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“I don’t suspect her; I know that she did it. The fire started moments after she left; no one could have latched the door except Beatrice,” she said, weeping.

***

Miss Anderson stood in front of everyone confidently.

“What is it? Why have you summoned me?” she asked. As much as Darcy wanted to confront her, he moved away and stood by the fireplace, clenching his fists.

“Beatrice, where were you when the shed was on fire?” Lord Anderson asked.

“In my room, why do you ask?”

“You did not hear your mother cry for help?”

“I did not. She asked me to leave, yelled at me in front of your newfound daughter, and I left. I did not see anything.”

Lady Anderson stood, walked up to her daughter, and shocked everyone by slapping her hard.

“You did it, so do not lie. No one else could have latched the shed because the fire started as soon as you left. How could you? Did I raise you to be a murderer?”

“Yes, I did it. Why do you act as though you are not pleased? You hate her as much as I do.”

The room stared at her in astonishment.

“Don’t look at me like that, all of you; I was angry. I was angry with her as she took my father away from me, and Mamma insulted me in front of her. I did it in the heat of the moment,” she said, recollecting her actions as she had thrown the oil lamp on the pile of hay before leaving the shed.

“I accept that I hated her but did not want her to die. I could never wish that on anyone. But you, the daughter I raised, wanted to kill her and your own mother because of rage.”

“Nobody died, Mamma! I knew you could get out of there unharmed.”

“How could you be so cruel? It is all my fault for feeding you this hatred.”

Lord Anderson grabbed his daughter by the arm.

“What had gotten into you, Beatrice? You seem to have no guilt in confessing to this crime?”

“What about you? You had no guilt in hiding your past from me. You have wounded me beyond measure and are still trying new ways to kill my soul. You plan to announce to the world that she is your daughter, then what about me?”

“I always assumed you lacked maturity, but you have proved me wrong today. I never expected you to be this devious. You could have killed both of them. Can you even understand the seriousness of your crime?” Lady Martha cried with pain.

“Nobody cares about me in this house; why should I care about anyone else?”

“See Augusta, what you have done to her. Had you accepted Elizabeth, everything would have been different. That poor girl cared about your welfare since the day she became aware of the truth.”

“She saved my life despite all the horrible things I said to her; she saved me today when my own daughter wanted to burn me alive,” Lady Anderson said with remorse.

Darcy felt uncontrollable rage upon hearing Miss Anderson’s words.

“Lord Anderson, I am sorry to say this. If you are not inclined to take the necessary action now, I will be forced to do what is needed. I suggest we get the authorities involved,” Darcy said, and Lord Anderson stayed silent.

“Papa! This man is threatening me now, and you will not say a word in my support? Am I not your blood?” Miss Anderson asked with despair.

“Yes, you are not!” her mother yelled, stunning the room into silence.

“What are you doing?” Lord Anderson asked, horrified at the confession.

“Do not stop me; Beatrice look here, this is the truth. He is not your father, although all these years, he has been nothing but everything a father should be towards a daughter. I was ruined by a man who promised me that he loved me. Everything you accused Elizabeth’s mother of today applies to me.

I was a fallen woman, and this man here married me to save me from disgrace.

So, you are right in one way or the other; you are not his daughter, but Elizabeth is,” she said.

“What have you done, Augusta?” Lord Anderson cried in horror.

“It is my fault; what she did was because of what I fed her mind. I wish I had died today instead of enduring this pain. You cannot imagine the kind of hatred we spurred towards the poor girl. Despite everything, she wanted me to live, she has put me to shame with her actions. I slandered her mother while my own character was questionable. I need to apologize to her; I must do it right away.”

Lord Anderson looked at his wife with guilt.

“She knows,” he said bluntly as his wife watched him stone-faced.

Everyone in the room was speechless after Lady Anderson’s declaration, and Darcy had to reconsider his decision to get Miss Anderson arrested after the outburst by her mother.

“She knows? Since when?” Lady Anderson asked her husband in shock.

“Not long, I told her a day before we returned here.”

“I questioned her mother’s character and insulted her honor; she knew my secret, yet she did not say a word in return. How could she, Mark? How could she?”

“Because she never looked at you or Beatrice as her enemy,” Lord Anderson said with guilt for letting Elizabeth endure so much pain.

Miss Anderson was paralyzed by the truth, and Lady Martha took pity on her as she sank into the chair.

“Mark, I think this is enough for this evening. I don’t think any of us have the strength to discuss anything else at this point,” she said.

“Please excuse me, as I intend to stay at Ashton Park tonight,” Darcy said, leaving the room. Lord Ashton and Lady Martha took Miss Anderson to her room.

“I sincerely hope the secrets in our family would stop startling us like this,” he said to his mother.

“This is vexing, Philip. We might have lost Elizabeth forever, and Fitzwilliam will never let this rest,” she said worriedly. Miss Anderson was oblivious to anything they said and seemed to be in a state of delusion.

As for Darcy, he sat beside Elizabeth, watching her, cursing himselffor what happened, and Lady Isabella could feel his distress.

“Mr. Darcy, if she wakes up and calls for you, I will send a word. Please do get some rest,” she said.

“I do not wish to rest. Did she eat anything?”

“No, she had some water; however, the doctor asked us not to press her as she may feel nauseous. I am certain she will feel better tomorrow and have an appetite.”

As Darcy said nothing and stared at her, Lady Isabella felt sorry for him.

“Did you send a note to Miss Darcy? She must be worried.”

“Yes, I will right now. Please do send a word when she is awake,” he said and left her room reluctantly.

Later that night, Elizabeth opened her eyes and found Lord Anderson half asleep on the chair in her room.

She looked at him and realized that if not for her father, she would be dead, and she could not imagine Darcy’s plight if something had happened to her.

After weeks of chasing the truth, Elizabeth finally realized that living with regrets was not worth it.

She came to understand the value of the people around her more than ever.

She had almost died in the fire and resolved not to hurt those who loved her under any circumstance.

As she shut her eyes and relived the horror she had undergone among the flames, Elizabeth understood that life was fragile and started weeping.

The sound of her sobs woke Lord Anderson, and he was beside her in worry.

“What happened? Are you unable to breathe? The doctor has not left Ashton Park for the night, and I can call him,” he cried, unable to understand her distress.

Elizabeth slowly composed herself and looked at him earnestly.

“Papa! Will you walk me down the aisle?” she asked, addressing him so for the very first time.