Page 144 of The Governess of My Heart
“Does she know now?” Elizabeth asked.
“Not yet, but I am certain she will know today.”
“Lady Martha, I hope you understand my concern in this matter. I cannot stand anyone hurting Elizabeth after the truth is out, and I believe Lady Anderson will be livid with anger, which I do not want to be directed at Elizabeth.”
“You think very less of me, Fitzwilliam, to accuse me of not caring about your fiancée. You must understand even though we became aware of the relationship only last night, she is my niece, and come what may, I am here to protect her. I will not have you insult me thus,” she cried angrily.
Elizabeth immediately held Lady Martha’s hand.
“Please do not be upset; I do not think he meant to hurt or accuse you. I do not have any inhibitions in returning to Ashton Park; you have protected me there since the day I set foot as Miss Smith,” Elizabeth pleaded.
“Forgive me if my words hurt you; you have supported us in our relationship, and I understand your love for her. I am only concerned at the repercussions of this becoming public and want to protect Elizabeth,” Darcy said with guilt.
Lady Martha composed herself. With every passing minute, she felt pressurized by the situation. As much as she liked Elizabeth, she did not hate Miss Anderson and understood very well that her brother’s family would be enraged by the truth.
“I assure you, Fitzwilliam, if Elizabeth’s welfare is in question at any point under my care, you can bring her back. But I am certain there is no room for that; our family has to face the repercussions of my brother’s actions. However, I will not allow anyone to get hurt because of it, especially Elizabeth, considering everything she has already been through.”
He nodded, and they left Pemberley, leaving an anxious Georgiana and Darcy behind. When he handed her into the carriage, Darcy assured her he would join her that evening.Elizabeth was glad to have the children in their carriage, and the twins were a welcome distraction to her restless mind.
She realized no one in the family knew the truth yet and wondered how Lord Ashton would react to the news, as she was now his cousin.
The house was strangely silent as the family returned. Lord Ashton was confused about why his uncle’s family had left earlier than them, and he wondered if something was wrong.
Elizabeth hurried upstairs to her room, not wanting to see Lord Anderson at that moment. However, she understood she had to see him and read the letters written by her mother.
Meanwhile, Lord Anderson and his brother awaited Lady Martha’s return and met with her in the study.
“Is she here?” he asked bluntly.
“Yes, your daughter is here, although Fitzwilliam was reluctant to send her with me,” Lady Martha replied dryly, noticing a stack of letters on the table.
“You can read these. I am unable to forget her, our relationship, and everything I did for love; I have had these letters in my safe for the past twenty years. I am uncomfortable sharing these with anyone to prove a point, but she leaves me with no choice. You can read all the letters, the ones Sarah wrote to me before our marriage and after she returned to London, after our wedding. Sarah never wanted anyone to know about our marriage, especially her family, once she ended the relationship with me. I was devastated by her actions; you can ask Francis. I was not myself; I was coming to terms with losing the love of my life, thinking she cheated me for money. But I still do not understand why she wrote to me about marrying him when she was with my child.”
“You state you heard from common friends that she married Thomas Bennet; how could that be true?”
“A couple of friends from London wrote to me when I did not return there as planned. You must understand none of them knew of my status or original identity. They wrote to me about general news in town in my absence, which is how I became aware of her marriage. I had given them an address to one of our unoccupied tenant’s houses in our estate.”
“Did they write to you stating that Sarah Gardiner married Thomas Bennet?”
“No, they mentioned Miss Gardiner had married Thomas Bennet.”
“Don’t you see it, Mark? They must have mentioned her sister, and you misunderstood that.”
Lord Anderson looked lost, understanding that everything he had believed in was wrong.
“How could you live with this, Mark? Whatever your reasons were, you have betrayed two women, Mark; one is dead, and I am certain the other will wish she was dead once she knows the truth about Elizabeth.”
Lord Anderson was silent
“You plan on telling her today, don’t you?”
There was no reply from Lord Anderson.
“Tell me, or am I looking at a man who cannot own up to his actions, even after an innocent woman’s death? You must let the world know that Elizabeth is your daughter, and I understand that declaration would devastate your current family. But if we try to cover this up to protect your wife and daughter, it will be a larger crime than what you did twenty years ago.”
“I no longer want to hide it. I have carried the burden in my heart and mind all these years, not even aware that I had a daughter with Sarah, and I want to end the agony. I am prepared for the worst; after last night, I know nothing is in my control.”
Lady Martha nodded and agreed to be present during the conversation. She sat down to read the letters, and it took almostan hour to read all of them. She reread all the letters written by Elizabeth’s mother demanding money and informing her of her marriage with Mr. Bennet. Lady Martha finally realized how shallow her brother’s actions were, even though he had acted at the request of Elizabeth’s mother. Every word in the letters was faithful to the story he had related, and there was no difference in the writing of all the letters to conclude that they were forged. Lady Martha finally got up.
