Page 72

L ord Anderson stood with rage and held Mr. Dean down to the floor, almost choking the man. As for Darcy, he did not expect to have company in the matter.

“How did you know that he was here?” Darcy asked

“Do not ask me how! He dared to lay a hand on my daughter, and you think I would rest easily without finding him and making him pay?” he asked in rage as his grip tightened around the man’s throat.

“Let me go, who are you?” Mr. Dean cried in pain.

“Who am I? I am the father of the innocent woman you tried to take advantage of.”

“What nonsense! You have the wrong man. Let me go, else I will have to report you,” he cried.

Darcy pulled him up and punched him hard in the face.

“You cannot forget her easily, can you? When you look at yourself in the mirror, you will always be haunted by her courage,” Darcy said, seeing that Mr. Dean could not open one eye due to the candle burn.

Mr. Dean looked at him in horror.

“The woman you thought had no one to support or believe her is not alone now. I am her future husband; this is her father, and you will pay for what you did.”

“How could you do that to an innocent girl? Not only did you try to ruin her, but you blamed her for being immoral when caught. You thought you could get away with it easily, didn’t you?” Lord Anderson shook him like a leaf.

“It was a mistake, I agree. But look what she did to me; I am partially blind because of her.”

Darcy kicked him hard in his stomach, and Mr. Dean fell to the floor again.

“Be grateful that she spared your life,” Darcy cried. He looked at Lord Anderson, and he nodded. However angry they were, they understood that, more than anything, they had the responsibility of clearing Elizabeth’s name with the Brooks.

***

The next morning, Elizabeth was surprised when Charlotte came to her room before breakfast.

“Lizzy, we need to go downstairs. You have visitors,” Charlotte said.

“Who is it?” she asked in surprise.

“Please come with me.”

The moment Elizabeth entered the parlor, she could not believe her eyes.

Along with Darcy stood Mr. Brooks, and Elizabeth could not understand anything about his presence.

“Mr. Brooks, good morning. Fitzwilliam, I do not understand…”

“Miss Smith, I wish I had the courage to make this visit long ago, and I must be honest with you that I was ashamed to acknowledge my own failings,” Mr. Brooks said, unable to look at her face.

Elizabeth did not know what to make of his words, so she looked at Darcy who remained silent.

“We should have believed you when you pleaded with us that day. You were our responsibility; whatever you underwent under my roof was because of whom we let close to our family. We chose to believe his words, which caused you such disgrace. I cannot tell you how much I have repented my actions since the day I became aware of the truth,” he cried.

“Sir, the only reason my husband and I didn’t step foot in your house, demanding an explanation for your ill-treatment of my friend, was because Elizabeth stopped us. What made you come here now?” Charlotte asked with anger.

Mr. Brooks was silent, and Elizabeth finally understood Darcy’s involvement in the matter.

“Mr. Darcy came to our home last night with Simon,” Mr. Brook said.

“Fitzwilliam, you didn’t have to do this,” Elizabeth said with tears.

“I must admit this with shame; we have learned the truth months ago, not yesterday,” Mr. Brooks confessed with guilt.

“What do you mean? How?” Elizabeth asked in shock.

“Some months ago, I was a witness to what he was capable of, and the day he chose to lay a hand on my wife still haunts me. Unfortunately, she was not as brave as you, and without my help that day, she would have been ruined,” he cried with shame.

Elizabeth looked at him in horror.

“Since that day, Tracy has kept to her room in fear and shame. She is unable to sleep, unable to eat, and has not been herself. I cannot tell you how ashamed we were for not believing you then. Until now, she is unable to face the world,” he said with remorse.

Darcy was already aware of the details, as the previous night, he had dragged Mr. Dean to Mr. Brooks’ house, forcing him to confess his misdeeds.

“I was unable to publicly shame him as much as he deserved as it would damage our family’s name,” Mr. Brooks said. “I do not expect you to forgive us, but you must know we deeply regret our actions.”

“Why is she not here?” Charlotte asked.

“My wife keeps to her room all day, and our family has never been happy after the incident. She does not even spend time with the children, and I do not know whether she will ever be able to forget what happened and move on.”

“What happened to Mr. Dean?” Elizabeth asked.

Darcy did not want to disclose how he was treated by Lord Anderson and himself the previous night and shifted uncomfortably in his chair.

“Fitzwilliam, what did you do?” she asked again.

“Nothing, he will not touch another woman again, I can assure you of that.”

“Miss Smith, I do not know how to ask you this, but I must do this for my wife’s sake. If you can visit her for once, if she has the chance to beg forgiveness from you, she might be able to recover. Would you please consider this?” Mr. Brooks pleaded.

“Absolutely not; Elizabeth will not set foot in your house again,” Darcy cried.

“Fitzwilliam, please, do not be angry with them,” Elizabeth cried.

“You cannot go, Lizzy. I am with Mr. Darcy in this,” Charlotte said.

“I have undergone a lot, Charlotte, and I do not believe in holding a grudge or knowingly causing another human being harm. If she is in such a state, I must go and see her if that may help her recover,” she said.

Darcy was not happy with her decision but admired her kindness.

“Lizzy, are you certain about this? Please reconsider your decision.”

“I will be all right, Charlotte. Do not worry,” she said, expressing her wish to see Mrs. Brooks to Darcy and left with them.

Darcy held her hand as she entered the house where she had once been employed, and they were led to the upper floor where she met the children.

“Miss Smith!” they cried and ran up to her. Elizabeth hugged them with warmth.

“I am glad you both remember me,” she said with happiness.

“We do and all that you have taught us,” Adam said.

“Are you going to teach us again?” Clara asked with excitement.

“Clara, you cannot ask that…” her father stopped her.

“It is all right. Unfortunately, I cannot, but I hear you have a new governess now.”

“We do, but she does not allow us to do anything except lessons. I want to paint and draw,” Clara declared.

It was difficult for Elizabeth to say goodbye to the children, but she had promised Darcy to keep the visit short. She tried hard to compose herself as she entered Mrs. Brooks’ room.

For a bright morning, the room was dark as all the curtains were drawn. Mrs. Brooks sat up as she saw Elizabeth enter. The expression on her face was blank, and Elizabeth noticed that she looked leaner and pale.

“So, you came after all? I was certain you never would; I told my husband the same,” she said with an expression of disbelief.

“Why would you say that?”

“You cannot possibly forgive me, Miss Smith. I do not know why you came.”

“How are you feeling?” Elizabeth asked.

“I don’t want to live and cannot forget that night.

I considered him my brother, and he tried to ruin me in this same room.

If my husband had not saved me that night, I would probably have ended my life in shame.

I failed to protect an innocent woman under my care and paid the price.

You left this house heartbroken, and I can never forgive myself for doubting your words.

Did I do just that? No, I believed what he said and accused you of trapping him.

I cannot tell you how much I regret my actions; I am not fit to be a mother.

I was ashamed to ask this before, but can you forgive me? ”

“I can, but you need to forgive yourself more than anything. I lived here for a few weeks, and you made a stranger like me feel safe and happy. You trusted me with two beautiful children; what happened later was unfortunate. I was indeed angry with you for not trusting me then, but I never in my dreams wanted you to go through something like this to understand the truth,” Elizabeth said and walked up to the bed, held her hand, and allowed her to cry her heart out.

***

That night, when she retired, Elizabeth was emotionally drained, and Charlotte sat with her, not wanting to leave her friend.

“See, that is why I stopped you from going there. It must have been heart-wrenching to relive the horror you underwent, and now you sit here feeling sorry for that woman. I cannot believe you, Lizzy.”

“Charlotte, you must have seen her; I could understand her pain. Imagine being subjected to something like that, and she considered him as her brother.”

“I do not want you to ruin your peace because of her; she brought it upon herself. I have felt so guilty for allowing you to work there; if something had happened to you there, how would I have answered to Mr. Darcy?”

Elizabeth smiled.

“Charlotte, do you hear yourself?”

Charlotte finally realized her words.

“Well! You may not have known him then, but far away in Pemberley, he would have still been furious with me for putting his future wife in danger,” she said, making Elizabeth laugh.

“I am glad to have you as a friend, Charlotte. When I left Longbourn, my entire world collapsed, but I had you.”

“And I will always be there for you; do not doubt it,” Charlotte promised.

***

Darcy sat with Richard in his study the same night.

“How could that be possible, Richard? You were able to trace her address outside of town, and you stated she moved, but now, no one knows where she is.”

“Well, that is the truth. I have been trying to find answers since you wrote to me. As far as my sources go, Mrs. Lewis lived on the outskirts of town after leaving employment with the Gardiner family. But we do not have any idea about her whereabouts now.”

“Look into it. I am trying to find anyone who might have been close to their family or business who might help.”

“We will solve this, Darcy. I know you are impatient to return to Derbyshire and plan your wedding,” Richard said teasingly.

“And where did you get that idea from? I am not impatient.”

“Is that so? I heard someone was finalizing plans for my parents to travel to Derbyshire.”

“Nothing misses your eye, does it?”

“When it comes to my grumpy cousin, nothing does. I enjoy seeing you this way, love-struck, and still trying to hide your desperation while in her company,” he said, watching his cousin frown.

Darcy retired that night, feeling irritated about not having any solid information about Mrs. Lewis. According to him, it was another night spent in agony away from Elizabeth with uncertainty about the future.

***

The next few days were uneventful, and Elizabeth started feeling apprehensive about her decision to travel to town.

I could have married Fitzwilliam and led a happy life. Now, I have put everyone in distress here.

“Would you like to go shopping? I understand you may not be in the mood to look at dresses for your wedding, but you will enjoy a trip to the bookstore,” Charlotte said, and Elizabeth agreed. As they were about to leave, an anxious-looking Darcy entered the room.

“Elizabeth, we need to leave now,” he cried.

“What happened? Where to?”

“Your uncle has asked us to meet him and states it is urgent.”

“Good heavens! Did he find anything about Mrs. Lewis?”

“I do not know, the note does not say.”

“All right, let us leave,” she said, and Charlotte hoped it was good news.

Elizabeth was surprised to see Lord Anderson waiting in the carriage, and she understood from Darcy that her uncle had also requested his presence.

“I hope you are doing well,” Lord Anderson said to her, and she merely nodded.

Everyone felt the tension in the carriage, not understanding what was in store for them.

When they arrived, Mrs. Gardiner welcomed them with a worried face and directed them to the drawing room.

“Aunt, what is wrong?” Elizabeth asked, and the moment they entered the room, they stood still, shocked by the sight before them. Along with her uncle, an older woman sat and slowly stood with the help of her walking stick.

“Good heavens, Edward! She looks just like Sarah,” the old woman remarked, her eyes fixed on Elizabeth.

Elizabeth did not doubt her identity either.

Mrs. Lewis!