The only reason to marry is Love - A Sanditon fanfic

Chapter 13: Reunited

A/N: Thank you each and every one of you for your lovely comments on this work as well as the well-wishes to my family. We are feeling well now.

I was completely convinced this would be the last chapter with only an epilogue to follow but realised while writing it that there needs to be one more Charlotte chapter after this, plus epilogue.

I hope you enjoy the read and that all is well with all of you.

A special thanks to Alina for being my test reader for this chapter.

He slammed the door shut behind him with a curse, furiously threw his top hat on the bed, then remained standing, breathing heavily while the anger slowly seeped out of him to be replaced by despair. He turned around to lean his forehead against the door's solid wood. Nothing had turned out as he had hoped since he arrived here, quite the opposite and he was not sure it was in his power to change it. He was furious at himself, no one else, but also desperate. As he stood there and the anger evaporated to give way for the other more difficult emotions, he felt like crying rather than banging his fists at the door.

Sidney had received no response to the letter he sent Charlotte telling her he was coming but had not expected one either. He had not dared to be personal, to tell her how much he longed to see her. Lady Susan's words had ignited a small spark of hope inside him that Charlotte was not completely indifferent to him, but he was far from sure. Secondly, he felt like he had forfeited the right to tell her his feelings when he sent her away against her will. If she indeed had feelings for him too, sending her away had been the most dreadful mistake and only in her presence could he ask her forgiveness and possibly earn the right to tell her he loved her.

In the end, he set off to the country weeks earlier than the wedding demanded, because he could wait no longer to see her and find out what Lady Susan's words had meant.

Earlier this afternoon he had stood nervously in his own empty hallway, feeling like an intruder when Mrs. Morris came scurrying and stopped in her tracks at the sight of him.

"Oh", she said scrunching her nose like she disapproved of the view, before she realised it was not the appropriate way to welcome one's master after a long absence and plastered on a welcoming smile instead.

"Welcome Mr. Parker. We knew you were coming for the wedding but not already today, otherwise we would have been given you a proper welcome."

"Er, I decided to come a few weeks in advance of the wedding."

Why did he feel the need to excuse himself for coming to his own house?

"Of course."

"Is Mrs. Parker around?"

"She is, but not in the house at present. She went out earlier and said she would be gone for a couple of hours. She will be home before dinner, I am sure."

His need to see Charlotte was so strong that for a moment the disappointment almost crippled him, then he pulled himself together knowing Mrs. Morris' sharp eyes were still on him.

"Then I think I will ride out and see if I can find her."

Mrs. Morris made a face like she wondered why he was in such a hurry after many months of absence, but knew it was not her place to question him. Her reaction made him feel increasingly anxious about meeting Charlotte.

He headed for the stables, had a rested horse brought out and set off with the intention to find her.

Nearly an hour later he had seen no sign of her despite that he had covered a large part of the estate and was beginning to feel discouraged. He met several villagers and workers along his path but did not asked them if they had seen her, embarrassed to seem overly eager to find his own wife.