Page 90 of Second Chances
There was a pregnant moment of silence from the other end of the line, as if Darcy knew that she might have trouble not confronting Caroline on her own. Beth could practically hear his jaw clenching, trying to stop himself from truly demanding that she refrain from acting without conferring with him first.
“I will talk to you later,” he finally responded, his words tight.
“I’ll call you. I love you.”
“I love you.” His sigh indicating the release of at least some of his tension was unmistakable.
Hanging up the phone, her foot began to tap again anxiously on the floor of the cab, impatient for traffic to move faster as they were almost to Jane’s apartment.
When they pulled up, she fumbled through her purse, trying to pay the cabby, remembering why she loved Uber so much; she would have made it up to the apartment by now.
Less than a minute later, she was knocking erratically on the door to the apartment, waiting for Jane to let her in.
“Jane! It’s me! Let me in!”
Beth’s hand was raised to knock again, when the door opened revealing a flustered and surprised Jane.
“Sorry… I’m just…” Beth trailed off, giving her sister an apologetic look as Jane moved back to let her enter.
“It’s ok, I was just putting laundry away. I didn’t know you were coming.”
“I texted you…”
“Oh, I must have left my phone in the kitchen,” Jane replied, understanding dawning on her face.
“Is it ok that I’m here? Caroline left, right?” Beth asked, immediately concerned that the crazy bitch might still be here.
“Oh, no, she left a little while ago now - right before I called you, she left. I don’t know why she came over in the first place. She just was talking about her exhibit tonight. Then again, I’m sure she’s not getting any support at home with her family, so maybe she figured I would be excited for her,” Jane surmised, following Beth into the living room.
“I’m sorry, I’m going a little crazy after this whole week dealing with Caro. And then, not your fault, but I’ve been so eager to hear from you last night or this morning that I swear, I thought I was going to have a nervous breakdown,” Beth said, letting out a nervous laugh. “Anyway, it’s fine, it doesn’t matter. So, what’s going on? What did Charles say? Why is she here?” Beth asked bluntly, no longer able to hide her impatience.
Smooth, B, real smooth.
“She’s here for the money,” Jane began softly, forcing her sister to take a seat on the couch.
“Ok, how much? Can we just give it to her so that she can stop with this ridiculousness?” Beth asked, exasperated.
“No, Beth. She’s here for her money and the only way she can get it is through Darcy.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
“What? I don’t understand,”Beth replied, overwhelmed with confusion.
If she needed money, why couldn’t they just pay her?
Unless it would involve paying her for the rest of her life, but regardless, why did she need Darcy for money? There were a thousand other people who didn’t hate her whom she could ask.
“First, I want you to know that I’m on your side - I’m always on your side, which is why I’m sharing this private information with you. I won’t lie to you, Beth, the thought of her disgusts me, but purposefully trying to get this information from Charles last night made me sick to my stomach; the fact that I was keeping something from him…” Jane shuddered at the remembrance.
God, she hated putting Jane in this position; she was too naive, too pure. She could never wrap her head around a person like Caroline; it just wasn’t in her nature.
“In spite of everything that she has done, please use what I tell you with caution because it’s not just her that you could end up hurting,” Jane finished, pleading with her sister.
“I know, Jane. I know. I’m so sorry. I promise you that Darcy is going to tell Charles soon and I promise you that whatever you tell me, stays between you, me, and Darcy; I promise we will use whatever you tell me responsibly, but we need to know, otherwise I’m afraid of what Caroline might do next,” Beth responded, with an urgent empathy. As much as she felt for Jane, all her brain could focus on how Darcy was tied to Caroline’s money.
Beth watched her sister nod in resignation, before beginning her tale.
“So, you know that Caro’s parents wouldn’t support her style of art all those years ago, and that’s why she left and went to Italy?”
