She didn't have an American accent, she had one of the strongest BOSTON accents in history. Even speaking English, she had a very pronounced Boson accent. Her French is fairly good after having spent time in convent schools in France. But even the nuns could not get rid of her Boston accent.
Most people from the English speaking world really. At least in the US, a lot of you guys know some spanish. Over here, in Australia, I was even asked once (I'm french by the way) if we had the same alphabet (as in English) in French.... Ignorance is bliss in some parts of this world, people are still nice though...
I'm sure she did write down all his dirty laundry but he would never, ever abuse either of those children. That takes a uniquely sick person, and he wasn't.