Chapter 55: Realization
Darcy and Lady Martha had a serious discussion a few days before the engagement party, and Elizabeth felt irritated to witness their interaction, unable to convince either of them.
"Do not be so stubborn, Fitzwilliam; I am already acquainted with Mrs. Gardiner, and they are related now to the Ashton family, and they must stay here," she argued.
"I already invited them to stay in Pemberley, and they agreed; all the guests are to stay there. I do not think it would be proper to change the plan."
"Why not? I will personally come to Pemberley and invite them when they arrive. You already have so many guests, and I would like the Gardiner family to stay with us."
Elizabeth looked at Darcy, who seemed to be irritated.
"Elizabeth, will it be proper for them to stay in Pemberley while you are here? They are the bride's relations, and when I think about it, Mrs. Davis and her husband should stay here as well," she declared, looking at Elizabeth for approval.
"Lady Martha, I am not willing to change the plan for my guests, and I apologize if this upsets you," Darcy said firmly.
"Look at that; your future husband is so stubborn. I doubt he will ever allow you to stay here after marriage."
"Why would she have to stay here after marriage?" Darcy asked with irritation.
"Because she is my niece and would like to spend time here too."
"We will see about that if she feels that way."
"Fitzwilliam, I cannot believe you are so possessive about her. Blinded by love, you are becoming so unreasonable these days. Pray tell me after her marriage, if Elizabeth wishes to stay here, why won't you allow it?"
"Because I do not wish to part from her, even for a day," he cried without thought as he began to feel that Lady Martha wanted to dictate everything about his relationship with Elizabeth.
To his surprise, Elizabeth, unable to suppress her laughter, burst out laughing, and her aunt joined her.
Darcy was confused by their behavior.
"What is so amusing for you to laugh?" he asked Elizabeth with irritation.
"Fitzwilliam, after your marriage, if Elizabeth visits us and wants to stay here for a day or two, nobody will stop you from staying with her; for heaven's sake, you will be her husband. Do you at least understand why we are laughing now?" Lady Martha said and continued laughing.
Darcy finally realized that he had made a fuss over nothing. Lady Martha and Darcy finally agreed to Elizabeth's suggestion of inviting the guests to stay at Ashton Park for the night on the day of the engagement party to satisfy her aunt's wishes.
Miss Anderson knew that the preparations for the engagement party were in full swing. She hated seeing her father and Darcy spend time in the same house with Elizabeth. That morning, she heard the sound of loud laughter from the parlor and knew Darcy had called on Elizabeth. It vexed her to realize that no one in the house cared about her feelings and enjoyed themselves without guilt.
How can my aunt be so happy with her? She fawns over her as if she knew her forever. I am no longer important to anyone here, not to Papa, not to my aunt, and even Lady Isabella favors her. I cannot stand this insult.
Miss Anderson ran upstairs and collapsed into her mother's arms in agony, unable to accept what had happened to her life.
"What Papa is doing to me is cruel; how can he accept her as his daughter? And why can't you convince him to leave before her wedding?"
"I tried my best, my dear, don't you know that. He will not listen to anything I say."
"Then why don't we leave? I cannot stand how everyone treats her at Ashton Park, their importance to her wedding, and that stupid engagement party. I cannot be a part of this; let us leave, Mamma!"
"No, we cannot. Imagine what she could do if we left your father alone here. She may even convince him to stay here forever; already, she has influenced him to…" Lady Anderson stopped abruptly. "What Mamma? What is it?" Miss Anderson asked.
"Do not worry; I will not allow her to take him away from us," Lady Anderson said. After spending the whole afternoon in her daughter's room, Lady Anderson took her to the village to shop, wanting her to have some peace away from the atmosphere in Ashton Park.
They visited several shops in Lambton, and in one, Miss Anderson overheard the shopkeeper discuss the upcoming wedding.
"I have not seen Mr. Darcy happier, and he has made a good choice. Who would have thought the governess he declared to marry would be the long-lost daughter of Lord Anderson? To have endured so much at such a young age, she deserves to be happy, and the talks are going around that there will be an official announcement regarding her soon, and we can no longer address her as Miss Smith," he said to one of the customers.
Miss Anderson stood still, unable to process what she had heard.
On their return to Ashton Park, she questioned her mother regarding the same.
"Do not distress yourself with what you overheard."
"You know something, don't you? Is he going to announce her to be his daughter officially? Will she be addressed as Miss Anderson from now on?" she asked in horror.
Her mother could not answer her question, and as the carriage stopped, Miss Anderson ran outside.
"Beatrice, please stop!" her mother cried and rushed after her.
It was cold outside, and Lady Anderson ran after her daughter, who ran towards the stables away from the house.
Miss Anderson reached one of the sheds near the stables and tried to lock herself inside, but her mother caught up to her.
"Beatrice, what are you doing? What made you run like that? Come with me," Lady Anderson pulled her.
"No Mamma! Maybe this is where we belong; we do not belong in Ashton Park; she belongs there. Papa will declare her his daughter; then the world will ridicule us."
"Do not be stupid, and don't cause a scene; it is already getting dark now. Let us head back to the house."
"No, I am not coming unless you promise me that Papa will not make any declaration. I cannot stand my place being taken by someone else. What will my friends say back home? This is the worst thing that could ever happen to me."
Just then, someone walked into the shed, and Lady Anderson was shocked to see who it was.
A while ago, Elizabeth had spotted Lady Anderson running after her daughter in the garden; she had been out walking, trying to enjoy the weather before it started to snow. Elizabeth was alarmed to see her pursuit and had followed them to the shed.
"You? Why are you here? Can you not leave us alone?" cried Miss Anderson as she spotted Elizabeth.
Elizabeth avoided conversing with Miss Anderson and addressed her mother.
"I apologize for the intrusion; I was worried when you ran after your daughter. Is everything all right?" she asked, much to Lady Anderson's irritation.
"You know very well what is wrong; look at the state of my daughter; her current state of despair and agony is all because of you. You and your dead mother have ruined our lives forever," Lady Anderson spat out.
Elizabeth tried to stay calm.
"How can you stand before us as though you are a part of this family? Are you not ashamed of your past? You came here in disguise, trapped a man like Mr. Darcy, then trapped my father."
"I never trapped anyone; you have no right to accuse. You have artfully avoided the truth for your own benefit."
"And what is the truth? Was your mother even properly married to my father? She ran away from home, married him secretly, and left him for someone else. What sort of a woman does that, and you prove very well that you are her daughter, judging by the way you behave," Miss Anderson yelled.
Elizabeth struggled to compose herself, and she did not want to make the situation worse than it already was.
She turned around to leave, but Lady Anderson blocked her way.
"Mark might believe that you are his daughter, but I don't. Who knows how many people your mother was involved with," she said sarcastically.
"Enough!" cried Elizabeth.
"Say whatever you want to about me; I do not care anymore; I will not have you insult my mother's honor. Don't you have a heart? My mother is dead, and you are slandering her to enrage me?"
"What did my mother say wrong? Your past is not honorable; you know that very well; you have convinced my father to accept you, and he is doing everything to please you," Miss Anderson accused.
"He is not doing anything to please me; after all these years, he wants to do what is right, at least for my mother's sake."
"Who knows what your mother did to marry him so secretly? Maybe she was already ruined, and she tricked him into marrying her. Judging by the things you have done so far, I do not doubt it," Miss Anderson said.
"Beatrice, that is enough; you leave now. I will deal with this girl," her mother cried. Her daughter's words had dangerously awakened the darkest memories about her past.
"Mamma! I don't want to leave until I know she will stop this announcement."
"I said leave now; you vex me; you cannot obey a single thing I say these days."
"But Mamma! I…"
"For heaven's sake, Beatrice, leave now and don't make me hate you," Lady Anderson cried, and Elizabeth knew very well why she was so livid with anger.
Miss Anderson slowly walked away as tears streamed down her face and left the shed.
Lady Anderson and Elizabeth stared at each other until they heard the door of the shed slam.
"See what you have done; you have finally made me upset, my own daughter. My poor girl has not been herself since the day we came here. Now tell me, what do you need to leave my husband alone? How much money do you need to convince him to stop this announcement?"
"You only amuse me with your offer, Lady Anderson."
"I am warning you; I will do anything for my daughter. How she acted today scares me; she is losing herself because of you. You have already ruined our lives, and, at least for the sake of her future, convince my husband not to make this announcement. You will stay as Miss Smith, promise me that."
"As much as I understand and sympathize with you, I cannot promise that. Whether he declares me as his daughter or not at the party, the truth will speak for itself. What difference would it make if I stopped him? You need not accept me as a part of your family, and I can clearly see that I never could. But you must accept that Lord Anderson will never let go of me now or in the future. I…" she stopped suddenly and slowly turned around.
Lady Anderson looked behind Elizabeth, horrified to see that the shed had caught fire.
"Good Heavens! How could this happen? Move now," she cried and ran to open the door, which appeared to be stuck.
Elizabeth was horrified to see that piles of hay stacked inside the shed had caught fire, and the flames kept spreading.
"I think one of the lamps must have fallen. Do not worry. We will get out of here," she cried. Elizabeth tried hard to wedge the door open, but it seemed stuck, and Lady Anderson yelled for help.
"Beatrice should not be far away; she can hear me for sure," she cried and called out to her daughter.
Meanwhile, Elizabeth tried to contain the flames by throwing water stored in the shed, but nothing helped, and slowly, she began to realize the seriousness of the situation.
We could die in her. Oh! God!
Lady Anderson looked terrified as the flames blazed up to the shed's roof.
"Why is no one coming? It is all your fault," she cried in fear.
Elizabeth spotted an old glass window behind some boxes at the end of the shed and hurriedly removed them. She struggled to open it as the hinges were rusty.
With every passing second, the flames spread faster, and smoke engulfed the shed.
Elizabeth prayed that someone would come for help and tried to break the window open with a metal rod she found.
Lady Anderson was unable to do anything as she was about to faint because of the smoke and collapsed to the floor.
"Lady Anderson, look at me; we will get out of here alive. I am trying my best to break this window. I promise we will get out of here," she cried.
"I cannot breathe," she said, barely able to open her eyes.
Elizabeth took the rod again and hit the glass window with all her strength, and it cracked. She struck it a couple of times again, and it broke.
"Hurry, we need to leave," she cried and helped Lady Anderson stand.
"Here, stand on this box, and you can reach the window," she said, almost dragged Lady Anderson to the window.
"You want me to go first?" Lady Anderson asked wide-eyed.
"Yes, do not waste time; hurry," Elizabeth cried as the flames were very close.
She helped Lady Anderson climb out, and suddenly, one of the wooden planks on the roof caught fire and collapsed right next to Elizabeth; as much as she tried, she could not stand any longer as the smoke filled her lungs, and she fainted.
The moment Lady Anderson escaped, she looked back and was horrified when Elizabeth did not follow her out.
She tried to look into the shed but could not spot Elizabeth inside.
"Elizabeth, where are you? Can you hear me? Please climb out; what happened?" she cried in fear.
Suddenly, she heard someone behind her, and it was her husband.
"Good Lord! Augusta, are you all right? Where is Elizabeth?" he asked in horror.
Other servants had gathered to control the fire.
"She made my escape through that window, and I thought she would climb out, but I cannot see her. Help her, please!" she cried.
Lord Anderson immediately climbed in. Thewhole shed was filled with smoke,andhe could barely see anything. In panic, hecalled out to Elizabeth. He finally saw her lying on the floor, unconscious and very close to the burning plank.
No! No! Nothing will happen to you.
"Elizabeth, open your eyes; I am here. I promise to get you out of here," he cried beside her, but to his horror, she never opened her eyes.
He called out to his men to break open the door, and they did. He covered her with her coat, took his chance, carried her through the flames as quickly as possible, and escaped.
"Mark, what happened to her? Good Lord!" Lady Anderson cried.
"Elizabeth, I beg you; please wake up," Lord Anderson begged as he dabbed her face with water, but there was no word from her.
"Send for the doctor, now!" Lord Anderson cried as he carried her indoors.
Lady Anderson stood rooted to the spot, unable to believe what had happened.
She saved my life!
His heart had almost stopped when he received a note from Ashton Park stating that Elizabeth was unwell.
"What happened, Lord Anderson, what happened?" Darcy cried as he ran up the stairs to Elizabeth's room.
Lord Anderson was fighting to control his tears.
I almost lost her, just as I lost Sarah!
"Someone say something, what happened to her?" Darcy yelled.
"She is well, Fitzwilliam. She just opened her eyes," Lady Martha said, quickly explaining the accident.
"How could this happen? How could something like his happen?' he cried as he rushed inside Eizabeth's room.
He could finally breathe when she saw her smile at him feebly.
"Elizabeth!" he cried. He kneeled beside her bed and held her hand.
"Do not be upset; I am well," she said, coughing between words.
"What happened? Did the doctor see her yet?" he asked with anger.
"He did; she is all right but needs to rest. She fainted as she inhaled a lot of smoke."
"How could you let this happen? I left her here as your responsibility," he asked, his eyes blazing with anger.
However painful the situation was, Lord Anderson was grateful that Elizabeth had found someone who loved her beyond his own life.
"Fitzwilliam, please calm down," Elizabeth said, trying to sit.
"No! Do not strain yourself. I was so scared, Elizabeth; you know I cannot live without you," he cried.
"I am well; please do not be upset. It was an accident; it was no one's fault."
"Why did you leave the house?" he asked, unable to understand anything.
Lord Anderson touched Darcy's shoulder.
"Let us not distress her; she needs to rest."
Darcy pursed his lips as he was very angry with him. He looked at her, but she was barely able to stay awake. Her beautiful eyes lacked sparkle, and he sensed she had experienced something terrifying.
"Are you in pain?" he asked.
"No! I am just tired; everything feels like a bad dream," she said feebly.
"You must sleep and do not worry. I have no intention of leaving Ashton Park tonight," he said with resolve, watching Elizabeth close her eyes.
He reluctantly left the room along with Lady Martha and Lord Anderson.
"Do not worry, Mr. Darcy. I will stay with her tonight," Lady Isabella said, and he nodded.
"Where were you?" Lady Anderson asked her daughter.
"What sort of a question is that? I was in my room, crying because of you. You insulted me in front of that girl."
"Beatrice, the fire started moments after you left; how come you never heard us?" Lady Anderson asked.
"I did not see anything or hear you," she replied dryly.
Reluctantly, Lady Anderson left her daughter and headed downstairs when her husband summoned her. She entered the room nervously and understood Darcy's temperament from the look on his face.
"How is she?" she asked her husband before anyone could ask her anything else.
"She is better but has inhaled a lot of smoke," Lord Anderson said with pain.
"Augusta, why were you both there? I was under the assumption that you took Beatrice to the village," Lady Martha asked.
"I did, we just returned and …" Lady Anderson hesitated.
"And what?" Darcy asked with impatience.
"Beatrice was upset and ran into the gardens once we returned. And she tried to lock herself in that shed, but I caught up to her. I do not know how Elizabeth arrived there, but we got into an argument. I asked Beatrice to leave, and she did. Suddenly, the shed caught fire."
Darcy looked at Lord Anderson sternly, challenging him to question his wife.
"Do you realize how ridiculous this sounds? Why did she have to run there?" Lord Anderson asked.
"Because she was upset about the engagement party. How did you find us?"
"One of the stable boys alerted us; I cannot believe it. You should have brought her back to the house instead of arguing in that shed. How could you be so irresponsible?"
"I never expected something like this to happen. I still do not know how the shed caught on fire, but... but…" she stammered.
"What is it, Augusta?"
"She saved me instead of saving herself first. She could have easily climbed out of the window. I had almost fainted, but she helped me escape. Mark, if you had not arrived there, she could have died," she said in a low voice, watching Darcy wince.
"I cannot accept this; how could the shed catch fire? Something is wrong," Darcy cried, determined it was not an accident.
Just then, Lord Ashton entered.
"Is Elizabeth all right?" he asked with concern.
"She is," Lord Anderson replied.
"We were able to put out the fire. This was not an accident; I examined the remains of the fire, and the burned-down door was latched. That is why they weren't able to open it from inside. Someone set the fire and latched the door," he said to everyone's horror.
"That is it! I have had it; who dares to harm her here?" Darcy yelled.
"Fitzwilliam, please calm down."
"Don't ask me to calm down. Are you asking me to rejoice that she is alive? She could have been hurt for life; imagine what she underwent in those flames. I will not spare anyone responsible for this."
Suddenly, Lady Anderson sank into the chair.
"Mark, send for Beatrice," she said without emotion, and the room was stunned by her request.
"You cannot possibly suspect her; how could your own daughter do this to you," Lady Martha said with disbelief.
"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 see 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, do not lie. No one else could have latched the shed; 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 spur 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; 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!"
"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 uncontrollably rage 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.
"No, you are not!" her mother yelled, stunning the room to silence.
"Augusta, what are you doing?" Lord Anderson asked, horrified at the confession.
"Do not stop me; look here, Beatrice, 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 Elziabeth'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?"
"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 is 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.
Darcy had to reconsider his decision to get Miss Anderson arrested after the outburst by her mother. Everyone in the room was speechless after Lady Anderson's declaration.
"She knows? Since when?"
"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; 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 take some rest," she said.
"I do not wish to rest; did she eat anything?"
"No, she had some water; 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."
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. She shut her eyes as relived the horror she had undergone among the flames, and 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; 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 him, addressing him so for the first time.