Page 183 of The Governess of My Heart
“Answer her,” Lord Anderson yelled.
“I heard everything you said about my mother. Don’t you feel any sort of guilt for what you have done?” Elizabeth questioned Mrs. Bennet more calmly than she felt.
Mrs. Bennet pursed her lips, and her eyes flickered with anger. She could not stand to see Elizabeth in the flesh after all those months.
“And what about you, Papa?” she paused and corrected herself, “I should never address you that way even by mistake. Did you think for once about the life you both ruined? You helped her write those letters, didn’t you? The very sight of you both disgusts me; you both would do anything for money. I doubted it before, but now I am certain you will not care to ruin even your own daughters for money,” Elizabeth cried.
“How dare you?” Mrs. Bennet cried and angrily approached Elizabeth to strike her, but Lord Anderson and Darcy stopped her.
“Enough! Do not dare to touch her. I know you took the liberty to lay a hand on her in the past; don’t you dare to try that again,” Darcy yelled.
Mrs. Bennet trembled at the sight of an enraged Darcy, and Mr. Bennet knew they were caught red-handed.
“Leave this house, all of you; I do not want any of you here. Get out!” Mr. Bennet said, sinking into the chair as his world spun.
“You still think we came here just to confront you and nothing else?” Mr. Gardiner asked sarcastically.
“Edward, what are you saying? What do you plan to do?” Mrs. Bennet asked in despair; she finally realized the seriousness of the situation.
Darcy looked at Elizabeth, and she understood what was about to happen.
She approached the people who raised her and looked them in the eye.
“Goodbye!” she said and left the room with Mrs. Lewis.
Chapter 52
One morning, Elizabeth and Mary sat together in the comfort of Mr. Gardiner’s drawing room, recollecting the tormenting events of the past few weeks. A lot had happened since the day Elizabeth stepped foot in Longbourn.
The Bennets never expected the confrontation to end the way it did. Lord Anderson, Mr. Gardiner, and Darcy did not want to leave anything to chance that day and were well prepared for the Bennets to be arrested. The moment Elizabeth left the library, constables arrested Mr. and Mrs. Bennet, much to their horror.
Except for Mary, the rest of Elizabeth’s sisters were confused and horrified by the state of affairs. They could not understand the situation and were alarmed by the revelation, as Mary explained why their parents were arrested. Jane threw a tantrum when she saw them being taken away.
However, Elizabeth’s reunion with Mary was beyond emotional, and Darcy could see how much the sisters loved each other. Elizabeth felt sorry for the rest of her sisters, but her uncle assured her that he would take their guardianship.
The Bennets were sent to trial very soon, and all the evidence against them proved them guilty. Mr. Gardiner found documents and a few letters regarding the money Lord Anderson had sent to Elizabeth’s mother in Longbourn, which was submitted during the trial. Mrs. Lewis appeared as a vital witness in the case, and Mrs. Bennet confessed to her crimes, much to her husband’s horror, as she hoped it would lessen the punishment. Unfortunately for her, as per the verdict, the couple was sent to the Australian colonies and almost had no chance of returning to England.
As for Mr. Collins, Darcy and Lord Anderson had traveled to Kent to confront him, and he faced the same rage Mr. Dean had experienced from Darcy. Mary had helped expose his involvement with the Bennets through her statement, and he was banished from the parish, as he was publicly disgraced for his involvement with the Bennets in their evil schemes. Much to Lady Catherine’s shock, Darcy had informed her of his wedding, which made her furious. From the way they had parted after a heated argument, Darcy was certain there would be no future relationship between him and Rosings Park.
***
Now, the sisters sat in deep thought.
“Finally, everything is over. However, I do not feel happy when I think about what happened to them,” Elizabeth said.
“How can you still pity them? I do not. They are my own parents, after all; all their acts are so devious that I am so ashamed to be related to them. They left an unremovable mark of disgrace upon us, and I cannot ever forget it.”
“I do not pity them; I worry about what will happen to the rest of our sisters.”
Mr. Gardiner had already brought them to town, set them up in a townhouse close to his residence, and arranged for a companion to stay with them. As Elizabeth requested, Mr. and Mrs. Hill were employed in the household.
“Uncle Gardiner has been kind enough to take their guardianship, Lizzy. Although Mr. Bingley and I suggested they stay in Longbourn, we could take care of them.”
“That was gracious of you; I am unsure what will happen to Longbourn now. Fitzwilliam says Mr. Collins has been banished from Kent and the parish. With his current reputation, I am not certain how he can survive anywhere. I wish they had thought about the repercussions of their actions. As difficult as it seems, I see some change in Kitty and Lydia. They seem to understandthe world is very different from what Mamma wanted them to see, but Jane will never be happy with her new life.”
“She has no choice; Uncle is not like Papa; he will ensure she understands. If not for him, she will have no support in this world, so she needs to change her character. After the disgrace caused by our parents, I doubt whether any of our sisters would get a suitable proposal for marriage unless they prove worthy in their character, and more than Lydia and Kitty, Jane should understand that.”
“I hope she does; without Mamma’s influence, she should change; it might take some time, but she will. I might not have been close to the rest of my sisters like you, but it does not mean that I would not care for them. I will do everything to support them in the future, and Fitzwilliam has assured me of that. I think we must talk about happier things now as we have only a few more days before your wedding,”
