Page 29 of Third Time is the Charm
~Sorry, crazy day yesterday.
- I bet. How’s Jane holding up?
~ Good, really good?
- Are a lot of the guests there already?
Beth paused, knowing Colin was really wondering if Darcy was there, and if she’d seen him yet. How quickly her smile then disappeared.
~I think so.
- Cool. Well, don’t worry – your dashing, dancing date is on his way.
That pulled a laugh from her lips.
~I’ll try not to, McDreamy.
- Ugh. That was harsh.
Col hated when people referred to him as McDreamy because of his brother, especially when they didn’t bother to learn his real name; thankfully he knew she was kidding.
~lol see you soon
Her stomach grumbled, unwilling to wait for his response. Throwing on her yoga pants and t-shirt, Beth looked out the peep-hole in the door to make sure she wasn’t going to run into anyintolerablesurprises this morning before opening her door. She had two hours before she needed to be in Jane’s suite again to start getting ready, which meant there was plenty of time for lots of coffee. Making her way through the maze of hallways and staircases, she came down to the Equus restaurant, already bustling with guests for breakfast. Beth crossed her arms over her chest as she approached the hostess stand, already recognizing several of the people seated inside the dining room as either family friends or business associates at Longbourne; she couldn’t go in there looking like this.
“Hi,” Beth said quietly to the young girl at the podium. “I was wondering if I could just get a cup of coffee and a bagel to take back to my room.”
The girl looked puzzled for a minute, turning to ask one of the waiters who had come to stand behind her. “Ok, yeah, we can do that. It’ll just be one minute.”
“Great,” Beth said with a relieved sigh, giving the girl her room number so that she could just put it on her tab.
While she waited, Beth meandered over to the side of the public sitting room, looking out the window to the back of the castle property. Her eyes wandered down the patio, over to the giant chess board, past which were several large lounge chairs interspersed throughout the lawn, some more secluded by the surrounding trees than others. About to turn away, she noticed a distinctly pregnant woman making her way down towards one of the farther cluster of chairs, alone, with what looked like a muffin and bottle of water in hand.Lydia.
“Ma’am,” the hostess said from behind her. Beth turned with a smile, taking the coffee and small carton containing her bagel. She almost turned to walk back up to her room, where she’d originally planned to go back and enjoy her food, but then stopped, remembering that Lydia was eating breakfast outside, alone.
Now, she might finally have a chance to talk to her younger sister.
Beth slipped out the back door of the Castle as inconspicuously as possible, knowing that Jane and most probably her mother, as well as Mrs. Bingley, would be down for breakfast soon. The morning had a slight chill to it and the fresh dew that still coated the grass in the shade stung her toes as she only had a pair of flip-flops on. Walking quickly past the chess board and neighboring chairs, she made her way down the slight slope behind the large willow tree where there were three more lounge chairs waiting; on one of them was residing her pensive and pregnant sister, mindlessly eating her muffin.
Lydia didn’t even notice her approaching until Beth finally spoke. “Hey,” she said quietly, not wanting to startle her sister.
Lydia still jumped slightly, turning her head to see who had invaded her secluded grove. “Oh, hey, Beth,” she answered, picking up her water bottle and taking a sip.
“Mind if I join you?” Beth asked, nodding to the empty chairs.
“No, of course not,” she smiled half-heartedly. “I just needed some fresh air, and to eat breakfast without mom grilling me as to why I’m eating so many carbs.”
Beth chuckled, knowing that only their mother would berate a pregnant woman about her choice in food.
“Well, I’d be right there with you,” Beth agreed, pulling her bagel out with a wry smile. “Unfortunately, I don’t have as good of an excuse as you for craving carbs.”
Lydia just smiled and nodded, taking another bite of the muffin that she was clearly enjoying.
“So,” Beth began hesitantly, unsure how to break the ice with Lydia; they’d never had that type of relationship where they shared intimate things with each other, but Beth could tell that she needed someone to lean on. “What happened with George?”
Lydia knew the question was coming. She continued to stare off blankly into the trees at the edge of the groomed grass, slowly chewing her last bite of muffin, savoring the brief, sweet respite before she ventured back into the sour state of where her life was currently.
“I left him,” she answered, repeating the information she’d divulged to Beth yesterday.
