Joyce did not seem particularly keen on the idea of waiting any longer, but she agreed. “We’ll show you to your guestroom, Charlotte. Tis right next to Phyllis’.” She stopped only to clap her hands joyfully. “Oh, it is so lovely to have both my sisters in my new home! What joy!”
Together, all three sisters walked up the stairs, as Joyce showed her to her room. She opened the door, letting them all in. “This is where you’ll be staying, Charlotte. I hope you will be comfortable here.”
Charlotte looked around with a benevolent smile. Phyllis couldn’t help but think how much she resembled their mother. Charlotte was the first daughter, and as such, she seemed to have inherited most of their mother’s traits. As she grew older, she only resembled her even more.
Phyllis didn’t know how to feel about that. Charlotte’s very own presence was enough to stir conflicting emotions inside Phyllis. The memory of their mother was yet another instance of opening up old wounds that Phyllis knew would never heal. However, when she didn’t think about those things, she was able to keep the anguish and pain at bay. Now, that was impossible.
* * *
Seated around a beautifully set dining table, the three sisters gathered for a long-awaited reunion. The flickering candlelight cast a warm glow, illuminating the fine china and silverware that adorned the table. The atmosphere was one of familial intimacy, with the clinking of cutlery and the soft murmur of conversation filling the room.
Joyce’s husband, considerate of the sisterly bond being rekindled, had opted to dine in his study, allowing the ladies the space to share their tales and confidences. The aroma of a sumptuous meal wafted through the air, a testament to the culinary skills of the household staff.
As the evening unfolded, the sisters exchanged stories, laughter, and moments of shared nostalgia. Charlotte, though mindful of the passage of time etched upon her features, wore a gentle smile as she recounted snippets of her life’s journey. Joyce would occasionally interject with a few questions, while Phyllis remained faithful to her initial reservations, preferring to remain quiet and listen rather than speak herself.
“Remember when we hid behind the fountain that time when Father forbade us to have more chocolate cake?” Joyce asked, reminiscing.
Charlotte’s eyes widened in surprise. “Was that when the entire household was sent out to look for us?”
“Exactly!” Joyce exclaimed, chuckling. “You kept telling us that we should stay, but it was Phyllis who was the reasonable one, claiming how worried Father must be, that they weren’t able to find us even after two hours of searching the house and the garden. Do you remember, Phyllis?”
“I do,” she nodded, although that story did not bring her much joy. Charlotte had been the mischievous one, convincing them both that there should be a cake rebellion, that they deserved to eat as much cake as they wanted with tea, which according to Phyllis, did not make much sense. Joyce had always been the follower, so she agreed with whoever had come up with a certain idea.
“You have always been the most reasonable one, Phyllis,” Charlotte commented, although without any judgment in her voice.
“You make it sound as if reason is a bad thing,” Phylis pointed out.
“On the contrary,” Charlotte chuckled. “I do believe that I lacked reason in some of the most important moments of my life. If I had any, I probably wouldn’t be where I am now. Then again, I wouldn’t have my son either. So… I guess it is always a matter of perspective.”
“But you seem happy,” Joyce noticed. “Much happier than I’ve seen you in ages.”
“I am,” Charlotte agreed. “You know, when I think about how all of this started, I am shocked to see how far I’ve come. I was so in love with Jacob, so madly and utterly in love as only a foolish girl can be. And we all know that foolish girls lack all common sense.” She chuckled, although no one joined her in that chuckle. It felt a little forced, sad, despite the profession of happiness.
Every glance at Charlotte made Phyllis remember Charlotte’s life story. It all sounded innocent enough, as most marriage story of their time started. Charlotte met her husband during her debut and she fell in love with him quickly. This was her first mistake, which only led to an avalanche of so many more.
“I guess I should have noticed the change in him when it first started to appear,” Charlotte continued to reminisce, pausing only to take a small sip of wine, which only seemed to fuel her story even more. “They were little things at first. He would shout for no reason. Then, more and more. Then… it got worse.”
Charlotte had chosen to ignore the signs that her husband’s caring attitude was only a pretense. After their marriage, things took a turn for the worse. Her husband gambled away her dowry. When there was no more money to be had, he took out his frustrations on her, by becoming violent with her. Charlotte had opened up about it to her sisters, refusing help, stating that she herself would sort out the mess she had gotten into, demanding of her sisters to keep this secret.
“You know that we were here for you, Charlotte,” Joyce reminded her. “Both Phyllis and I offered to help you.”
“I know, and I would have told you no again,” Charlotte was adamant. “Not because I am ungrateful. On the contrary, having you has always been my strength, my rock, my support. But I needed to find a way out of this on my own. Otherwise, it would mean that he managed to break me, to destroy me completely.”
Phyllis had to admit that she never thought of it like that. Charlotte wanted to prove something to herself, that she was still the bold, courageous woman she had always been, that this man did not destroy her will to live.
“But then, my sunshine arrived,” Charlotte’s eyes sparkled as she talked about her son. “He changed everything. He became my will to live, my everything.”
A couple of miserable years into the marriage, Charlotte was forced to provide her husband with an heir, as it was demanded of her. The light at the end of Charlotte’s dark tunnel turned out to be exactly this child which had been consummated in hate, but which had arrived into this world cradled in the loving arms of its mother, who vowed after that moment that she would do everything in her power to keep herself and her child safe.
Soon after, fate looked kindly upon Charlotte in the guise of her husband’s own, personal decision to go to war. That was when Charlotte found a chance to leave him. She took her son and went to Scotland to one of her father’s estates, where she had been living for the last two years, hiding away.
Phyllis could not imagine that as a good life for anyone, especially not Charlotte who wanted so much out of life for herself. She had so much promise, so much intellect, so much boldness and bravery, and now, she ended up hiding from a man who ruined her life. This was constantly what Phyllis had been thinking about, what she could not get out of her head.
“But, this is not a moment to reminisce about sad things,” Charlotte suddenly decided to change the topic. “You two have not been to Scotland since you were little girls and Father took all three of us on one of his business trips. Life there is… different. Pleasurably so.”
Charlotte’s eyes lit up with enthusiasm as she regaled her sisters with tales of her life in Scotland. The flickering candlelight cast a warm glow on her features, highlighting the radiance of her joy.
“Scotland is a place of breathtaking beauty,” Charlotte exclaimed, her eyes sparkling with fond memories. “The rolling hills, the ancient castles, and the crisp, invigorating air – it is a world unto itself. You must come and visit.”
