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“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.”

“You must understand, he was under the assumption that she wanted only money to end the relationship, proving everything that father said,” Mr. Anderson added.

“You both can say whatever you want, but this is atrocious. You played with a woman’s life, and you cannot imagine what Elizabeth has gone through because of this.

All this while she stayed in Ashton Park as an employee when she was my niece and my family.

I do not know what you feel towards her now, Mark, but I will declare to the world who she is if you do not.

She is your daughter, even though you do not deserve to call such an honest woman like her your daughter.

I do not care what you will do; you must take ownership of whatever has happened.

You married someone else when you left that poor woman to die. ”

Lord Anderson was unable to digest the truth; after so many years of assuming that Elizabeth’s mother was happily married, he was devastated to understand that she was no longer alive.

Just then, Darcy entered the library.

“Fitzwilliam, how is she?” Lady Martha asked with anguish.

“Not well; she is with Georgiana. I cannot imagine the torment she is going through, and I am here for answers. Lord Anderson, I am not here to discuss this matter as your friend or an acquaintance. I stand here representing Elizabeth as her future husband. I hope you can understand this; you owe us an explanation for everything that happened in the past and why my fiancée is undergoing this misery you have inflicted upon her.”

Lord Anderson stood before Darcy, not wanting to repeat the same details he had discussed with his sister.

“Sir, none of us here have the temperament to bear your silence. I need answers; you do not understand how she has suffered so far, being raised by people who showed her no affection or care.”

“Fitzwilliam, I do not want to stand here any longer. I have made my stance clear; my brother must acknowledge his relationship with Elizabeth. You can listen to his explanation, and I want to see my niece.”

She left them, and Darcy felt relieved to understand Lady Martha’s sentiments in this matter.

Once she left, he looked at Lord Anderson, not willing to let the man leave without hearing his complete story.

Lord Anderson repeated the details he had shared with his sister to Darcy, and he listened without interruption.

“So, you state you were not acquainted with anyone in the Gardiner family except Elizabeth’s mother?”

“That is not true; I was introduced to Sarah and her elder sister during the social gatherings. I did not meet her father, though.”

“Can you elaborate on her companion who knew about your relationship?”

“She was a companion who stayed with their family. I understood from Sarah that she had played a vital role in raising them since their birth. All my communication with Sarah was through Mrs. Lewis, and she was the one who accompanied her on her trip to Yorkshire.”

“How did you meet her there?”

“It happened by chance, and I still cannot express how happy I was to see her there. She informed me that her father wanted her to marry Thomas Bennet, who was willing to save his business. Until then, she did not know me as Lord Anderson but as Mark Andrews. As I said before, I went to London that year to prove my father wrong; I was certain I would meet someone who did not favor my wealth.”

“So, you married her as per her request?”

“Yes, I did, and at that point, I was being pressured to marry someone else by my parents. I agreed to marry her, hoping I could convince my parents at some point. But my mother passed away soon after Sarah left for London. When my father knew I married her, he was convinced she had tricked me into marrying her for my money.”

Darcy could not believe his words.

“How could you blindly believe the letters she sent you?” he asked with doubt.

“Because she wrote them, Mr. Darcy, and it came from Mrs. Lewis, who was the only one who knew about our relationship and marriage.”

“Why didn’t you not go to London to speak with her?”

“You think I did not want to? She explicitly stated in her letter that she was ashamed of whatever happened between us after our marriage and did not want ever to see me again, as she wanted to live a life as Thomas Bennet’s wife.”

Darcy was not convinced.

“Everything you state would be true if she had married him. But she never did; as far as we know from Elizabeth, she never revealed your identity to anyone and died soon after Elizabeth was born. Thomas Bennet married Sarah Gardiner’s elder sister, and something is not right here.

Sir, I am sorry to say this. I wish you could take ownership of what happened instead of blaming someone dead. ”

“Do you all think I am capable of ruining an innocent woman? I loved her, and believe it or not, I still do. I was devastated when she wanted to end our relationship and demanded money. She wrote about the night we spent together as something she was ashamed of, described it as a sin, and blamed me for taking advantage of her. You cannot imagine the amount of torment I underwent to forget her.”

“I cannot sympathize with you, sir. You married someone else, and I perfectly understand why Elizabeth cannot accept your argument.”

“I do not expect her to. I have all her mother's letters; whatever I decided to do was what she wanted in our relationship. It was evident that all she wanted was money to help her father’s debts and nothing more.”

“I suggest you stop stating such a thing in front of Elizabeth, sir. She is already broken, and I will not allow you to torture her more,” Darcy said with a piercing gaze. He finally realized that he was speaking with his father-in-law.

Mr. Anderson observed them both in silence, anguished by the developments and horrified to acknowledge that the past had finally returned to haunt them.

***

Lady Martha stood outside Georgiana’s door, unable to face Elizabeth, but she had no intention of retiring for the night without seeing her.

She knocked, and Georgiana opened the door, anticipating seeing her brother. She was surprised to see Lady Martha.

“Is she awake?” Lady Martha asked.

Georgiana nodded and took her inside.

The moment Elizabeth saw her, she stood, surprised by her visit. She had sat with Georgiana discussing the horrific revelation about her past and did not expect to see anyone that night.

Lady Martha was devastated to see Elizabeth’s tears.

“Elizabeth! I am so sorry about everything,” she cried. She slowly walked towards her and held her hand.

“I cannot bear to look at you like this. Please trust me; I did not spare my brother for whatever he has done in the past.”

“Lady Martha I…”

“No, you cannot call me that anymore; I am your aunt,” she said with tears.

Elizabeth hugged her and began to sob, and Georgiana felt emotional seeing their affection for each other. She tried to console Elizabeth and assured her that everything would be all right.

“Didn’t you know anything about this?” Elizabeth asked.

“No, you must trust me; I did not. I was married and settled in Derbyshire then. I visited our estate in Scotland during my mother’s death, and I understood that he did not want to marry Augusta as he was in love with someone else.

I am ashamed to state this, but my parents, especially my father, favored moving only with people of their standard and wealth.

Both my brothers did not share similar sentiments.

I left soon after my mother’s funeral and, maybe a year later, went to attend Mark’s marriage with Augusta.

I knew he was not happy to marry her, but Francis informed me that he was no longer in love with the woman he favored before and hence had agreed to this marriage. ”

“Do you believe his statement about my mother demanding money?”

“I do not know what to say. He states he has those letters right now in his safe in Ashton Park.”

“I do not believe it, and in my heart, I know she could never do that. She died without revealing his identity to save his reputation; how could he state the opposite? I cannot understand how he could accuse her of marrying someone else for money.”

“Fitzwilliam is currently with them, trying to understand his story.”

“I do not know what to make of his so-called story. If he had gone to London to see her, she might be alive today; I would have had a mother. I asked Fitzwilliam to help me find out the truth a week ago, but I never imagined it would be as nightmarish as this.”

“I will not allow you to suffer, Elizabeth. I told him that if he does not acknowledge you publicly as his daughter, I will make sure the world knows.”

“You think that is what I want? To be recognized as Lord Anderson’s daughter?” Elizabeth asked angrily.

“I want to be only known as Sarah Gardiner’s daughter and do not want to be associated with him in any way.”

“But the truth is you are his daughter, and he does not deny it.”

Lady Martha explained Lord Anderson’s story about how he married Elizabeth’s mother and what forced him to send money and cut ties with her.

“I know you do not believe his words; nothing in his story adds up to the truth. Please do not think I am taking his side, Elizabeth, but there is something more to this. I am not aware who played a part in separating them or if it was pure fate, and I think Fitzwilliam feels the same way.”

Elizabeth was not convinced and shook her head in dismay. It was almost two past midnight and that everyone was tired beyond measure.

“You must rest, my dear. Will you come to Ashton Park tomorrow as planned?” Lady Martha asked.

“Honestly, I do not know what to do now. I cannot be around him, and you must understand how I feel,” Elizabeth said with utmost confusion.

“I do, but I am your family now and come what may, I will stand by you as I always have. Please return to Ashton Park with us tomorrow.”

Elizabeth knew it would be inappropriate to stay in Pemberley after her engagement and was hesitant to decide, so Lady Martha did not press her to discuss anything more.

“I hope you can rest, and please trust me, everything will be all right. I am here to support you and finally realize why I felt that genuine connection with you the moment I saw you.”

Elizabeth felt grateful for her words and could not doubt her sentiments.

“I thank you for coming to see me now,” she said, understanding how easily Lady Martha could have taken her brother’s side in the matter.

“Won’t you address me as your aunt?” she asked.

Elizabeth smiled.

“I want to, but if I do, I would accept Lord Anderson as my father. Unfortunately, I cannot, and I am certain I never will.”

Lady Martha sighed and understood her feelings. She hugged her again and kissed her before leaving the room.

When Georgiana closed the door, Elizabeth sank onto the bed, realizing how naive she had been to think she could easily handle the truth about her past.