Page 36 of Third Time is the Charm
Chapter 11
Beth tapped her knife gently on her wine glass, trying to get the attention of the crowd. She hadn’t wanted to make a speech, but for Jane she knew that she had to. Thankfully, the flight down from Boston had given her some time to focus on what she wanted to say. Now, pulling out the small piece of paper that had been folded inside of her dress pocket, she nervously opened it up, giving the quieting room a brief smile.
They had truly done a beautiful job with the reception room – the vaulted ceilings adorned with large hanging crystal chandeliers, decorated with deep green ivy and foliage. Guests were seated at large round tables, the centerpieces comprised of several varying-sized candles, flowers overflowing from small vases, scattered onto the tabletop. Each place setting had four wine glasses and a menu that also indicated which wine had been expertly paired with each course.
The bridal party was all seated at a long rectangular table along the one wall, with Jane and Charles in the center. Beth sat between Jane and Lydia, able to look out into the crowd and easily avoid seeing either Darcy or Caroline. Colin, being a last-minute addition, was seated with some of her parents’ other friends, including Char and Bill, and the Lucas’, at a table that was two tables in front of her. She still hadn’t really been able to talk to him since the ceremony, the bridal party was whisked away for more photos, and then they’d made their entrance into the reception taking their place at the bridal table while Jane and Charles had their first dance. Guest after guest, friend after family member had stopped in front of the table to then congratulate Jane and Charles in person, and since Beth was seated right next to the bride, that meant Col waited in the enormous line of guests to see the bride, when all he wanted was to see her. She gave him an apologetic smile as he finally made it in front of her.
“Finally!” he exclaimed with his movie-star smile, his arms held out as she stood to embrace him; she knew he wanted to kiss her, but that was too much, too fast, and in front of too many people, so, at the last second, she tilted her head, giving him her cheek and returning the kiss on his. He didn’t miss a beat, pulling back with his ever-endearing smile, but neither did Darcy. She didn’t have to look, she knew he was watching her; her spine tingled under his stare.
“I’m so sorry,” she replied, still smiling at him, trying to ignore Darcy. “I didn’t think through how preoccupied I would be all day; I feel terrible for asking you to come now, only to have to have been by yourself all afternoon.”
“Beth, don’t worry about me,” he reassured her; still holding her hands in his, his thumbs began to rub over the backs of hers. “I can make friends, or fans, anywhere.”
Beth smiled at his joke, but before she could respond, her father had stood up to draw the attention of the guests, asking that everyone would be seated so that the food could be served and the toasts could begin.
“I’ll see you soon,” she said with a weak smile, half-statement, half-question with the way the afternoon had been going.
“Oh, don’t worry, I’m not letting you out of my sight. After the afternoon watching you from afar, I’ll be collecting on some up-close-and-personal dances in the very near future.” He winked at her before releasing her hands and walking back to his table. Beth couldn’t help but smile – and notice the heads that turned to follow him, the whispers wondering if that was who they thought it was, and the intrigued gazes that inevitably found their way back to her.
And so, here she was, standing in the spotlight of stares from the crowd – partially because of Col, and partially because she was about to give her speech. Taking a deep breath, she let her focus fall on Colin and Char’s smiling faces, drawing on their support for her.
“Thank you, ladies and gentlemen for being here today to celebrate my beautiful sister Jane, and her new husband, Charles,” she began graciously, her voice steadily rising as she transitioned into a place of love and confidence, thinking and speaking about her sister. “For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Beth and I’m one of Jane’s younger sisters.” Here, she paused and briefly glanced to her right, indicating that they all, save Caroline, were Jane’s younger sisters. “Jane, I think I can speak for all of when I say just how much we all look up to you. Your calm and caring composure, your ever-potent optimism, your beauty and modesty, are all traits that I think the rest of us wish we would have gotten at least one of.” A soft chuckle ran through the audience. “You are our role model, which is why it’s only fitting that you should have fallen in love with such an equally kind and caring man, in what only can be described as a storybook romance. Throughout our lives, you’ve shown us what it means to be a good person, a respected woman, and through your love with Charles, we all now know what true love looks like, if we are ever so lucky to stumble into it.” She choked on those last words, the guests assuming it was because of the love she felt for her sister.
It wasn’t.
She hadn’t realized it on the plane when she was writing, but reading it aloud now, all she could remember was stumbling into Darcy at Longbourne, the day she’d been instructed to give him a tour.Had she known that when she was writing this? Had she been subconsciously thinking about him? Was her heart trying to tell her that she had already stumbled into love?
“You both, and your love for each other, are an inspiration to all of us and I wish you a lifetime of happiness. Cheers to the bride and groom!” she finished quickly, giving everyone one last smile before turning to hug her sister and Charles in turn as they thanked her for her kind words.
Beth didn’t know why, but she wasn’t expecting Darcy to make a toast – it didn’t seem like something that Darcy would deign to do. And yet, as soon as she sat down, he stood with his champagne glass in hand, clearing his throat.
“Good evening, everyone. My name is William Darcy, and I am Charles’ best man,” he began, his tone very business-like, as though he were giving a presentation to his board members. Then, he looked down at Jane and Charles, his eyes pausing briefly on Beth on their way back up to the rest of the guests, some of the harshness leaving his features. “Charles, it is an honor to be standing here with you today. You are my oldest friend, someone I consider like a younger brother to me.”Was he choking up?Beth’s mouth parted in wonder. “Someone once asked me if I admired anyone.” She felt her mouth go dry – it had been her;she had asked him that.“There is one person that I can list with no reservations and that is you. Like Miss Bennet mentioned, your kindness and generosity, your intellect, your accomplishments… some might think me unfazed by these things, or too proud to admit them, but I admire you.”
Charles leaned forward to cover his mouth with his hand, Darcy’s words clearly making him emotional as well; Jane was already shedding tears.
“The past several months have brought a new dimension to our friendship and I don’t know that I would be standing here if you hadn’t been by my side.”What is he talking about?Beth was completely baffled. “Jane,” he paused to give her sister a brief smile, “I know I wasn’t your favorite person when we first met – it’s ok, I know you would never admit to it, but it’s the truth. I doubted your and Charles’ relationship in the beginning because I didn’t think that love like this was possible; the fact that I’m standing here today shows just how wrong I was. There are some here who may believe that I never admit to a fault,” he paused again, but made no move to look at Beth, even though those were again her words that she’d said to him at her parent’s dinner table within the first few days of meeting him. “But, I will freely and gladly admit just how wrong the doubt I had was. The love that you share is truly an inspiration to all of those who know you.” Darcy raised his glass, his speech coming to an end. “I hope that one day, a love like yours will stumble into my life again,” the last said quietly, as if an afterthought, a hope that he couldn’t help wishing for; his eyes found Beth’s and there was no mistaking that he was referring to her. “Charles, you are a very lucky man and I couldn’t be happier for the two of you. To the bride and groom!” he finished his toast, everyone cheering as they sipped their champagne; Jane and Charles standing to hug Darcy and thank him for his exceptionally kind words.
He didn’t look at Beth again, as they sat, or while the food came and they ate. In fact, he seemed like he was purposely intent on keeping his conversation directed towards the other groomsmen, rather than conversing with Charles, which would have had him looking in Beth’s direction.
Jane on the other hand had looked at Beth as soon as she sat down – a look that said, ‘you know he was talking about you, right?’Beth could only purse her lips in response, now knowing that she did need to talk to Darcy more than ever.
Misunderstandings. Miscommunications. The story of their relationship.
She was over it; it was tiring and it was holding her back. Beth wanted to talk to him, clear the air now that the immediacy of the anger and betrayal that they’d apparently both felt had cleared; she wanted to talk to him and then she wanted to move on – go back to Boston, enjoy her job, enjoy whatever happened between her and Colin.
For Jane, this weekend was a new beginning. For Beth, she wanted it to be an end to the Darcy chapter in her life. She needed it to be.
Dinner passed in quiet conversation between herself and either Jane or Lydia – mostly discussions about the events of the day, interspersed with brief interruptions from friends and family coming up between courses to offer their congratulations. After an hour, and five courses of some of the most delicious farm-to-table food she’d ever eaten, everyone was instructed to make their way back outside where the ceremony space had been transformed into the dance floor, complete with an outdoor lounge filled with couches and chairs, an outdoor bar, as well as the lower level of the building being opened into a lounge for those who wanted to sit inside by the fireplaces.
Finally able to join Col, they walked outside with Lydia and Mary. The live band had already begun to play as the guests gathered around the dance floor for Charles and Jane’s first dance.
He was still watching her.
The cool, spring night did nothing to dampen the heat from Darcy’s stare. She’d lost track of him in the exodus outside, trying to not draw any more attention to the two of them after Darcy’s speech, purposely willing herself to stay focused on Col and her sisters, fighting the urge to meet his gaze, wherever it was coming from.
Beth sighed, watching her older sister dance with her husband to John Legend’s,All of Me. She jumped slightly as she felt Col’s arm snake around her waist, pulling her closer to his side; it was a small movement, that most guests probably couldn’t even see because everyone was standing so close, and she knew he did it, not just because he liked her and wanted to be closer to her, but because he wanted her to know that she could lean on him for whatever was going on. Looking up, she gave him a grateful smile.
“You look beautiful tonight, Beth,” he whispered down to her, his smile shining on her.
