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As Elizabeth rummaged around, she found what she was looking for in the bottom drawer, covered by an old ledger. Withdrawing a paper she vaguely remembered seeing once before—a certificate of marriage from Gretna Green—she was taken aback to see her name written upon it and to realise that the signature at the bottom was not her own.

“How can this be? This must be a forgery!” she cried, causing Addie to stop her exploration of a large chest and come to look at what Elizabeth had discovered. She pulled out several more certificates with different names, different dates, even completely blank certificates.

“My God, what has he done?” she asked, shuffling through the stack and stopping at one in particular to hold it up for Addie’s perusal. “Anne de Bourgh—Mr. Darcy’s cousin! He will be devastated to find his cousin included in this sordid affair!”

Finally reaching the bottom, she was confronted with a most incriminating piece of evidence—a fairly recent letter to Lord Stanton from someone in Italy. Elizabeth opened the letter and began to examine it, her face becoming colourless as she read further.

Addie, fearing she might faint, insisted Elizabeth sit down, and she slumped into a large chair that sat behind the desk. When she was finally able to speak, she explained to Addie that the letter was from a Countess Livia Canossa Ridolfi, who was plainly Stefano’s wife. The countess discussed her fear that Stanton’s grandson, and Stefano’s son, Eduardo, would decide to move to England to be with his father.

Confused and beside herself with fury, Elizabeth took all of the papers she had discovered and secreted them in the back of her Bible, hoping to use it against the count. Thus armed, she vowed to Addie that she would leave Northgate immediately, on foot if necessary. Convinced of Elizabeth’s resolve but fearful for her safety, Addie asked her to wait until she could send for an acquaintance, Mr. Robert Kilburn, and beg for his assistance.

Elizabeth had often heard Addie speak of the man, as Mr. Kilburn’s family owned a small woodworking shop in Sheffield which produced and repaired tables and other small pieces of furniture. Over the years, he had often called on Northgate Manor and had become quite smitten with Addie. Kilburn, who secretly spent time with the maid, was well aware of Addie’s loathing for the count and her concern for Elizabeth, so if her request for his help was made, Addie knew that it would not come as a surprise to him.

His business required that he drive a large, covered wagon to outlying towns and villages, hawking his wares along the road and not returning until the wagon was empty. Addie prayed that he would agree to hide Elizabeth in the conveyance, among his tables, and take her safely to Lambton. Lambton was the one place Elizabeth had mentioned that she might find refuge, as her Aunt Gardiner had lived there as a child and still had family and friends thereabouts. In the end, because of his regard for Addie, Kilburn would not be a hard man to convince, and a plan was formed.

But in spite of all their best laid plans, everything went horribly wrong. Instead of staying away for several weeks or months as Stefano normally did, he returned almost immediately. In fact, he had gotten no farther than an inn in a nearby village where he spent the ensuing few days drinking. Still quite drunk when he departed, he directed his coach back to Northgate, stumbling into the manor on the eve of Elizabeth’s planned flight. She was already in Addie’s room, awaiting the cue to slip out of the house to meet Mr. Kilburn, when Stefano found her.

He had gone to Elizabeth’s room and not finding her there, had begun a search of the house. Finally, the count remembered Addie and determined to ascertain if the maid knew where Elizabeth might be. When he found Elizabeth in Addie’s room in travelling clothes and with a bag at her feet, everything spiralled out of control.

As it was, in the aftermath of Addie’s death, the fire and her debilitating injury, Elizabeth had forgotten about discovering the marriage certificates ... until now.

With this new discovery, Elizabeth’s trust in her future with William began to crumble. Her emotions swung back and forth like a pendulum, with seemingly no way to put them to rights. On the one hand, she was ashamed to realise that she would be regarded as no more than Stefano’s mistress, while on the other, she felt great relief to know they were never married. A niggling fear of William’s reaction took root, and she wondered if it would be kinder just to disappear.

Lost in entirely new misgivings, Elizabeth had no idea she was about to have company.

~~~*~~~

“Good morning, Mrs. Ingram!” Mr. Walker declared enthusiastically and bowed as William’s sister walked through the front door. He looked down the steps behind her to see a footman leading her horse toward the stables. “Are Mr. Ingram and Miss Millie not accompanying you?”

“No, my husband is working on a matter concerning one of his tenants this morning, and Millie has a slight cold and is taking a nap, so I thought I might visit with Elizabeth for a short while. I have not seen her since William left for London, and I promised him that I would look in on her.”

Just then Mrs. Reynolds came out of a nearby room. “Mrs. Ingram! It is so good to see you. Where are Mr. Ingram and that lovely daughter of yours?”

Georgiana laughed. “I think Evan and Millie are more popular than I am.”

The housekeeper blushed. “Oh, I assure you that is not true. It is only that you are rarely seen without them nowadays.”

William’s sister smiled brilliantly. “Yes, we are happiest when we are together, but I have the morning to myself, and as I was telling Mr. Walker, I would like to visit with Elizabeth. Is she available?”

“She is in her sitting room, I believe. Do you want to go on up, or shall I announce you?”

“I believe I shall surprise her, if you think she will not mind.”

“Not at all.”

Mrs. Reynolds sighed with happiness as she watched the woman she had helped to rear ascend the stairs. Mrs. Darcy never recovered completely from Georgiana’s birth, and when she died, Mr. Darcy retreated into his heartache leaving the fragile little girl under her supervision. Thus they had formed a lasting bond.

Extremely proud of the woman Georgiana had become, the housekeeper was even more pleased to see the changes that Millie’s presence in her life had wrought. Though Georgiana deeply loved Evan Ingram, the fact that she could not carry a child had stolen just a bit of her joy. However, once Millie arrived, Georgiana’s lively disposition had returned in full-force, and now Mrs. Reynolds could clearly see Lady Anne Darcy’s love of motherhood manifested in her daughter.

As Georgiana reached the landing and disappeared from sight, the long-time housekeeper wiped a few tears from her eyes and glanced around to make sure no one had seen. She had no way of knowing that Mr. Walker had come upon the tender scene, but had quickly retreated. He was well aware of Mrs. Reynolds penchant for appearing in control at all times and did not want her to know he had witnessed her lapse. Pleased that her display of emotion had apparently gone unnoticed, Mrs. Reynolds assumed her usual mien and headed towards the kitchen to order trays for the two ladies.

~~~*~~~

Reaching the door to the sitting room, Georgiana knocked lightly and hearing no answer, she turned the knob. The door swung open easily, revealing Elizabeth sitting in the middle of the floor, her head in her hands. She was weeping. Not considering decorum, Georgiana immediately dropped down beside her on the floor, sliding her arms about her and pulling her close.

“Elizabeth, whatever is the matter?” Georgiana could feel her trembling. “Should I call for the physician?”

“No!” Elizabeth said sharply, before softening her tone and pulling back to look at Georgiana. “No, please, I ... I need some time to ...” Her voice faded away as her eyes drifted to the numerous papers strewn across the floor.