Page 73 of Third Time is the Charm
“Oh my God! What a psycho bitch! Poor Charles – I can’t even imagine what it felt like to have his sister disrespect him like that.”
“Yeah. I think that is what instigated me to go talk to Darcy, after seeing that. It didn’t make sense – well, a lot of things that day didn’t make sense if he had chosen to be with her instead of me.”
“So, then he told you what really happened and you made up?” Anne asked hopefully.
Beth laughed. “Something like that.” The smile those memories evoked spread like welcome sunlight over her face.
“Is he in Boston with you now?”
“Yes. Well, no. He was on Monday, but he went back to the city for a few days – I think to give me some time to process everything that has happened, but he’s coming back up tonight. I mean, Caroline wasn’t the only issue between us. The things he said, how he treated me, it’s not like learning the truth about that morning flipped a switch and made everything ok again,” Beth continued to confide in her, the relief of being able to talk to someone about this lifting some of the weight from her shoulders. Since Jane was on her honeymoon, she’d assumed that her options for who she could talk to were limited.
“I’m sure.”
“He’s told me that he’s changed – that me leaving was for the best because he didn’t deserve me. He doesn’t just want me to take his word for it though, he wants to prove it to me, which is why he left for a few days, I think, to give me a chance to decide if that’s what I want.”
“Is it?” Anne asked bluntly.
“Yes.”
One word. One syllable. It rolled off her tongue so simply, so smoothly.
Beth knew what her decision was probably before Darcy even made it out of the door this morning, but until now, she’d only admitted it to herself after reviewing the pros and cons. When Anne asked, there was none of that debate. Her answer had come straight from her heart with what she knew to be true; even if it killed her, she would give Darcy as many chances as he asked.
Anne sighed on the other end. “Oh, good.” Her happy relief a welcome sound to Beth’s ears. “Like I said, I haven’t talked to him that much – I’ve been crazy with work, but I know what he told me when we did talk and I know what he’s been… doing… these past few months to be the man he wants to be. For you.”
Anne’s reassurance further put her mind at ease. “Speaking of work… your email came from Fitz Corp…” Beth trailed off, wondering what the story was behind that.
“Oh, right! Sorry, talking about Darcy got me side-tracked, sort of – even though it kind of has to do with what I emailed you about.”
“Oh crap! I completely forgot about that. I’m so sorry. It’s just all been a lot of emotions and thinking these past few days and I haven’t been able to really talk to anyone about it and then when I called you, it just all kind of tumbled out. Shit, I can’t believe I did that,” Beth groaned, taking another sip of her coffee.
“It’s ok. I have the time to talk now, plus I’ve missed you; you know I don’t have that many close friends – or friends, really – so, I don’t mind at all, but I do need to tell you some stuff.”
Beth nodded to the empty room in front of her as she said, “of course! Go ahead, I’m zipping my lips.”
“Well, first about work. Yes, the email came from Fitz Corp because I work there now. I’m not sure the exact order in which everything happened, but Caroline approached my mom before her art show, as you know. I didn’t know what they talked about at the time, but after the show and hearing what they said to Darcy, I realized what Caroline had come to my mother for: an ally against you,” Anne sighed, pain entering into her tone as she continued to speak about her mom. “The next part is where I’m uncertain which happened first – whether it was the restraining order that prompted her or the fact that her thirtieth birthday came and went and she had run out of funds, Caroline and my mother took their arrangement a step further.”
Beth held her breath at the new information that Anne was revealing.
“I also don’t know if Charles told his parents what occurred between Darcy and their daughter – or part of it; I’m thinking that he must have because the rift between the Bingley’s and Caroline became even deeper. Although refusing to give her any funds after the timeline on her trust ran out could also account for it…” she trailed off pondering the possibilities for a moment. “Either way, Caroline needed permanent support so, she came back to my mom to extend their arrangement indefinitely; she told her this sob story about how you and Jane had poisoned her parents against her and that’s why they cut off her funding and that since it was because of her that you had left Darcy, that she should be even greater compensated.”
“I’m surprised your mother agreed to something like that,” Beth interjected, astonished that Mrs. DeBourgh would do something for anyone other than herself or Anne.
“I think my mother knows that Caro had her own reasons for breaking you and Darcy up – reasons that would conflict with her delusional plan for Darcy and I – and that keeping Caroline close and dependent on her was safer than having her find that support elsewhere.”
That did make sense.
“I didn’t know any of this until my mom told me that Caroline would be moving in with us for a short time until she found a more suitable apartment,” Anne continued. “When I asked why and got the full story, I refused. I couldn’t take it – I couldn’t take her anymore. I told her what a horrible person Caroline was and that I couldn’t believe my mother had helped her and was continuing to do so. And then I was so worked up that I told her that I would never marry Darcy, that we never had any plans to marry, that it was all just for show. I really shocked her; I don’t know when the last time was – if ever – I stood up to her like that.”
“Oh wow, Anne.” Beth couldn’t believe she’d finally admitted to the farce that her and Darcy had kept up for her mom all this time.
“So, I packed my things and I left. I told her I didn’t want to hear from her and that I wanted no part of DeBourgh diamonds. At which point, I realized the enormity of what I’d done and only slightly freaked out. Of course, I called Darcy first to let him know that my mother was no longer underanyillusions about us. And then I broke down.”
“I’m sure! You’ve been keeping that from her for so long…”
“I just couldn’t take her anymore. Her own ridiculous schemes were one thing and needed to stop, but when she involved herself with Caroline, who is certifiably insane, I just cracked.”
“I’m sorry,” Beth murmured, even though it was a good thing in the long run, she felt for her friend; standing up to her mother was so hard for Anne when her entire life she’d tried to do everything to please her.
