Sanditon Melodies

Chapter 14: The stunning redhead at the bar

Escaping to Edward and Esther's house that afternoon was just what Charlotte needed. She'd made an excuse to Mary about needing some quiet time to prepare for tonight to get her out of spending the rest of the afternoon in Sidney's presence and now here she was: Sat in Edward's hot tub with a mocktail. Slowly the tension sparked by Sidney's harsh remarks about her was leaving her body as the jets massaged her neck, back and shoulders and Charlotte thought that if she could ever afford it, she would definitely be getting herself one of these! She had vowed to put Sidney and his comments from her mind so she could focus on the task in hand – her performance tonight, although that was no easy feat. His words had really struck a chord and if Charlotte was honest with herself, there was an element of truth in what he said, but that somehow made his remarks all the more cruel because he had implied that such qualities were faults and weaknesses that made him think less of her. God why did he have to be such a dick?

Charlotte was seriously contemplating what to do about tonight's performance because now that she knew exactly what Sidney thought of her, there seemed little point in performing her song because she'd only been doing it for his sake – after all, song writing had been his suggestion. Singing it would be awkward, because as no-one knew it, they wouldn't sing along. The audience would all just be watching her and she'd be completely exposed. Sidney was at least right about one thing – it was daunting. It was actually sort of... terrifying. Did she want to do that to herself? She sighed heavily.

"Everything alright?" Edward said as he sat opposite her in the hot tub. Charlotte nodded in the affirmative.

"Just nervous about tonight?" Edward asked. He didn't know the half it!

"A bit." She replied. Then thinking he may be able to offer her some advice. "Actually, I'm having a bit of a dilemma."

"And what's that?"

"Well, I was thinking about playing a song I wrote tonight, and... well, I'm not sure the crowd will appreciate it." Charlotte replied, although this was only a half truth.

"Why don't you think they'll like it?"

"I just... I just don't know if it's any good."

"I guess you won't know unless you play it for someone. Or are you actually more nervous because Sidney and John are going?" He said.

"Well... they both work in the music industry, must make them harsher critics." She replied, thinking that was an understatement when it came to Sidney.

"What do they know anyway? The last band John managed split up after 12 months." Edward said.

Charlotte nearly spat out her drink. "John Babington is an Artist Manager?" She asked.

Edward frowned at her. "Didn't he tell you?"

"No. He conveniently missed out that part."

"What do you mean conveniently?"

"Never mind." Charlotte replied. It was not a conversation she wanted to get into with Edward. Her mind was now going wild. Had Sidney brought Babington here to hear her perform? Why would he do that? Her heart started racing at the thought. Could Babington be interested in being her manager? The idea seemed ridiculous! But Charlotte had already had her suspicions that Sidney was up to something when he had reviewed her contract. For some reason it bothered her that he was interfering. Charlotte took a deep breath, trying to switch off her mind and let the jets do their job of helping her to relax.

Thankfully Esther had returned with some more drinks before Edward asked anymore questions and hopped into the hot tub with them. "Charlotte – are you sure you don't want an alcoholic beverage?" She said as she passed Edward a bottle of beer.