Sanditon: A Sisterhood Forms

36

"I can't go on a moment longer," Charlotte spouted at last, "You must tell us how it went."

"Mmm?" Susan asked, very clearly deep in thought.

"With the Prince Regent? He asked to meet with you privately..."

"Yes, of course," she smiled, distractedly. "It was not as thorough a discussion as I had hoped - but he certainly conveyed that he was quite taken with you."

Sidney placed a protective hand upon Charlotte's arm. "How taken?" he asked, quickly.

"Oh, goodness no. Nothing like that," Susan waved a hand dismissively as a grin spread across her face, and Sidney exhaled audibly. "I believe that you staked your claim quite well, there, Mr Parker. He was quite taken with you both, you see."

"Was he?" Charlotte asked, her fingers tapping nervously on the glass in her hands.

"Yes, but the difficulty is, that convincing him to invest - which is what I hope to do - will be slightly more complicated than I had anticipated. He has already invested heavily in Brighton, and it may take more time than we have presently to convince him that another town is worthy of his attentions. You see, in this instance, I believe that the Prince is more likely to take the fashionable option rather than set the standard. He is aware that I plan to spend the summer months in Sanditon rather than Brighton, which will help our cause considerably, but it is time to convince other members of the Beau Monde that Sanditon is worthy of their time. If they decide to move on to a new town, perhaps he will follow. And if he doesn't, hopefully, we can raise the necessary funds by making Sanditon fashionable ourselves."

"How do you propose that we proceed?" Sidney asked.

"That is what I hope to figure out tonight," said Susan.

"We could host a tea or a musicale, perhaps, at Worthing House," Esther proposed, "and invite the members of the ton we are acquainted with." Babington reached for her hand and squeezed it in silent approval of the idea.

"Yes, now that's a start," said Susan, "I believe that it is time to enlist Charlotte's plan, so Esther, any event intended for ladies of our acquaintance would be lovely. I shall do the same. We could easily host an afternoon event at Weston Place. We must invite every lady we know, and have them bring others."

"Do you think..." Charlotte started, "Well, I wonder whether it might be time to write to Mary and Tom. If we are to begin promoting Sanditon for the summer season, we will need to have a better idea of events that could draw more people to the town."

Susan stopped her pacing and exchanged a look with Sidney, who responded with a slight shake of his head. But she challenged him back, tilting her head adamantly in Charlotte's direction, causing Sidney to shift nervously in his chair before speaking out, "Of that...I have some information, Charlotte."

"What is it? Has...something happened?" she looked between the two of them.

"Mary has recently travelled to London," Sidney said, rubbing at his jaw, "She has been staying at Bedford Place, in fact."

"She...what?" Charlotte looked at him, her expression almost crestfallen. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"It has occurred only recently, and to be entirely honest, she has been in need of some...time..."

"Time for what?"

"Time away from my brother, Charlotte," he whispered, his gaze flicking over to Babington.

"Oh..." she looked away, and yet seemed to be more perplexed than ever.

"Perhaps," Susan interjected, "we might invite Mary to visit Weston Place for an afternoon to discuss more on the subject."