Plot Summary
Chapter 44 of Pride and Prejudice by picks up the morning after Elizabeth's extraordinary encounter with Darcy at Pemberley. Elizabeth expects Darcy will bring his sister Georgiana to visit the following day, but the pair arrives at the Lambton inn the very next morning, catching Elizabeth off guard. She retreats from the window in a state of nervous agitation, pacing the room and struggling to compose herself while her uncle and aunt, Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner, exchange knowing looks -- they have begun to suspect a romantic attachment between their niece and Darcy.
Meeting Georgiana Darcy
When Georgiana enters, Elizabeth discovers that the girl's reported pride is in fact extreme shyness. At just sixteen, Georgiana is tall and graceful but barely speaks above a monosyllable. Elizabeth, who had expected an acute and unembarrassed observer like her brother, is relieved to find someone even more nervous than herself. Bingley soon joins the party, greeting Elizabeth with his characteristic unaffected cordiality. He inquires after her family in a friendly way, and Elizabeth watches him carefully for any sign that he still thinks of Jane.
Darcy's Transformation
The Gardiners observe the visitors with guarded curiosity and quickly conclude that Darcy is overflowing with admiration for Elizabeth. Darcy's behavior is strikingly changed: he is civil not only to Elizabeth but to the very relations he had once openly disdained. Elizabeth recalls their confrontation at Hunsford Parsonage and marvels at the difference, noting that she has never seen him "so desirous to please, so free from self-consequence or unbending reserve." The visit culminates in a dinner invitation to Pemberley, which Mrs. Gardiner accepts on Elizabeth's behalf.
Bingley's Lingering Feelings
Elizabeth also detects signs that Bingley still harbors feelings for Jane. He mentions that it has been "above eight months" since they last met -- "the 26th of November, when we were all dancing together at Netherfield" -- a precision of memory that delights Elizabeth. He asks whether all her sisters are at Longbourn, a question whose meaning lies more in "a look and a manner" than in the words themselves.
Elizabeth's Reflections
After the visitors depart, the chapter shifts to the Gardiners' private assessment: Darcy is clearly in love with Elizabeth, and his manners are so improved that the Hertfordshire circle "would not have recognized" him. Local reports in Lambton confirm Darcy's generosity, while Wickham's reputation suffers -- he left many debts behind when he departed Derbyshire, all of which Darcy quietly discharged. Lying awake that night, Elizabeth reflects on her evolving feelings. She no longer hates Darcy; what she feels is gratitude -- gratitude that he still loves her despite the harshness of her rejection, and gratitude for his willingness to forgive "all the petulance and acrimony of her manner." She admits she wants to know "how far she wished that welfare to depend upon herself."