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They reached Darcy’s townhouse for supper, and Elizabeth felt anxious about stepping into her future home. But Georgiana and Darcy made her feel welcome, and she was surprised to see Charlotte and her husband waiting for them.

The moment she saw Charlotte; Elizabeth embraced her with tears.

“My dearest Lizzy, I have missed you so much. I am so glad to see you,” Charlotte cried with joy.

Elizabeth made the introductions, and she had no choice but to introduce Lord Anderson to her friend. She mentioned nothing about him being her father, but she had already written to Charlotte about the discovery.

Darcy was happy to meet her friend and expressed his sincere gratitude for the support they had given Elizabeth.

“I thank you for being here today, Mrs. Davis,” he said to Charlotte.

“Elizabeth has told me so much about you, and I cannot thank you enough for all your support to her during difficult times.”

“Please do not mention it, Mr. Darcy. Charlotte never wanted her to seek employment anywhere but to stay with us. Once she left for Derbyshire, not a day has passed without her mentioning the same,” Mr. Davissaid.

“But now, I am glad that she did,” Charlotte said, squeezing Elizabeth’s hand. They had received a letter from Darcy inviting them to be present at the Darcy house during their arrival, and Elizabeth was to leave with them and stay at their house.

After supper, Elizabeth left along with Charlotte, and it was tough for Darcy to let her leave.

Lord Anderson felt the same way seeing her go but said nothing.

Being in London brought back memories of the first time he had travelled to the city, and he could not stop recalling how he had met Elizabeth’s mother and fallen in love with her.

Elizabeth related all the recent developments to her friend during their carriage ride.

“I was so happy for you when I received your letter disclosing your engagement with Mr. Darcy, and Mary is aware of it as well now. Mr. Darcy sent us an express asking her to be present at his house today and briefly mentioned the situation with Lord Anderson. I can understand that you are angry with him.”

“Angry is not the exact word, Charlotte. I feel enraged when I see him. Fitzwilliam mentioned that he also sent an express to my uncle, and I think we plan to call on them tomorrow. I am not sure whether Lord Anderson wants to accompany us.”

“I hope you can find your answers, Lizzy. Something is not right with the letters, and I hope we can find Mrs. Lewis,” Charlotte said.

The next day, Darcy arrived in the morning to take Elizabeth to her uncle’s house, but he was apprehensive about meeting him.

He knew that her aunt was a close acquaintance of Lady Martha and hoped the visit would not be unpleasant.

When she entered the carriage, Elizabeth smiled, seeing a maid seated there as a chaperone.

She looked at Darcy, and he winked as Elizabeth realized that more than Lady Martha, he cared about her honor and reputation.

“Is Georgiana well?” she asked.

“Yes, she is. She is resting but will meet us at my uncle’s house later today.”

Elizabeth nodded.

The Gardiners were expecting them, and Mr. Gardiner was anxious about the meeting. For many years, he had sleepless nights not understanding why his dearest sister had died without revealing who was responsible for her state. As much as he tried, he was unable to find answers to his questions.

When Elizabeth and Darcy arrived, the initial moments were tense and uncomfortable. Elizabeth introduced her relations to Darcy, and finally, her aunt embraced her with affection.

“My dearest Lizzy, I cannot tell you how happy I am to see you here. My heartiest congratulations to you and Mr. Darcy on your engagement,” Mrs. Gardiner said with warmth.

Darcy and Elizabeth thanked her and sat down. Elizabeth’s cousins were overjoyed to see her, and she handed them the gifts she had brought.

Mr. Gardiner said very little, and Darcy could see him silently observing them.

“I assume Lord Anderson is also here,” her uncle asked Darcy.

“Yes, he is.”

“As far as I know, Sarah never mentioned his name.”

“Did you know, Mrs. Lewis?” Elizabeth asked.

“Yes, of course! She was the companion to both Fanny and Sarah for many years. But when I returned, she was no longer employed here.”

“Didn’t you try to seek her out and find something about my mother’s visit to Scotland?”

“Elizabeth, to be honest with you, I was unaware of this detail. I was under the impression that whoever Sarah was in love with was from town, and I didn’t know why I was kept in the dark about this.

I know one thing for sure: Fanny definitely had something to do with this.

She married Mr. Bennet as soon as I returned, and they lived with us until my father died.

After that, we sold the house, and Mr. Bennet and Fanny moved to Hertfordshire after Jane was born, and they took you to raise you as their own. ”

“Mr. Gardiner, do you have any details of where Mrs. Lewis resided.”

“No. As I mentioned, she stayed with our family in our house for many years. When I returned, she was no longer here, and I don’t think she lived in town, but I will do my best to find out now.”

“I have already started the process, and my cousin has been trying to find any leads regarding her,” Darcy said.

After some time, Elizabeth’s aunt took her upstairs while Mr. Gardiner and Darcy left for the study.

“Lizzy, all this is so very sudden, but I am so happy for you. Though we were never acquainted, as I grew up in Lambton, I know very well how well-respected the Darcys are. I was initially worried when you wrote about your engagement but then understood that he was aware of your identity.”

“He did not initially, but then he was in Hertfordshire recently and found the truth about who I was.”

“Did he meet your parents? I mean…” she stammered.

“Yes, he is acquainted with the Bennets.”

“We have severed ties with them after the last time we confronted them. But I was very sad to part from Mary.”

“I miss her so dearly, and I am happy at the prospect of seeing her soon,” she said, wondering what Darcy was discussing with her uncle.

In the study, Darcy and Mr. Gardiner tried their best to understand each other’s concerns regarding Elizabeth. Mr. Gardiner intended to hear from Darcy about his intentions towards his niece. On the other hand, Darcy wanted to know more about the past, hoping to find something to aid his search.

“So, once you understood who Elizabeth was, you left for Derbyshire?” Mr. Gardiner asked.

“Yes, I did. As much as I wanted to confront the Bennets, I wanted to return to Derbyshire to meet her and understand her feelings for me.”

“You may deem me someone who gave up on her, but that is not true. I was unmarried when she was born, and I thought Fanny could raise her better as a Bennet. But it was a grave mistake; I repent it now.”

“I understand Elizabeth’s mother did not reveal anything about her love or travel to Scotland, but didn’t your father mention this?”

“He did not, and I do not know why. All of us were angry with her at that point, and she shut us off completely. Believe me, Mr. Darcy, I tried my best to find out who ruined her, but I could not. I am so guilty of accusing her of being immoral while she was married to him and did not have the child out of wedlock. Elizabeth cited the same reason for denying my request to stay with us instead of being employed in Ashton Park. I need to meet him; I cannot tell you how angry I am with him for what he did to my sister.”

“As unacceptable as they are, he has his reasons. According to him and the letters, she wanted to end the relationship with him.”

“That cannot be possible. She never wanted to marry anyone else.”

Their conversation was interrupted by the arrival of Elizabeth, who looked worried.

“Shall we leave?” Darcy asked her and smiled at her reassuringly.

“Yes!” she said and looked at her uncle.

“It might look rushed to you that I am marrying Mr. Darcy, but it is not something sudden. I have known him for many months and have never been happier than now. I hope you can give us your consent, Uncle,” she said with hope.

“You are of age, my dear; you do not need my consent.”

“But we would like to have it nonetheless. I promise you that her welfare and happiness will be my utmost priority in life,” Darcy said.

“I can see that you both are very much in love, and I am happy that Elizabeth is marrying you, Mr. Darcy; you have my consent and blessings.”

Elizabeth and Darcy felt content with his words, especially Darcy, who was apprehensive about the meeting.

The day passed quickly as Darcy took Elizabeth to meet his aunt and uncle.

It was Elizabeth’s turn to be anxious, not knowing how she would be received.

But to her surprise, Darcy’s relations welcomed her with warmth, and she understood that they knew everything about her.

“My dear, when we heard about your engagement, we were very certain that Darcy was very much in love with you. We have wanted him to marry for a long time now, and I can see that he has finally found a woman who has captured his heart. I understand that you both have a quest here, and I hope you find your answers. As your family, we too are here to support you in this. I speak on behalf of my husband and son as well,” Darcy’s aunt said, sensing her temperament.

“I thank you. Honestly, I was apprehensive about this meeting, and Georgiana told me so much about you.”

“She is such a sweet girl, and I am relieved that she finally has someone like you as a sister.”

Richard was very impressed with Elizabeth and found her to be the best match for his cousin.

“Good Heavens, Darcy! She is exactly your opposite; she seems to laugh. How did you find her?” he teased him.

Darcy frowned at his cousin, and Richard laughed.

“You have quite the love story here, and I am so glad you are getting married. Is Mr. Bingley here yet?”

“I should see him tomorrow.”

As Darcy left the study, he was surprised to find Elizabeth alone in the music room.

“Your aunt gave me a tour of the house,” she said.

“That was very wise of her to do and even more considerate to leave you alone,” he said, not wasting a moment to pull her into an embrace. Elizabeth rested her head on his shoulders and heaved a sigh of relief.

“I was very worried to meet your relations.”

“Why do you say so?”

“Even though you deny it, the truth about my past and my current status makes our match questionable. I am happy that your relations have accepted me, but it pains me to put you in this position.”

“Elizabeth, we have discussed this before. I am proud to marry you and do not care about anything else. If anyone chooses to question the match, they will have no place in our lives. I cannot allow you to feel guilty or sad for something as trivial as this. From the moment you agreed to marry me, I have felt nothing but happiness and peace.”

“I don’t know what I have done to deserve you, Fitzwilliam,” she said, touching his cheek.

Suddenly, they heard a noise outside and quickly moved away from each other, and Darcy was grateful for the intervention. Inwardly, he doubted his resolve when he was alone with her. They returned to Charlotte’s house late in the evening, and Elizabeth acquainted her friend with all the details.

“You seem to have had an exciting day, and I am glad you chose to return here. Seeing the look on Mr. Darcy’s face as he left, there might have been a good chance he wanted to take you to his house,” Charlotte teased, and Elizabeth laughed.

“You were tense for nothing, Lizzy.”

“I certainly had my reasons to be skeptical. First, meeting my uncle and then his family, it seemed as if we had to convince a lot of people. Especially his relations as I was worried, they would not accept me.”

“I do not believe anyone would oppose your match. You seem to look at yourself as a governess and tie yourself to the unfortunate status given to you due to the past. But everyone who knows you looks at you in a different way. We see a confident, intelligent, and beautiful woman who would do anything for the people she loves. Especially Mr. Darcy; I can see how much he admires and loves you. I wish you would stop distressing yourself with these thoughts.”

“Did you read the letters?” Elizabeth asked, wanting to understand Charlotte’s perspective.

“I did. I feel the same way as you do; there is a sudden shift in your mother’s sentiments in the letters she had written after her marriage. Something is wrong; I feel that Mrs. Bennet has a hand in this, and, moreover, you state the handwriting is similar.”

“I wish I could say for certain, but the choice of words makes me doubt it apart from the writing. Mamma is not capable of expressing herself so sensibly. I wish I could figure this out.”

She retired that night, pondering over the happenings of the day. Somehow, she strangely missed the presence of Lord Anderson and felt irritated by her thoughts.

What is wrong with you? How could you miss him? Maybe you miss the anger you feel when you see him.

She was unable to sleep and reread the letters. No matter how often she read it, Elizabeth could not find anything new to throw light on the situation.

If Mrs. Lewis is not found, there is nothing we can do.

She picked up two letters for comparison, placed them on the table, and tried to compare them. She read line by line, and suddenly, something caught her eye.

Elizabeth could not believe how she missed it previously. She looked at the writing more closely and finally found the clue she was looking for all along.

Good Heavens! I have the proof now. My mother never wrote these.