Lady Audley's Secret

Full text.
"The most sensationally successful of all the sensation novels", according to the famous literary critic John Sutherland.
Wealthy estate owner sir Michael Audley willingly marries a gold-digger, his only daughter Alicia's governess Lucy née Gray. Sir Michael's dashing, in-living orphaned nephew Robert 'Bob' returns from an Australia gold rush adventure with his new best friend George Talboys, a young father who finds his wife died in their absence. Robert is instantly attracted to Lucy, who buries her past with George by leaving him drowning in a well. Maid Phoebe's boyfriend finds out Lucy's secret and blackmails her. Later Robert comes on the trace of the truth, while accepting to marry Alicia as Michael seems infertile. But after Robert tells Michael, the consequences and the extent of deception exceed their imagination.