Page 170 of The Governess of My Heart
“You married again, if I am right, within a year after a demise, did you not? That was easy for you, I assume.”
Lord Anderson knew he had nothing to defend himself on that subject; it tortured him to think that while Elizabeth was raised by the Bennets, he had married Lady Anderson, unaware that Sarah had died, leaving behind his daughter.
Just then, Elizabeth and Darcy entered the room, looking tense as Georgiana informed them about the arrival of Elizabeth’s uncle.
It was two days since he had seen her, and Lord Anderson could not help but feel relieved to have her in his presence. Elizabeth said nothing to him as Darcy welcomed her uncle to his home.
“I apologize for arriving unannounced, Mr. Darcy. I assumed you would be home,” Mr. Gardiner said.
Darcy and Elizabeth could sense the tension in the room. Without wasting time, Darcy explained Elizabeth’s discovery about the letters being forged and witnessed the shock and horror on both men’s faces as they tried to digest the truth. She held out the letters to her uncle, and he immediately grabbed them and tried to understand what she meant.
“You are right, Elizabeth. I do know that Fanny writes the letter “y” this way.”
He handed the letters to Lord Anderson, and he quickly compared them.
This cannot be possible. Was I tricked? If this is true, I abandoned Sarah and let her face the wrath of this world because of my stupidity.
He looked at Elizabeth with guilt.
“The letters reached you through Mrs. Lewis, am I right?” Darcy asked Lord Anderson.
“Yes, I did not trust anyone else. That is why I never doubted the credibility of them.”
“I still cannot believe that Fanny did something like this. But why? What could be the motive? The letters mention Sarah’s marriage; if Fanny had written them all, she must have been aware of it. But she also chose to hide it. I cannot explain how much we resented Sarah for her condition. Fanny witnessed everything but kept silent, and this is beyond cruelty.”
“I no longer doubt what she is capable of, Uncle, and I say this because I have personally experienced her evil schemes. Please tell me, how was her relationship with my mother? Were they close?”
“They were, especially after I returned. Though Father and I were angry with Sarah, Fanny was not; at least, that was what I thought. She had been with her always since Mrs. Lewis left.”
Everyone understood that they could not prove anything unless Mrs. Lewis was found.
“Elizabeth, I promise you, I will try my best to find Mrs. Lewis. I am heading to meet some old acquaintances of our family to see if anyone has any information about her. I will keep you and Mr. Darcy apprised of what I find,” Mr. Gardiner said and then left them.
Elizabeth immediately excused herself and left to meet Georgiana. Before supper, she was summoned by Darcy, and when she entered the study, she was surprised to see a handsome man seated along with Darcy.
The expression on his face as she walked in was pure shock, and Elizabeth could not make sense of it.
“Elizabeth, allow me to introduce you to my best friend, Mr. Charles Bingley. I stayed with him during my time in Hertfordshire. Charles, this is Miss Smith, and for your better understanding, Miss Elizabeth Bennet, Mary’s sister,” he said, and from the tone of his voice, Elizabeth understood that Mr. Bingley was aware of her past.
Darcy stood and walked up to Elizabeth and held her hand. Mr. Bingley stared at her in silence, unable to say anything.
“It is my pleasure to meet you finally, Mr. Bingley. I have heard so much about you from Fitzwilliam, and I must mention that Mary wrote a lot about you in her letters,” Elizabeth said.
“I am engaged to her,” Mr. Bingley blurted out without thought.
“What?” cried Elizabeth.
His friend’s conversational skills amused Darcy for the first time. Unlike Darcy, Mr. Bingley was always confident when it came to making a good first impression, but now, he stood there tongue-tied after declaring he was engaged to Mary.
“Fitzwilliam, I do not understand; Mary did not mention anything in her previous letter.”
“Well, they got engaged only a few days ago.”
Finally, Mr. Bingley collected himself.
“I apologize, Miss Elizabeth. It is indeed a pleasure to meet you. I am sorry, but I am still shocked to hear the details Darcy related to me now. I did not have the slightest idea about the Bennet family holding such a secret. I can now understand why Mary has been distressed since our engagement.”
“Please do not be upset with her for keeping you in the dark. She is still unaware of so many details and does not even know I found out who my father was. I have not written to her about it.If I am standing here today, alive and happy, it is because of her. Please do not think she kept this from you on purpose.”
