After returning from the Matlocks', Eleanor stayed up late talking with Richard and her father. She was very disappointed with her future in-laws and felt sad; she loved Richard very much but she was no longer willing to put up with the slights of the Matlocks.
The following afternoon, she visited Elizabeth and Mrs. Barton, and they discussed what had happened at the engagement dinner and her plans for the wedding.
"…There are times when I wish I never had to see the Matlocks again, but Lady Matlock already sent out the invitations to the church and the wedding breakfast. She even already hired several servants for that day."
Elizabeth and Mrs. Barton nodded and Mrs. Barton asked, "What does your fiancé think? I suppose he realized that Lady Matlock and to a lesser extent Lord Matlock treat you with disdain?"
"Richard is very disappointed and upset with his family. He said that the decision is mine and that he's going to support me." She sighed, "In situations like this I wish he wouldn't be so nice and considerate of me. If I tell him that I don't want the wedding breakfast to be at his parents' house, he will surely quarrel with his parents because of me…"
Mrs. Barton nodded and replied, "I understand you; Your situation is very difficult since the wedding is only five days away, but that does not mean that you have to tolerate the disdain of your fiancé's parents. He should have a serious talk with his parents and make it clear to them that he will no longer tolerate them treating you like that anymore."
Eleonor nodded and sighed, "Yes, he told me that he's going to have a serious talk with them today. Fortunately, after the wedding, I won't have to see them for a while."
Elizabeth, who until that moment was thoughtful, told her, "Forgive me Eleonor but I prefer not to attend your wedding breakfast at the Matlocks'" seeing Eleonor's sad face, she added, "but I'll gladly attend the wedding."
"I understand you," she sighed, "although I would like for you to change your mind …"
Half an hour later, Richard fetched Eleanor and reiterated his wish that Elizabeth and Mrs. Barton attend the wedding. He had spoken to his mother, and as he imagined, she pretended not to understand what he was talking about... but finally she promised him that from now on she would treat her future daughter with the utmost courtesy.
That night Elizabeth had a hard time falling asleep; she tried to read "A Midsummer Night's Dreams", without success. She remembered everything she had heard at Eleonor's engagement party and her conversation with Mrs. Smith. Until a few days ago, she had never thought about the possibility that Mr. Darcy might have a contagious disease from being intimate with disreputable women... Was she really willing to take that risk? What would become of little Rose if she got sick and died? Her aunt and uncle were over 50 and Mrs. Barton was 60... Was she willing to be part of such a snobbish and hateful family? Was she willing to put up with the dismissive, and inappropriate comments they made about her? At the Matlocks' she had to bite her tongue not to tell them what she thought of them...
She had many doubts and when she finally fell asleep her dreams were plagued by nightmares... In one of them, little Rose was lost in a forest similar to the one in Lonbourn. Elizabeth heard her crying, but as much as she looked for her and called her, she could not find her, and Rose's crying was heard farther and farther away. She quickened her pace, trying to find her, but it was all in vain... At a bend in the road, to her surprise, she met her sister Jane and Patrick... They both looked at her with a mixture of sadness and censure. Patrick just turned and disappeared down the path, while Jane shook her head and said, "You promised me that you would take care of my daughter, and you failed..., now she will be left alone and defenseless. I am very disappointed in you, Elizabeth." Elizabeth woke up with a start and with tears in her eyes; she got up and ran to Rose's bedroom, who was sleeping peacefully in her bed, and hugged her tightly...