Pamela

Mr. B has recovered, and offers to take Pamela for a drive in his carriage. Pamela wonders if she should change into finer clothes, but he is happy with her modest country attire. Mr. B admits that everyone will disapprove of the marriage between him and Pamela. Pamela tells Mr. B that she does not care what anyone else thinks, and feels confident they can have a happy life together.

Pamela shows him the anonymous note she found in the garden, and confronts him about the sham marriage plot. Mr. B was indeed going to trick Pamela into a sham marriage; Mr. Longman knew about it, and took it upon himself to warn her. Mr. B abandoned this plan when he reflected that it was disrespectful to Pamela and would mean any children born from their relationship would be illegitimate.

Mr. B has invited some of his aristocratic friends to come to dinner and meet her; he asks her to wear her simple country clothes. She also forgives Mrs. Jewkes everything. Mr. B and Pamela are now very happy and loving with one another; Pamela cannot believe how much her life has changed.

Mr. B and Pamela discuss their wedding. He wants to marry in his house, but Pamela would prefer a church, so they compromise on the family chapel.

Mr. B is eager to receive Pamela’s letters to her parents, but Pamela’s parents refuse to give them up, disbelieving that Pamela would want anyone else to read these letters, and fearing that she was being forced into marriage, or had finally surrendered her virtue to Mr. B. Mr. B acknowledges that, “the worthy couple don’t know my honorable intentions by their dear daughter” (315), and is not angered by this refusal. He suggests that Pamela write a letter updating her parents, and reassuring them; Pamela does so, and shows it to Mr. B before she sends it off. She also voluntarily shows him her newest journal entries.

Mr. B’s aristocratic friends arrive, and are all impressed by Pamela’s beauty and sweetness. They invite her to eat with them (an indicator of social parity), but Pamela declines since, “I have too great a sense of my unworthiness to be easy under such a distinction” (323). After spending some time with the guests, Pamela slips away, but Mr. B calls her back: There is another guest who has joined them. Pamela is astonished and delighted to see her father.

Pamela, now writing solely to her mother, explains the events that led to her father’s arrival. After Mr. B’s messenger asked for Pamela’s letters, an anxious Mr. Andrews decided to go to the estate himself. Mr. B reassured Mr. Andrews, promising him that Pamela was safe and virtuous, and that “your daughter is the beloved of my soul” (327). The other aristocratic guests were delighted that they got to meet not just Pamela, but also her father, and begged to be allowed to witness the reunion between them. As Pamela unexpectedly reunites with her father in front of the crowd, she happily reassures him of how bright her future is. Mr. Andrews has brought the letters, and Pamela gives them to Mr. B. After the guests leave, Mr. B urges to have the wedding as soon as possible. Pamela asks to think about it overnight.

In the morning, Mr. B joins Pamela and her father in the garden. He has read the papers during the night; he is saddened by the way that Mrs. Jewkes treated her, and is somewhat concerned by how close she came to becoming the wife of Mr. Williams. Mr. B and Mr. Andrews both encourage Pamela to keep writing. Mr. B asks Pamela to dress up in her finer clothes, which she willingly does, and he presses again for an earlier wedding date.

Later, Mr. B stages an encounter between himself, Pamela, and Mr. Williams; they reconcile. The chapel at the estate has been cleaned and restored in preparation for the wedding, and Mr. B invites Mr. Williams to hold a service there the following day.

Some of Mr. B’s aristocratic friends, as well as the household servants, gather for the church service. Mr. B shares a version of a psalm that Pamela created, paralleling her experience of imprisonment with Biblical experiences of exile. Several of the aristocratic ladies ask about the wedding date, encouraging Pamela to hold the wedding sooner; others suggest that they celebrate the wedding with a ball. Pamela declines, arguing that marriage “is too solemn an affair, for the parties of our sex to be very gay upon it” (355). Mr. B’s friends leave; Mr. Andrews also begs to go home, so that he can see his wife and tell her about what has happened to Pamela. They agree that Mr. Andrews will leave in the morning.

The marriage license arrives; Pamela and Mr. B can now marry anytime. Mr. B is eager to marry as soon as possible, but Pamela is hesitant, pushing for the latest possible date (ten days away). Mr. B argues with her, and they compromise on the coming Thursday (three days away). Later, Mr. B mentions that he has received a letter from the husband of Lady Davers. Pamela expresses hopes for reconciliation. Mr. B is taking care that no one knows the true date on which he and Pamela will wed, for “Lady Davers, were she to know the day, should make an unwelcome visit” (361).

Mr. B looks forward happily to life with Pamela; he also asks her to not spoil his enjoyment by being too serious or pious all of the time. Pamela feels uneasy as the wedding approaches.

On the evening before the wedding, Mr. B can tell that Pamela is anxious; he comforts her very sweetly, asking what is wrong, and how he can help. He offers to postpone the wedding, but Pamela decides that “it will be too much the same thing, some days hence, when the happy, yet […] Awful time, shall be equally near” (365). Pamela continues to worry about being unworthy of Mr. B, and causing a rift between him and his sister.

Mr. B summons Mrs. Jewkes and tells her that he and Pamela will be secretly married the following day. He also says that they plan to travel to Bedfordshire soon afterwards. Mrs. Jewkes has heard that Lady Davers is going to visit Lincolnshire soon, hoping to stop the wedding. However, since Lady Davers expects the wedding to be a full week later than the real date, it is likely that Pamela and Mr. B will already be gone by the time she arrives.

Pamela awakens early on her wedding day, anxious about the risk that Mr. B is taking by marrying a woman from a lower social station: “how shall I compensate him for the disgraces which he will bring upon himself for my sake” (371). Later that morning, Mr. B and Pamela are married in the chapel, with Mr. Williams performing the ceremony. Mrs. Jewkes and Nan help with the ceremony. No other servants realize what has happened, so the wedding should stay secret.

Shortly after the wedding, several of Mr. B’s friends stop by unexpectedly. They are all wild young men, and he is annoyed because they will want to stay to drink and gamble with him all night. After spending a few hours with his friends, Mr. B slips away to Pamela and promises to get rid of them. After they leave, Pamela takes some time alone before they have sex to consummate the marriage.

Pamela reports how happy she is with her new husband, and how well he treats her. Mr. B encourages her to write to her parents to inform them of the wedding, and also gives her a large sum of money to send to them. He promises Pamela lavish gifts, intending to “shew the world, that I have as much regard for you as I could have had a woman of the first quality and fortune” (381). He proposes that they leave for Bedfordshire on Tuesday; he gather his friends on Sunday and announce the marriage, so everyone will know that Pamela is a married woman when she travels with him back to his other estate. Pamela asks Mr. B to give Mrs. Jervis, Mr. Longman, Mr. Jonathan, and John the footman their jobs back, and Mr. B readily agrees. Pamela sends love to her parents, and signs the letter with her new married name.

Pamela and Mr. B send letters to the Bedfordshire servants, sharing the happy news that they can have their jobs back. Pamela is also happy to see that Mr. Williams is content with the new job that Mr. B has given him. Pamela prays about the new opportunities her wealth offers: “As thou has enlarged my opportunities, enlarge also my will, and make me delight in dispensing to others a portion of that happiness” (388).

Mr. B will set Pamela’s parents up on a small estate in Kent, where they can be comfortable. He will also give them money, and they are welcome to visit Pamela whenever they like. Moreover, Mr. B is going to give Pamela 200 pounds a year for her personal use. Pamela is overjoyed by his generosity.

At breakfast, Mr. B observes with pleasure that Pamela seems more relaxed. She expresses her complete happiness and asks him if there is any way she can improve herself, so as to better please him. Mr. B tells Pamela that she is already perfect, but then goes on to outline some desires for their future life. He wants her to always be elegantly dressed in case an unexpected guest arrives; he also does not like the fashion of wealthy women staying up late and sleeping in, and breaks down a detailed daily schedule of activities and mealtimes.

Pamela gets dressed in her finest clothes, and comes down to greet her guests. They congratulate the happy couple. Before the group can enjoy dinner, word comes that a friend of Mr. B’s is dangerously ill, and asking to see him. The other aristocrats leave, and Mr. B hastily departs to see his friend. Pamela spends the night alone with Mrs. Jewkes, who is now much more respectful.