WMG / Lady!!

Misuzu Midorikawa

Misuzu's death wasn't an accident

Misuzu's death was not a Surprise Car Crash as posited by the anime, and likely a deliberate Assassination Attempt by Duke Woburn.

Firstly, the timing is extremely suspicious. Misuzu dies just moments before she's about to reach the Marble Mansion.

Duke Warbawn must have known that his son's wife was coming to visit, and we know he hates her and her "foreigner blood". And he must have also known that if Misuzu was seen entering the Marble Mansion, it would make news headlines for days with people speculating about her connection to the Russells. The Duke is also obsessed with saving the family name and the Russell's prestige, so he hired an assassin to crash the truck into the car. He likely intended to take out both Lynn and Misuzu, had Misuzu not had the sense to shield Lynn with her body.

In the manga, immediately after George takes Lynn home, he gets a phone call from the Duke and the servants are heard muttering that he won't accept Lynn into the family. It could be a coincidence, or maybe the Duke wanted to make sure the deed was done.

Also, the Duke introduces Madeleine to George two days after Misuzu's death. He must have known her for a long time to introduce her to George given how he's very picky about the women who he allows in the family. Why did he have another candidate at the ready when George was already married? Sure, Misuzu and George didn't live together, but they were legally husband and wife.

He could have asked George to divorce Misuzu, but then Misuzu would be entitled to half his assets, and the Russells were already bleeding money. Whereas Madeleine could solve all of their financial issues. Misuzu was a threat to his plans, and thus had to be neutralized.

So, why did he eventually accept Lynn as his grandchild? Well, George has made it clear that he's an idiot who can't be trusted with money, and in Season 2, the Duke was close to accepting that the Marble Mansion was out of his hands for good. However, Lynn subverted all his expectations and undid George's foolishness. With the fact that his only other grandchild, Sarah, is an Ill Girl who will never reach Lynn's levels of accomplishments, the Duke decided to cut his losses and accept her. Furthermore, Lynn is married to Edward, and excluding her is a good way to wreak ties with another noble family that can help the Russells earn back their prestige. While the Duke's plan to have George marry Madeleine and restore their wealth didn't work, Lynn marrying Edward serves the same function, and Lynn has inadvertedly become his political pawn.

TL;DR: The Duke killed off Misuzu, and spared her daughter because she's useful for his plans.

Sarah did not like Misuzu

Sarah was five years old when George married Misuzu, and she must have at least met her once. However, Sarah also gets possessive easily, and likely did not accept Misuzu as his wife, since she was also mourning her own mother's loss. This is why she got so angry at Lynn trying to be her friend - Lynn was a reminder of Misuzu, and Misuzu must have also tried to similarly reach out to Sarah, only to be rejected.

The Waverly Family

Madeleine's first husband isn't Thomas and Mary's father

In the manga, Madeleine is introduced as the widow of Baron Cotton. What struck me as odd is that Thomas and Mary don't use his surname, and instead use the surname Waverly. We know it isn't Madeleine's maiden name either because her father's surname is Reynolds. Not to mention, Thomas and Mary never speak about their dead dad, even though Lynn and Sarah talk a lot about their Missing Moms.

So it's likely that Madeleine married a commoner man named Waverly and had Thomas and Mary, and her obsession with marrying into nobility is so that her children can avert the same of their "ordinary" heritage. This would mean that George is her third husband, similar to how she's his third wife after Misuzu and Frances.

The Waverly family did illegal things to become wealthy

In the anime, we know the Russells are wealthy because George works in the trade industry, whereas the Brighton family earned their wealth through horse-riding and competing in equestrian sports. But it's never mentioned what Madeleine or her dead husband did to earn money, and it's also shown that Reynolds abuses his power to stop money from reaching people he doesn't like. Madeleine also views George as a Meal Ticket because of his Blue Blood and noble title, so she's obviously not one for honest work. Maybe Madeleine was following the example set for her by Victor, and he only disowned Mary because she made the family name look bad by harming Vivian, the daughter of his co-worker Mr. Spencer.

Sarah Frances Russell

Sarah has hypothryoidism

Sarah constantly faints (common for people with thyroid issues - the lack of a thyroid hormone causes high blood pressure which in turn causes dizziness). In the sequel manga, it's also revealed that she can't have kids, and infertility is a side effect of hypothyroidism. Women are also 60% more likely to suffer from hypothyroidism than men.

Crossover

The Brightons are related to the Brightons

• In support of this theory:
  • The Brightons in Lady are a wealthy family from England, the Brightons in Candy Candy are a wealthy family from America.
  • According to the Lady sequel manga, the Brightons have family in America (specifically Barbara).
  • Both the English and American Brightons have blonde hair. Annie is also mentioned to look like the Brighton's deceased child, and her manga incarnation can pass for Arthur's sister with her hair and eyes.
  • Annie attends St. Paul's school in London, and the Lady Brightons live in London.
  • Word of God is that Candy♡Candy inspired Lady.
• Against this theory:
  • The Brighton family have black hair in the anime.