Chapter 63 Return to London 25 Identity Verification
Heather felt genuinely like she was in a TV drama, or rather, more like an extra who hadn't memorized the script, didn't understand the ins and outs of the situation as well as the audience. She watched from a distance as the woman across from her sobbed and produced a meticulously prepared set of evidence: family crests, letters, and personal seals, pretentiously implying that she had taken the inheritance belonging to the earl's only son, leaving the true aristocratic young master in dire straits.
Although all of Guise's evidence was vague, if she had insisted she was a fraud, the law might not have been able to convict her. However, upon closer inspection, the boy bore a striking resemblance to the Earl. The Earl had spent nearly a year in England before marrying Heather. Not only was the embassy holding a collection of aristocratic portraits, but many of the noble families he interacted with also had portraits from gatherings. Guise was clearly emphasizing this point, and these details combined added considerable persuasiveness.
Mrs. Clayton was so exaggerated that she looked like a novice supporting actor. The young master was brought up to be ignorant of the ways of the world. Even after being talked about by the two women around him for a long time, he still looked confused, which aroused the sympathy of many ladies.
"My cousin is from the Guise family, a family with a century-old history in Lorraine. She died after giving birth, and her biological son, Leo, was sent to be raised by the Guise family. I have been taking care of Leo ever since I was unmarried. The Count, out of consideration for his wife's feelings and for the young master's development, has never brought Leo home, but he brings his wife to visit Leo every month. His wife knew that the Lawrence family's property would eventually be handed over to Leo, but she didn't expect that when something happened, she would leave France alone without a word. If we hadn't really been unable to make ends meet, we wouldn't have disturbed her peace and quiet."
Mrs. Clayton looked as if she had suddenly understood something. "I was wondering how Mrs. Lawrence could be so generous as to buy two mansions in London all at once, and even purchase so many flowers and equipment to set up an aromatherapy salon. Oh, and there's that free half-day private yacht trip mentioned in the morning newspaper. So it turns out that the merchant's daughter has taken the real young master's property."
This statement was too blunt and unaristocratic, but there were indeed several old-established nobles in the hall who were dissatisfied with the fact that a foreign widow was both in the spotlight and making money, and some of them said words that were apparently admonishments but were actually condemnations.
"Mrs. Lawrence is the late Earl's legitimate wife, so she deserves a share of the estate. However, this child is the Earl's legitimate and sole heir. The bank assets and the house should be transferred to the child's name. As for the recently famous aromatherapy salon, it can be run by his aunt, Miss Gis."
Ah, this is completely a case of eating and taking. It seems that she and Lancaster have spent so much effort just to make wedding clothes for this illegitimate child, right?
Oh, yes, and what about the original wife's biological son? Since Heather had dreamed of the illegitimate child, she had naturally made some preparations, but she hadn't expected the woman to be so bold as to directly claim the illegitimate child was a legitimate one. She was certain that during the war, she couldn't go to France and would not be able to obtain evidence. She didn't know whether Earl Lawrence had an ex-wife, but she had clearly dreamed of Lawrence's humiliation when he heard the original woman say that the child was not related to her. Moreover, the neighborhood where the boy lived was famous for placing the illegitimate children of mistresses and concubines.
Heather ignored the others who were talking without hesitation and turned directly to Emmagis. "I understand your concern for the child, but my husband certainly didn't tell me he has a son from a previous marriage." Unless Lawrence was brought back from the grave, no one could prove she truly didn't know. "But don't worry. If the identity is confirmed, I won't embarrass a child. However, if it's truly the Earl's first wife's son, the child must be at least 11 years old. Why doesn't his age match up?"
Mrs. Fox said immediately, "Yes, I just feel something is wrong. I have four daughters and two sons, and I think this child can't be more than nine years old. I remember Mrs. Lawrence was married for ten years, right?" She nudged Mrs. Miller next to her with her elbow. Mrs. Miller hesitated, then said, "She looks younger."
Emmagis's expression froze, but this was to be expected. Wiping away tears, she said, "This child is premature. His mother is in poor health, so he's already small. Furthermore, his living conditions have been terrible over the past six months. Without daily medicine and supplements, he's become even thinner."
Madeline Mason was much more experienced in identifying illegitimate children, and since Heather's expression seemed certain that the child was definitely not legitimate, she could speak with confidence.
"If you don't trust the judgment of ordinary people, why not consult a pediatrician from the Royal College of Physicians? I've heard they can determine a child's age based on a comprehensive assessment of their anatomy, body shape, and language skills, with an error of no more than two years. Plus, 8-9 years old is the age when primary molars fall out, so it's easiest to tell. Why not ask the child to open their mouth and see if they still have any?"
Gis quickly put the boy behind him to prevent them from seeing his teeth.
"If you, Madam, are so cruel as to refuse to acknowledge the Earl's biological son, just say so. We can't do anything to you, so why insult him here? If you really don't understand, perhaps you could go back and ask Butler Jensen and his wife. In the past, Butler Jensen personally delivered our living expenses every month."
Heather paused. It turned out that the Johnsons had such a close relationship with this illegitimate child. Then yesterday morning... She felt a little relieved. Since she couldn't deny the blood relationship, she might as well prove that he was a illegitimate child.
"Now that I remember there was one thing. I found a copy of a trust fund document from a private bank in Paris among the Count's belongings. However, I never figured out whose trust fund it was because the last name on it wasn't Lawrence, and of course the first name had nothing to do with the word Leo."
Gis was overjoyed, having never imagined that there was another trust that she didn't know about. It seemed that Earl Lawrence had some feelings for her and her son after all. That's right, Emma Gis was not the first wife's sister at all, but the Earl's mistress who had been kept for more than ten years.
"Henri Leblanc! That name must be Henri Leblanc!" Gis shouted impatiently, her voice practically trembling. It was a trust fund and proof of his identity. "The Revolutionary Committee's raids have kept the Count awake at night, and to protect his only son, he has no choice but to resort to this desperate measure. For safety reasons, few people know this name, not even the housekeeper and his wife."
Mrs. Clayton was surprised by Heather's sudden drop in intelligence. She had thought she would deny it to the death. She knew she had to seize this opportunity. "If that's the case, then Leo's identity is unquestionable. After all, there are only two other people who know this secret besides me."
Mrs. Fox didn't expect the situation to take such a sudden turn for the worse. She looked at Heather worriedly, but Madeline vaguely felt that things were not that simple, so she just waited without saying a word.
Heather lowered her head, waiting for the whispers around her to die down slightly. Then she slowly pulled a handkerchief and a small envelope from her sleeve and managed to sob, "I really never thought about it. Even until this morning, I never doubted my late husband's loyalty to me. He was never involved in any ambiguous rumors and was completely devoted to his collecting hobby. I had no idea when he had such a big illegitimate child."
Madeline took a step to the right and rested Hazel's face against her shoulder to comfort her. Hazel thought she must have been fed up with the poor acting.
Gis was completely bewildered, wondering why her son was being labeled a bastard when no one had mentioned his age anymore. Her face twisted in agony as she managed to hold back a curse: "Madam, I don't understand what you mean. I thought I'd explained Leo's origins. My poor sister is a proper noblewoman, of a higher birth than you. Bastard? You can't confuse right and wrong just because you're angry."
Heather really wanted to watch her perform for a while longer, but time had already wasted too long and many ladies around her were almost uninterested in watching them struggle, so she had to speed up.
Heather left Madeline's shoulder and raised the envelope in her hand to show everyone: "I believe all of you noble ladies are aware that the trust for legitimate children is tied to family archives and church records, and with multiple pieces of evidence cross-corroborating, the trust registration process is actually not that complicated. However, the trust for illegitimate children relies entirely on legal documents. According to French trust law, the actual date of birth must be registered for the trust. Once registered, it cannot be tampered with. I believe that some of you here have done business with the French Baringden Private Bank. If you are interested, please help verify the seal and signature on it."
Mrs. Fox, who was closest, took it first and opened it. "The beneficiary is Henry Leblanc, born in May 1801. Oh my goodness, that means he's not even nine yet! I remember Mrs. Lawrence said she got married in the first spring of this century!" Mrs. Miller also leaned over to take a look, her expression complicated. "It seems that Earl Lawrence had an illegitimate child in his first year of marriage."
Everyone around became excited, and the thin piece of paper was quickly passed around the banquet hall. Gis was surrounded by more and more contemptuous or amused looks, as if he was back to ten years ago when he was kicked out of the family with a bulging belly.
Someone passed the paper to Mrs. Clayton. She took a look at it and then grabbed Gis's arm: "How dare you lie to me? What son of the first wife? How dare you make up anything!" She was furious. She seemed to see the mocking eyes of her mortal enemy Anna Wellesley across the crowd. She was being fooled!
Finally, Gis couldn't stand it anymore, snatched the paper from Mrs. Clayton's hand, and pushed her hard with his backhand.
"You did it on purpose! You deliberately made me look bad!" Gis's eyes blazed with anger, and she wished she could strangle the woman she'd hated for ten years. She'd hated her for ten years, yet it was as if she'd never even known she existed. "You clearly saw the trust documents a long time ago, yet you let me talk for so long? You must hate me to the core, Hazel Gardner! You must have meticulously planned all of this for a long time!"
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