The Guardian

Episode 3 Part 1 - Rudely early

EPISODE THREE

The sound of clanging and banging woke Sidney from his slumber and the first thing he thought was that his head hurt... a lot... and his stomach was churning uncomfortably. He tried to open his eyes, but the light was unbearably bright and made his head throb all the more. Where was he? And what was all that noise anyway? He eased himself up from whatever he was lying on as he came round, realising that he was in the Crown's seedy bar.

"Show some mercy it is rudely early!" Sidney growled angrily.

The bar owner gave him an unimpressed look which Sidney did not see as he held his head in his hands feeling like death. He took a few deep breaths as the memories from last night came flooding back to him. He'd been in the bar with Babington and Crowe... he'd drunk far too much - so much he'd forgotten how many bottles he got through... Why had he drunk so much? Charlotte's face came into his mind, her cheeks flushed, her eyes wide... She'd seen him naked. Oh God! Had that actually happened? The memories were getting clearer now. Yes, Charlotte had seen him come out of the ocean and quickly fled... and then he'd run after her. Why did he do that? She had injured herself and he'd carried her home... If he closed his eyes he could still feel the warmth of her body against his chest. The feeling of having her in his arms had been nothing short of wonderful...

Sidney's breathing started to become shallow as his stomach lurched and he reached for the nearest bucket where he emptied the contents of his stomach. Now he remembered why he was so hungover. He had tried to drink that feeling away because it was wrong. So very wrong and incredibly dangerous. He couldn't let himself feel that way about her. Charlotte was his ward for God's sake! He must do his duty and nothing more, and when she was 21, they would both be free of each other and could live whatever life they wanted... However, that was still a good eighteen months away...

Sidney rose to his feet. He wobbled unsteadily as the room appeared to spin around him. He was leaving Sanditon today with Babington and Crowe and the timing couldn't be anymore perfect. He needed to get as far away from Charlotte as possible and shake off whatever this was, but first he needed something to settle his stomach. Just as he was thinking about food, Babington and Crowe entered the bar.

"For shame." Crowe said. "Look at the state of him Babington!"

"A wretched sight indeed!" Babington said grinning.

"Not so loud, I beg you." Sidney muttered.

Crowe and Babington laughed loudly in spite of his request and Sidney screwed up his eyes and rubbed his temples. "Come on, old friend. You need to have a shave and get some devilled kidneys down you. We're leaving." Babington said as he grabbed Sidney's arm and half dragged him along with him out of the bar.

An hour later and Sidney was feeling a little better, but his stomach was still quite sensitive. He strolled out into the street with Crowe and Babington as he made his way to Mrs Griffiths' house to bid his farewells. As tempting as it was to just leave, he felt a sense of duty to enquire after Charlotte and also to say goodbye, for he wasn't entirely certain when he would return to Sanditon. He was let into the house by a servant and asked after Mrs Griffiths.

"Mrs Griffiths is not here Sir. She is out with the Misses Beauforts and Mr Hankins. I believe they have gone to the clifftops to do some painting." The servant replied.

"And what of Miss Heywood? Is she resting in her room?" Sidney asked, assuming she was excused from the activity on account of her injury.

"No Sir." The servant simply said.

"Where is she then?" Sidney asked.

"I... I do not know Sir."

"What do you mean you don't know? Is she not in the house?"