the room. Then he turns and comes toward her.)
Darcy: I have struggled with my feelings, but I cannot change them. In spite of my better judgment, I must tell you….that I love you with all my heart.
(Elizabeth is shocked. She can’t think of anything to say. He goes on)
I’ve loved you almost from the first time I met you. Your charm and beauty have left me helpless. But, I’ve fought it, because I knew how unwise it would be for me to marry a young woman of an inferior family. (She reacts to this) I’m sure your relatives and connections can cause nothing but trouble in my family. Every sensible argument is against the idea. But, my reason has had no effect on my heart. My love is stronger than all the arguments against it. I had to speak. I want you for my wife. (he is very confident)
Elizabeth: (she stands) In such situations I believe it is expected that the lady first express her gratitude for the gentlemen’s sentiments. If I could feel gratitude, I would now thank you.
But, you have bestowed your feelings so unwillingly, I’m sorry your love has given you so much pain. I hope you will soon be over it. I’m sure your reason will win in the end, especially now that you see how I feel. (Mr. Darcy I very surprised)
Darcy: Is this all the reply I am to have the honor of expecting! I might, perhaps, expect to be told why I am so quickly rejected. I suppose that isn’t important.
Elizabeth: I might as well ask you why you tried so hard to insult me by saying you like me against your will, against your reason and against your character? But, I do have other reasons. Even if you had been polite, do you think I could be tempted to love a man who has been the means of ruining my beloved sister’s happiness, perhaps forever? You can’t deny that you convinced Mr. Bingley against his will to leave her and break her heart.
(Darcy looks at her without emotions as though he doesn’t believe her. He hides his feelings)
Elizabeth: Can you deny it?
Darcy: I don’t. I did everything to save him from a foolish move. I haven’t been so kind to myself.
Elizabeth: But this isn’t all, Mr. Darcy. One of the kindest of men, Mr. Wickham has suffered dreadfully because of you.
Darcy: You take a great deal of interest in this gentleman’s affairs!
Elizabeth: Who knows what his troubles have been? How can I help feeling sorry for him?
Darcy: His troubles! He has troubles all right! (sarcastic)
Elizabeth: And of your making. You’ve reduced him to poverty; deprived him of his rightful property. You’ve ruined his life and now that you’ve done all this you can stand there and ridicule him.
Darcy: (crossing to the door) And this is your opinion of me! This is what you think of me! Thank you for explaining it to me so fully. My faults are grave, indeed. But, perhaps, this might have been over-looked if I hadn’t hurt your pride by being honest about my dislike of your relatives. I’m not ashamed of what I said. I was honest. Can you expect me to rejoice that your family’s condition is so much beneath my own?
Elizabeth: You are mistaken, Mr. Darcy, if you suppose that what you said about my family affects me. It simply made it easier to refuse you. Had you been more gentlemanly, I might have felt sorry for you.
You could not have made the offer of your hand in any possible way that would have tempted me to accept it. From the very first moment I met you, your manners have impressed me with your conceit, your arrogance, and your selfish disregard of other people’s feelings. You are the last person in the world I could be prevailed upon to marry.
Darcy: You have said quite enough, madame. You once cautioned me against prejudice. I see you had good reason to be acquainted with that vice. Forgive me for having taken so much of your time, and accept my best wishes for your health and happiness. (he exits at once. Left.)
(Facing the audience, Elizabeth changes from anger to tears and sinks down into a chair, crying.)
LIGHTS FADE ———–(30 seconds) LIGHTS UP
(At the parsonage. The next morning. Charlotte and Mr. Collins, sits right on stage. He reads a paper. Charlotte reads a letter. Elizabeth enters. Right.)
Charlotte: Good morning, Lizzie. I hope you are feeling better.
Elizabeth: (without much enthusiasm) I am, thank you.
Mr. Collins: We have news already this morning, cousin. It seems Mr. Darcy and Mr. Fitzwilliam are leaving for London this morning.
Charlotte: Mr. Fitzwilliam came by a while ago to tell us. I think he especially wanted to see you, Lizzie. But since you weren’t up yet, he went on.
Elizabeth: Oh, I see. Has the mail come in?
Mr. Collins: Just a moment ago. I had a paper from London and there were some letters here for you.
Elizabeth: Two! (she takes the letters) This one is from Jane. (She opens it and reads to herself for a moment.) Oh, listen to this. They are coming here—“We hope to be at the Collins’ on Thursday” in time for her to go home with the Lucas’s. “Our Aunt and Uncle have a surprise for you, Lizzie”.
Charlotte: A surprise! How fun.
Mr. Collins: This is Thursday. If they left early they should be here soon.
Charlotte: What a treat. I’m so anxious to see Jane. Mama and Papa will be delighted. I’ll just go tell mama. (She gets up and goes out, right)
(Mr. Collins begins talking. While he talks, Elizabeth reads her other letter. She is upset by what she reads, then folds it carefully and puts it away.)
Mr. Collins: The poultry looks better already and we had three fine eggs this morning. I had them for breakfast, myself. I hope my dear cousin, that our great comfort and splendid little home here doesn’t ever raise in your feelings of regret and pain in the knowledge that these blessings and this bliss, might have been, under other circumstances, more fully enjoyed by yourself.
Elizabeth: Oh—a no. Not at all. Please excuse me. (she exits R. and there is a knock at the door. Charlotte rushes out followed by her mother and Mr. Collins puts down his paper and rises)
Charlotte: Oh! Is that them?
(Jane and the Gardners enter left)
Jane: Charlotte! I’m so glad to see you. You remember my Aunt and Uncle Gardner.
Charlotte: Of course.
Jane: Mr. Collins, my Aunt and Uncle. This is my father’s cousin, Mr. Collins. You know Lady Lucas.
Elizabeth: (comes in, right) Oh, Jane! I’m so happy to see you (they embrace)
Charlotte: Come and sit down. (they do.)
Elizabeth: We just got your letter.
Mr. Collins: And I was very accurate in guessing you wouldn’t be long.
Mr. Gardner: We made very good time. We have a new coach, did you notice?
Mr. Collins: Oh, I must see it.
Mrs. Gardner: And Lizzie, we have a surprise for you. You’re coming on a holiday with us.
Elizabeth: Oh!
Charlotte: How fun.
Mrs. Gardner: Jane is anxious to get home, but I know you won’t let us down.
Mr. Gardner: We’re going to take a trip through northern England, where your Aunt was born.
Mrs. Gardner: Oh, I’m so excited. I can hardly wait. You will come along, won’t you, Lizzie? We’ve already written your parents.
Elizabeth: (resolutely) Yes. Yes, I will. It will do me good.
Mr. Collins: A new coach, you say, two horses? I must see it.
Mr. Gardner: Then come along. (They all go out to see the coach, except Jane and Elizabeth.) (exit left)
Jane: Elizabeth, you don’t look very well.
Elizabeth: Oh, Jane! A most dreadful thing has happened. And I’ve done something dreadful.
Jane: Good Heavens! What is it, Lizzie?
Elizabeth: How despicably I’ve acted! I’ve always prided myself on my discernment.
Jane: Please, Lizzie. What has happened?
Elizabeth: Yesterday, Jane, Mr. Darcy called on me, and proposed marriage to me.
Jane: Lizzie!
Elizabeth: He as much as said that it was in spite of his better judgment but that he couldn’t help himself.
Jane: Oh, Lizzie, I’m so happy for you.
Elizabeth: But, don’t you see? I refused him. I turned him down.
Jane: Oh, I see.
Elizabeth: I couldn’t have been more blind if I’d been in love. (she bit her lip) I accused him of—of taking away Mr. Bingley, and ruining Mr. Wickham. I told him he was the last person in the world that I would marry!
Jane: You were right, Lizzie. It must have been terrible for him to face the truth, but what you said was only just.
Elizabeth: Oh, but Jane. I’ve made a terrible mistake. This morning this letter came. (She hands the letter to Jane, who opens it and glances through it) Everything he has written there proves me to have been prejudiced and terribly wrong. He persuaded Mr. Bingley to leave because he believed you were only flirting, and that you didn’t care for him. And Mr. Wickham! What a fool I was to believe him. Mr. Darcy gave Mr. Wickham his inheritance and more. Mr. Wickham promptly squandered it and came back for more. When Mr. Darcy refused, Mr. Wickham, by taking advantage of her friendship, persuaded Mr. Darcy’s sister to elope with him. She was only fifteen, younger than Lydia. Fortunately, Mr. Darcy found out and stopped them. Miss Darcy, of course, has a considerable fortune. I was so deceived.
Jane: Poor Mr. Darcy! Think how he must feel.
Elizabeth: I’m sure his anger will overcome his love and save him a lot of pain.
Jane: I can hardly believe this about Mr. Wickham. He has such an expression of goodness and such an open gentle manner.
Elizabeth: Yes, they’re quite a pair of young men. One of them has all the goodness and the other has all the appearance of it.
Jane: I never thought Mr. Darcy so deficient in appearance as you did.
Elizabeth: I thought I was so clever to take such a dislike to him. I was bitter and vain.
Jane: You’re sorry, aren’t you.
Elizabeth: Yes, I am.
Jane: Perhaps you’ll meet Mr. Darcy again.
Elizabeth: No, Jane. Don’t think it. How could I ever face him? One thing has worried me. Lydia is still at the seashore near Wickham. Do you think we ought to let her know?
Jane: I don’t think it’s necessary. Lydia’s not that foolish and besides she has no fortune to tempt him.
Elizabeth: Then we won’t say anything.
Jane: No. Poor Lizzie. I’m glad you agreed to go with Aunt and Uncle Gardener.
(the others reenter) (Left)
Mr. Gardner: Well, Lizzie, run and pack. We’ll be on our way at once.
Elizabeth: It won’t take me long.
Mrs. Gardner: Jane, Mr. Collins tells us that you are all acquainted with Mr. Darcy, who owns the Pemberly Estates. That’s one of the places I want most to visit. It’s the most beautiful house and gardens in the world.
Jane: Oh! Do you know Mr. Darcy?
Mrs. Gardener: Oh, no! But, when he isn’t living there, the house-keeper is happy to show people through the house. Lizzie will love it.
Jane: Oh, I really doubt it. Lizzie never cared much for other people’s houses.
Mrs. Gardener: Well she can stay at the inn, if she likes. There is no problem. But, I especially want to see Pemberly again.
(Elizabeth enters, right, with her bag, which her uncle takes from her.)
Mr. Gardener: If we go now, we’ll get a long way today. Good-bye all.
Elizabeth: Good-bye, Jane. Give my love to everyone at home. Charlotte, I’m so grateful to have had this visit and to have seen you so happily situated. Write to me. Good-by cousin Collins. Come to see us soon.
All: Good-bye…(Elizabeth and the Gardeners leave)
CURTAIN