As promised, here's the next chapter :)

RECAP:

Chapter 15 – Darcy proposed marriage, Lizzy accepted, and fluff ensued.

"Fitzwilliam?"

The second time Elizabeth called his name, he finally averted his gaze away from the hair comb to look at her.

"Is something wrong?" She asked worriedly.

"Nothing is wrong," he was quick to assure her, "The gemstones on your hair comb just reminded me that I have yet to give you a gift as a sign of our betrothal."

'But wasn't he just looking at the back of the hair comb? Is he lying?' Elizabeth shook the negative thoughts away. Fitzwilliam wouldn't lie to her. So she gave him a smile, for what else could she do when he said sweet and thoughtful things like that? "You mean the flowers aren't enough?" She pointed to the bundle of flowers she tied on Apollo's saddle.

"You deserve more than just flowers. Perhaps a necklace or a ring…"

She shook her head, "I need no such things, Fitzwilliam. The greatest gift you could give me was being with you."

He kissed her hand. "Well then, we better start talking with the Gardiners. The sooner we can have someone's permission, the sooner we can marry."

With that, they walked back towards their horses and Fitzwilliam helped her mount up Apollo. "No more races this time." He said and she nodded.

When they entered the Dower House, the three adults at the drawing room gasped at the sight of Fitzwilliam. Still, they managed to regain their composure and greeted them properly. Elizabeth guided her betrothed to one of the settee and sat next to him.

Finally, Aun – Mrs. Gardiner broke the silence. "Lizzy, I thought you promised to talk to us once you got back?"

"I did." Elizabeth nodded. "Shall we begin?"

"Do you not want to talk about this privately?" Unc – Mr. Gardiner asked.

Elizabeth shook her head. "Whatever it is you have to say to me, you can say it in front of Lord Ashbourne too. I am sure that Sir William and Lady Lucas has already informed you what happened three days ago." She took a deep breath, before adding: "Besides, I would feel much better with my betrothed by my side."

"Betrothed?!"

Her hand reached for Fitzwilliam's and he took it as his a sign for him to speak. "Yes, Elizabeth and I are engaged and to be married. I had asked for her hand earlier and she had accepted. We wanted you to tell us the whole truth so we can know who to seek permission for us to marry."

"You cannot marry him!" Mr. Gardiner exclaimed.

Elizabeth tightened her hand on Fitzwilliam's as she looked at Mr. Gardiner. "Why not?"

As Mrs. Gardiner tried to calm her husband, Mrs. Winters, who was sitting diagonally, called out to Elizabeth. "Lizzy, you have only known each other for a month. Please reconsider. We know you are angry at us but a reckless decision is not going to help."

"You are wrong," Elizabeth countered, "Fitzwilliam and I had known each other for three months now, since the first day of September. I had been meeting with him secretly at the Gardiner Warehouse before we met again here in Hertfordshire."

"You lied to us," said Mrs. Gardiner.

Elizabeth clenched her jaws, "I lied to you for three months, but you lied to me all my life."

Mr. Gardiner sighed. "We are only doing it for your own good, Lizzy. Get angry all you want but I beg you, do not marry Lord Ashbourne and cut ties with him."

Angered at the man's statement, Fitzwilliam asked: "Why should Elizabeth trust the man who lied to her not just about her identity, but about her safety as well?"

"Fitzwilliam?" Elizabeth turned to him in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"When you told my cousins that you couldn't leave your house because a man named Mr Price was after your Uncle, they also informed me about it too. Please try to understand my reason, Elizabeth. I was worried for you. So even though it was none of my business, I wrote to one of my most trusted man and asked him to investigate about this Mr Price."

When he saw that Elizabeth was not angry at his actions, he continued, "Imagine my surprise, when the man I trusted with the case sent me a letter saying that this Mr Price didn't exist and the man that Mr Gardiner exposed to the earl, who was my Uncle, was named Mr Appleton and that he was not a threat for he did not have enough money or power to be one."

"Why didn't you tell me before?"

"Because my cousins and I were still trying to figure out why the Gardiners would fake a threat like that. Of course, many things had also happened these past few days…"

Elizabeth nodded understandingly and he squeezed his hand. She then turned to the other occupants of the room. "Explain, please…"

Mr Gardiner ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "You were given to Claire to keep you safe. When Claire died, she entrusted me and my wife to look after you. That's why we forbid you to go outside and why you always wear cloaks. The time that we created a Mr Price, Mrs Winters informed us that Netherfield Park had been let. We wanted you to stay away from the newcomers and we thought that the only way you would treat the situation seriously is if you think you're in real danger."

"But why do I have to hide from my new neighbours?"

"Because there is a high possibility that they might be on Claire's list." Mr Gardiner answered. With a glance at Fitzwilliam, he added, "And they were."

Elizabeth's brows furrowed. "List? What list?"

"Before Claire died, she also entrusted me with many things." Mr Gardiner then opened the small trunk beside him and pulled out a book. "This book is one of them. It contains specific instructions on how to deal with different situations like your education and accomplishments. It also included a list of people that we should keep you from."

Mr Gardiner opened the book to a page where an old torn parchment was hidden. The writings were almost illegible because the ink had already smeared but below it, Elizabeth recognised Claire Bennet's handwriting that copied the list.

Paxton

Sherwood

Thornton

Reed

Wesley

De Bourgh

Bradshaw

Darcy

Fitzwilliam

Below the list, Claire Bennet's handwriting continued.

I trust you to keep Lizzy away from anyone included in the list above, Edward.

"Do you now see why I do not agree with your relationship with Lord Ashbourne, Lizzy?" Mr Gardiner asked.

Elizabeth didn't reply. She was still staring at the list. "I do not understand. What kind of danger am I in that so many people are involved?"

"Claire has never told us the full truth of it either but I believe that the fire in the smaller warehouse was caused by one of these people." Mr Gardiner revealed. "They are close to finding you, Lizzy. Some of Claire's precautions had been found out and they will be after you next."

Fitzwilliam looked at the others with the same confusion as Elizabeth, "I do not know why the names of my family are on your list. My cousins and I did not even know Elizabeth until recently."

"Maybe you do not know, but other members of your family do," countered Mr Gardiner.

Elizabeth's free hand fiddled with the ribbon of her bonnet. "I understand that you were all looking out for me but why didn't you just tell me the truth? You could have told me that I am not a Bennet earlier."

"It's not easy –"

Elizabeth cut Mr Gardiner off, "And this is easy?"

After a moment of silence, Elizabeth spoke again. "Does this mean that the other events years ago – being attacked by highwaymen, Mrs Gardiner's miscarriage, being hunted down back then by the real business partner of an earl – were all made up too?"

"My miscarriage was real but the others were made up whenever danger came close to finding you…"

"Were you ever planning on telling me the truth?"

"Of course, we were, Lizzy." Mrs Gardiner answered. "But you have to understand that if you knew about it, then you'd be running straight for the danger. We know you Lizzy – you are like daughter to us. And I know that you will try to search for your real family once you find out the truth."

Elizabeth sighed. She understood Mrs Gardiner's point. She would have done exactly what Mrs Gardiner stated but she still could not help but feel betrayed by their lies and secrets. Everything was still too much for her to process.

At the slight feel of pressure on her hand, Elizabeth smiled. It might still be overwhelming for her but Fitzwilliam was there for her. With this knowledge and new found determination, she looked directly at the Gardiners and Mrs Winters. "I do not care what the list says. I will still marry Fitzwilliam. Now, please tell us, where we can get permission?"

When no one answered Elizabeth's question, Fitzwilliam decided to speak up. "Since you refuse to give us your blessing or permission or lead us to a person who could, we will just have to ask Mr Bennet to do it. Since no one else knew the truth, Elizabeth is known as his daughter. He wouldn't dare refuse us or else his own secret will be known. If he gives us too much trouble, I can still marry Elizabeth on Gretna Green."

"You would try to elope?" Mrs Winters asked.

"No, our family will be with us." With that, he stood up and nodded at them, "If you will excuse us."

Before any of them could protest, Fitzwilliam was leading Elizabeth out of the house.

-p&p-

Thomas Bennet glared at the pair in front of him. One of them was his 'daughter' or as he liked to think of her, the girl whom his 'mother' adopted. The other one was a tall man who dared threaten him with his parentage.

"Give us your permission to marry and talk to the vicar to list down Elizabeth's name so the Banns can be read two weeks from now, after I have talked to my family or else your wife might be thrown out to the hedgerows sooner rather than later. After all, I am well acquainted with the rightful heir of this estate."

Thomas did not reply at the arrogant Marquess and continued glaring at them.

Elizabeth. It always had something to do with that Elizabeth. The girl who had given him so much trouble since she'd entered his life.

Back then, Thomas didn't know the truth about his parentage. Only when his father was on his deathbed did the old man confessed the truth to Thomas. And when he found out, it all made sense. Why his mother never had the patience with him, why she never seemed to be impressed with whatever he tried to do, why she had left him and his father for a long time… why his mother only seemed to tolerate him at best.

Despite everything, Claire Bennet was the only mother Thomas had known. So when she tried to mend their relationship once she returned to take care of his father, Thomas gave her a second chance. It took months but eventually, Thomas had finally known what it was like to have a mother.

Claire had helped him in courting Fanny, who was now his wife. His mother had been there when he got married, supported his wife while she was pregnant with Jane and even treated Jane as her own granddaughter. Everything was going well that when Claire had asked them to join her on visiting her estate, they had agreed to come.

The day before their journey, they found out that Fanny was pregnant. Because the trip to Claire's estate on Scotland could be taxing, she decided to lease an estate on Nottinghamshire where Thomas and his family could stay. Their months of stay there had been fun until Claire finally decided to continue her trip to her estate alone.

When she returned three months later than she promised, a babe named Elizabeth was sleeping peacefully in her arms and Fanny had already given birth to little Thomas three months ago. Claire did not give them much detail about the babe's family, only that the babe needed a home for quite a while, yet Claire still managed to convince Fanny to adopt the babe into the family and pretend that it was his son's twin.

Because his son was a chubby babe and Elizabeth was smaller than most babes her age, they decided that the ruse would work. For the people in Hertfordshire to fully believe their scheme, they all stayed another month on Nottinghamshire. Then, Claire leased another small estate at Warwickshire where they stayed for four more months.

After that, they had also visited Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire before they had finally returned to Hertfordshire. However, Claire stayed with them for only a week before travelling around the country again. She returned two months later. In the times that Claire had been gone, Thomas got closer to both babes and he started treating babe Elizabeth as one of his own children.

Unfortunately, when the 'twins' were three years old, Elizabeth had gotten the flu. A few days later, his son had acquired it too but he healed quicker that Elizabeth did. Fanny had heard that sea breeze was good for illness and she wanted to take Elizabeth to the seaside to recover. And Elizabeth did, but his son – oh, his son, Thomas got teary eyed just thinking about his little namesake – got sick on the journey and he weakened as Elizabeth recovered.

It all went down from there. The death of his son also caused the death of his wife, for Fanny had become the shell of the person she used to be, and it was all that Elizabeth's fault.

It did not matter that he suggested that little Thomas should be left with him and only Elizabeth and Claire should journey to the seaside. Fanny was a mother – it was only natural that she wanted her children to be together. He could have put his foot down and reason with his wife – but as a husband, he wanted to make his wife happy so he could not be blamed. No, the only one to be blamed here was Elizabeth. Not him or his wife.

If that girl hadn't entered their lives, then their family would still be complete.

First, Elizabeth took his son and then his wife and lastly, his mother. Claire did not like the way Fanny was treating Elizabeth so she took the little girl with her to live at the Dower House. Elizabeth ruined the relationship Fanny had with his mother. Claire did not understand that what Fanny was doing was reasonable. Of course his wife would hate Elizabeth, she was the cause of little Thomas' death.

When Claire died, Thomas was relieved. He could finally get rid of the unwanted girl but even to the death Claire loved that girl dearly and protected her using her Last Will. Thomas did not understand it. How come his mother loved that girl, who was solely unconnected to her? Thomas was the son of Claire's husband, whom Claire loved, yet Claire had trouble loving him. What was so special about Elizabeth that Claire had been more of a mother to her than to Thomas?

As if three people had not been enough, Elizabeth had also managed to steal the Gardiners and the Lucases from them. The people, who were once his and Fanny's friends, chose a child over him and Fanny. That angered Thomas even more.

Despite that, he never did anything to the girl. Whenever his wife insulted the girl, he just let her and he remained in his study. Maybe the girl would get tired of it and ran away. When she did not, Thomas had decided to make the girl useful.

His mother had told him once, when he was younger, that he'd never be good at managing an estate. If that's what Claire had thought, then fine. Thomas started giving Elizabeth the duties on managing the estate. Elizabeth wanted to spend time with her sisters? That's fine with Thomas, but only if she taught Mary and Kitty first about estate management and other accomplishments of a young lady. It seemed that his mother knew him too well because even in Claire's Will it's a condition. Treat Elizabeth nicely and they'll get additional allowance from her, fine.

And now, it seemed that Elizabeth was not done with stealing people from him. The girl had actually recruited a Marquess and was now threatening him about his identity. It did not matter to Thomas that the girl look wary and that she seemed to be holding the Marquess back from scaring Thomas. To him, everything was that girl's fault.

"Might I also remind you, Mr Bennet, that my friend Mr Bingley is taken by your eldest daughter. As Bingley's closest friend, I could persuade him that your daughter is only using him for his fortune…" the Marquess trailed off, "you would not want your daughter to be heartbroken by his departure, would you?"

Thomas still remained silent and observed the pair. If anything, this was in his favour. If that Elizabeth married the Marquess, she would be out of their lives. His permission could also guarantee that Bingley would not leave Jane and that his parentage would remain a secret. The most favourable part of it, was that if that girl did marry, then her family might disprove of her and refuse to accept her because she married a man without their permission.

The thought of her real family rejecting her was too tempting to Thomas. Since Elizabeth had taken many people from him, he should take people from her too. After a long time of not responding, Thomas finally spoke. "I will give you my permission and ask the vicar to read the Banns whenever you need it in exchange for your secrecy."

-p&p-

Fitzwilliam tried to speak to Elizabeth once they exited Mr Bennet's study but she wouldn't talk to him. It was only once they were out of the house's view she turned to face him. "You should not have talked to him like that."

"Elizabeth, all I did was gave him empty threats. Surely, you could not be mad at me for talking to him like that? Blatantly disrespecting him was my way of defending you against everything they've done to you."

She sighed. "I understand where you are coming from."

"If you're worried about me talking to Bingley, then fear not. I already promised you that I would not interfere with them." He said, taking her hand. "Besides, Bingley is a grown man. He can make his own decisions. As for Mr Bennet's case, you and I both know that we would not really expose him because it will affect you and the other Miss Bennets you cared about."

She squeezed his hand. "I know. You wouldn't do anything that could intentionally hurt me."

Fitzwilliam did not respond and only squeezed her hands back. He would tell her that it was true but it was not – at least, not fully. Not when he was already withholding some very vital information from her. It was the hair comb's fault! If he had not seen it, then this would not happen.

He would probably be saying sweet things to her right now. But ever since he saw that crest engraved at the back of Elizabeth's hair comb, all he knew was that they needed to get married immediately. Later he would talk to Bingley so he could announce their engagement at the ball. If people found out that he was engaged, then his father could not stop him and Elizabeth from getting married. He would be honour bound to her and his father was a stickler to doing the honourable thing.

If his father had agreed to it, then so would his Uncle and Aunt Matlock. The only problem that Fitzwilliam would face was his Aunt Catherine. Would she recognise Elizabeth? Did Elizabeth look like her mother? Or her father? Unfortunately, he had forgotten how his Uncle Lewis looked so he couldn't be sure.

Later, he would write to his mother and to Georgiana. If his mother knew how much he and Elizabeth were in love, then she could probably reason with his Aunt Catherine and let him and Elizabeth be in peace.

"Fitzwilliam, are you alright?"

His eyes snapped to his beloved who was looking at him worriedly. "I am alright, my love. Do not worry about me. Now, rest and I shall see you tomorrow." He kissed her hand and watched as she entered the Dower House.

'Forgive me for keeping the truth from you, Elizabeth,' he thought, watching her retreating figure, 'but it is for your own good.'

When he got back to Netherfield, he was greeted by a jovial Bingley and an unusually happy Hurst. Richard was smiling at him knowingly while Anne and the other ladies were nowhere to be found. Apparently, they were fetching Mrs Hurst from her chambers.

"Ashbourne, my friend, you are just in time for dinner." Bingley greeted. "The Colonel told us that you escaped from all the planning here in the house."

If Fitzwilliam was wondering why his friend Bingley seemed happier than usual, then all had been revealed during dinner. Apparently, Mrs Hurst was not sick and the apothecary who checked on her earlier confirmed earlier that she was with child. That explained why Hurst was also unusually happy. The man had been married for more than three years now and it was the first time Mrs Hurst was expecting.

Fitzwilliam congratulated the happy couple and spent some time with the others in the drawing room before seeking solitude in the library. Naturally, Richard joined him once the others had retired.

"Anne has gone to retire only and I have yet to tell her about what you said this morning. Planning the ball with Miss Bingley has really tired her. Now, will you tell me what happened?"

At the reminder of the events earlier, Fitzwilliam smiled. "Elizabeth has agreed to become my wife."

Richard grinned and nodded at him approvingly, patting his shoulder, "I thank you for giving me a wonderful cousin, Darce. I am sure Miss Elizabeth would get along well with my sister and yours." Then, he turned serious again. "Now, what happened afterwards?"

Fitzwilliam told Richard about his and Elizabeth's talk with the Gardiners and how they had missed luncheon because they headed straight to Longbourn to talk to Mr Bennet. Thank goodness that the Dower House's Cook, Mrs. Hurley, saw them talking by the window and gave them a basket of bread and fruits to share on their walk to Longbourn.

Upon remembering that his personal guards had been following him all day long, Fitzwilliam promised himself that he would talk to Carson and Jacobs tomorrow and thank them for doing their jobs and as well as apologise for disappearing without telling them where he was going.

"Claire Bennet has a list of people whom Miss Elizabeth should stay away from and our last names are listed there?" Richard's question brought him out of his thoughts.

Instead of answering, Fitzwilliam walked over the writing desk in a corner, grabbed a blank piece of paper and started drawing the crest he saw at behind Elizabeth's hair comb. Once he was finished, he gave it to Richard. "She was wearing a gold hair comb earlier that belonged to her real mother. And I saw that symbol engraved at the back."

"Deuced!" Richard exclaimed, looking at the drawing in disbelief. "But Anne told me that her mother said that this insignia was specifically made for some frames at Rosings."

Fitzwilliam nodded. That was the same reason why he had been so surprised to see the same symbol on Elizabeth's hair comb earlier, because Fitzwilliam had seen it before on some frames on particular paintings at Rosings.

"Miss Elizabeth is seven years younger than Anne, right?"

"Yes."

"Do you think –"

Fitzwilliam held up a hand to his cousin to stop him from talking. "I do not know, Richard. But it is highly possible. We will not know for certain until Anne talks to Aunt Catherine about it."

"Do you think that the people who were after Miss Elizabeth were Aunt Catherine's relatives? I heard from Anne that Aunt Catherine started corresponding with some of them a couple of months ago."

Richard's speculation was not impossible. After all, their Aunt Catherine was not truly a Fitzwilliam. She was only a half-sister of his mother and a step-sister of Richard's father. His maternal Grandmother, Deborah, was the second wife of his Grandfather Matlock and vice versa. Aunt Catherine was Grandmother Deborah's daughter from her first husband who had also been an earl.

Fitzwilliam's mother told him of that story when he was younger. Grandmother Deborah's first husband was twice her age and already had four children from his first wife. Apparently, the children of her husband did not really like Deborah because she was only a few years older than them, so once the earl died from his illness, Deborah took her daughter Catherine with her to her family estate in the North.

That was where Deborah met the then, Earl of Matlock, Fitzwilliam's Grandfather. After a year, they decided to marry and the Earl adopted Catherine as his own child. A few years later, Deborah gave birth to Fitzwilliam's mother. But that was not relevant to the current situation.

"Do you know the last name of Aunt Catherine's relatives?"

"Reed."

Richard's answer made him froze.

"Do not tell me that they are in the list too."

"But they are." Fitzwilliam said grimly, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Deuced!"

If what Anne had said before was true – that her father had indeed cheated on his Aunt Catherine – would his Aunt seek the help of her other relatives to find his Uncle's bastard child? Fitzwilliam knew that his Aunt Catherine was a strict woman, yet she was also generous and kind. She did help many people at Rosings and she was a good sister to his mother. But, Aunt Catherine could also be unforgiving if she chose to be. And Fitzwilliam did not think that his Aunt could be welcoming to the probable bastard child of her husband.

"But something is not adding up," Fitzwilliam muttered, "I have seen Elizabeth's hair comb with my own eyes cousin, touched it even. There were three stones and it looked expensive. The woman whom Anne told us about was asking money from Aunt Catherine to get her daughter back."

"Maybe the hair comb was from Uncle Lewis and when Miss Elizabeth's mother gave her away, she left the hair comb in her care?" Richard suggested. "Or, the woman whom Anne told us about was a fake – or probably another one of Uncle Lewis' mistress – and Miss Elizabeth's mother hid Miss Elizabeth from everyone related to the de Bourgh family. That was why our names were on the list."

Fitzwilliam nodded in acknowledgement. That could be possible.

"If Miss Elizabeth turned out to be Anne's half-sister, what are you planning to do?"

"We will announce our engagement during the Netherfield Ball. That way, I will be honour bound to her. If all went accordingly, father cannot do anything but accept the match. As for Aunt Catherine," Fitzwilliam sighed, "I pray that she will not return to Hertfordshire yet."

That night, Fitzwilliam started writing to his mother about Elizabeth. He would send all his other letters to her tomorrow too and hopefully, once she received it, she'd accept his choice and support him.

-p&p-

After dinner, Edward Gardiner asked Lizzy to speak with them once again. Since the Lucases had already revealed the things they knew, Edward and his wife had agreed to tell Elizabeth what they knew as well. It would be better for all of them if everything was out in the open.

However, the presence of the Marquess earlier had made him wary. He had done business with Lord Ashbourne before as well as with the Marquess' Uncle, Lord Matlock, and Edward knew them to be honourable people but that was not enough reason to fully trust them. Their names were written on Claire's list and Edward trusted Claire's judgement. After all, it wasn't Claire who made the list. The list was given to Claire.

"Forgive us for not telling everything earlier, Lizzy," Edward started, "but I trust Claire and I am cautious of the people in the list. Now that we are in private, however, we will tell you all that we know."

At Lizzy's nod, Edward took a deep breath and started telling the story. "Claire was not supposed to be the one to take care of you, Lizzy. You were passed on to her, because the person who was supposed to care for you had been found out by the people coming after you. So you were given to Claire, along with a few belongings."

Edward then placed a small wooded trunk on the table and opened it.

Madeline pulled out a green knitted wool blanket and handed it to Lizzy. "Claire told us that this was your blanket when you were a babe." They watched silently as Lizzy gently traced the knitted pattern with her hands. When she looked up at them again, Madeline brought out a faded white baby cap and gown made of muslin. "There are other clothes in the trunk too, but these were the ones you were wearing when you were given to Claire."

As Lizzy looked at her old baby clothes, Edward decided to continue the story. "When you were given to Claire, she did not hesitate to take you in her care because from what we heard, Claire was very fond of your mother's family. And even as a babe, Claire told us that she could tell that you take after your mother, so it was not really a hard decision for her."

He then proceeded to tell Lizzy about how Claire convinced Fanny to raise you as little Thomas's twin sister up to the point when both Lizzy and little Thomas got sick which led to the latter's passing and Fanny's change in attitude. Edward did not mention that the event also marked the change of his relationship with his sisters. Not that he was close to them in the first place to begin with, the age gap between him and his sisters being one of the reasons why they did not often see each other eye to eye.

"Claire had to take extra precaution each year to hide keep you safe, Lizzy. There were people looking for you so Claire created some false identities and tracks in the other counties every year. This year, however, someone was searching those false track, Lizzy, and we fear that it was the people who are looking for you." He sighed. "There have been some close calls before but it was never this alarming. They had already found out three of Claire's false leads."

"But what kind of danger am I in?" Lizzy asked.

"That is what we are unsure of, for Claire refused to tell us anything else. She says that it would be better for us not to get too involved."

Lizzy frowned, looking at the clothes on her lap. "I am still at lost."

"I am sorry, Lizzy, but that was all what Claire had told us. The other things, the Lucases had already told you." He said.

-p&p-

There was a moment of silence before Mrs Gardiner spoke. "I know that you are angry and upset with your Uncle and me for keeping the truth from you. Probably even more so, because we do not wholly approve of your betrothal with the Marquess, but we were only doing what we thought best, Lizzy. I do hope that you can forgive us."

"You know that I would only marry for love," Elizabeth said softly. "Fitzwilliam loves me and I feel the same way."

Mrs Gardiner nodded understandingly. "I know, you would never have accepted him if you did not. But Lizzy, I fear that the two of you will never be truly at peace without fully knowing your past, considering that it somehow involved his family…"

When Elizabeth did not respond, Mrs Gardiner cleared her throat. "I'm sorry that we have not given you the information you wanted, which are the things about your family. But Claire did leave this for you," Mrs Gardiner said, revealing a sealed letter to Elizabeth. "She asked me to give it to you once you found out the truth. We do not know what it contains but we do hope that it could help you. "

"Thank you."

Once the letter was in her hand, Elizabeth put the blanket and the baby clothes back in the small trunk. She placed the sealed letter on top of the pile. Then, after bidding good night to Mrs Winters and the Gardiners, she proceeded to her room and carried the wooden trunk with her.

Elizabeth locked the door to her chambers and rushed towards the writing desk in her room where a thick candle was lit. The other items in the trunk could wait, but she letter couldn't. Hands shaking in anticipation, she broke the seal and started reading.

My dearest little Lizzy,

If you are reading this letter, then you have finally found out the truth – or most of the truth – about your identity. You are probably confused and angry right now, but allow me to tell you, my dear child, that I only did what I was asked to do and what I thought was best for you.

When you were given to me, I was also given a second chance – a chance to finally be a real mother and a grandmother, and not just to a babe but to a babe that I adore! You see, Lizzy, your mother was the first person who showed me what it was like to be a mother. I adore her very much so it was very easy for me to love you as well… especially since you look very much like her except for the eyes.

It is why I always encouraged you to wear cloaks, because one look at you and the people who were after you would immediately find out who you are.

Now, Lizzy, if are thinking right now that I am not your grandmother, I beg you, my child, to stop, for even though we are not related by blood, you will always be my granddaughter. I love you Lizzy. Do forgive me for the way this letter was written for I have just found out that I am ill earlier and my thoughts are in chaos.

Speaking of forgiveness, I believe that it was partly my fault why you are suffering in the hands of Fanny and Thomas. You see, my dear, I was the one who convinced Fanny to raise you as her son's twin. You were given to me indefinitely but I know that your family will come back for you. Still, it was my selfish wish to raise you as a gentleman's daughter.

Apart from that, because Thomas was not truly my child – but please do keep this information a secret – I have not shown him much kindness when he was a child. My son, my real son, had died moments after his birth and it pained me to see Thomas freely roaming around Longbourn when my child could not. Thomas forgave for only tolerating him when he was little – for it was what I did, ignore him and only thought of him as a duty I have to do to keep my husband happy.

If only I knew that he would take out my mistakes in you, then I would not have done what I did in the past. I would have acted like the perfect mother to him, even if the sight of him – the living proof of my husband's betrayal – pained me.

Because of this, I leave you all my properties and fortune. Do not try to give them to Thomas or Fanny, Lizzy, for I have already given them their due. My fortune is yours because I want it so. As I have said above, you are my granddaughter and it was only right that you have it.

Let us not talk about me anymore… I will not mention anything about your true family in this letter because I believe that you would try to find them if you have yet to meet them and it would only endanger you. Remember, Lizzy, you were sent to me for your safety, not because they wanted to. All I ask for you is to wait, I am sure that your mother will be very happy to see you again. They will be the ones to come for you.

If someone came to claim you, they must know about the golden hair comb. Do you remember our secret, Lizzy? That hair comb with the stones will be the key to finding your real family. Aside from the three stones, there is something engraved at the back of the comb behind the stones. It was two roses entwined together surrounded by two crescent moons.

If the person claiming to know your parents do not know that, then run away and hide, Lizzy, for these could be the people your mother were keeping you from. However, if you are reading this letter and you already found your mother, then please tell her to ask the Gardiners for my things. The Gardiners would know what to do after that.

I will end this letter hoping you could forgive me and the others for their deceit, I hope you are safe wherever you are, little Lizzy and I wish for you and your mother to be reunited soon.

Your loving grandmother,

Claire.

With tears in her eyes, Elizabeth read the letter again. It still did not answer all of her questions but at least now she knew that her mother was planning to reunite with her. But what if that plan changed? What if her mother did not want her anymore?

She stood up from her seat and walked towards the mirror to stare at her reflection. Claire – Grandma Claire – said in her letter that she looked very much like her mother so she tried to imagine an older version of herself, with some wrinkles on the face and a bit of greying hair.

Was that how her mother looked like? After a few more minutes of doing the same thing, she got tired of it and decided to finally lie down on the bed.

Tomorrow, she would tell Fitzwilliam about this new piece of information. For now, she would sleep. With that thought, Elizabeth opened the secret compartment on the floor under her bed, grabbed the key from the drawer beside her and hid the letter in the same box where her hair comb was.

-p&p-

Meanwhile, at the inn near the borders of Hertfordshire, Lady Catherine de Bourgh finished writing her last letter. This one was instructions for Mrs. Jenkinson.

After a wild goose chase of searching, she finally found what she was looking for. Despite her annoyance that she had been played, Lady Catherine admired Claire for deceiving her.

Claire Bennet. Lady Catherine had finally learned the true name of the woman.

The woman had caused Lady Catherine to search from Bedfordshire to Oxfordshire to Buckinghamshire; when in reality, the place she should be looking for was Hertfordshire – the place where her daughter and nephews were staying. The same place she should also be staying before she had been falsely led to Bedfordshire. It was also the place where her parson, Mr Collins, was looking for a wife.

At the thought, Lady Catherine remembered something. Wasn't Mr Collins staying with his relatives with the last name of Bennet?

Perhaps, this would be easier than she initially thought. Tomorrow morning, she'd travel to Hertfordshire.

It's about time she found the child.

So, yeah… I hope it's okay with you that I didn't elaborate on Mr Gardiner's other explanation since it was the same as Thomas' recollection and I didn't want it to be repetitive. As for Lizzy's mother, the next chapters will reveal that. It would be somewhere within the next three chapters.

I'm also going to address another issue. Darcy and Lizzy will NEVER be siblings. I'm just clearing that up. Even Richard and Anne are not exactly cousins in this story because Lady Catherine is adopted. (Not that it really matters because her real father was still an earl). I mean, if you're into that kind of thing I respect it but Darcy and Lizzy will not be like that.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter… get ready for the Netherfield ball!

Next update is next week Thursday : )