(So sorry for being late in posting this! My son was sick and I hadn't had time to sit down and finish some of the dialogue. I know that some of the purists will not like my choices here but I can't help it. I have been in love with these characters since I was 12 and I want them to be friends. ;)
Two weeks later in London at Lady Susan Worcester's house, Grosvenor Square
"Good morning Charlotte! Did you rest well? I know it has been somewhat of a tumultuous week but I would like to introduce you to some dear friends who share our general distaste for "fashionable" society if you feel up to it today." Lady Susan smiled at her protégé and hoped that she would be amenable to taking tea with her inner circle this afternoon. Lady Babington had already sent her intentions to come, but only one of her other friends had sent word that they are even in town, let alone able to attend.
"I am very well, thank you! Yesterday's fittings have given me quite the appetite today, though I know better than to indulge or I would have to repeat the experience again in a week!"
"Well I am certainly glad to hear your levity returning with your smile. Though I think we can safely presume that we shall not again see Mrs. Campion or Mr. Parker again until the ball on Friday."
Immediately Charlotte's smile faded with the simple mention of them.
"My dear you must bear up, anyone with eyes can see that Mr. Parker has no interest or intention to marry that creature! Her manners and address have not recommended her to anyone other than blatant sycophants who want nothing more than to be in her esteem since she has a fortune and no close relations to speak of to inherit!"
Charlottes face looked even more bleak if that was possible and said, "what a sad life she must lead! Perhaps her outlook on life and how she treats others is related to her not having or knowing what love truly is and has the potential to be."
"I think you give the lady too much forgiveness, though your feelings do you credit. You truly are a far superior woman, and are lucky enough to know a distinction that many cannot boast."
"I think you flatter me Susan, though I appreciate your sentiments. It would not grieve me whatsoever if I could forget all that has transpired between Mr. Parker and myself, though the memories give me some hope of finding it again in the future. And as for today, I believe I should be happy to meet anyone that you consider to be a dear friend."
"Excellent! Let us see if Anna has finished pressing your tea gown for today, although I doubt the ladies coming would care a fig if you wore a towel!"
As tea time approached, Lady Esther Babington was the first to arrive. She was truly happy to see Miss Heywood and lamented their time apart. She could not be happier in her recent marriage and was positively glowing from head to satin slippered toe. Marriage could not possibly suit anyone as well as she! Charlotte found her to be quite a different woman to the cold, severe, and melancholy one she had met at the beginning of the summer. Her eyes shone with care and love, her clothes, though of the same cut as before, were brightly colored and brought out the tones in her skin to make her seem to blossom in the sun filtering through the lace curtains of Lady Susan's parlor. She told them that her honeymoon was being postponed until after Sidney's wedding because Babington had refused to miss his friend walking down the aisle. Esther didn't mind the delay either because spring in the Alps was said to be exquisite. She inquired after Charlotte's family and related the circumstances of Charlotte's acquaintances in Sanditon. Lady Denham was doing as well as ever; feisty and adamant in her dislike of Mrs. C. She made quite a public point of declaring her enmity, the chief reason being her treatment of Charlotte after saving her life and the appointment of a clerk to take care of the paperwork for the building of Sanditon who had apparently made a complete mess of everything within a week. Lady Denham threatened to call in her loan to Mr. Parker if the clerk was not replaced immediately. Apparently, the entire town was talking about Lady Denham's refusal to allow Mrs. Campion and Mr. Parker to hold their wedding party in the Assembly Rooms in Sanditon. The event was intended to be a publicity engagement for the town, and Mrs. C made no mystery of her resentment towards the Lady of the County as well as denigrating the decision as being detrimental to the success of their shared business venture. No one in Sanditon was fond of Mrs. Campion, and very few kept up any pretense of liking her at all. Only the Parker family would admit her for social occasions at their home, and even then, only Tom pretended any friendship with her. Mary feigned illness whenever she was scheduled to arrive at Trafalgar House and though Eliza had taken some apartments overlooking the sea in Sanditon Mary had never accepted an invitation to visit them. Apparently, Mrs. Campion had decided not to debase herself to Lady Denham over the Assembly Rooms and was paying for a large number of tents and pagodas to be erected on the beach for the wedding party. Georgianna was expected to arrive in London early next week and was anxious as ever to see Charlotte, she lamented the Beaufort girls and Mrs. Griffiths whom she referred to as the "Gorgon." Eager to see her friend, Charlotte smiled and imagined attending events with not one but two friends with whom she could share her true thoughts and feelings about society and the world.
"As soon as we arrived, I received an invitation for a ball tomorrow night near Berkeley Square." Esther was never one to be enthusiastic about a dance, but apparently all one needed was a good partner.
"Yes!" Lady Susan replied, "That is my dear friend Elizabeth, she said she would join us this afternoon so I will allow her to relate the details, but I know you will both greatly enjoy her company as much as I do."
A footman then came in presently with the tea service, biscuits, and dainty cakes for the ladies. They chatted about fashions and the delicacy of the new lace handkerchiefs that Charlotte's sister had made for Lady Susan until they heard the front bell ring again.
Lady Susan's butler came into the parlor and announced Mrs. Darcy. She had dark, curly hair, bright eyes and rosy cheeks and Lady Susan rose to meet her friend and kissed her cheeks smiling fondly.
"Oh! My dear Eliza why will you not take a carriage? Always walking I'm afraid of you getting run down on these busy streets! You're not in Derbyshire!"
The new arrival laughed, "Obviously because walking is my... second favorite form of exercise Susan and I refuse to be put off from it simply because we are spending some time in London! Now please, introduce me to your enchanting protégé and say you both will be coming to the ball tomorrow."
"I can safely say that we will be delighted to see you there. Charlotte, let me introduce you to my dearest friend, Mrs. Elizabeth Darcy. We met in Bath a few years ago shortly after her marriage and have taken every chance to meet since!"
"I'm very pleased to make your acquaintance Mrs. Darcy," Charlotte stood and curtsied.
"And this is the lately married Lady Esther Babington," Susan added.
"I'm very happy to meet you Mrs. Darcy! Thank you so much for the invitation to your ball! Though I imagine it is Lady Susan who is behind that." Esther said with a bit more reserve in front of the new and elegant lady.
"Oh, not at all! I have been looking forward to meeting you! Mr. Darcy is in business with Lord Babington near his estate in Kent and we are delighted that he has married, and quite happily too by all accounts."
Charlotte immediately liked Mrs. Darcy, there was no pretense in her kindness, no subterfuge in her actions, and of course, if she was a dear friend to Lady Susan, Charlotte could see no reason why she should not be delighted to know her. Esther began to effusively speak more about Lord Babington and their plans again which then turned into asking Mrs. Darcy what her preferences had been for her wedding arrangements. To which she demurred that her wedding had been a double with her eldest sister and she had made all the decisions other than her dress which was made by her friend Charlotte Collins.
"But never mind all that, we have plenty of time to discuss the past when the present is less imminent... Now Charlotte, Susan tells me that you are in the middle of a tragic love story! Nearly as tumultuous as my own and yet hopefully with an even more incandescent marriage at its end."
"You must be mistaken Mrs. Darcy, there is no chance for me to be involved with love or marriage at this time." Charlotte replied, curious about Mrs. Darcy's story but unwilling to go into details about her own.
"My dear," began Lady Susan, "You must be honest with yourself at least and trust me to help you! I asked these friends here today to unveil a scheme I have to hopefully help you find happiness and to promote the town of Sanditon which I know you love so well. There is much to discuss."
Elizabeth turned then to Esther and Charlotte and continued, "You know she introduced me to society as well. The ton found my marriage to be rather scandalous and most of the eligible ladies assumed I was a fortune hunter when Darcy and I wed. I admit that I didn't like him at all at first, but we ever so gradually fell in love and it all worked out for the best. Have faith Charlotte, you are in good hands and I'm sure that Susan will accommodate your introductions with style and grace and also promote nothing but your continued happiness."
"If the aim is to introduce Charlotte to London society," Esther began, "then I don't quite understand why I'm here."
"Esther, I need your connections through your husband to know which events Mrs. Campion has been invited to so that we can avoid those and make sure Charlotte is not forced to be in her company, for now. I believe that with time, Charlotte will be the talk of London and Mrs. Campion will be green with envy. When one is in the grip of a powerful emotion like that one is bound to slip up and make a mistake, My hope is that when she lets down her guard, we may be able to either find out her motive behind the engagement. And Lizzy, you and I will make sure to influence our acquaintance to not invite Mrs. Campion to their soirees. I will make sure that you are introduced to the Prince Regent this Saturday at the theater as well." Lady Susan looked rather pleased with herself though Charlotte seemed confused.
"I think I understand what you are aiming for, yet I cannot think why you are taking so much trouble on my account. I fear that the arrangement is final with Mrs. Campion and Mr. Parker and this scheme will only produce further acrimony from her."
"You must trust me my dear, Mrs. Campion only cares for what other people think of her, if she is being snubbed by society it will show her true character to all. She only thinks of appearances and her position and fortune, she cares nothing for the thoughts and feelings of others. I cannot think why she is so intent on marrying Mr. Parker except that she desires to hurt you for gaining my regard where she was unable to and frighten you with her contempt. She truly only makes people uneasy when she is admitted to society as it is. For that kind of pettiness, I shall most certainly put any effort I can into her comeuppance."
Charlotte could not help but smile demurely at the shining face of her friend.
"Alright, I put myself into your care and expertise."
"Wonderful!" Lady Susan beamed, "I think now I shall try some of these cakes."
Antigua four years ago
Sidney awoke with a start and a groan. The sticky tropical heat clung to him and made his bedclothes stick to his skin. He had been on the island for several years now and he still couldn't get used to the completely backwards weather from what he grew up with in England. He looked across his commodious room and mentally thanked his friend Captain Lamb for taking him into his home, the open windows and mosquito nets were a welcome change from the dank, humid hole at the inn which stank of rum and rotten fruit. He was able to get used to the smell, mildew and fruit were common enough on the island, and a good amount of rum helped with the numbing of his nose, but the bugs were insufferable. Persistent heat made sleeping in clothing impossible but yet the bug bites would cover any skin which was not covered with some kind of fabric and even then it was little deterrent made for long hot days and even longer nights.
Since joining Captain Lamb and freeing his slaves then hiring them on to work for a decent wage, Sidney was considered a renegade by the other plantation owners on the islands. He didn't care, he would rather die than treat any human being the way those men treated their "property" even if the other land holders threatened them both and accused them of treachery and stirring up trouble with their workers. In his heart Sidney knew that slavery would be a thing of the past soon enough. Yet in his wildest dreams he had never imagined the boundlessness of human violence and hatred until he came to Antigua and saw slavery firsthand. Not even copious amounts of rum could wipe the memories of bloodshed and anguish he had witnessed upon first arriving. Captain Lamb had captained the ship which bore him here on his crossing and had tried to prepare Sidney for what he would encounter when he arrived; but none of the stories came close to describing the true extent of the depravity exhibited by the plantation owners. Violence, torture, abuse, and sexual exploitation were daily occurrences and it didn't take Sidney long to commence firing his overseers and appointing new ones from within the ranks of his current slaves. The working population had been afraid at first of the changes he proposed, but they had heard of the way Captain Lamb ran his plantations so they knew that his notions were possible and were eager to be free men. Some left the island entirely, some searched for family, but most of them stayed on to work with Mr. Parker and try to make a better world one small piece at a time.
He quickly dressed in loose breeches and a white cotton shirt without a tie, common attire to combat the heat and humidity here and went to seek out Captain Lamb. He was surely breaking his fast with his daughter Georgianna. Her mother, Mrs. Lamb had been taken by a fever several months ago leaving a teenage girl with no mother to guide her and a father who was away at sea for long periods of time. Georgianna had taken to Sidney like a sister, and when Captain Lamb was away he indulged her with stories of England and his family back home. She was close to the same age as his youngest sister Diane and reminded him of her with her jokes and kindness towards everyone.
As he walked onto the open veranda where they usually ate breakfast and found no one there. There was no food or coffee either. Sidney had become accustomed to drinking coffee since arriving on the island and had changed a good portion of his land holdings to grow coffee as well as sugar because of it. He heard voices outside near the kitchen outbuildings so he headed that way. He found the head housekeeper and another maid talking outside the kitchen. It looked as though the maid was carrying a tray of various small medicine bottles and a pitcher of water. As he approached, they both became quiet.
"Good morning," Sidney smiled at them, "could you tell me where to find Captain Lamb and Miss Georgianna?"
"Sir the Captain was taken sick last night, he has a fever and is plagued my monstrous dreams." The housekeeper spoke English very well and had been teaching Sidney common phrases in Antiguan Creole occasionally. "He was asking for you just now, you had better go on to his chambers Sir."
"Thank you," he muttered as he turned to leave. Gods no! His only friend, who he met on the long journey to the island, who shared all his thoughts and opinions, who had commiserated with him in his sadness over the maltreatment he received from Eliza! Fevers in the islands could be deadly, and he hurried back into the house.
He found Georgianna exiting her fathers' room as he approached, eyes red and tired. She had likely been up all night with him.
"Oh good, I was just coming to fetch you," she began, "his fever has calmed somewhat and he is lucid enough as of now to have called for his solicitor, a parson, and you." Her eyes were brimming with tears.
"Georgianna I am so sorry; you should have woken me sooner."
He embraced the girl and told her to go get some rest which she grudgingly agreed to do.
In the bed chamber he could smell the sweat which was always part of island, and an undercurrent of sickness and blood. The solicitor sat in a wicker chair near the bedside with a lap desk making notes on a piece of paper. Captain Lamb was pale and drawn with a sheen of sweat on his forehead and chest. A young boy was also beside the bed fanning the Captain with a palm frond to help cool his fever.
The solicitor finally looked up and acknowledged Sidney with a terse smile and handshake.
"You must be Mr. Parker; the Captain here has told me much about you and your intention to return to England in the near future."
"Yes, I am. I was planning on boarding Captain Lamb's next ship to Bristol in the fall."
The solicitor's name was Hawkins, he looked at the Captain then with a bit of sadness in his eyes, yet his manner was all business. He ushered Sidney to another wicker chair that was pulled next to his own beside the bed, presumably where Georgianna had been keeping vigil at her fathers' side. Captain Lamb's breathing was labored, yet his eyes were clear and bright. The ruddy complexion he normally bore had completely given way to the illness and fatigue but he was bearing up admirably for this meeting.
"Mr. Parker," Hawkins began, "it is the intention of Captain Lamb, on the condition of his possible demise, that you take over guardianship of his daughter, Miss Georgianna Lamb and the care of his plantation and her fortune until she comes of age at twenty-one."
Sidney was stunned, he looked at his friend with his mouth open. Captain Lamb's holdings were vast and accrued a massive sum of money each year. On top of that, he had no idea what to do with a ward.
"Furthermore, he would like Miss Georgianna to travel with you to England to continue her education and find a husband there under your guidance and care. You shall be in charge of her investments within the annual income of eighty five to one hundred thousand pounds per year..."
Hawkins' voice faded in Sidney's mind...One hundred thousand pounds!? How could he want me to be in charge of that much money? And his daughter? He looked towards his friend, reclined on the pillows, gaunt and tired, a shade of the man he met five years ago.
"Lamb what are you thinking? You can't be serious! I'm not ready for that kind of responsibility!"
"Sidney, I have been thinking about this since Adesina passed," his voice was soft but clear, "Georgianna loves you and I don't know any other man whom I would trust to carry on my affairs and estates with the same level of honor and dignity that I would expect and admire. You are young, but you have a strong heart and more ability to love than you know. Don't let your past determine your future, be not afraid of allowing your heart to open itself once more to love. For me, please, be happy and teach my daughter well."
He closed his eyes as though the effort of speaking had completely drained him. Sidney poured him a glass of coconut water and Captain Lamb sipped a little bit of the salty-sweet liquid before continuing.
"Hawkins, make sure to have the parson witness the document but I should like to sign it now. I feel the need to sleep coming on."
He tried to reach for the quill but it was as though he could not lift his arm. Sidney looked and saw the bandages in the crook of his arm where the doctor had apparently applied leeches. He stepped back as the lawyer moved the lap desk to the bed and handed Captain Lamb the quill. Sidney gazed out beyond the gauzy curtains at the cerulean ocean, listening to the scratch of the quill, as his friend signed his new life into being. Hawkins then turned to Sidney and handed him the quill, he looked at the innocent object, realizing the finality of death, his future, and what his entire voyage and time in Antigua was culminating into. As he bent to sign he thought how now at a stroke, his entire world would never be the same.