Page 139 of The Governess of My Heart
“What happened? You look so unwell. Can I bring you something to drink?” she asked, worried.
“I do not want anything. I am sorry to keep you awake, Georgiana,” she said.
“Please try to sleep,” Darcy said and kissed her hand. “I will see you in the morning.” He motioned for Georgiana to step out of the room with him.
As Georgiana stepped out, he quickly hugged Elizabeth and reassured her that everything would be all right.
Darcy had no choice but to relate the events to his sister. He knew Georgiana needed to see the truth to support Elizabeth as a sister, and she was shocked by the discovery.
“Poor Elizabeth, I cannot believe what she is going through. Fitzwilliam, does this mean she is Lady Martha’s niece?”
Darcy nodded.
“She is devastated; I did not want her to sleep alone, so I brought her to your room.”
“I will take care of her; please do not worry,” Georgiana assured him.
Darcy fought hard to return to the room to check on her, but he knew he had to leave. He left downstairs, wanting to understand the situation better.
Meanwhile, after Elizabeth and Darcy had left, Lady Martha demanded answers from her brothers.
“Mark, for heaven’s sake, tell me, what is the secret about your past?”
Lord Anderson was silent. He clenched his jaw, trying to compose himself, and stared at the chain Elizabeth threw at him.
“Good Lord! I cannot believe you two. How could you do this to a woman, Mark? Her mother is dead, and all this while you assumed she had married someone else?”
“I did not assume; she wrote to me stating she did not want to wait for me and wanted to marry Thomas Bennet.”
“Do you realize how ridiculous you sound? She was married to you; didn’t you even question how she could marry someone else?”
“Martha, you must understand, I would never make such a hasty decision. Even before we married, her father intended to marry her to Thomas Bennet. But when we met in London, we fell in love, but I did not go to London as Lord Mark Anderson; I traveled that year hiding my original identity. Our parents wanted me to marry Augusta, stating she was the right match for me. I did not marry without love and never loved Augusta. I argued with my father about the same, and he warned me that there is nothing such as true love in the world, and any girl who loves me would do so only for my wealth. I came to London that year and moved into society without disclosing my original status to prove him wrong. I met Sarah during my time there, and we fell in love. She was unaware of my status or wealth, and I was elated that she loved me as much as I did. She was under the impression that I had no wealth or status. Her father’s business was in trouble, and she informed me he wanted her to marry Thomas Bennet as he was willing to settle their debts. As I had promised my father, I would not reveal my identity to anyone in London; I could not reveal my status to her. I returnedto Scotland and hoped to get his approval to marry her. But Father still did not agree to our match, and you very well know that Mother was very sick and was on her deathbed. I could not return to London and claim her hand as planned but still stayed in touch with her through letters.”
“Then how did you marry her?”
“She traveled north of England with her companion to spend a few weeks away from London. By chance, we met in Yorkshire, and I finally revealed my true identity to her; she pressed me to marry her immediately as her father forced a marriage with Thomas Bennet. I tried to reason with her that our mother was very sick, and I needed time. She reasoned with me that if we were married, no one could separate us in the future. She understood my situation, and I understood hers. She was desperate to save herself from marrying that man. Francis and her companion, Mrs. Lewis, were present for our wedding, and she returned to London the very next day. I promised her that I would come for her and claim her hand. But as fate would have it, our mother passed away as soon as I returned to our estate. Her only wish for me was to marry Augusta, her best friend’s daughter. On her deathbed, I could not reveal that I had married without her consent. But later, when I told my father, he was furious with me. He vowed that Sarah was behind my wealth. I told him she was not aware of my original identity for a long time; I firmly believed she did not marry me for my wealth.”
“Then what made you believe that she was behind your money?”
“After she returned to London, I wrote to her informing her of my mother’s passing. I could not travel to London as planned and requested her to wait.”
“I did not hear from her for many weeks. Then a letter arrived stating that she could not wait for me, as her father’s debts were mounting, and she wanted to marry Thomas Bennet to save herfamily. She demanded money for whatever happened between us.”
“And you believed it?”
“I struggled to believe it at first, but later received news from some common friends in London stating Thomas Bennet was getting married to her.”
“I wanted to leave for London to reason with her on her decision, but when Father knew about this, he made me realize that she was behind my money all the while, and that is why she married me in haste, to blackmail me later. I initially did not believe him, but several letters arrived confirming his words. She wanted nothing to do with me; she even threatened to ruin my reputation if I did not send the money and said our union was a grave mistake.”
“But look at the truth now, Mark. She never married anyone else, and I can understand Elizabeth’s anger; as she said, you should have sought her out. My God! She carried your child and never even informed anyone that she was married,” cried Lady Martha.
“I have proof, Martha; that is what she wanted. I do not know why she never married him; she never informed me she was pregnant. But if she never married, I know that Elizab…Miss Smith is my daughter,” he told her, unable to forget the past.
Lady Martha was confused by his story.
“We spent one night together as man and wife, and to date, I regret it. She stated in her letters that she was ashamed of what had happened between us. She declared that she made a mistake by marrying me and wanted me to stay away from her life. I have those letters; I have proof. I do not know what happened and why she did not marry him. I still do not understand why she kept her pregnancy a secret from me.”
“You made a grave mistake, Mark. How could you do this? And you married Augusta, hiding all this from us; I am ashamed of you.”
