Beginning, Section II, Next Section

Chapter 7

Posted on Monday, 1 December 2003, at 9:22 p.m.

When Charlotte returned home she discovered that Sidney Parker had called at Trafalgar House in her absence, and had already taken his leave. She felt a small twinge of disappointment upon hearing that she had missed his visit and a slightly larger one on hearing one of the reasons he had stopped by. His first consideration had been to set Mrs Parker's fears to rest concerning the spread of disease in Old Sanditon.

"He informed me that one of the children had hives from eating strawberries, the other had fallen into brambles and scratched himself quite badly, and the three in one family were an ill-kempt undernourished lot that forever had runny noses and had been pulled from their beds and sent about their chores as soon as my sister departed their home. It was so kind of him to reassure me, don't you think?"

"Indeed," said Charlotte. "I am glad to see Mr Sidney Parker can be so sensible."

"I was so sorry to hear that he had to go away," said Mrs Parker.

"Away?" said Charlotte, momentarily stunned. Upon the knowing look that Mrs Parker sent her, she recollected herself and continued, "And have his friends Mr Yardley and Captain Mittering gone as well?"

"I understand they are all off to London together," said Mrs Parker, a tinge of regret in her voice. "That is poor Sidney's great failing. He cannot stay in one place above a few days before he is traipsing off again. I do wish he were steadier."

"When he arrived he did say it was to be for only two or three days," Charlotte reminded her.

"And he stayed longer than he had meant to, or so he told me, but Mr Parker would so love if he were to settle himself here for the summer. We had hopes . . ."

"Well, it is a good day for travel," said Charlotte in an attempt to forestall any of Mrs Parker's musings that might include discussion of Mr Sidney Parker's likely attraction to one or other of the young ladies currently residing in Sanditon. She neither wanted to hear suppositions concerning herself or any of the others. It surprised Charlotte to realise she especially did not want to hear that he was thought to admire the Miss Beauforts, though why that idea should affect her at all she had no idea.

That evening the family party was quite dull. Diana and Susan droned on about their complaints, Arthur Parker was overly solicitous, almost causing Charlotte to develop a headache whilst endeavouring to prevent one, and Mr Parker continually interspersed his conversation about the state of business in Sanditon with comments about the effect Sidney's departure would have on the local society. Although Charlotte could well do without these constant observations, she had to admit that she felt the loss of Sidney Parker's genial presence in the social circle that gathered about the family hearth.

The next morning Charlotte called upon Julia Lambe again as they had previously arranged, but she was met with the news that Julia was quite unwell and could see nobody. Mrs Griffiths explained that she was prone to these bad spells and would be better after a day or two of complete rest.

In an under-voice she added, "I would prefer it if Miss Diana Parker would not get wind of this - she is most kind in her intentions but just a little too officious. The best thing for Miss Lambe now is rest, but I fear she would attempt to inundate her with cures."

Charlotte could well believe it. With some concern she asked Mrs Griffiths to pass on her best wishes to her friend. She intended to return home at once but the Miss Beauforts made their entrance at that moment and begged her to accompany them to the Terrace. It seemed they had missed her company and could not do without her. Charlotte knew better. Now that the gentlemen were gone they were glad of anyone's company to relieve their boredom. If they could not impress a man, a lady would have to do.

Later, she had to admit that there was a benefit to the lack of gentlemen. When Sir Edward and Arthur Parker joined them, Letitia and her sister monopolised their company and Charlotte found herself virtually alone on the bench with Miss Brereton, Miss Deneham having accompanied Lady Deneham to the library.

After exchanging polite comments about the fineness of the day, they sat together quietly without intruding on one another's thoughts. Charlotte could not keep from thinking of Julia, and hoped that it was not her company the day before that had overtaxed her friend. But Julia never complained about her condition and Charlotte had no way of knowing what the cause of her present indisposition was. She was recalled from her unhappy reverie by Miss Clara who suddenly addressed her.

"I beg your pardon," said Charlotte in confusion. "I am afraid I was not attending."

"No you were a hundred miles away, and looked quite melancholy. I merely asked if you were homesick."

Charlotte appreciated the concern that Miss Brereton had showed her. "Of course I do miss my family, but I was thinking of something else at the moment."

"Is it the loss of a certain person's company that you miss?"

Charlotte blushed, realising that Miss Brereton was referring to the recently departed gentlemen. "Yes, I was to visit my friend, Miss Lambe, this morning but she is feeling unwell."

"It is my turn to apologise then. My insinuation was most impolite, but I am relieved you are not suffering heartache. I had thought you a person of some sense who would not fall for a gentleman so very easily, and I am glad to see that I was correct in my estimation of you."

Charlotte was quite surprised with the intimate tone of their conversation and her interest in Miss Brereton was sparked anew. She had no intentions of speaking of gentlemen, though, departed or present, so she reverted to the earlier comment her companion had made. "Tell me, do you suffer from homesickness yourself?"

"No Miss Heywood, I do not. That may surprise you. I know my situation here is not ideal, but the one I have come from was even less so. I was orphaned quite young and have never felt at home with any of my relatives. I do not have the power to be homesick for that would mean that I once had a home worth longing for."

Charlotte knew not what to say - she was compassionate by nature but she had never heard someone express so sad a circumstance in such a matter of fact manner. She only looked at the girl who smiled in return.

"I have learned to take the good with the bad and accept them both evenly. You have no need to pity me - how can I miss something I never had?"

Charlotte found it was that one statement that reached her heart more than anything else Miss Brereton had disclosed. She thought of the warmth and happiness to be found in her own home with sudden longing - did not everyone deserve to experience that feeling of belonging in their lives? She had an urge to befriend this distant girl, to show her that there was more to life than merely accepting one's lot. "Would you like to visit me when you have your free time?"

Miss Brereton laughed quietly. "My free time is only achieved here and there in stolen moments I am afraid, but I will be happy to sit and converse with you when visiting either Trafalgar house or the Terrace with Lady Deneham."

Charlotte was reminded once again of the secret meeting between Miss Brereton and Sir Edward and wondered why she would spend time that must be so precious to her with a gentleman she appeared to have little or no interest in. She smiled and told her that she looked forward to furthering their acquaintance. It was then that Lady Deneham returned and confidences between the two were over for the day. The lady demanded the attention of her companion and Charlotte was left to the ungracious company of Miss Deneham. If anyone was feeling the loss of the gentlemen, it was she. Her brother and Arthur Parker held no appeal for her in the least.

A promenade upon the shore was proposed. Charlotte was content to walk on her own behind the Beaufort sisters who had claimed the gentlemen as their own, though Arthur Parker continually cast apologetic glances her way. The other ladies declined the pleasure, preferring to sit upon the benches and converse.

The sand spread far out, pocketing glinting pools in its furrowed wake. In the distance the sea paused, caught between the cycle of ebb and flow. Charlotte held her face to the sun and ignored the importunate thought that lingered in the back of her mind that something was lacking - someone she could turn to and talk with about the water, sand and sun. Share something other than the Miss Beauforts's superficial exclamations, Sir Edward's long-winded soliloquies, or Arthur's concerns that too much sun upon her face could surely not be a healthful thing. She decided it must be Julia whom she was wanting. It surely could be no one else.

She was determined to be in different company the next morning. Though she was interested to know more of Clara Brereton, the Miss Beauforts were worth avoiding at all cost. Two days in a row of their society was more than Charlotte would willingly endure. She found entertainment playing with the children in the small back garden while Mrs Parker sat in the shade with some needlework.

After luncheon she decided to explore the countryside, and followed a lane that led from behind Trafalgar House up and over the hill setting out a panorama of the valley beyond with Old Sanditon laid out before her, the whitewashed cottages looking more like doll's houses at this distance. Charlotte enjoyed the solitude of walking the country lane and, leaving the distant sea behind, set off down a path she supposed would end at the village itself. The hill was sparsely treed, almost a sloping meadow, reminiscent of the rolling fields on the perimeter of her father's own estate - the difference being that the river at the bottom wound through the dotted houses and out to meet the sea. From where she was upon the hill she could not see a hint of the ocean, but she knew if she followed the river's curves she would be brought to just such a destination.

On this day she contented herself with going to the village and no further. She was unaccompanied and did not want to be looked at askance. What was accepted in a spinster like Diana Parker, who went everywhere in pursuit of worthy causes, was frowned upon in a young lady such as herself. She toyed with the idea of getting up a party to walk the entire distance to the fishermen's lowly huts, but when she surveyed her options she did not see it as a viable venture. Julia could never walk so far, Arthur Parker would never undertake it, and anyone else she could think of she did not expect would be the least bit interested. Anyone else who was presently residing in Sanditon, that is.

In the evening she received a note from Miss Lambe stating that she would be pleased of her company the following morning. Charlotte was gratified, not only that her friend was better but that she would have the pleasure of her company again. It was strange, but the last two days had been the only days she had felt bored during her time at the resort. She had now been in Sanditon for three weeks complete, but she did not think this the reason for her recent ennui. She still enjoyed her environs as much as ever.

~

Besides the darkened circles beneath her eyes, Julia Lambe looked much the same as she had the last time Charlotte visited her. They were both very pleased to see each other again and spent some time talking about how they had fared the last two days. Julia's eyes brightened at the description of the walk Charlotte had taken to the village; housebound as she was she enjoyed hearing descriptions of the countryside about them.

"All I have had for so many days is the view from my window, but I hope to be well enough tomorrow to take you to my own private little bay."

"You must not overtire yourself," said Charlotte in concern.

"On your arm, and resting often I will manage quite nicely. I believe being out of doors to be very beneficial to me. It is difficult to convince Mrs Griffiths of the fact, though. She is sometimes overly concerned with my health."

"If she will agree to the outing I will certainly enjoy accompanying you," said Charlotte who was a firm believer in the efficacy of fresh air and exercise and was also longing to visit the unfrequented stretch of beach that Julia spoke of with such delight.

"Yesterday I began a new poem," said Julia shyly. "It is an ode. I have written but one stanza though I do not think it shall be much more than two or three when I am done."

"I do not know how all the poets manage to write such very long ones," said Charlotte. "I prefer a poem that is short and feeling to one that tells an epic tale. For that I would much rather read a novel."

"I must admit," said Julia, "that I enjoy lengthy poems very much and only wish that I had the ability to sustain a long piece."

"I would very much like to read your poem."

"It is not very good. I think I have a problem with the metre, and please remember that it is not finished yet." Julia passed Charlotte a sheet of creamy paper from a stack of assorted writing materials she had by her side and then watched her nervously as she read.

Charlotte read it through once in silence, and then with a look at Julia and a beseeching "May I?" read it aloud.

"I oft walk out upon a summer's morn
To meet this darkened sea with its shore so still and grey
And remember yet the place where I was born
With water blue that sparkled where it lay.
The sand stretched far, its colour rivalled gold
And a small child stood in the brimming tide
Eyes locked upon the distant, wavering horizon
Wishing for some storybook wonder to unfold
Only to watch wave after wave rise up and then subside
Little knowing too soon it would be gone."

"It is lovely," said Charlotte at last. "The child is you, is it not?"

"Yes," said Julia.

"I would never be able to undertake writing anything more than a letter. Your family must be very proud. From this one verse I can see that you miss your home very much."

"My family knows nothing of my writing. You are the only person I have ever shown it to. Penning poetry is not looked upon as a suitable occupation for a proper young lady."

"I am honoured that you shared it with me," said Charlotte. She could see that the poem meant much to Julia, she had glowed with the praise and was now quite flushed just speaking of it. It was no wonder because Charlotte understood that she put her very soul into it. Sharing those words was a very great step in their friendship.

After that they conversed much on poetry, who were their favourite authors and what it was about the works that appealed to them. Julia took out books and shared with Charlotte many passages that she had never before read, even pressing a volume of Cowper upon her to take home and read at her own leisure. But she admitted to a preference for the young modern poets whose works were more difficult to come by, and confided to Charlotte again how much she enjoyed the poem that Mr Sidney Parker had copied down for her.

~

The trail to the beach wound its way among a number of cottages, and then between deep banks of brambles down a gradual declivity that led without too much effort to a sheltered bay. The strip of sand before them formed a perfect crescent and on either side, rocky outcrops cut them off from the popular stretch of beach Charlotte was accustomed to and the unknown cove where the river ran into the ocean and the fishing shanties were sprinkled.

They had made their way slowly, stopping to rest numerous times. Julia used these occasions to look about herself with glowing eyes. She now sat upon a convenient log and stared out to sea, her cheeks becomingly tinged with colour from both exertion and pleasure.

"Thank you," she said. "I am not often allowed to venture so far, but I dearly love it here. I am growing accustomed to this harsh grey sea and on days like today it almost appears a brighter blue, even to my eyes."

"This is truly a wonderful spot," said Charlotte twirling around, her arms outstretched. "It is I who should be thanking you for showing it me. And here, with all this privacy, we have no need to stand on ceremony. I am about to do something I have only imagined doing before." That said, she sat on the other end of the log and removed her shoes and stockings.

"I wish that I could do that too," said Julia wistfully, "but I fear it would not be wise. I will take my pleasure vicariously by watching you. Shall you paddle in the waves?"

"For the both of us," said Charlotte, laughing as she ran to the shallows, lifting her skirts as the water ebbed and flowed about her ankles. "It feels so fresh and only a little cold!"

Then she ran back up to Julia, sand encasing her feet, and sat beside her on the log. "Did you not go down for immersion when you first arrived?"

"Yes I did. Miss Parker kindly organised it all, but I found the water cold and dismal in the little hut. On my island I was used to swim in the open in sea as warm as a tub. I was afraid of taking a chill and only repeated the procedure once. Have you ever tried it?"

"I have not. I very much like to play in the waves, but being completely in the water with my clothing hanging wet about me and surrounded by four confining walls does not appeal to me in the least. Perhaps on an open beach like this with no one there to see it would be more enjoyable."

"It is very pleasant in the warm sun," said Julia, a look of yearning in her eyes.

"I think I will have to content myself with my wading," said Charlotte, smiling warmly.

She ran back to the shore as Julia took a book of parchment from her basket. Balancing an inkpot on the log beside her she began to write, looking out occasionally at the water, her mind far away, her face intent and serious.

Charlotte returned and sat beside her watching her earnest face as her pen dipped in and out of the ink and scratched hurriedly in even strokes across the empty page. Words seemed to flow effortlessly from its point and then it would hover till a drop was almost loosed for waiting, then begin again with the same confidence as before.

Finally Julia turned and said, "I have written a new stanza for my ode," and handed the paper tentatively to Charlotte.

In a quiet voice Charlotte began to read, there in the sun, the light sea breeze ruffling the page, the words stark upon the open air.

"For life's joys are fleeting and oftentimes
Not noticed 'til they fall beyond one's reach
A child fed on lullabies and nursery rhymes
Knows not the lessons lonely life can teach.
In later years, upon some far and lonely shore
With tables turned, no longer loved but outcast
She searches for a blue sea that seems forever lost
And the golden sand that is home no more
And wishes for the happiness of her distant past
To warm her heart that now is limned with frost."

When she finished it seemed the world had stilled too. The whisper of the waves faded almost to nothing. The sea birds left off from their raucous cries. She looked at Julia with tears in her eyes and could find no words to say what she was feeling in her heart.

"My mother's father was a British Naval Captain - her mother the daughter of the most prominent man on the island. The captain did not stay long after their marriage, but my grandmother became the owner of a very large plantation. My father is a younger son of a wealthy family. He came to the islands to make his fortune in trade. He married my mother and settled out there far from his native England. He never missed it because he had mama and me and we were very happy. But mama had a lingering sadness because his family would not accept her and all but cast him off. She intended for me to grow up as a young English lady and not an island maiden so that is why I am here in this cold clime, disconnected from my home. My relatives here do not want to see me. My skin is too dark; my features too much like my mother's. When I go out in society I am pursued by some for my fortune, the rest ignore me. Only you have welcomed me as a friend regardless of my heritage."

"There is nothing to be ashamed of in your background. You are good and sweet and kind. How could anyone not want to know you?" asked Charlotte. "You have great beauty in your person and in your soul. If your father's family does not see that they do not deserve you."

The girls embraced and spoke softly together. Further out, upon the rocks, two gentlemen came into view. They stood still upon a massive boulder and looked about them and then one held his hand up to shield his eyes and seemed to stare in their direction. The next moment his arm came up in a wave, he turned and commented to his friend, and then they both clambered down from their high lookout and approached across the sand.

They were almost within hailing distance when Charlotte was able to make out who they were. Her initial feeling of annoyance at having their privacy interrupted was swept clear away and replaced with unaccountable elation.

Chapter Eight

Posted on Tuesday, 23 December 2003, at 12:38 p.m.

"I'm glad that I allowed Yardley to drag me across those rocks," called Sidney as soon as he was close enough for conversation. "He insisted that we might find a prospect worthy of the endeavour and he has proved correct."

Yardley raised an eyebrow but made no comment. Instead he dusted at an imaginary speck upon his sleeve. Charlotte was certain that it was all Sidney Parker's idea from the outset. She marvelled that the two men could clamber over such a rocky outcrop and look as if they had just strolled out of their dressing rooms. Their clothing was as impeccable as ever - shirt points crisp, neck-cloths with not a fold out of place, and their stylish Hessians unscuffed and still polished to a mirror finish.

"You must introduce us to your friend," said Sidney, and upon the introductions being made he addressed Julia. "I believe you are the young lady that I copied out Keats' poem for."

"Thank you so much. Is it true that you are friends with the poet?"

"Yes, we have become quite close. There is a group of young poets that I am somewhat acquainted with, but am friendlier with him than many of the others. He is a very intense young man, but very eager and open in his dealings."

"Are you a poet as well?"

"Sadly I do not have that talent for putting my thoughts and emotions to words. As Miss Heywood would be quick to inform you, nothing more than a limerick can be expected from one such as me."

"Miss Lambe, I must warn you that Mr Parker can never be serious," said Charlotte quickly. "I once teased him with such a comment and now it appears he cannot forgive me."

"Besides," said Mr Yardley languidly, "I have heard one or two of his limericks and I can attest they are nothing for him to take such unwarranted pride in."

"Pride?" laughed Sidney. "I see I am to get support from no quarter today. I attempt modesty and am accused of pride."

He settled on the log and began to converse about poetry with Julia. Charlotte turned to Mr Yardley and smiled. "I understand you made a trip to London."

"Mittering needed to return to his regiment and I had an appointment with my tailor."

"I am pleased to see the visit was not entirely whimsical," said Charlotte.

"Which are you calling whimsical, the return of the captain to his regiment or Yardley's meeting with his tailor?" asked Sidney Parker who Charlotte thought had not been attending to her conversation at all. "I assure you, my friend here puts more in store by his tailor than anything else."

"You may tease me all you like, Parker, but you must admit it is a very handsome coat he made me."

"I will not argue that."

"Well then possibly your errand was the whimsical one," said Charlotte, looking pointedly at Sidney.

"Very probably," said Sidney agreeably.

"Unfortunately that was not the case Miss Heywood," said Yardley. "We could not go without him - you see it was in his carriage that we travelled."

Sidney shot Charlotte a smug look and turned his attention back to Julia. Charlotte blushed slightly and then asked Mr Yardley if Captain Mittering's duties with his regiment would prevent him from returning to Sanditon that summer. In the middle of the conversation she noticed that Sidney Parker's eyes were travelling to the foot of her gown and back and then up to her face questioningly. He had a look of mischief she did not quite trust. She peered down and realised that not only was there a rim of sand caked on the wet edge of her skirts, her bare feet were peeking out below her hem. She pulled her toes back and quickly asked Mr Yardley a question about London in order to hide her embarrassment. The gentleman smoothly answered her without a flicker of acknowledgement at being interrupted mid sentence.

Not long after that exchange Sidney called Yardley over to verify a line he was quoting from a work of Shakespeare and then left his friend talking to Julia while he joined Charlotte where she stood.

"This is a wonderfully private strip of beach. However did you get here? While I can easily see you navigating the rocks I doubt it is something Miss Lambe would be capable of."

"I do not know that I could navigate the rocks, as you say."

"I believe you capable of anything, Miss Heywood. Did the two of you swim here then?"

Charlotte coloured, remembering her unshod feet, and looked away as she replied. "There is a path that leads from Sanditon - this cove can be got to without much difficulty, but . . . please don't let on. Miss Lambe regards it as a sort of refuge and would not like it to become common knowledge."

"I will not tell anyone and I promise you Yardley is the soul of discretion."

"Thank you."

"Should you like us to leave at once, then?"

"Pardon me?"

"We have most impolitely disturbed your solitude."

"Oh . . . I did not mean that you . . . and Mr Yardley were not welcome," stammered Charlotte awkwardly.

"So you are pleased to see me!"

"I . . . um . . . am sure that you and your friend may go where you like. I cannot presume to tell you which beaches to frequent."

"Is that your way of saying that you missed me?"

"Mr Parker, I would prefer it if you did not flirt."

"But you look so charming when you are discomposed! Very well, I will just believe what I like and leave it at that. Tell me, how is the water? I would pull my boots off and try it myself but I am afraid I cannot remove them without the help of my valet. Now you have a valuable weapon to use against me - you can tease me relentlessly about my male vanity."

"The water was very refreshing," said Charlotte unbending a little, "but it is very uncivil of you to mention that you know I was paddling about in the water in a most unladylike manner."

"I wish I had seen you. I believe it would have been enchanting."

Charlotte thought it best to ignore the remark and instead commented that she thought Miss Lambe had been out long enough and they should return to her lodgings. Sidney readily agreed and asked if he and Mr Yardley had permission to escort them back, stating that he feared they would be unable to navigate the rocks quite so proficiently again. Charlotte thought this very unlikely but was not averse to their company. She had but one qualm.

"Sir, if you and your friend could give me a moment of privacy it would be most appreciated."

Sidney looked at her bare toes that could not help but peek out from beneath her gown, smiled and nodded. Then he turned and led Mr Yardley off to take in the view of a distant ship without so much as a teasing word. Charlotte, who had expected a facetious sally, was agreeably surprised. She collected her shoes and stockings from where she had left them and sat down beside Julia to put them on.

"I hope you do not mind if the gentlemen conduct us home," she said as she glanced towards their backs and quickly dusted the sand from her feet. Replacing her stockings was even more difficult to perform discreetly but luckily both men were much engrossed with the panorama before them.

"Not at all. I have found the conversation of both most interesting. It is not often that I am able to discuss poetry with anyone as knowledgeable as they. What it must be like to be a man and have the freedom of movement that they do - to go to the salons where the young, bright minds meet to discuss new ideas and innovations." Her quiet voice was enlivened by her enthusiasm and her eyes shone.

Charlotte was just finished buckling her second shoe when Sidney Parker called out, "Is it safe to turn around yet or shall I find myself severely chastised if I do?"

Both girls laughed.

"Have you tired of the sea so quickly, then?" asked Charlotte.

"I am in raptures about the sea but you must know that when one is not allowed to do something it soon becomes the only thing that one wants to do."

"Parker cannot abide having restrictions placed upon his movements," added Mr Yardley blithely.

"Then why do not you both turn around? We have been ready to depart these last few minutes."

"Cruel woman," said Sidney as he rejoined Charlotte. "And you accuse me of being a tease."

"I think it was well earned, Parker," said Mr Yardley. "Miss Heywood, it is time my friend was knocked down a peg or two. He is too accustomed to indulging himself."

"Leave off," said Sidney. "How am I ever to appear creditable in the young ladies' eyes if you give me away like that?"

"You give yourself away," said Yardley with a lazy drawl, and then he offered Charlotte his arm as they reached the path.

There was not enough room to walk more than two abreast and soon Charlotte and Mr Yardley outstripped the others. At the top of the path they stood and waited in a companionable silence. Charlotte noticed that Sidney was talking in a low voice as he and Julia slowly caught up to them, and she was listening intently. It was quite apparent that he was conversing seriously and not employing the teasing humour and light flirtation that he used upon her, or the more flamboyant and assiduous attention he usually bestowed upon the likes of the Beaufort sisters. She was pleased to see that he was capable of earnest conversation but wondered why he so rarely exercised it, and rarely ever spoke so soberly with her.

When the gentlemen left them at the door, Charlotte stayed just long enough with Julia to ensure that she was not the worse for their outing, then she regretfully made her excuses and returned to Trafalgar House. From all appearances, rather than tire her friend, the walk to the beach had been highly beneficial. Charlotte did not know the full extent of Julia's illness but could not help but suspect that much of her indisposition was due in part to the homesickness and isolation that she suffered.

After luncheon, Charlotte played in the small yard with the children again. She was feeling quite restless and had to admit that though she had been pleased to see Sidney Parker, the result of their time spent together was that she had become as frustrated and aggravated with him as ever. Why could he not treat her as he treated Julia Lambe? Surely he did not think that she wanted to be teased. He evidently paid the other ladies in Sanditon the type of attentions they expected from him - he admitted as much himself - but yet even though she informed him time and again that she preferred he did not always speak so flippantly, he persisted. Eventually she vowed not to allow it to bother her - after all he was only her friends' brother and nothing more to her than that, so what was the point of letting his behaviour unnerve her?

Tom Parker enjoyed the camaraderie of his family and was pleased that his brothers and sisters bore him company almost every evening. This night he was more than happy to have Sidney back amongst them and his spirits were higher than usual. After the children had been carted off to bed by their favourite uncle, Tom called him over to the fireside and began to question him on his trip to London and whether the society there was as fine as that to be had in Sanditon.

"I have some ideas that I think would benefit your snug resort," said Sidney.

Tom Leaned forward eagerly and encouraged him to expound. There was nothing he enjoyed talking about more than the promotion of Sanditon as a desirable place to vacation, and if his brother had ideas to make it more alluring he was all for implementing them.

"You need more entertainments," said Sidney. "The beach and bathing machines, library and billiard rooms are all very well for the more staid members of the populace, but the livelier crowd needs to be continually amused to keep their interest. After a while such activities as walking upon the Terrace begin to pall and they long for what they have left behind in London."

"But is not the whole appeal of a seaside resort the salubrious nature of the tranquil setting?"

"Assuredly, but most people are not aware of that. They crave excitement. They want a reason to dress up and go out. They long to be seen abroad in all their finery. I am only making these suggestions if you want the place to be popular. I much prefer a sleepy little hamlet as you seem to yourself."

"You? You are forever on the move bouncing from one frivolous pastime to another!"

"I admit I am not yet as sedate as you, but I am beginning to feel quite old and settled in my ways."

His brother let out a large snort of laughter, and Charlotte, who had been attending to their conversation in preference to Susan's treatise on the health benefits of vinegar, could not but agree that Sidney Parker was in no way in danger of settling down.

"What activities do you suggest I introduce? Pony rides upon the beach?"

"That would be well for the children," said Sidney agreeably, "but I was thinking more on the lines of assemblies and concerts. Perhaps the library could open a cultural association in one of their rooms where there could be poetry reading and musical recitals. Once it became known you could attract many people away from such crowded places as Eastbourne. And, to my best knowledge Brinshore has, as yet, nothing comparable to offer but I would not be surprised if they were planning something of the sort. You would not want that resort to steal away visitors that are rightfully yours."

"No indeed! Brinshore is vile with its seaweed strewn upon the sand. The air has a distinctly sour odour - it is no way as fresh as ours. We do not want people lured there just because they provide more entertainments than we do. What is it you think they are planning?"

"Schemes for a monthly assembly are in the works, I am told."

"Then we shall have them weekly! I will go to the hotel first thing in the morning and enquire about outfitting their hall as a ballroom."

"Just the thing!" said Sidney. "And do not forget the library."

"I will talk to Mrs Whitby myself," said Diana who could not stand to see anything undertaken without her express assistance. "I need bring her the makings of a poultice. She has lost the use of one of her arms - I visited her yesterday and it was actually shrivelling before my eyes. A most disturbing case, but one I am not inexperienced in treating. Just the same malady occurred to Mrs Hemple's neighbour's aunt and I was able to retard the complete seizure of her muscles and almost totally restore the limb through the judicious use of a poultice of mustard, radish, and hogswort, alternating with rigorous application of friction to the entire affected area. Three weeks and she was able to set her stitches quite as neatly as ever - and this a woman who had already resolved she would be crippled for the remainder of her days, and of no use to anyone. Maybe we should not only start up a cultural association but also a historical society and a council to provide for the needy families living in those unhealthy shacks upon the . . ."

Diana had completely overtaken the conversation and Charlotte turned instead to Arthur who was offering her a piece of toast liberally spread with butter. She thanked him politely and listened while he explained eagerly the best method of getting toast just exactly golden brown without the least hint of char, and also preventing any soot from the flames to mar the flavour of the bread. She admitted it was very tasty and was about to divert the conversation, which appeared to be branching out into the most efficient methods of building a fire, when a familiar bantering tone addressed her from behind.

"I have finally escaped," said Sidney as he pulled up a chair and sat beside her, "but I must say that I was successful in my mission."

Charlotte looked at him with a smile. "If your mission was to give your sister a new cause to pursue you have succeeded admirably."

"And also if my intent was to inform the room of the best treatment for palsied limbs, which I do apologise for profusely. No, my mission was to coerce my brother into holding an assembly so that I should be able to dance with you."

"I believe your motive was not quite so selfish," she said, striving to keep the colour from rising in her cheeks.

"Not selfish at all - I was thinking only of you."

This time her cheeks flamed and she had to turn her head. Sidney Parker was smiling at her wickedly, fully appreciating her ruffled composure.

"Do not think that I am affected in any way by what you have just said. I am only annoyed by your continual disregard for my wishes. I have expressly asked you not to flirt on more than one occasion."

"So, I am only allowed to flirt on one occasion? That means I will have to be very selective."

Charlotte could not withhold a spurt of laughter. "I warn you that I will most certainly refuse to dance with you if you should ask me."

"I will find it most improper when you ask me, then," said Sidney smoothly, "but I will try not to be shocked by such forward behaviour."

"You are . . . irrepressible!"

"Thank you."

Charlotte turned to Arthur and immediately asked him what he thought of the idea of an assembly.

"I should look forward to one with great pleasure. I find that draughts do not bother me at all in the way that they used to. I imagine in the winter it will be a different story, but for now I have no sign of lumbago, not even the least little stiffening of the joints."

"You see, daily exercise and fresh air have been beneficial," said Charlotte, smiling.

"Indeed. I have so much more energy than before that I believe dancing will be no hardship. And dancing with you is something I should look forward to very much. Would you do me the honour of saving the first two for me when the event arises?"

It was not with the intention of receiving another invitation to dance that Charlotte had taken up the conversation. She mentally chastised herself and then looked from Arthur's hopeful face to Sidney's mirthful one. "I would be delighted," she said with more enthusiasm than she felt. She knew she would have danced with him anyway, but she was not pleased to have had to pledge herself so far in advance, and only because she wanted to put Sidney Parker in his place. She did not want any sort of meaning to be tied to it. Arthur was her friends' brother and she did not want to hurt him by any unfulfilled expectations.

Unfortunately her declaration did not have the desired effect on her adversary. He just sat back in his chair and his smile became broader than ever. She was not sure if she understood him in the least. Had he actually goaded her on with this exact outcome in mind? The rest of the evening she paid both of them as little attention as possible, moving as soon as she could to Mary Parker's side.

Chapter Nine

Posted on Tuesday, 13 January 2004, at 8:27 p.m.

The Beaufort sisters could speak of nothing but the impending assembly and what they were to wear to it. Charlotte had little inclination for their conversation and speculations as to who should be the best dressed but she bore it with as much politeness as she could muster. As they sat together on the green benches of the Terrace she attempted, rather, to enjoy the freshness of a light breeze that eased the warmth of the sun upon her face. Her attention was called back as she was pointedly addressed.

"Have you ordered a new gown, Miss Heywood?" asked Miss Letitia with just a hint of condescension in her voice. "The local milliner cannot compare with the likes of London but she should be able to turn you out quite presentably."

"I have no need of a new gown," answered Charlotte.

"What foresight of you to have brought one," said Miss Beaufort. "What colour is it? I hear Mr Arthur Parker favours green."

The two sisters tittered. "Mr Sidney Parker told me he hoped that I would wear amethyst, to match my eyes," said Miss Letitia, preening.

Charlotte almost choked. The eyes in question were a watery blue and decidedly shrewish. She felt her annoyance at Sidney Parker rise; his propensity for leading ladies on was reprehensible and showed a definite unsteadiness of character. She resolved yet again not to let anything he should say to her affect her. She did not want to act as foolish as her two companions now appeared to her.

"That may be," said Miss Beaufort, "but you posses nothing in that shade, sister. Little becomes me better than cherry, which Mr Sidney Parker has noted in the past. How did he put it? 'A gown to match the lustre of your lips'. I certainly was inspired when I ordered the cherry striped taffeta in town this spring."

"I will have you know my ruched silk is the palest amethyst!"

"I would describe it as an insipid mauve."

"And I would describe the stripes in your gown as . . . as claret."

"I am certain both gowns are equally pretty," said Charlotte, hoping to avoid a squabble, "and besides why cater to Mr Parker's vanity? It will only serve to swell his feelings of self importance."

"You have much to learn in the art of pleasing a gentleman," said Miss Letitia. "If you follow our lead you may well manage to catch Mr Arthur. He is not quite so discriminating as his brother or Mr Yardley, and he has shown some small measure of interest in you. I do not think it would even do for you to set your sights on Sir Edward. He may give the impression of regard but mark my word it is money he is after, when all is said and done."

"I have no intentions of catching any one of them," said Charlotte.

"What is the point of visiting the seaside if not to cast about for a husband?" asked Miss Beaufort, giggling. "My dear, it is what a young lady of fashion is all about. Where else should our energies lie? You wouldn't want to end up a do-gooding spinster like Miss Diana Parker, would you? My word but that would be frightful! Upon your return to the country you will be left with nothing more to choose from than bumbling gentleman farmers. You could do very much worse than Mr Arthur Parker, though he is such a bore. And really, once you are married, you need not mind your husband much at all for you will take tea with your lady friends while he is about his business, and of course spend the season in London where you can carry on any number of flirtations."

Charlotte turned away, not knowing what to reply to such a speech, and was relieved to see Sir Edward and his sister approaching. The Beaufort sisters lost no time in appropriating the gentleman's profuse attentions. By all their leading comments about the assembly it was evident they were hoping to be petitioned to save dances for him. Charlotte had some difficulty stifling her amusement and a look over at Miss Denham confirmed that she would have no partner in her entertainment there. She reflected that if Sidney Parker had been with them she would have had trouble preventing herself from laughing out loud upon meeting his eyes, then she severely chastised herself for such a thought. Miss Denham's expression, though, was one of barely concealed disdain.

"I suppose you, too, are in raptures about this ball," she said.

"It will be an agreeable diversion, don't you think?"

"I do not have very high hopes of the evening. The company is not terribly select. I believe it will be open to all and sundry."

"Everyone is entitled to enjoyment, are they not?"

"I prefer a private party where I am not rubbing shoulders with tradesmen."

"I am sure no introductions would be made to anyone undesirable," said Charlotte good-naturedly.

Miss Denham merely sniffed and turned her head to look out upon the distant water. Charlotte bore her rudeness with composure. She herself preferred not to have to speak rather than take part in such supercilious conversation. Miss Esther Denham never exerted herself to please unless her aunt was nearby, or an eligible gentleman. She had long ago formed an estimation of Charlotte's social standing and possible usefulness as an acquaintance and found her lacking. This did not trouble Charlotte in the least - she was happy not to be the recipient of such insincere overtures as Esther Denham was wont to give.

Charlotte settled back upon the bench and resolved just to enjoy the temperate weather. Mrs Parker should be joining her soon and then she could return to Trafalgar House and the preferable company of the Parker children. As she had already visited with Julia Lambe, there was no one else she really had any interest in seeing. When Mr Yardley strolled up to the group a few moments later she tried to ignore her disappointment at his being on his own. It was some minutes before he was able to speak with her, as he had to run the gauntlet of the Miss Beaufort's enthusiastic sallies and Miss Denham's determined addresses.

"I am charged to deliver my friend's regrets," he said with his customary languid air. "He has taken himself off to London again, whether upon an errand of mercy or merely a whim he did not elucidate. He bid me assure you he would return in time for the assembly."

"It is really immaterial to me if he does or not," answered Charlotte quickly, "although it was upon his instigation that the assembly was planned so I should imagine he would not desire to miss it."

"Not in the least. He is looking forward to it with great pleasure, as am I."

Charlotte smiled and attempted to recover herself. There was no need for her to take her ill humour out on Mr Yardley. He was not the cause of it.

"How is your friend Miss Lambe? I have not seen her since that day on the beach."

Charlotte was grateful for his thoughtfulness in mentioning Julia. "I visited her this morning. She is tolerably well, thank you. She rarely goes out so it is no wonder that you have not seen her."

"But surely she will come to the assembly?"

"Her attendance is not at all certain."

"I had hoped to dance with both you and Miss Lambe."

"I should be happy to dance with you," said Charlotte, "and I will pass your invitation along to my friend."

He responded with a smile and a casual nod and then commented on the view of the sea from their location. His observations of the artistic merit of the composition of the scene that lay before them were overheard by Miss Letitia, who at once professed her delight in sketching. She appealed to him to advise her where to position her easel and to recommend at what time of day the light would be to her best advantage. Mr Yardley politely excused himself from Charlotte's company and dealt with all of Letitia Beaufort's requests with such nonchalance that Charlotte was hard pressed to decide whether or not the interruption had been as unwelcome to him as she supposed it must.

The next morning, Charlotte asked Julia if she would indeed be able to attend the assembly.

"Mr Yardley asked me to convey his wish to be able to dance with you."

"He is most kind and polite," responded Julia. "I do not doubt he requested a dance of you at the same time."

"I believe him to have been sincere," said Charlotte softly.

"I do not doubt his sincerity," responded Julia and she gazed full into Charlotte's eyes, her voice taking on a serious note. "Both he and Mr Parker showed me such acceptance as I have not often been accorded in society. I . . . I am greatly tempted to come to the assembly, if only for a short while. Though I am what is commonly termed as out, I have never had the pleasure of attending a ball." Her eyes brightened discernibly. "When I think of the music, and the sight of everyone in their finery I am filled with childish excitement, but . . . I still fear the looks of disapprobation I will receive from many of the company."

"Is that what stops you, and not your health?"

Julia nodded.

"I will be by your side. I will not allow you to be treated with unkindness. If Mrs Griffiths permits you to be the guest of Mr and Mrs Parker and myself, would you come? I know they will issue the invitation if I ask them - they are such kindly people. You could not but be afforded respect if you attend under their escort."

"I know I will be subjected to inquisitive and scornful looks, but I suppose I cannot hide away from such iniquities forever. And your presence will give me strength."

Charlotte hoped that she was not doing her friend a disservice for she knew how cutting the likes of Miss Denham and the Miss Beauforts could be, but the wistful look in Julia's eyes convinced her. She deserved every opportunity for happiness.

Mrs Griffiths took some convincing, but in the end she had to agree that Julia was enjoying better health than she had done in a long time and she attributed this in part to her friendship with Miss Heywood. Her permission was contingent upon the sponsorship of the Parkers, and the promise that Julia would attend for no longer than two hours and would return earlier on the slightest hint of indisposition or fatigue. All that was left was to petition Mr and Mrs Parker and choose a suitable gown from her wardrobe.

The day of the assembly, Mr Sidney Parker returned from London and paid a call at Trafalgar House on his way into Sanditon, excusing his travelling clothes with careless ease.

"I have no need to stand on ceremony with any of you," he said as he threw the youngest boy upon his shoulder. "I have even come to consider Miss Heywood as family, so she has no choice but to accept me in all my dirt." He placed a small package he was carrying upon a side table and gave his nephew a ride around the room. He let the boy down and treated the others in turn until he collapsed on a chair near Charlotte, begging exhaustion. "No more, no more, you little rapscallions! Now I know how my poor horse feels."

Charlotte smiled at him. This was the Sidney Parker she liked the best and felt the most comfortable with - almost like one of her brothers, that is until he let his tendency for flirtatious teasing get the better of him. Then feelings would arise that were unsettling and much harder to understand. He smiled back at her and winked and she felt the unease slowly mount again.

"I have brought you something," he said, getting up to retrieve the package from the table. "This was my express reason for going to London."

Charlotte felt her colour rising along with her chagrin. She glanced over to where Mrs Parker sat, but that lady was taken up with her children and not attending to their exchange.

"I cannot accept a gift from you," she said tightly, looking away as she spoke.

"It is not a gift, and not really even for you," he said laughing as he continued to hold it out. "Come, did I not just say that I consider you family? I will confess the lot, then. It is a book. My friend Keats' book, to be exact. I know how much your friend Miss Lambe enjoys poetry and I wanted her to be able to read it, but you must see that in all propriety I could never present it to her on such short acquaintance. I am giving it to you so that you may in turn lend it to her - that should relieve your qualms about accepting a gift from me. It will barely be in your possession at all, though if you were to read it before you pass it on to your friend I should not be displeased in the least."

Charlotte knew not what to think. It appeared that the book was the reason for Sidney Parker's trip to London - that he had gone with one thought in mind - to purchase this book for Julia Lambe. She was overwhelmed by his thoughtfulness, but also by his effrontery. Did he really think it proper to use her as a go-between to give a gift to Julia? The logic of his plan made no sense to her at all. It was manipulative deception. But on the other hand, it was a book that Julia would enjoy above all things. And he had the sensitivity to realise that, and also the awareness Julia would not be able to accept the book from him. He only wanted to ensure that she really did get the opportunity to read it. Did not that necessitate skirting the conventions of society which were sometimes uncompromising in their limitations? And then, deep down, there was another feeling that bothered her even more and needed to be repressed. It was the twinge of disappointment that the gift was not for her but for Julia. A foolish, foolish thought that needed banishing from her mind. It was the guilt she felt at this reaction that in the end led her to hold out her hand and say that she would pass the book on to her friend.

"I knew I could count on you."

He said it with such fervour that Charlotte began to wonder if the gift was inspired by some deeper emotion than that of merely desiring to share the poems of a friend with a lonely girl who loved poetry.

That evening as she prepared for the assembly Charlotte debated within herself as to whether she was acting wrongly in passing Sidney Parker's gift on to Julia. She decided that the best recourse would be to watch the two of them at the ball and see how they reacted to one another. She refused to be a used as a pawn in some elaborate game of flirtation. She had no intentions of allowing Sidney Parker to lead her friend on - Julia was not to be hurt in any way. And if it was not flirtation, but something more, Charlotte had no idea how she ought to proceed. The only thing that would induce her to give the book to Julia was if she could ascertain beyond a shadow of a doubt that Sidney Parker was giving it with all the innocent intentions that he had professed and nothing more.

Her toilette completed, Charlotte sat upon her bed fingering the package. Finally she untied the string that bound it and folded the wrapping open to behold the slim volume that had caused her so much apprehension. It was titled simply, Poems. She turned to the first offering and read at random where her eyes touched the page.

A little noiseless noise among the leaves,
Born of the very sigh that silence heaves:
For not the faintest motion could be seen
Of all the shades that slanted o'er the green.

She turned the page and read a few more lines before placing the book upon the bedside table and reaching for her shawl. A last look in the mirror showed her face more relaxed than it earlier had been. She smiled a quick smile at her reflection and left the room, her anticipation of the evening's entertainment rising as she thought of Julia and how this was truly to be her first ball.

Chapter Ten

Posted on Tuesday, 20 January 2004, at 8:25 p.m.

As the host of the assembly, it was Mr Parker's duty to arrive first at the ballroom that had been improvised in the large hall of the hotel. The manager of that establishment had been delighted at the prospect of opening his doors to the elite of the community. It had long been his dream to include such gatherings in his program and, in conjunction with Tom and Diana Parker, had turned the little used meeting room into a glamorous salon. The walls were festooned with red and gold hangings and elegant chairs lined perimeter of the floor. In one corner the members of the orchestra were tuning up their instruments. A connecting room held refreshments and card tables.

Julia Lambe looked about herself, eyes large and bright, an eager smile gracing her lips. In the light of the innumerable candles her face glowed a warm caramel. She drew a deep breath and turned to Charlotte.

"Thank you so much for encouraging me to come," she said.

"Let us take our seats," said Charlotte. "We have the advantage of first choice."

Julia chose an alcove in the far corner that governed a view of the entire room but at the same time afforded privacy through the fortuitous placement of some potted palms. They settled themselves and spoke quietly while watching the musicians organise their music. Mrs Parker joined them after inspecting all the arrangements with her spouse, and expressed her pleasure in how well it had all been managed in such short a space of time.

In the next half-hour the room filled with ladies and gentlemen as elegantly and fashionably attired as one might hope find in Eastbourne, Ramsgate, or even Brighton. That an evening soirée in London would put all to shame did not weight with either of the girls. There was more than enough taste and refinement to satisfy Charlotte and Julia who had little in their experience to compare it to. The Beaufort sisters, on the other hand, were feeling their superiority to the rest of the company. They smirked at the less fashionable gowns of their neighbours and prided themselves with setting the criterion for the evening. As they walked about the room they exuded such grace and charm that they were certain they had caught the notice of everyone worth impressing.

"My goodness, Miss Heywood, why are you hiding yourself all the way back here?" asked Miss Letitia. "And who is your companion? Miss Lambe? I had no idea you had risen from your sickbed."

"I have been well for some time," answered Julia quietly.

"You must excuse my surprise at seeing you here," said Miss Letitia. "I had no idea it was to be that sort of gathering."

"I fail to understand your meaning," said Charlotte, her eyes flashing.

"Oh, you know," said Miss Letitia. "I expected certain standards to be kept." Miss Beaufort sniffed in agreement.

The colour had drained from Julia's face and Charlotte was about to respond to the incivility in a way she would have found hard to forgive herself for later, when a very welcome voice assailed them.

"Miss Heywood, Miss Lambe, what do you mean by hiding behind these infernal palms? We have been searching for you since our arrival."

There was nothing in Mr Sidney Parker's expression to show whether he noticed the friction that was in the air, or overheard the preceding remarks. His friend, Mr Yardley, looked as insouciant as ever.

Sidney Parker immediately turned to Julia and said, "I do hope you are not promised for the first two dances yet. I was hoping to bespeak that honour."

"Parker, you are a sly dog," said Mr Yardley. "I had supposed you intended to ask Miss Heywood for the first two and now you have beaten me to the mark with Miss Lambe."

A blush overspread Julia's cheeks and she knew not what to do.

"Miss Lambe if you would accept me for the first two I am certain my friend will be most satisfied if you were to bestow the second two upon him."

"It would be my pleasure to dance the second two with you, Miss Lambe," said Mr Yardley, bowing.

July haltingly accepted both gentlemen and followed Sidney's instructions on how to fill in her dance card. Mr Yardley turned to Charlotte, and upon discovering that she was already promised for the opening dance, asked for the two third. Then both gentlemen added their names to the simpering Miss Beauforts' dance cards before continuing on around the room.

"Mr Parker was not very gallant by you, Miss Heywood," said Miss Letitia when the gentlemen were out of hearing. "He did not ask you to dance at all."

"I did not expect him too," answered Charlotte with composure.

"He must know you mean to have his brother," tittered Miss Beaufort. "But your popularity is surprising, Miss Lambe. I suppose it only goes to prove exactly what is set in store by a fortune. Some will overlook almost any impediment."

"If you intend to continue insulting my friend in such a manner, I must ask you to leave," said Charlotte, her ire returning.

"It was a warning well meant," said Miss Beaufort, affronted. "I would not wish our dear Miss Lambe to misconstrue the meaning of the gentlemen's attentions."

Charlotte turned her back on the sisters and fought to settle her temper. She did not easily rise to anger and if their slings had only been aimed at herself she would have been unaffected. Julia reached out and patted her hand.

"Do not take on so. They are gone now and we shall easily forget them."

"What they said was untrue," said Charlotte. "Do not set any store by their cruel comments."

"I am used to cutting remarks from those two. I am just sorry that they tried to hurt you because of your association with me."

"I was only offended by their incivility to you."

Both girls' eyes met and then they burst out laughing realising that they had each been reacting in defence of the other. It was not long before Sidney and Arthur came to claim them for the first set. Charlotte watched her friend take the floor with an unaccustomed feeling in her breast. If someone had told her it was envy she would have denied it immediately. She turned a flashing smile upon her partner as they took their places.

"You look very lovely tonight, Miss Heywood."

"Thank you, Sir. You look quite distinguished yourself."

Arthur blushed. He had taken great care in his preparations for the evening and had been more than pleased with the way the buttons of his waistcoat had fastened without straining and his breeches had draped so smoothly over his legs. It was the first time he had truly noticed the changes in his form that had been effected by the regular exercise he was taking. He had hoped Miss Heywood would notice as well and her compliment assured him of that. He did not converse much, putting all his effort into completing the figures of the dance without missing a step or breaking out into an unsightly sweat.

Charlotte was content to dance in relative silence. Though he was a good sort of person, Mr Arthur Parker's conversation was neither stimulating nor interesting. She was well pleased that they could spend a half-hour together without having the state of his health be brought to her attention. What kept her thoughts occupied was her friend Miss Lambe, and she was happy to observe that Julia appeared to be very well entertained by her partner. Though it was small wonder, Charlotte admitted. Sidney Parker was nothing if not entertaining.

Upon completion of the dance, a small change was made. Sidney Parker insisted that standing up again so soon would be too much for Miss Lambe, so Mr Yardley politely offered to switch his dances, and dance the next with Miss Heywood, if she was up to the scheme.

Charlotte agreed that it was a safe measure, so Sidney Parker returned Miss Lambe to his sister while she took the floor with his friend. Mrs Yardley proved to be a proficient dancer, committing all the movements so effortlessly as to be able to indulge Charlotte with almost uninterrupted conversation, light and pleasing. She nearly forgot to look over at her friend to see how she fared, but when she did she could not help but notice that Sidney Parker had stayed by her side, sharing witticisms with both Julia and Mary Parker.

When Mr Yardley returned her to her seat and led out her friend, Sidney Parker stood.

"I suppose I must find someone to dance with as you do not appear prepared to ask me," he said.

"I can hardly ask you," said Charlotte in a tight voice.

"That leaves us in quite a quandary, does it not?"

Charlotte refused to answer. She was not about to admit that she regretted telling Mr Parker she would not dance with him if he asked her. She reasoned that he must know she had only spoken in pique, and it annoyed her that he was carrying on the charade merely to tease her all the more.

"I am sure there are many ladies who would be delighted to dance with you," she said.

"But it does not follow that I want to dance with them. I would much prefer to dance with you. If only you would ask and put me out of my present misery."

Charlotte could not help herself - she burst out laughing. Misery was hardly the emotion that showed on Mr Sidney Parker's countenance. It was imbued with as much mischief as usual. "You must figure your own way out of your distressing predicament," she said. "You are an intelligent young man. It should not be too difficult to come up with an acceptable solution."

"You are right as always, my dear Miss Heywood. Allow me to tell you how it overcomes me with joy that you have noticed my intelligence and remarked upon it. I feel I am finally making some progress in my conquest of you." He affected an expression of deep thought and then continued in a voice that was as contrite as it was teasing. "Will you grant me the honour of staying here by your side for this dance? You have put no embargo on my asking to converse with you tonight."

Charlotte consented readily, though in truth she was more than willing to dance.

"And I would like to request that you save your dinner dance for me as well, though obviously not to dance, for I would never break my word to you and ask for that favour." When Charlotte blushingly consented to that as well he insisted she write it on her dance card and watched conscientiously as she did so. "Remember to note that we will not actually dance," he said in a conspiratorial whisper.

Charlotte resigned herself to the fact that the only way she would dance with Sidney Parker that evening was if she asked him herself, and nothing would induce her to be reduced to that. He was really more than aggravating. She had to admit, though, that the half-hour they sat in conversation went by much more quickly than she had expected and she felt disappointed when he left her to honour his commitment to Miss Denham. She barely had time to greet the returning Julia herself, when she was invited to dance by Sir Edward Denham.

This new partner had as much confidence in his dancing abilities as he did in his mastery of the fine art of conversation. He did both in such an overly elaborate manner that Charlotte was as confused as to where he would next step as she was by his incomprehensibly flowery phrasing. It was with utmost elegance that he misquoted her favoured authors and turned right when everybody else turned left. Thankfully he was more adept at correcting his missteps on the dance floor than he was in infusing any sense into his discourse.

When he returned Charlotte to her seat he graciously begged for Julia's hand in the next set. She declined, citing fatigue, but agreed to dance the following two with him. He appeared disposed to stay by their chairs for the whole of the set, but gallantly obliged Mrs Parker's request for refreshments.

Charlotte studied her friend's face. "I hope this has not been too much of a strain for you."

"I am having a lovely time, but my dance with Sir Edward must be my last. I promised Mrs Griffiths I would not stay for longer than two hours, and in truth I should have left by now but I could not resist another turn on the floor."

"I shall be glad to accompany you to your lodgings when the time comes," said Charlotte.

"I would not think of you missing anything on my account. Mrs Griffiths has sent my maid to wait for me, and Mr Yardley has offered to escort us."

Charlotte silently admonished herself for being pleased that it was Mr Yardley and not his friend who would see Julia home. It had been her intent to watch the interactions between her friend and Sidney Parker to try to discover if there was any sort of attachment between them that would make the gift of the book suspect, but Charlotte could see no difference between his attentions and those of Mr Yardley. She hoped that it did not mean that both gentlemen were falling for the same girl. She could well understand it if they were. Julia was innocent and natural. Though shy, she expressed herself well when speaking of something that interested her deeply, and she shared a love of poetry with both of the gentlemen in question. On top of all that, her improved health had added a bloom to her countenance that enhanced her exotic features. Tonight, in her simple white dress, mother of pearl combs holding up her dark, shiny curls, she looked positively enchanting.

Sir Edward was back much too soon with their lemonade. He fawned over both young ladies, unable to decide which was more deserving of his favour. They, in turn, bore his studied conversation with patience and civility, though Charlotte was heartily glad when it was time for him to lead Julia to the floor. Her relief did not last long however, for no sooner had Sir Edward left with his prize than she was addressed by Arthur Parker and could not deny him another dance.

This time he was more disposed to talking and Charlotte smiled pleasantly while he regaled her with the vagaries of his health. To his credit, he was able to assure her that he had never felt better at such a social function and had high hopes that he was entering a stage of his life in which he expected to be free of many of his most deleterious afflictions. He managed to dispense with everything medical before the set was half completed and then bethought himself to ask Charlotte how she was enjoying the assembly and her opinions of the orchestra, the company, and the adornment of the room. All in all, the engagement had gone better than she had expected and her spirits were high when he returned her to her seat. His thanks were uttered sincerely and without undue effusion, and she smiled prettily upon him.

Arthur joined Charlotte in saying her adieus to Julia and would have persisted by her side had not a young gentleman sought an introduction. Charlotte gladly accepted and returned to the floor. She noticed that Sidney Parker was in the same figure as her and he did not refrain from reminding her of their assignation whenever the dance brought them together. His partner, Miss Letitia, seemed a bit put out that she could not command his undivided attention and increased her output of charm in an effort to keep his eyes to herself.

Charlotte was relaxing behind one of the palms when Sidney Parker eventually joined her, two glasses of lemonade in his hands.

"You see I have anticipated you. I knew you should send me off for refreshments so as to rid yourself of my annoying presence and have some time for quiet reflection, but you have been outdone. I try to always stay one step ahead of the game."

"And should our meetings always be reduced to a game?" asked Charlotte severely.

"Whenever I think I have won a point you foil me!" he cried in mock chagrin. "I should remember to never underestimate my adversary."

"Must we be adversaries?"

"Why, that is the sweetest thing you have ever said to me."

Charlotte blushed at the way he had turned her words back upon her. "I . . . I . . ."

"Did I yet tell you how very much your gown becomes you?" he asked softly.

Charlotte's wits had returned. "I suppose you will go on to tell me how it brings out the amethyst sparkle in my eyes or the cherry tint of my lips."

"I had no intention of saying anything of the kind. I know the last thing you desire from me is empty compliments, and you must realise I have every intention of acceding to your wishes. I am not flattering or flirting when I honestly say that you are very pretty tonight."

Charlotte wished she had not been so flippant. Her remark had caused him to couch his flattery in such terms as to make it unimpeachable. She knew he was still flirting - he had to be for that was his nature - but she could not call him on it. He had been right when he said not to underestimate one's adversary. She could not meet the eyes that were warmly regarding her.

"Come, is there anything wrong with telling you that you are pretty? If I have overset you I will take it all back. You are looking delightfully plain tonight, Miss Heywood. I think I must say there is not a plainer young lady in attendance." He smiled; she could hear it in his voice. The corners of her mouth lifted ever so slightly and she finally looked up to face him. "Very plain," he said gently, and his eyes never left hers.

Charlotte knew that she had to think of something to say to change the subject because she had completely lost control of the situation. She did not understand what was happening at all. She recollected the glass in her hand and took a sip. "I think I omitted to thank you for the lemonade," she said, her voice unsteady.

"Yes, and it was most ungracious of you," Sidney Parker said, leaning back and at once lightening the mood. "But I have long forgiven you for it."

After that they were able to converse freely. Charlotte's ease returned and Sidney entertained her very well. That is not to say that he was no longer audacious, for he was. His humour was irrepressible, but he took great pains not to be so openly sincere again. They passed dinner with Tom and Mary and Mr Yardley who Sidney teased for having beat him out. He may have scored the first dance with Miss Lambe, but he regarded Mr Yardley's achievement of escorting her home to have been the greater prize.

Charlotte enjoyed the rest of the evening dancing again with Mr Yardley and then the young gentleman who had sought an introduction earlier. She returned to her seat by Mrs Parker with every intention of sitting the last dance out and just watching from her secluded spot. Mr Parker approached with his brother; Charlotte knew he was to dance the last with his wife, but what Sidney was doing with him she had no idea.

Tom Parker bowed low before Charlotte. "As master of ceremonies, would you allow me to introduce this gentleman as a most desirable dance partner?"

She looked up to see Sidney's eyes shining with delight. He had bested her again but she did not mind in the least. He had given her his word not to ask her to dance, but she had said nothing of the host performing that office. She acquiesced, surprised at the way her heart had begun to beat so rapidly. They took their places on the floor and began the first movements of the dance before Sidney spoke.

"I knew you would never ask me. I hope you don't mind my subterfuge."

"Not in the least," she answered truthfully.

He smiled at her and she felt light-headed. Her hand was warm in his grasp. She put it all down to the long evening and the closeness of the room. There could be no other reason for it.

"Did you have a chance to read the book?"

"You only gave it to me this afternoon," she reminded him. Had it really been only that afternoon? It seemed like so much time had passed since then. "I did read a little of the first poem," she admitted.

"I stood tip-toe upon a little hill,
The air was cooling, and so very still,
That the sweet buds which with a modest pride
Pull droopingly, in slanting curve aside, " he quoted.

"Yes. I do not profess to know much about poetry, but I liked it very well. He has a great feel for nature."

"He does," said Sidney. "And I think you belittle yourself. You understand poetry more than you are willing to admit. I see it in the way you talk, especially when you are with Miss Lambe, and the way you respond to the world about you."

In one night, Sidney Parker had managed to leave Charlotte bereft of words and confused not once, but twice. Happily the figures of the dance separated them and she was able to regain her composure before they met again. He resumed his joking manner and they continued to speak of the poetry to be found in Keats' book without again returning to such an intimate level.

Charlotte had no idea why it affected her so when Sidney Parker lost all his flippancy and became serious and sincere. Hadn't she always wished he did not see everything as one big joke? Hadn't she always decried his flirting? She lay in her bed that night and tried to sleep, but visions of him looking deep into her eyes and saying, 'Very plain,' in a voice that assured her he meant the exact opposite, obtruded and sleep was hard come by.

Chapter 12

Posted on Thursday, 5 February 2004, at 10:25 p.m.

The evening was more interesting than Charlotte had anticipated. The family party, unenlivened by the presence of Sidney Parker, invariably conversed upon symptoms and cures, real and imaginary. Early in her stay at Sanditon Charlotte had been able to take some amusement from it, but now she felt deeply concerned at the way this fascination with illness held sway of her friends' lives. Mr Parker and his wife were sensible with regard to their own health but prone to follow Diana's lead when it came to their children. Arthur Parker, admittedly, was looking much healthier of late. His face had lost the puffiness and pallor that it had when he first arrived, but he still allowed his sisters to medic him unnecessarily. Diana Parker went about the neighbourhood attempting to diagnose and cure whomever she met with the same frightening zeal as always. The one person that truly worried Charlotte the most was Miss Susan. No matter all the possets and procedures, she remained in a weakened state which Charlotte believed was due in the main to the quackery she underwent. This evening, however, a very welcome shift in interest seemed to have occurred.

The children were testy, squabbling amongst each other and insisting that Miss Heywood, and not their Uncle Arthur who had most generously offered, take them up to the nursery and read to them in lieu of their Uncle Sidney. Charlotte had thought it would benefit both Arthur and the children if he were to see them to bed, but he readily gave way to their demands. She spent a half-hour above stairs with them, and almost lost her patience at the repetition of such declarations as, "Uncle Sidney makes ever so much better voices, Miss Heywood," or, "Uncle Sidney does not read quite so fast," or "Uncle Sidney always shows me the pictures first." Charlotte had two very conflicting overriding wishes: first, that she had never heard of Sidney Parker, and second, that he were there right now. She was reluctant to admit that part of the problem was she missed his presence almost as much as the children did.

When she returned to the drawing room she was surprised to discover that the topic of the evening was neither how to best relieve spasms of the lower back nor the relative merits of barley gruel as opposed to oat. They were speaking most animatedly of history.

That afternoon, while Charlotte had quietly sat mending with Mary Parker, the first meeting of the Sanditon Historical Society had been held in a back salon at the lending library. Mrs Whitby had been all too eager to open her establishment to the newly founded club.

"It is most unfortunate that you and Mary mistook the day, Miss Heywood, for you missed a most stimulating gathering - everyone was there, Lady Denham, Miss Clara, Sir Edward and his sister, those two very fashionable young ladies, the Reverend Dr Brooks . . ."

"I'll wager my brother was not there," cried Tom Parker.

"Arthur was indeed, but if you mean Sidney I believe it would take even more than the presence of the prettiest girls in town to draw him or his cronies to what he would no doubt refer to as some stuffy event," responded Diana. And then turning to Charlotte once more, she continued, "It is of no great import that you did not attend for we can tell you all that was discussed and I will personally ensure that you do not miss our next meeting in a week's time. I am sure there are many jobs left for you to undertake. Arthur is going to do research in Lady Denham's library. Mr Hollis left rather a large collection of local documents, I understand. I am committed to go to the old family house tomorrow and look through the attics for some maps of the area I recall my father storing away. If I remember correctly, they were from the fifteenth century. Susan has even offered to study them, once I have dusted them thoroughly, of course. She reacts terribly to dust, especially that of old attics. The only thing that puts an end to her fits of sneezing is a liberal sniff of camphorated oil."

Charlotte wondered what possibly would ever have brought Susan into contact with the dust of attics the way she coddled herself and barely left her fireside, but was soon distracted from these thoughts by the lively conversation that had developed between brother and sister. Tom Parker insisted that the only maps in their family home were ordinance maps from 1750. Diana adamantly maintained that there were maps of the coast and charts showing waterways between the outlying islands.

"We only pretended they were ancient maps as children, when we played games of pirates and treasure."

"It was the maps that inspired those games, Tom. They were very old and the writing was quite unusual. Do not forget I am older than you are and my memory is one thousand times less muddled than yours. I will brave the dust and find those maps and prove it to you."

Arthur brought his chair closer to Charlotte's and said, "I have no recollection of any maps at all, only a globe that my tutor kept prodding with a pointer whilst I had to shout out the names of each country. I had thought history dreadfully dull, but now my interest has been stirred. Dr Brooks was telling me of fortifications but fifteen miles down the coast. I mean to find all I can about them and then organise a tour for the society of which I will be the guide. Lady Denham is certain I will find information in the histories in her library. I intend to go there everyday until I am well prepared."

"Do you plan on walking to Sanditon House?" asked Charlotte, much surprised. Arthur assured her that he did, and seemed unconcerned that it was at least three times as far from his lodgings as Trafalgar House. He continued to regale her with his thoughts of the possibilities of refurbishing some of the old cannons at the site and doing a demonstration for the tour. He thought to station a derelict boat out in the harbour to use for target practice, describing how it could be decorated as a pirate ship. Charlotte had never been more entertained in his company and found herself quite drawn to the eager young boy that had emerged from his normally staid and stolid person.

~

Charlotte arrived to Julia's lodgings on the Terrace promptly at 10:00 am and informed the maid that she would show herself in. Though it was early in the day the sun was already bright in the sky and the morning warm and salubrious.

"You will find Miss Lambe in the front salon, Miss," she said as she bobbed a small curtsy and hurried off about her work.

Charlotte opened the door to that parlour and entered quietly. She stopped still at the unexpected tableau before her. Julia was sitting in a dainty chair, the light from the window streaming in and circling her with its soft glow. Sidney Parker had his chair pulled up close to hers and was reading from an open book. His book. The book he had given her. Charlotte felt her throat tighten and a strange sensation akin to regret creep through her being. Mr Yardley was leaning against the mantle, looking on with his habitual nonchalance. Mr Parker's voice flowed to her, its rich, warm tones bringing the feeling out of the words as he read.

"The light dwelt o'er the scene so lingeringly.
He bares his forehead to the cool blue sky,
And smiles at the far clearness all around,
Until his heart is well nigh over wound,
And turns for calmness to the pleasant green
Of easy slopes, and shadowy trees that lean
So elegantly o'er the waters' brim
And show their blossoms trim."

Though she did not make a sound, Sidney Parker looked up towards the door and caught her eye. He did not falter as he read the last lines but the corners of his mouth turned up in the vestige of a smile.

"Miss Heywood, I felt sure that you had indeed acquiesced. Yardley doubted my contention, but Mrs Griffiths was confident you would appear, were you not Mrs Griffiths?"

It was only then that Charlotte noticed the older lady's presence in the room.

"Good morning, Miss Heywood. The gentlemen arrived early and were favouring us with some poetry reading, and very lovely it has been too."

"Have you really agreed to go to the beach?" asked Julia eagerly.

"Yes I have," answered Charlotte, "for how could I deny you that pleasure?"

"I have asked cook prepare you a nice basket of food," said Mrs Griffiths as she lifted her bulk from the chair and bustled towards the door. "I will return with it directly."

It was not long before the party was ready to set out. Mr Yardley carried the basket and Sidney Parker a bundle of blankets upon which they were to have their picnic. Mrs Griffiths insisted that Julia take her parasol and they set out hastily, in case, as Sidney whispered, the Miss Beauforts should take it into their heads to rise early and insist on joining them. They walked in a group until they reached the path and then Charlotte found herself squired by Mr Yardley as they followed Julia and Sidney down the gentle slope of the trail. Though Charlotte admitted to herself that Mr Yardley was as entertaining a companion as usual she could not but wonder what it was that her friend and Mr Parker were discussing with such animation. She forgot to even give thought to that when she beheld the view that was set before them upon arrival.

The tide was high and lapping gently at the sandy curve of shore. The water took on an almost Mediterranean blue under the brightness of the summer sky. Julia sat to rest on her log and was joined by Mr Yardley who set his burden against it. Sidney Parker released his blankets to the ever-present light breeze and drew them smoothly across the welcoming sand. He dusted his hands off, turned to Charlotte and said. "Would you like me to turn my back now, Miss Heywood, so that you may remove your shoes and stockings? The sea looks particularly inviting this morning."

"There is no need," said Charlotte.

"Why ever not? I was sure you would want to gambol in the waves again this morning. Please do not let Mr Yardley's and my presence hinder you."

"It is not that," said Charlotte, blushing slightly. "I have come prepared." She unobtrusively slipped her shoes off as she spoke and placed them beside the blanket.

Sidney noticed her bare toes peeking from beneath her light muslin gown and smiled. "Indeed you have," was all he said. He motioned for her to join him and they walked down to the water's edge. "You do have an advantage over me because I am still in my Hessians."

"You shall spoil the leather if you are splashed," cried Charlotte.

"It is of no moment. It would be worse if you were to spoil your gown. You must lift it higher to prevent it from becoming wet."

"But then you should see my feet," said Charlotte, unthinkingly.

"Such pretty feet they are too. I see no harm in that."

"Please," said Charlotte. "I wish you wouldn't."

"Consider it unsaid. Do not worry about your feet. They will be under the water and I will do my best to refrain from noticing them. I would like you to enjoy yourself."

Charlotte said nothing and looked down at the waves as they ran up the darkened sand and then retreated to the sea once more. Sidney Parker walked ahead for a spell and then stooped over a pile of sea wrack left by the departing water. He picked an object from it and then waded further into the tide ignoring the waves that surged about his ankles. He washed the article off and the returned to where Charlotte was standing and held it out to her.

"You are ruining your boots," Charlotte began to say and then stopped when she saw what he was holding. It was a globe of blown glass, amber in colour.

"Take it," he urged.

She allowed him to place it in her cupped hands and held it up to the light. It was about five inches in diameter, slightly elliptical, the glass uneven in thickness and with fine bubbles sprinkled randomly in its surface. It was topped with a knob of thick glass with a heavy lip and a piece of twine twisted around and trailing from it.

"What treasure is this? I have never seen anything like it."

"Seemingly a jewel washed up by the sea, but it is only a float from a fisherman's net."

"It is very beautiful."

"It is heavy and coarse compared to the creations of the Venetian masters and yet it has its own special charm, does it not? To think it is such a serviceable, practical object, and yet it is exquisite in its own right."

"True - look at how the sun catches the different thicknesses of the glass and is trapped by the bubbles within."

"As a lad I often had the task of tying such floats to the nets."

"How so?"

"I trust you drove past my old family home when you first came to Sanditon?"

"Yes. I thought it very snug with its gardens and pastures."

"I grew up there very happily, but even in my youth I was restless." That familiar glint of mischief was in his eyes. "I must confess I escaped my tutors every chance I got. My destination was invariably the same and after an hour or two of freedom I would be dragged home by my ear to my Greek and Latin studies once again. I followed the river to the fishing village, you see. I tried to cajole the fishermen to take me out to sea with them, but none would have me. I think they suspected that a mile or two from shore I would be begging them to return me again. And of course none would brave the wrath of my father."

"It was very wise of them not to take you out. To think if you should have fallen overboard."

"I should have known you would not commiserate with the injustice that they did me. They were, however, very patient with a young scamp such as I was and they allowed me to watch them mend their nets as they spun yarns to entertain me, each one more exciting and unbelievable than the last. My biggest treat was to be allowed to tie the floats to the nets, once I had been taught the correct knots, of course. This one," he said, indicating the globe she still held in her hands, "must have been of my handiwork, lost upon the waves for years until now the sea laid it at your feet."

"It was your feet, as I recall," said Charlotte, holding it out to him. "Here, take back your prize."

"No, the sea meant it for you. I know that as surely as the sun lights up the sky."

"I cannot keep it," said Charlotte.

"Then give it back to the sea. It is not my present, but a gift from the deep."

Charlotte placed it in the waves. She did not want to give it up but felt that she ought not keep it. The water pushed it back up to her feet and then receded without it.

"You see, it is meant for you," he said softly, and he turned and began walking back towards the others.

Charlotte gave the waves one more chance to reclaim their possession, and then picked it up as it was laid to rest upon her toes once more. She liked the feel of it in her hands. She held it close to her chest and followed Sidney Parker back up the loose, soft sand. She was surprised at how happy she felt under the intoxicating warmth of the sun. As she joined her friends and settled upon the blanket with them to partake of the repast that had been spread out, they all smiled at her and she smiled back with the fullness of her pleasure. She was too busy showing her glass bauble to Julia to notice that Sidney Parker could not keep his eyes from her.

That night as she lay in her bed she could not sleep though she knew she ought to be very tired after spending the greater part of the day out of doors. Mrs Griffiths had been quite concerned at the lateness of their return, a full four hours after their departure, and admonished the gentlemen for not keeping a closer eye on the time. To Charlotte it had not seemed that long at all. Mr Yardley and Sidney Parker paid their respects to Mrs Griffiths and then, after taking leave of everyone, walked back along the Terrace to the hotel. Charlotte sat with Julia until Mrs Parker came to claim her, the time spent harmoniously in quiet contemplation.

The remainder of the afternoon she passed with the Parker children under the white awning until it was time to retire and dress for dinner. There was no family party that evening, which was just as well, as Charlotte was not disposed to conversation. Tom and Mary Parker put it down to tiredness from being in the sun too long and encouraged an early bedtime. But somehow, sleep evaded her. There was a little trill of excitement that quickened her heart and kept her mind alert though her limbs were warm and heavy with the desire for sleep. Her eyes refused to close, but sought out her bureau. Upon it, lying full in the moonlight that shafted through her parted curtains, was the amber globe, its surface pearled by the kiss of the moon.

Chapter Thirteen

Posted on Friday, 13 February 2004, at 11:56 p.m.

When Charlotte awoke the first thing she saw was the blown glass float, the early morning sun glinting off its curved sides. She smiled and arose, opening her curtains wider and gazing out the Venetian window over the rooftops to the vast expanse of the sea. The maid came into her room with a jug of water and filled her basin. She washed and dressed quickly, eager to be downstairs and then out into the beautiful morning, certain that the day held nothing but pleasures for her. How could it not? Happiness was near overflowing. She did not stop to question its cause - instead she let it take hold of her. She relished the tingle of the cold water upon her face, the soft drape of the muslin gown against her skin, the bounce of her dark curls as she brushed and pinned them up.

The reflection in the mirror smiled back at her. She noticed how warm and brown her skin was, how bright her eyes. Gazing in the mirror was not her habit - normally she only looked to see that her hair was in place, but this morning she was suddenly arrested by the change in herself. Mr Parker's health giving sea air must have worked its magic on her. She was pretty. She not only looked it, but she felt it. She shook her head and laughed at her vanity. She laid her brush down, held the glass ball up to the light and viewed the world through its warm amber hue. Then she placed a quick little kiss upon its smooth surface, returned it to her bureau, and almost ran downstairs.

The children begged for her company in the garden and she could not help but comply. They played at find the button, then hide and seek, then with the boys scampering madly behind them, Charlotte and little Mary picked some of the roses that were not too overblown and arranged them in vases.

"How does that look for the parlour?" asked Charlotte.

"Another pink one!" cried Mary, pulling a blossom from the pile upon the table.

"The very thing," said Charlotte as she placed it amongst her display and then breathed in the sweet perfume. "They smell heavenly."

"We must collect more to make rosewater," said Mrs Parker. "But now we can leave the children with their nurse and visit your friend Miss Lambe."

"Miss Heywood and I have not finished our bouquets," said Mary.

"I will do one more with you, then I must go," said Charlotte.

"You will spoil the children," said Mrs Parker complacently as she sat back again in her chair and watched the boys crawl in and out between the table legs almost upsetting it.

When they were shown into the parlour by Mrs Griffiths' maid, Charlotte and Mrs Parker were surprised to find quite a few people already gathered there. Not only were Julia, Mrs Griffiths and the Beaufort sisters seated on the satin covered chairs, but Sir Edward Denham and his sister were also there, seated together on the divan. Upon their entrance Sir Edward arose and offered his place to Mrs Parker and then took a chair on Julia's right.

Charlotte found herself a spot in the last available chair, between Miss Letitia and Miss Denham. Even to be placed so far from her friend and in such unwelcome company did not dampen her spirits. She valiantly attempted to converse with Miss Esther and tried not to let the one-word responses put her off. In the end she gave up and listened to what she could hear of the discourse between Sir Edward and Julia.

"Miss Lambe, poetry is truly an animate manifestation. The vitalisation of every syllable that pen places on paper - mere inanimate objects that promulgate the very essence of the poet's deepest impressions of mortality. To but compose a verse! Would that I had the time, drafting line upon line of metre and rhyme is how my days would be whiled away. But you must know I am caught up in the exigencies of the cruel world. I am in the process of having a Cottage Ornee constructed. Delightful as it sounds the demands upon my time are innumerable. Builders are a churlish lot - forever mistaking one's directions and misinterpreting the architect's propositions."

"That is most unfortunate," replied Julia.

"But you, Miss Lambe," he continued. "You are able to devote your time to the perusal of all the accomplishments of the masters of literature. The wordsmiths that place the resplendent revelations of their erudition within our very grasp. I am all envy and at the same measure filled with gratification that your time is not wasted upon the mundane as is mine. Though I feel you would find my cottage most enchanting if you were to lay your eyes upon it - picturesque to the extreme. I told my architect that I wanted the cottage to enkindle all who beheld it. A building ought to reflect its owner in every manner possible and this is the consummation I anticipate from my foray into the business of construction."

"And you believe the builders have not done the designs justice?"

"Dear lady, were I to have your opinion on the matter I would know how to judge. Your delicacy of taste must exceed mine. I have long endeavoured to assimilate the appreciation of style and elegance but a lady's mind is more finely attuned to form and proportion. I would have you see it, if only we could contrive an outing. A tour of inspection, as it were, during which you could enlighten me as to the veracity of my unpretentious conception of a simple, humble dwelling place."

"I do not know if that could be arranged. How very far is it?"

"But a stone's throw from here. Why, a promenade along the shore of the somnolent sea, terminating in no time at all at the baroque edifice of my future abode would make a morning's outing for any group we can put together. Surely there are some in our number today who would welcome just such an excursion."

Sir Edward then applied to Mrs Griffiths and the Beaufort sisters, and on having their approval extended his invitation to the rest of the company. Charlotte did not relish the idea of spending a morning with such company, but Julia gave her a beseeching look and she agreed to be one of the party. Miss Denham then reminded her brother that they were expected at their aunt's and the two took their leave. The Beaufort sisters insisted on walking out with them as far as the library and soon Charlotte and Julia were able to have an intimate tête-à-tête.

"I hope you do not mind so very much," said Julia about the proposed outing. "I have no great desire to go myself but I did not see any way out of it."

"You are quite right. It would have been impolite to have refused without a prior engagement. But we can hope that he may invite some additional guests whose conversation will be more to our liking."

Julia giggled. "I ought not to say this, but do you not think Sir Edward speaks very strangely?"

"I'm afraid he counts his syllables when he chooses his words," said Charlotte. "If there are too few, he searches out longer ones."

"He appears to enjoy poetry very much, though."

"Yes, but most unfortunately he has even less understanding of it than I."

"I think you understand much more of poetry than you give yourself credit for," said Julia. "Would you like me to return your book? I know you have not yet finished it."

"It is not my book, truly. It was meant always for you to borrow and read as much as you liked."

"Are you certain? From something Mr Parker said to you the other day I was sure that he desired you to read it also."

Charlotte flushed. "He enjoys teasing me - that is all. He thinks I am not well-read."

"I do not think that is the case. If you insist I will keep the book longer. In truth I am loath to part with it, but the poems are so lovely I should like you to read them all as well."

"Thank you," said Charlotte. "I promise you I shall as soon as you are done."

For the extent of her visit Charlotte anticipated an interruption from additional callers, but no one else appeared. Mrs Parker conversed quietly with Mrs Griffiths leaving the two girls free to enjoy each other's company. Julia brought out a small collection of shells from her homeland. They were in a rosewood box inlaid with mother of pearl, and nestled in a bed of pale blue silk.

"Like the ocean that gave them to me," said Julia.

They were exquisite - the shapes and the patterns - and completely unknown to Charlotte who was accustomed to the blue-black shells of muscles or the ridged and greyish, flat clam shells that turned up on the Sanditon shore. Studying them and listening to Julia talk about her life on the islands almost completely distracted her from thinking of who might be now in the street about to knock upon the door. That preoccupation did nothing to diminish the pleasure she derived from being with her friend nor did it lessen the ebullience that had filled her since the morning. She was happy and certain in her knowledge that at some point in the day her expectations would be fulfilled. She did not think much beyond that. She did not acknowledge to herself exactly what or who it was she was hoping for.

That evening at dinner, Mr Parker turned to his wife. "I saw Sidney when I went by the hotel this morning. Up to his old tricks again, that boy."

Charlotte's eyes turned to her host at the mention the name. Her fork, on its way to her mouth, was laid to rest on her plate once again. Her cheeks flushed, her eyes brightened. She wondered what sort of ribbing Sidney Parker had put his brother through.

"Which tricks would those be, Tom?" asked Mary.

"You know how it has been such a surprise his staying with us so long, the way he is usually dashing here or there all over England. How many days is it he has been here and only two short jaunts to London?"

"Above a fortnight, to be sure."

"Aye, well above a fortnight. I make it nigh on three weeks."

Mrs Parker thought for a moment. "It cannot be more than eighteen days, for our own dear Miss Heywood was with us only two weeks when he arrived and has only just completed one month a day or two ago."

Charlotte started at that. One month? How the time had flown. July gone and August just begun. By the end of the month she would be back home with her family again. A moment earlier time had seemed to stretch before her endlessly but now suddenly it was curtailed. Would this month disappear so very quickly as the last? She had become accustomed to being with the Parkers, playing with their children, socialising with Diana and Susan, Arthur and Sidney, over the long summer evenings. Had she really only known Sidney Parker for eighteen days - less because he had been gone for at least four or five during that time? It seemed he had been teasing her with his words, his eyes, and his smile for much longer than that. Her attention was caught again by the conversation. Mr and Mrs Parker were still undecided as to how long Sidney had stayed in Sanditon.

"It is immaterial whether it was eighteen days or twenty," announced Mr Parker as he became mixed up again in his calculations. ""The point I am attempting to make is that he has settled here for a singular length of time. I was beginning to suspect him of developing an interest in one of the young ladies hereabouts." Mr Parker leaned back in his chair and looked expressively at his wife. She, in turn, glanced at Charlotte who flushed a rosy red. "One of those Beaufort sisters perhaps, or that little heiress Miss Lambe, though why he should be chasing a fortune, I have no idea. He has a tidy sum of his own, has he."

Mrs Parker turned to look at Charlotte again, this time with a growing concern, and then back at her husband. "You were beginning to think that," she said slowly, "but now he is up to his old tricks again?"

Charlotte did not miss the change of tone in Mrs Parker's voice. She had already been made to feel uncomfortable by Mr Parker's suppositions and her own foolish blushing. She felt a little chill go through her. Picking up her fork, she moved the food about her plate, but could not eat any.

"Indeed!" said Mr Parker. "I no sooner enter his room but I find him packing his portmanteau. 'Of to London again?' I say. 'No,' says he, 'Hampstead.' Hampstead? You may imagine I railed him about that. Why ever would he want to go to Hampstead when he could be here with us partaking of our salubrious sea air and not out on some stifling heat-sodden moor?"

"Perhaps he intends to visit friends."

"And that's the long and short of it. Going to visit some young poet friend in Well Walk."

"But he means to return?"

Charlotte could not take her eyes off Mr Parker as she waited for the answer. Mary Parker had asked the very question she would have if could have brought herself to speak. But her voice had disappeared along with her ability to move.

"I asked him the very same. He said yes, but when pressed did not know if he would be two weeks or four. 'But,' said I, 'what of our assembly next week?' He gave me a half-hearted grin and replied that we may well see him there. But for that, he made not one jest. I have never seen him with a more serious mien. His friend Yardley soon joined us, as impeccably attired as ever, and announced the carriage was waiting in the street. Sidney said his quick goodbyes and was off, just like that."

"He is already gone?" asked Mary. "Without seeing the children first? They will be disappointed."

"He sent his dearest love for them, and for you," said Mr Parker, "and he bade me extend his regrets to all his friends in Sanditon, and his best wishes. I do hope he has not broken one of those young ladies' hearts. He flirted with them quite shamelessly, you know, and they might not have understood that it was only his way."

Mr Parker sighed and continued on about the sad capriciousness of his brother and how his lively presence would be missed. Charlotte did not know how she managed to maintain her composure for the rest of the meal. She knew that she answered any questions which were directed at her, though she knew not what she had said. She supposed that she had even eaten something for she had been taught not to leave food upon her plate, but whatever she had eaten, she had tasted none of it. As soon as the covers were removed she excused herself, pleading a headache, which was true enough. She ran up to her room, not with the buoyant excited step that she had used to run down the stars in the morning, but with a heavy sense of desperation.

She closed the door behind her and all the strength that had been holding her together fled with the click of the latch. Tears she did not know she had been holding back streamed down her cheeks. The amber float sat on her bureau as a reminder of her own frailty. She had done what she had never intended to do. She had let herself be beguiled with sweet words and tender looks. Sly smiles. All her good sense had not been able to protect her from someone as competent as he. When flirting and flattery would not do the job he had won her over with kindness, camaraderie, and a glass ball. And she knew that he was not to blame. He could not help himself. As his brother had said, it was his way. He did what someone as charming as him could do nothing to avoid. He charmed. And now he was gone.

The counterpane nestled her body with its warmth as she lay her head upon the pillow. Her tears had stopped and she felt nothing but alone. The rest of the month, which had at one moment seemed so short, now yawned before her. She would have to fill those days somehow with pointless conversations and agonising outings. At least she had Julia - someone she could still look forward to spending her time with. And the children, if only they did not talk too much of their Uncle Sidney. She could always write to her family and ask them to say they needed her back at home sooner. But no. That was a coward's way out. What had really happened anyway? She had permitted herself to form a tendre for an engaging man. Nothing more than that. It was not as if she had allowed her heart to be broken.

Charlotte got up and walked over to the dresser. The glass orb sat upon the wood, glowing faintly in the evening light. She picked it up and held it. Carried it back to the bed with her. It would be a reminder, she told herself. She would be just like it. Smooth and impenetrable, but sparkling in the sun. She would not repine because she had been foolish. Because she had been captivated by light-heartedness. And if Sidney Parker should return to Sanditon before she took her leave, she would not be swayed again. She had known from the first not to fall under his spell, and it was up to her not to delude herself again that he meant anything at all when he looked at her that was any different from what he meant when he looked at anybody else. What she felt could not be changed, but her heart was now encased with glass so she was safe, at least, from herself.

Chapter 14

Posted on Thursday, 19 February 2004, at 4:21 p.m.

The social life of Sanditon went on much the same as usual without Sidney Parker there. The young people met on the Terrace, went for strolls on the sand, and attended the next meeting of the historical society. Arthur Parker and Sir Edward, now being the premier young gentlemen in town, were pursued relentlessly by the Beaufort sisters who needed to have an object in order to be content. The two gentlemen, however, were just as intent upon evading those two young ladies in favour of two others. If Charlotte's spirits were not quite so low she would have found the whole scenario amusing. She could not help but reflect that Sidney Parker would have been highly diverted. And then she had to chastise herself for thinking of the man at all.

She ought not to have had time to brood, as she was soon caught up in a variety of activities that left her little time to even visit Julia. There was no chance of them escaping again to their private beach - not that Charlotte regretted that. She did not want the memories of her last visit there stirred and brought again to the forefront. Instead she trimmed a gown for the coming assembly with little interest, entered resignedly into plans for the pending tour of Sir Edward's elaborate cottage, and agreed to accompany Diana to the old family house whilst she searched the attics for the maps she insisted were stored there.

Charlotte managed only one morning alone with Julia, two days after the departure of Sidney Parker and Mr Yardley. It was not a satisfying visit. Julia shared none of her surprise or unease at the unexpected quitting. The gentlemen had both called upon her as they passed by her door on their way to Hampstead. Something twisted inside Charlotte when she learned that her friend had been afforded this respect. Clearly Julia Lambe meant more to either gentleman than she. Charlotte knew she ought feel happy for Julia, but that pleasure was obscured by her own sense of ill-use.

When Charlotte arrived at the old Parker home with Diana, she wished she had not come. If anything was designed to bring on a bout of homesickness, it was the visit to a house that gave the appearance of containing all the comforts of her dear home, yet had been left an empty shell. The caretakers, the Hilliers, lived in a small cottage on the grounds and maintained the thriving vegetable gardens. The house was in Holland covers, kept dusted and aired but uninhabited. Rooms that should have been ringing with the laughter of children and the golden notes of music from the pianoforte in the drawing room rang with hollow echoes instead. And all about were mementoes of Sidney Parker, as if the ghost of the child he once was walked with them.

Diana Parker could not enter a room but to recount some tale from her youth, and Sidney's exploits reigned amongst them. It was there that Sidney had poked his finger through the screen to surreptitiously watch Susan's early suitors; there that he slithered through the window and to the branch of the ancient oak to escape his tutors; there that he stood up to his elder sister when she ordered him to bed. Charlotte was momentarily diverted by thoughts of either Susan or Diana having suitors, as they were now such inveterate old maids. Why had neither ever married? She dared not broach the question but Diana, as she rambled from one memory to another, answered it for her.

They had just entered the old schoolroom, and Diana sat at one of the old desks.

"Sidney played a naughty trick on Susan one day, as he sat at this very desk. It was nigh on twenty years ago. The little scamp was all but ten. I will say he had excellent penmanship for one so young. A pity he had no understanding of propriety. She was seventeen, and full of the desire to be in love. Her suitor was a callow youth - the son of a gentleman farmer, but quite beneath us in standing. That rascal Sidney befriended the young man and gave him encouragement. He convinced him that he ought write my sister poetry to woo her, but the poor boy had no idea how to go about it. So, when Sidney should have been doing his lessons, he sat at this desk and composed an ode, then managed to pass it on to Susan's would-be swain. The young man really ought to have read it first!" Here Diana began laughing softly. "Since then Sidney has learned what to say to please a lady, as you no doubt have evidenced, such a sad flirt he is, but at the age of ten he thought there was nothing more delightful than horses and dogs. To have her hair likened to that of a prize spaniel did not please Susan, to say the least. She sent the young man off with a flea in his ear, and when Sidney confessed the whole to her she told him she was well pleased that it had happened because a man who could not write his own poetry, or even bother to read a poem written for him that he intended to pass off as his own, was not worth the time of day. It is well, too, that neither of us married. I could never give up the nursing of Susan to care for a husband and she feels likewise."

Charlotte was overwhelmed by all this talk of the very person she was attempting not to think about, but Diana's characteristic energy returned and she became intent in finding the maps again. The wraith of young Sidney was dismissed back into the shadows. She led Charlotte up the narrow stair into the attics where a servant had already opened the windows and dusted in preparation of the visit. Charlotte saw the globe Arthur had spoken of hidden under the eaves beside a lopsided rocking horse. She glanced out the window and could see the fishing village in the distance; a few rustic shacks huddled around the river's mouth. She could almost hear Sidney Parker's voice telling her again of his visits with the fishermen, the net mending, and the tying of the floats.

"Here we are," cried Diana victoriously as she pulled some parchment rolls from the bottom of an old trunk. "Just as I said!" She spread out the rolls on a table under the window and found them to be ordinance maps from 1750. "Oh! These are not the ones I remember. I must keep looking." She left them where they lay and returned to her trunk.

Charlotte noticed that one of the rolls had fallen to the floor. She picked it up and rolled it out. It was different from the rest, made of thicker paper and more yellowed with age. A coastline was clearly visible, and islands, but the writing was archaic and difficult to decipher.

"Miss Parker, I think this may be the map you were speaking of."

Diana bustled back to her side. "Yes it is! Just as I told Tom, and he insisted that I was mistaken. You see, Miss Heywood, my memory is infallible. I am never wrong. Why, only yesterday I recalled where I had misplaced the friars' balsam that I needed for the vicar, and I have committed to memory the best recipe for and elderberry tonic that was told to me on the Widow Cranston's deathbed not twelve years ago. I knew I would find this map! Now let us depart this attic before the dust and mould attack our throats. I am very prone to a putrid sore throat. I should have brought liquorice lozenges with me - no matter. I will see to it that you have some before the night is out. It would not do for you to awake in the morning all feverish and miss the outing that has been so many days in planning. Fancy! A cottage ornée! I am quite tempted to attend myself, though I know I will be of no use to anyone in the morning. This house always brings on my severest complaints."

Charlotte did not regret leaving the house. It had filled her with too much longing for an impossible dream. The images it brought to her of family life were best left unexplored because in those unwitting fancies, Sidney Parker was grown again and the children that played about the hearth had his smile and her eyes. The mind was a very deceptive thing, and obviously not to be trusted. She longed for her own home - her own parents, her brothers and sisters - and she knew that it was this desire that had brought those beguiling visions to her brain, nothing else. Once she was home again these silly ideas would no longer invade her thoughts. She would again be her rational self. But she had close on three weeks left in her visit with the Parkers. How fortunate it was, then, that the residents of Trafalgar House rarely ventured to old Sanditon, and the only time she would pass by the house again was when she was safely on her way to Willingden once more.

~

Unfortunately, when Charlotte awoke there was not even the littlest tickle in her throat. Diana had already succumbed to illness the night before, and sent over the liquorice lozenges by her willing brother's hand. Arthur drank his cocoa beside the fire and tended solicitously to Charlotte's every need. Either his good care of her or her sturdy constitution had protected her from any illness; there was nothing to prevent her from joining Sir Edward's tour.

The party met at the proposed time by the green benches on the Terrace. Sir Edward took it upon himself to escort Julia Lambe personally, indulging her with his edifying conversation, while Miss Letitia walked at his other side, twirling her parasol and attempting to direct his attention upon herself with many a superfluous comment. Sir Edward's conversation was in need of no one's words but his own - which was as well because it is doubtful that anyone listening truly understood his elaborately phrased sentences, including himself.

Miss Beaufort and Miss Denham were displeased to find themselves escorted by the vicar who seemed intent upon proving his scant knowledge of architecture in general and the current mode of cottages ornée in particular. Charlotte and Miss Brereton took up the rear with Arthur Parker assiduously ensuring that they were both well wrapped against the mild breeze and at the same time not about to be overheated by the strength of the sun. He lamented that neither had had the forethought to bring a parasol and had to end up conceding that their straw bonnets would have to suffice. All the older ladies had opted to remain upon the Terrace for a spell and then return with Mrs Griffiths to the lodgings for some tea.

The day was clear and the breeze refreshing. They struck out to the south-west, in the opposite direction of the secluded beach, and further east, the fishing village. Arthur was surprisingly entertaining as he spoke of battles that had been fought not too far off coast between excise officers and rum-running pirates. Clara Brereton joined in with informed comments and Charlotte found herself with little need of taking much part in the conversation itself. She had already discussed the map with Arthur the night before, and as all her reading for the historical society concerned natural history, she hardly thought a dissertation upon the mollusc Mercenaria mercenaria would be relevant to the debate.

They came upon a rise and followed a wide path that led up from the sand to Sir Edward's property. Porticoes and gables could be seen rising above a stand of young trees but still did not fully prepare Charlotte for the unusual sight awaiting her on the other side. The cottage was built of both stone and brick. Columns, arches, domes, buttresses, and about any architectural element one could think of were all combined in a house of small proportions but large ambitions. There were windows of all description: wide, narrow, mullioned, leaded, all of varying sizes. Wide stairs led to an imposing entrance which dwarfed the façade of the structure. Sir Edward proudly held out his arm and cried, "Voila!"

Charlotte was not the only one who was rendered speechless, but soon enough Miss Letitia found her voice and was not sparse with her effusive praise. She left little for anyone else to say, which doubtless most took as a blessing.

"Sir Edward! Not one word you have uttered prepared me for such a fashionable and stylish abode. I was expecting a cottage of quaint and countrified design but instead am presented with such an exquisite rendering. Who could ever have imagined such . . . variety of form . . . such originality of vision? I believe you have quite outdone yourself."

'Who indeed,' thought Charlotte. 'This is architecture run amuck.'

Sir Edward preened. "I must admit that the very essence of the conception for this erection is born of my enlivened mind. The mere architectural challenges that ensued were nothing to the imaginative process that undertaking a project of this magnitude entails. I truly feel that poetry of thought and unity of form have combined to a symbiosis of emotive ingenuity that is rarely found in the buildings of our day. Every classical period has such merit that should not be ignored; combined they are both the antithesis and the epiphany of mankind's struggle to provide sanctuary from nature's ramifications and magnificence to restore his burdened consciousness."

"It is truly inspired," Miss Beaufort gasped, not to be outdone.

Sir Edward bowed in acceptance of their praise and then led the way in to the cottage. They went from small, oddly shaped rooms up inconvenient staircases and along tall, dark corridors. The interior was in the process of being embellished with baroque adornments, painted ceilings, and Chinese lacquered panelling. Throughout the tour Sir Edward offered Miss Lambe delicate asides that made her shiver and wonder at his intentions towards her. He smiled, he gave her knowing glances, and once or twice he even kissed her hand and murmured incomprehensible but obviously flirtatious sallies. When they left the building the increased raptures of Miss Beaufort enabled her to extricate herself from his company and she joined Charlotte with some great measure of relief.

"Do not leave me," she whispered. "I could not abide to be in his company again. His conversation has given me a headache and his insinuations are making me ill."

"We must depart at once," said Charlotte, immediately repentant that she had not thought of her friend's misfortune in companions, only of her own luck not to have to have put up with the gentleman's attentions herself. She looked around and spied the vicar who was standing to one side, a look of bemusement upon his face. When he heard that her friend was taken ill and they had no desire to upset the rest of the party by calling a halt to everybody's amusement, he agreed to escort them back to the Terrace by the shortest route possible.

They made their excuses and were soon on their way, sent off with Sir Edward's protestations and the Beaufort sisters' insincere wishes that dear Miss Lambe had not suffered a setback to her frail health. Arthur Parker assured Charlotte that he would be only too happy to take the vicar's place, but she insisted that he not disrupt his outing on her account and reminded him that he had two young ladies who were relying upon his escort and companionable conversation.

The vicar took Julia's arm and conscientiously squired both ladies along a level path that he assured them would bypass the beach and bring them back to Sanditon in short order. He made quiet conversation, showing his confusion at the unusual design of the cottage but with so much tact that he did not criticise Sir Edward's taste or the veracity of the structure in any way. His soft voice was soothing, and though Charlotte would well have appreciated the type of amusing comments she knew a different companion would have had no compunction about regaling her with, she understood that his calming discourse was just what Julia's overburdened mind needed. Besides, the person she was thinking of was miles away and someone she had pledged to think about no more. Sometimes it was very difficult to keep one's vows.

By the time they arrived to the Terrace, Julia appeared to be considerably better, but Charlotte was still worried about her. They both thanked the vicar for his kindness and invited him into the house but he declined, saying that he had much parish work left unattended. Mr's Griffiths was instantly distressed at the thought that Julia had taken ill and hurried her off the bed the instant the situation was explained to her. Julia had little time to do more than beg Charlotte to come by in the morning so that they could talk. She assured her that she would be well, and Charlotte truly hoped that that would be the case.

For the rest of the day Charlotte chastised herself for her selfishness in being so caught up in her own concerns. She knew that Julia was not only still frail of health, but shy and unused to the company of strangers; and yet she had allowed her to be monopolised by Sir Edward who, by his conversation alone, was a most trying companion. The thought of him insinuating himself upon her friend in some other way was deeply disturbing. In the short time of their acquaintance it was extremely unlikely that he had formed a sincere attachment to her. To Charlotte's knowledge they had not been in each other's company above five times. Her wealth, then, was the magnet that drew him. Charlotte was filled with revulsion and an overriding need to protect Julia from any unwelcome proposal he might make. She had no reason to think there could be any further danger than that.

Continued in the next section