I apologise for the late update, it's still Sunday in where I am but it's evening now and I do plan to post the chapter this morning. However, it seemed that I have overestimated myself in finishing my schoolwork faster or have underestimated the number of activities our teachers have in-stored for us.

Anyway, enjoy reading :)

RECAP:

Chapter 19 – Darcy went back to Hertfordshire before heading to Scotland with Richard, Anne and his Uncle to check on his mother. Lady Catherine got to know Lizzy a little bit more and Lizzy finally gets to meet her parents.

© 2019 Zest Layne


Elizabeth did not know who moved first. All that she knew was that one moment she was staring wide-eyed at the man and woman in front of her, and the next, she was being engulfed between them. As she closed her eyes and savoured their embrace, tears finally fell down her eyes.

It felt like an eternity before they pulled apart but Elizabeth knew that only a couple of minutes had passed. Despite the end of the hug, the woman did not let go of Elizabeth's arms. "My darling daughter," the woman smiled through her tears, one of her hands caressing Elizabeth's cheek, "My little Dianne, how I missed you so."

The lump in her throat kept her from speaking. Fortunately, the woman – her mother! Her real mother! – did not seem to mind and silently guided her to sit on the settee beside her. As soon as the two of them sat down, the man – her father! Her real father! – settled down on her other side.

"You have grown so much," Her father said, eyes glassy with unshed tears, "already looking like your mother."

Before Elizabeth could form a reply – not that she could without bursting into tears – Lady Catherine, who was watching the scene with a small smile while dabbing a handkerchief to her eyes, cleared her throat. "I apologise for interrupting your reunion, Sophia, but I think it would be best to explain everything to my Goddaughter now because I will be leaving first light on the morrow."

"We can explain things to our daughter on our own, Cathy. You need not worry yourself about it." The Duchess said, sparing a glance at Lady Catherine, before looking happily back at Elizabeth, her hands still holding Elizabeth's.

Lady Catherine sighed, "I know, Sophia, but I believe that your daughter would appreciate a familiar face while you explain everything to her."

"She is my daughter and she is safe with us. She can trust us."

Before they could argue further, the Duke spoke. "I assume that you have been tired by your journey, dear. Do you want to see your room?"

Now that it was mentioned, Elizabeth did feel exhausted. She and Lady Catherine did travel for three days straight, only stopping at inns to rest for the night until they break their fast in the morning and for necessary stops to rest the horses. Being stuck in a carriage ride for many hours was not exactly comfortable. And while she wanted to rest, a part of her could not leave the room yet. Not until she received a verbal confirmation from them.

So instead of immediately giving her answer, Elizabeth pulled out the golden hair comb from her pocket and held it out to them. "Grandma Claire told me that this was from my mother." With hopeful eyes, she met the gaze of her assumed parents. "Am I really your daughter?"

"Oh, darling," the Duchess smiled, "our physical resemblance was more than proof that you are our little Dianne. If that's not enough, then the birthmark on your right hip which Cathy's lady's maid had confirmed was another proof."

Elizabeth quietly gasped at this. She did not know that the reason why Agnes attended to her was to confirm her identity.

"But I see that you are just like your father, always needing verbal confirmation. Do you know that your father had asked me to repeat my love confession twice before he finally believed that he's not dreaming?" She squeezed Elizabeth's hands in hers and Elizabeth felt herself let out a small smile. "As for your question, the answer is yes, we are your parents and you are our daughter."

She paused taking the hair comb from Elizabeth's hand. "This hair comb is specially made for you. You see, when I found out that I was pregnant, I was so certain that you're going to be a girl so I immediately designed this for you. Your father saw my sketch and he took it to a jeweller. Little did I know, your Godmothers [1] knew all about the scheme too. They gave your father the Emerald and Lapis stones. Since Amethyst is my favourite, your father provided that stone. We presented it to you the day of your christening. "

The Duchess laughed. "You were not able to use it yet, of course, but you do love playing with it. For safety measures, I would wrap the teeth of the hair comb with fabrics or ribbons before letting you have it."

Elizabeth could only stare at the hair comb in wonder.

"Now, come," Her mother said, looping her arms around her right one. "Your father and I will lead you to your chambers."

Before the two of them could start walking, her father offered his arm to her on her right side. "Can I escort my two beautiful ladies?"

She nodded shyly and let the couple lead her out of the drawing room and into a wide staircase.

"We will ask the servants to bring your trunks upstairs later." His father said. "Since Catherine had written to us that she finally found you, your mother and I filled your room with different necessities you might need. The smaller clothes you will find there are yours as well. We always purchase things for you at least once a month."

She wanted to ask why they would do that when they were the ones who gave her away in the first place, but before she could open her mouth, they reached a tall mahogany door and her father opened it.

Once inside, Elizabeth gasped at the size of the room. It was almost thrice the size of her chambers at the Dower House. The walls were plain white but Elizabeth could barely see any of it for many paintings and portraits hung around the room. There was of one of horses, flowers, but what caught her attention the most was a painting of a babe. A familiar-looking babe…

"You were only five months old in that," Her father spoke, upon seeing her staring at the portrait. "Your mother was not a very good painter but she could draw well with a pencil. When we thought we lost you, she started studying how to paint well. The portrait we decided to display in your room was her seventh try."

"It's beautiful…" Elizabeth whispered.

Her mother looked at her fondly, "Only because you are beautiful, darling. Your eyes were the hardest ones to capture. Even as a babe it was your most striking feature. After all, as your Godmothers often said, you have the shape of my eyes and the eye colour of your father's – the best combination of our features."

Elizabeth, still unable to believe that she was not dreaming, could only nod her head in response before looking around the room again. A four-poster bed with lavender and pink curtains was placed at the centre of the room. On its right side, there was a nightstand. The other side was a tall shelf filled with books. Near the foot of the bed stood a pole screen [2] and a few feet away from it was the fireplace.

A draught screen [3] separated the bed from the left side of the room where the windows were placed. Covering the huge windows were more lavender and pink curtains. A light blue coloured chaise was also placed beside it. A few feet away from it was a mahogany writing desk and a light blue wing chair [4]. Writing materials – quills, bottles of ink, penknives, papers and many more – were placed on top of the desk.

On the right side of the room, there was a wooden vanity desk with the theme of mahogany and gold and a clothes press of the same colour. A few feet away from it was another door where her mother led her. Elizabeth blinked twice at the sight of various clothing presented in front of her.

"The measurements of these clothes were based on my measurements when I was your age. I think they will fit you well but we'll get them adjusted to your exact size soon. I will send your Abigail here to help you get dress." Her mother said. "Then, you can get some rest before dinner."

"And I will be escorting you to dinner later." Her father smiled.

With one last embrace, her parents smiled at her before leaving the room.

-p&p-

Lady Catherine de Bourgh sighed in relief when Sophia and Leicester finally returned. Sophia was one of her dearest friends and Lady Catherine knew how much Sophia missed her daughter. However, spending the past few days with her Goddaughter has taught her that the poor nykin needed to learn the truth. Or else, Lady Catherine feared that her Goddaughter would still feel trapped despite being reunited with her parents.

"Now," Lady Catherine started, once the couple settled on the settee across her, "I know you feel guilty for giving your daughter away, Sophie, but she needed to learn everything now. Do you know that the poor girl had no idea about her parentage until less than a fortnight ago? And according to her, she wouldn't have found out about it if she had not overheard a conversation she was not supposed to."

The couple in front of her gasped in surprise and Lady Catherine paused for a few seconds before continuing. "She told me that no one would tell her anything and that made her decision to come with me so easily. We cannot protect the people we love if they do not have enough knowledge of what they need protection from. Besides, I noticed that my Goddaughter doubts herself easily. Remember how she showed you the hair comb before she accepted the offer to go to her room? She wanted to hear you say that she is your daughter."

With a stern voice, Lady Catherine proceeded. "Your daughter needed to know the real reason why you gave her away, Sophia. Otherwise, I believe that she would always doubt your love for her. I do not know much about the family she grew up in but I think that she grew up in a disagreeable household. I did tell you in my letter that Claire died when your daughter was only eight."

Sophia sighed sadly. "I understand what you are saying, Cathy. I was just hoping that my daughter and I could bond first. That way, I can get her to love me so when I revealed the truth, she wouldn't resent me. For what kind of mother gives away her child?" she asked tearfully. "And you say that she grew up in an unpleasant household?"

"It was just a speculation, Sophie. I have yet to find out." Lady Catherine assured her friend. "But you need not worry about your daughter's affections for you. I daresay that she would love you even more for telling her the truth. Honesty will be a good foundation for your relationship."

"Very well," Sophia nodded, "we shall all discuss it with her after dinner."

Lady Catherine smiled. "I am glad you listened to me, Sophie. I shall go to my room now." Before Sophie could offer to escort her to her room, she waved a hand at her friend in dismissal. "Do not worry about me for I still know my way around here. And if I ever need help, I will go to Mrs Tyson."

With that, Lady Catherine left the drawing room and headed upstairs, leaving the Duke and Duchess on the settee.

"What do you think, husband?" Sophia asked, turning to Arthur. "You have been very quiet through Catherine's explanation."

Arthur kissed his wife on the forehead. "While I would usually support whatever your decision is, my moon, I think that we should listen to Catherine regarding this one and tell our daughter the truth. We only just got her back and I do not want to lose her."

Tears fell down Sophia's eyes at the sadness in her husband's voice. She was the root of all this. She was the reason why her daughter had been separated from them. She decided then, that since she was the one who broke their family, she would be the one to fix it.

"After dinner," she promised her husband, "we'll tell her the truth."

It was time to fix her mistakes. They would tell their daughter the truth after dinner… even if it resulted in her daughter despising her.

-p&p-

Once her parents exited the room, Elizabeth decided to look around the room some more. Her feet led her first to the windows. She sat on the chaise and she smiled at the sight of the stars and the moon. Since it was a full moon, there was enough light for Elizabeth to appreciate the view below. It was a beautiful garden filled with many plants but only a few of them were in bloom. It will be winter soon after all.

She couldn't believe that this was her real home. The garden was bigger than any other garden she had seen before – not that she had seen many, for she had only seen the Lucases' the Bennets' and the Gardiners'.

After a few minutes, she finally managed to extract herself from the view and she walked to a wooden table in the far corner where a toy theatre was placed. She couldn't believe she missed it before. But then again, there are so many things in this room and Elizabeth felt that she had barely explored it all.

Before she could experiment with the toy theatre further, a knock sounded on the door.

"Come in," she said after walking towards the middle of the room.

Not a moment later, a girl with dark blonde hair and eyes, who appeared to be the same age as Elizabeth, entered the room and curtsied. "Good evening, Mademoiselle. My name is Chloe Paret. Her Grace told me that I am to be your lady's maid and I shall help you dress for dinner." She had an accent in her voice but she seemed to be good at speaking English.

"It's nice to meet you, Chloe." Elizabeth smiled. "Can you tell me more about yourself while you help me dress?"

"Oui, Mademoiselle, but you have to choose a dress first. Have you seen your closet yet?"

Elizabeth nodded "Only briefly though."

"Then we shall get started, Mademoiselle."

Choosing an evening dress for dinner was more fun than Elizabeth had expected. Chloe was very enthusiastic in helping her that Elizabeth had momentarily forgotten about her tiredness. Since her mother said earlier that Amethyst was her favourite stone, Elizabeth decided to change into a purple gown for dinner, only slightly lighter than the matching gown and cloak she had been wearing earlier when she arrived.

She partnered it with white gloves and a white ribbon on the waist. For her hair, Chloe styled it in an elegant bun with a few loose curls. As the abigail helped her get ready, Elizabeth learned many things about Chloe.

The girl was originally from France but her family went to England when Chloe was only twelve. Her mother worked as a modiste for one of the shops in Kent and when their mother died, Chloe and her elder sister, Claude, started working as lady's maids in one of the well-established families in Kent. Unfortunately, they were not treated fairly and the Housekeeper advised them to seek employment on the de Bourghs.

Lady Catherine found employment for Chloe's elder sister and now Claude was working as an Abigail for one of Lady Catherine's nieces. On the other hand, Chloe had worked as an upstairs maid in Rosings. Then, over two weeks ago, Chloe was sent here to Leicester.

"All I know was that I am going to be the lady's maid of a daughter of a Duke and Duchess. Then, three days ago, Mrs Tyson, the Housekeeper, told me that you'll be coming this day. I am so excited Mademoiselle." Chloe grinned at her through the mirror and Elizabeth smiled back at her.

Only a minute after Chloe had finished her hair, the bell for dinner rang. The lady's maid smiled at Elizabeth before doing a quick curtsey and exiting through the servant's door.

As Elizabeth looked at herself in the mirror, she now realised why Grandma Claire had always insisted on making her wear dresses made from expensive fabrics. It was so that she would not have a hard time adjusting once she was finally reunited with her parents. The cuts of the dresses in her closet were modest but fashionable. Thankfully, her mother seemed to share her style and there wasn't too much frippery and laces in her clothes.

Like the gown that Elizabeth saw her mother wearing earlier, her own dresses were made of high-quality fabrics and looked simple yet elegant. Before she could study her reflection further, a knock brought her attention to the door.

Immediately, she rushed towards. Once open, the sight of her father smiling at her greeted her. "I will be escorting you to dinner."

Shyly, she smiled back at him and looped her arms through his. As they made their way to the dining room, Elizabeth could not help but admire everything they passed – the frames, the vases, the furniture, the high ceiling and the chandeliers.

"Do you like it?"

When Elizabeth nodded, her father smiled. "I am glad that you do, for this will be your home now."

Just as the thought of living in a grand house registered in Elizabeth's mind, they finally reached the dining room where her mother greeted them with a warm smile. "Come, my darling, you shall sit with me."

Her mother led her to the seat on the right side of the table and settled down next to her. Across her, Lady Catherine sat with a small smile and her father took his seat at the head of the table. Her mother turned to her friend and said, "Forgive us for not sitting properly, Cathy but you know that my husband and I would like to be close with our daughter."

Lady Catherine only waved a hand in dismissal, "Do not worry about it, Sophie. I am just happy that your family is whole again."

With a smile, her mother then turned to her. "I hope you are hungry, my darling, for I have asked Cook to prepare a grand dinner."

As soon as her mother said that, servants started serving the meal. There were fish courses – Salmon and Mackerel – roasted hare, potted beef, soup, chicken, jelly, bread pudding, dried fruit nuts, small cakes, salad, iced oranges and wine.

After dinner, her mother led her towards the drawing room she and Lady Catherine entered earlier. Once they had all sat down, Elizabeth on a settee beside Lady Catherine and her parents on another settee across them, her mother cleared her throat. "Before we begin our life as a family, I believe that your questions should be answered first. Starting with the reason why you grew up away from us."

Elizabeth felt her breath hitched. This was it. The answers she's been searching for.

-p&p-

Arthur squeezed his wife's hand in reassurance. With a deep breath, Sophia looked remorsefully at her daughter. "It started with my family. My parents married each other because it was their parents' wish. However, my mother refused to be in a marriage with a man who doesn't love and respect her. So, once they were wed, she promised herself that she would do everything in her power to make her husband love her, or at the very least, respect her. Their first child was a boy. My brother only reached two years old before he died from chickenpox."

"After the death of their first son, my mother grieved for a whole year. I believe that it was the reason why my father started having an affair behind my mother's back. When my mother found out, she was hurt but she still forgave him, thinking that she was at fault for her husband's infidelity. They worked things out after that and my mother got pregnant again. She gave birth to another son. Unfortunately, the babe was stillborn. My mother did not know that. My father, however, did. He feared for my mother's reaction if she found out that another one of their children died. And so, he conspired with some servants to switch my brother with his son from his affair who was only a week older."

Sophia's eyes glaze, looking past her daughter as she remembered her family's past. "We had no idea about the switch until eighteen years later when my mother's Abigail overheard a conversation between my father and my half-brother's real mother. Naturally, she informed my mother about everything. My mother was hurt and she demanded to see her real son's grave. She grieved for him properly. Despite that, she did not treat my half-brother, Robert, any different. She loved all her children very much that she called for my siblings and me to meet her one night in her private drawing room. There, she told us about the truth of our family and made a point to Robert that he is her son and that he is our brother."

Dreading the next part of her story, Sophia squeezed her husband's hand. "Robert grew up with us without knowing the truth too and he loved Mama very much. He was also a very good elder brother. He was a good man all in all. My mother did raise him after all. The night my mother told us everything, she made us promise not to tell Robert's real parentage to anyone else. It was a secret we would take in our graves. Sadly, three years after that, Robert died in a carriage accident."

Tears escaped Sophia's eyes as she recalled the sudden death of her elder brother. "We were all surprised and hurt. We all grieved his death. And Robert's real mother, she blamed my mother for Robert's death. She said that my mother planned it so that my younger brother could claim my father's title. But it was not true. My younger brother, Daniel, did not have any interest in the earldom. He wanted to be in the army. He and Robert were very close too. All of us siblings were."

Sophia cleared her throat before continuing. "Unfortunately, Robert's real mother did not believe that. She vowed to get her revenge. For months all of us had been wary of our surroundings but nothing happened."

She paused. "But then, about a year after that, when my mother finally allowed gentlemen to call on me and my sister, a man named Samuel Paxton – the now Earl of Dorchester – wanted to court me. I did not want to, of course, for I was waiting for your father whom I've been meeting a couple of weeks before. However, since I knew that my father would scare Arthur away before we formed an attachment – seeing as he did not have a title back then – and Samuel Paxton was a Viscount then, I agreed to go on a few walks with him. One particular day, we encountered his stepmother at the park and I was surprised to learn that she was Robert's real mother."

At the sound of her daughter's gasp, Sophia nodded her head. "I knew then that it was her plan for revenge and that she did not expect to meet me in the park that day. I was not hurt since I feel nothing for the Viscount but I was scared. I did not like the way the Countess looked at me and so I told my mother everything. She supported me in my decision not to accept any calls from the Viscount and once Arthur asked for my hand in marriage a couple of months after, she persuaded my father to agree to the match. After all, he may not have a title but he did have a huge estate and a decent income."

Sophia sighed. "The Viscount did not take the news of my engagement well and he tried ways to separate your father and me. Luckily, he did not succeed in any of his schemes." She smiled lightly at her daughter. "I was the third one to wed within my group of friends and I was very happy with your father. To avoid any more schemes from the Viscount, your father and I decided to travel around England, moving from one county to the next and stopping at your father's estate and visiting our friends every once in a while."

She paused, "Then, three years after our marriage, we were surprised to learn that your father will inherit the Dukedom of Leicester. You see, the current Duke back then had taken ill and there are no more male bloodlines to inherit. Your father was a distant relative and when the Duke died, the title was passed on to him. Since then, we stayed here in Rosewood Manor permanently."

When Sophia turned quiet and squeezed his hand, Arthur took it as his time to speak. "What we did not know was that Samuel Paxton, the Viscount who tried courting your mother, was also a candidate for the Dukedom. Unfortunately for him, I have a stronger claim to the title by one generation. You can only imagine his anger when he found out that not only had I married the woman he wanted to marry, but I had also claimed the title he so badly wanted. Things started going wrong then. He was mad. He worked with his stepmother and tried to harm our family. I wanted to challenge him for doing so but I cannot do that without enough proof and without bringing scandal to our family."

He sighed and turned to his daughter. "One day, he successfully managed to corner your mother in the woods in one of our trips with friends."

"He…" Sophie continued, "H-he wanted me to come with him and leave your father. I fought with him and he failed. He said that your father cannot have everything. He then held out his gun. But my brothers taught me how to defend myself so I fought for the gun. As soon as I got his weapon I ran but I did not know that he has another gun. He aimed it but before he could pull the trigger, I shoot first. I closed my eyes as soon as I heard the gunshot. And when I opened them…" she trembled, "when I opened them, the sight that greeted me was a bloody little girl lying down on the ground. I killed his daughter. I killed an innocent soul."

Heavy tears poured out of Sophie's eyes at the recollection of the events and the sight of her daughter crying from across her. "I did not know how she got there. I did not see her. I wouldn't have… I wouldn't…"

Seeing as his wife could not speak properly, Arthur, once again, took charge of telling the story. "We have proof that they had caused your mother and her friends harm but I did not dare to take the case to court seeing as your mother's shot had killed his daughter. I thought that the death of his daughter had awakened something in him that will make him stop obsessing about our family. Besides, I couldn't risk your mother's health because she was pregnant with you at the time."

He paused. "On the fourth month of your mother's pregnancy, we thought we had lost you both. Unfortunately, your twin did not survive. But you did." He told his daughter. "You were our little beacon of light. After that, your mother tried to forget what happened about the Viscount and slowly, she returned to her old self. She designed your hair comb, knitted you blankets and busied herself in preparing for your birth."

Sophia took a deep breath and prepared herself to tell her daughter the most momentous part of the story. "You were born much earlier than we expected and you were so small. The doctor did not expect you to survive the week but you proved him wrong. We were all so happy and for months we remained like that. Your Godmothers can't even bear to leave your side. But five months after your birth, I received a note. It said that 'You are going to lose your daughter too.' I was scared but I did not give you up."

She clenched her fist. "I knew I wouldn't let anything happen to you. I would die before they take you away from me. But two months after I received the note, the house we were staying on – a small estate in Yorkshire leased by your father – was caught on fire. Many people were injured. I knew then, that day, that the threat was real. We have no proof of who started the fire but I knew that it was them. A week after that, I asked a trusted servant to take you away. I told her not to bring you back to us because I will be the one coming for you. I ask her not to tell you anything about our family, in case it took years before we came for you. I gave her a list of the people you should stay away from – including the names of our family friends. I will not have them involved with our family affairs anymore."

Sophia looked at her daughter guiltily. "It was selfish of me because apart from keeping you safe, I know that a small part of me did it to stop the voices. I keep hearing them – telling me that I will never be a good mother to you because I killed an innocent little girl, someone else's daughter. Nightmares would plague my sleep. The little girl with a bloody dress would tell me that I do not deserve to be a mother… t-that I would k-kill you too. I know it was not a good reason and I am sorry."

Then, she stood up from her seat beside her husband to sit next to her daughter. "The blame is all on me. Your father did not have any idea until the night of your departure because I kept him busy with business matters. No one else knew about it. It was all on me." She cried, taking hold of her daughter's hand. "I understand if you resent me right now but please give our family a chance. I will not come in your way if it's what you want but I beg you… if you can find it in you to forgive me, at least treat me with some civility. For I cannot… I cannot…"

-p&p-

Elizabeth was startled at her mother's desperate plea. It saddened her that she had to spend most of her life away from her real family, yes, but after hearing the story behind it she understood that they were doing what they thought was best. Tears began streaming down her own eyes as she realised how much her mother loved her and how much her parents suffered.

After being in a family where she thought her mother despised her, Elizabeth felt her heart swell as she looked at her real mother, the woman who clearly loved her. She could sympathise with the nightmares and she knew from her own experiences that it was serious. "How can I forgive you," she started, "when there is nothing to forgive. You were only doing what you thought was right." Squeezing her mother's hand she said, "Please, do not cry anymore, mother."

It seemed that her mother loved hearing the word 'mother' from her as much as Elizabeth loved saying it, for, through her tears, her mother beamed and pulled her into a warm embrace. "Oh, my darling Isabel," her mother cried, "My little Dianne, I do not deserve you."

Once they had both calmed down, her mother released her from the hug and Elizabeth spoke. "If you do not mind me asking, why did you search for me now? Why after so many years? I am not mad, perhaps a little sad, but I would like to know the reason."

Her mother nodded. "When your father found out that you were gone, he was so angry. He gathered his men to look for Maria Smith, the maid I entrusted you with."

At this Elizabeth stilled. That must be why Lady Catherine used the name. It should be a clue to the Gardiners that she was in safe hands. After all, the Gardiners did know that another person was supposed to care for her before Grandma Claire. They must've been at least familiar with the name.

"After two days of failed searches, I finally told him what I did, that I was responsible for your absence. I told him about the threats and who I thought caused the fire. He was mad at me but he did stop the search the next day, saying that you wouldn't be safe if people knew that you were missing. So we talked to our servants to keep the information private. Instead, your father asked only our most trusted servants to join him on a search for you."

Her mother took a deep breath and with eyes filled with regret, she confessed, "What your father did not know was that I deceived him. I did not give him the right direction which Maria Smith took. And I regret that decision every single day. I honestly thought that you would be safer away from us."

Elizabeth squeezed her mother's hand to continue.

"Two weeks after that, we heard news that Maria had been involved in a carriage accident in New Castle. We went there immediately only to find out that Maria was already dead. Apparently, the carriage she was riding overturned [5]. The passengers were flung everywhere and Maria's body drowned by the sea. We found your trunks and your things by the sea as well and we feared for the worse."

Her father looked at them with tears in his eyes. "We thought that you…" he cleared his throat, "We thought that you d-drowned and d-died, for there were a few others whose bodies had not been recovered. We searched for months but we could not find you. My relationship with your mother had not been the same since then. We both blamed ourselves for what happened. It took us another year to start mending our relationship and our family with the help of friends. She told me about the nightmares and I began seeing things from her point of view."

"Then," her mother said, "about five years ago, Maria's niece, Martha, came to us seeking employment. She brought with her the diary of her mother, Maria's sister. Martha showed us the diary and inside, we found letters from Alice Brown addressed to Maria. In those letters, we found out that you were in Alice's care and that Marie had managed to give you to her before she died. It turned out that Maria's sister did not seek us out earlier because she was afraid to get involved. When Maria's sister died, Martha had nowhere else to go and when she found her mother's diary, she immediately came to us."

Elizabeth's brows furrowed. "Alice Brown?"

Her mother nodded, "Yes, my darling. We do not know that her real name is Claire Bennet. She introduced herself to my family as Alice Brown. She was my governess and companion when I was young."

"At first, we could not believe it," said her father, "but it gave us hope. Two weeks after that, we found out that Samuel Paxton's stepmother, the Dowager Countess of Dorchester, was ill. We took that as a sign to start searching for you. Since we did not want anyone to know yet, we did it secretly, starting with other counties here in the North since your mother remembered that Alice Brown had a small estate somewhere near."

Her father gestured to Lady Catherine. "A year after your mother and I started our search, along with selected and trusted servants, the rest of the family and your godparents found out about it and decided to do their own search. Two years ago, we discovered that Alice Brown's estate is in Scotland and we found out that she used another name there. From then on, we continued searching in Scotland."

For the first time since their conversation had started, Lady Catherine spoke. "Because everyone else was so preoccupied in searching the Northern counties, I decided to investigate the South. I started with Kent, then London, until my sources led me to Bedfordshire. Conveniently, I left my daughter on Hertfordshire and after months of searching the nearby counties, you were on Hertfordshire all along. Thank goodness for my meddling nephews and daughter that led me to you!"

Lady Catherine then turned to Elizabeth's parents. "Do you know that they all thought she was Lewis' bastard child?"

"Truly?" Her father asked.

"Indeed, Leicester. I shall tell you and Sophie about it later. But now, I believe that my Goddaughter needs to rest, do you not think?"

"Oh, yes, it is getting late. May I escort you to your room, darling?" Her mother asked and Elizabeth happily nodded.

"Forgive us for not being good hosts, Catherine, but I would like to join my wife and daughter."

Lady Catherine waved a hand at them dismissively. "Go on. I shall write to my siblings while you and Sophie are gone. I am just happy that my Goddaughter is finally where she ought to be." With those words, she took Elizabeth's hands and Elizabeth could not help but wrap her arms around the woman affectionately.

"Thank you for bringing me to my family, Lady Catherine." She said.

Lady Catherine immediately pulled away from her and frowned. "We are already passed formalities, nykin. Call me Godmother."

"Thank you," Elizabeth smiled, "Godmother."

Once Elizabeth and her parents reached the family wing, she entered her room while her parents entered her private drawing room next to it. She rang the bell for Chloe and the Abigail helped her change into a nightgown, which Elizabeth covered with a thick robe. After all, it was colder here than in Hertfordshire.

A few minutes after Chloe left through the servant door, her parents knocked on the connecting door separating her bedroom and the drawing room. To her surprise, her mother walked straight to her bed and opened the blankets for her. Shyly, she lay down on the bed and smiled at her parents.

"I know this has been a very trying day for you, darling, but thank you for giving our family a chance." Her mother said, smiling tearfully. "If you feel like we are hovering over you too much, then just say so. We are just… we cannot believe that you are finally home."

Elizabeth smiled. "It's alright, mother. I do not mind your presence. But I do have a question, though."

"What is it?" Her father asked.

"Is this Samuel Paxton still after us? Why does it seem like I am still in danger? Godmother did take extreme measures to bring me here – we switched carriage and change our names at every inn."

Her mother sighed. "He has not bothered us for quite some time now but we have reason to believe that we may be in danger because he has poisoned the rest of his family against us. And while we are unsure about it, we feel that it is better to be safe. His stepmother is still alive after all. But the main reason for our worry was because a former employee of your other Godmother was caught talking to Samuel Paxton. We fear that the employee may have shared information about you with him. That's why we are more cautious than ever."

"I understand," Elizabeth said. "Thank you for being honest with me."

"You have nothing to thank us for, darling," her mother smiled, running her fingers through her hair.

"You deserve the truth, daughter." With that, her father kissed her on the forehead followed by her mother.

Elizabeth closed her eyes and smiled. She had yet to process the things she'd learned today, yes, but she was glad to know that she had caring parents. A family who loved her…


[1] A female child was to have two female and one male godparent or sponsor, while a male child was to have two male and one female godparent or sponsor.

[2] Pole screens served an important function in the 18th century: The tall thin screens shielded people's faces from the direct heat of the fire.

[3] Room screens, also known as draught screens, have been used since medieval times as a protection against draughts. Thought of as a necessity, they partitioned off long halls and kept draughts from entering too close to the heated portion of the room. They could also serve as protection against too much sun in the summer in a room that faced west.

[4] Wing chairs served a dual purpose, conserving heat and protecting the sitter from draughts

* I included items 3, 4 and 5 in Lizzy's room because it's colder in the North and I want to use the items in her room to imply how her parents wanted to be with her very much that they made sure that she would have everything she needed.

[5] The carriage incident Maria experienced was based on one hideous stage coach crash in 1833 the Quicksilver coach overturned as it was leaving Brighton. Passengers were flung out into the gardens along the Steine and impaled on the spiked railings.

Note: In Chapter 14 Lady Lucas said that she believes Elizabeth was given to Claire before she turned seven months old. In Chapter 16, Thomas Bennet said that Elizabeth's size as a babe was smaller than most babes her age. In short, Lady Lucas's assumption is wrong and Elizabeth is much older than seven months. In this chapter, it is revealed that she was given to Claire before she turned eight months.

Elizabeth is four months older than little Thomas (her supposed 'twin') but the ruse work because babes during this time period mostly stay in the nursery and in Chapter 16, they made stops in other counties before going back to Hertfordshire.

Now, most of your questions about the list are answered. One, not all people on the list are bad guys. Two, half of the people on the list are actually allies. Did Claire Bennet know? I'll spoil you guys now, No, she did not. A future chapter will explain what exactly happened – how Lizzy was passed unto Claire – but for now, at least you guys know that the Gardiners, Lucases and Claire were honest about their intention of protecting Lizzy.

Further Notes:

*Titles and people in this story are mostly made up.

*About Samuel Paxton – as you can see in Sophia's backstory, this man was mad for not getting what he wanted (Sophia and the title of Duke) so he was set on revenge and when his daughter died, he decided to take his anger Sophia's daughter which is Lizzy. (Yeah, I know it seemed that I have a thing for writing characters that are sick in the head). More info about him will be shown in the future chapters and why exactly did he become obsessed with the Leighton family and Sophia in particular.

* Samuel Paxton's stepmother is also the mother of Robert, Sophia's half-brother and we'll see more about her in further chapters. We'll also see why Samuel Paxton's daughter was there with him.

*Why Sophia and Arthur didn't just file a case against Samuel Paxton? One, as mentioned in the story, they did not have enough evidence against him. Also, things could go wrong for them, seeing as Sophia (though accidentally) did cause the death of Paxton's daughter. Two…

English criminal trials from the late seventeenth to the early twentieth centuries were very different from those of today. Trials were quick, lawyers were rarely present, and prosecutors, judges, and jurors exercised considerable discretion in how they interpreted the law. There were some changes to trial procedures during the eighteenth century, and change quickened significantly during the 1820s. Several nineteenth-century reforms improved conditions for the defence, but defendants still operated under severe disadvantages.

Before 1829, London did not have a police force in the modern sense of the term. The responsibility for reporting crime, and in large part for identifying the culprits, fell on the victim. Once the accused was arrested, they were examined by a magistrate, either in the magistrate's own house or more publicly in "rotation offices" such as the one established by Thomas De Veil at Bow Street. (If you are interested in these things, go to . )

Also, I've learned that many people can get away from their crimes, heck even today those things happen. Take Catalina de los Ríos y Lisperguer for example. She was investigated for the deaths of 40 servants and slaves on her property, but she was never tried or convicted. She died of natural causes in 1665.

Even if they did file a case against Samuel Paxton, it did not mean that he would be punished. Take Countess Elizabeth Báthory de Ecsed as an example. Báthory has been labelled by Guinness World Records as the most prolific female murderer, though the precise number of her victims is debated. Báthory and four collaborators were accused of torturing and killing hundreds of young girls and women between 1590 and 1610. The highest number of victims cited during Báthory's trial was 650. However, this number comes from the claim by a servant girl named Susannah that Jakab Szilvássy, Báthory's court official, had seen the figure in one of Báthory's private books. The book was never revealed, and Szilvássy never mentioned it in his testimony. Despite the evidence against Báthory, her family's importance kept her from facing execution. She was imprisoned in December 1610 within Castle of Csejte, in Upper Hungary (now Slovakia). [this article is from Wikipedia]

Why wasn't Lizzy found sooner? One, the Leighton family only has selected employees joining them for the search along with Lizzy's Godparents and their own bunch of selected servants. Two, since almost all of them are noblemen; they have positions and responsibilities in society that they have to work on, so along with their search for Lizzy, they're all busy. Three, Claire had done her best in protecting Lizzy by creating fake traces of her whereabouts as well as false identities. Four, Lizzy has limited freedom, and when she did go out in Town, she always wears a cloak to cover her face – a face that looked very much like her mother. Five, they thought she was somewhere hidden in the North. Samuel Paxton later became the Earl of Dorchester. Dorchester is in the South. Why would they think that Claire would hide Lizzy somewhere near the enemy?

I might've missed other reasons but I'll be happy to share them in other chapters. This AN is getting too long.

Coming Up:

What's happening with the Darcys, Elizabeth's name, more family info with the de Bourghs, Darcys, Fitzwilliams and Lizzy's family. Also more info about Claire Bennet and the comb.

Author's notes:

Now that mostly everything is revealed (apart from some missing pieces and other background info which will appear from time to time in the next chapters) I hope you guys are satisfied with the reasoning. The next chapters will focus on character development and family bonds. Perhaps a bit of some action too ;)

I do hope that you are enjoying this story and thank you for sticking with me this long. I never thought that this story would reach more than 100 000 words but here it is. Hopefully, I can finish this ASAP because other stories are waiting to be posted. After this, I'll focus on "Proving Him Wrong" and then we'll see new stories.

BTW, sorry for not replying to your reviews yet, I will do my best once I've adjusted my time in this online schooling. Take care, guys :)

Thank you for the support, follows, reviews and favourites. Have a good day!