Page 146 of The Governess of My Heart
Lady Anderson listened with horror to every agonizing detail and finally understood that Elizabeth was legally his daughter.
“Who else knew about this?” she asked bluntly.
“My father knew; he assured me that my marriage was annulled. But…”
"But what?”
Lord Anderson explained that his father never got the annulment.
“How could you hide this for all these years? You could have killed me for doing this.”
“I know I have done something unpardonable, and I do not want to apologize and trivialize your distress. You must understand, Augusta, however bitter the truth is, Elizabeth is my daughter now, just like Beatrice.”
“Damn it! I knew it; everything makes sense to me now; you married me out of guilt, and all these years I thought you had…” she stopped abruptly, “I need to speak to my husband in privacy. Can you both leave us alone?” she cried.
Lady Martha and Mr. Anderson left the study in despair.
“Martha, I am truly sorry,” Mr. Anderson said to his sister as she stood outside the study.
“No, you are not; everything was easy for you both just because we had the status and wealth. Mark did not care about anything and married another woman, and you were a witness to everything. Don’t you have any guilt?”
“I do, and that is the reason why I never married. I could see how brother struggled with his marriage; he could never be happy with Augusta, and he lost the love of his life.”
“Do you expect me to sympathize with you, Francis? You must be jesting. I have nothing but disgust for both of you,” she cried.
“I can understand that we failed you.”
“No, you did not fail me; you acted just like how men have always acted. I am ashamed to be your sister, and I finally understand that you and Mark are no different from father; wealth and status were always his priority, and you both usedthe same to safeguard all your faults,” she cried and headed up the stairs.
Mr. Anderson finally realized the truth in her words and wondered if his sister would ever forgive him.
Chapter 43
Elizabeth felt suffocated as she finally completed reading all the letters. When she opened the first one, she was shocked to see the striking resemblance in the writing between her mother, Sarah, and Mrs. Bennet. She had mentally prepared herself for the worst when she started reading the letters written by a woman she would never see in her life. Elizabeth could sense the depth of her mother’s love for Lord Anderson in her words, and she wondered how she could have trusted him so blindly to marry him but never disclose his name to anyone.
The letters written by her mother after she returned to London conveyed every detail of how she wanted to end the relationship with Lord Anderson, and Elizabeth found it strange that she suddenly wanted to end their marriage after returning to London. The reasons cited were the same as those mentioned by Lord Anderson. Her mother’s words reflected a sudden shift in her regard for her husband. Elizabeth was shocked to read her words, demanding money, stating how Lord Anderson had taken advantage of her after marriage, and ruining her.
She read the letters repeatedly, wanting to find one reason to discredit them.
These were not forged; there is no change in the writing from the initial letters until the last.
Though similar to the hand of Mrs. Bennet, there was nothing else that stood apart. And Elizabeth knew Mrs. Bennet’s choice of words very well, and she was certain the ones she had in hand were written by a woman with much more command of the language, and every word proved that whoever wrote it had a strong sense of judgment and intelligence, which Mrs. Bennet lacked.
After a couple of hours, Elizabeth gave up.
I cannot do this anymore. Now, I have nothing to defend her except my instinct. She would never have demanded money when she wanted to safeguard him from the whole world. She never married anyone else, and none of this makes sense.
Elizabeth realized that her only hope now was to find out the truth in London.
Someone must know what happened; we must find Mrs. Lewis.
She was glad when no one disturbed her that morning, and she ate dinner in her room. Elizabeth could not stop thinking about how each family member would react to the truth. She was certain Lady Anderson would lash out at her once she became aware that she was Lord Anderson’s daughter.
Elizabeth felt that the truth had not impacted her alone but spiraled to everyone around and altered their lives forever. However uncertain the outcome of the truth would be, she knew that she could never accept Lord Anderson as her father, nor would she care for his status, wealth, and the legitimacy of her birth. According to her, he was the cruellest man on earth.
She longed to discuss the matter with Darcy and was certain he would visit her that evening as promised.
Downstairs, Lord Anderson and his wife finally emerged from the study after a conversation they wished they had had before their marriage. Lady Anderson felt as though the world had crashed on her; she did not know how to disclose the details of her horrific situation to her daughter, who was already distressed.
