Sidney had slept badly, whether it was due to his throbbing shoulder or the strange conversation with Mr Heywood, he could not say exactly. It could also have been due to the confused dreams he had had since his first night in the Heywoods' house.
Now that he was feeling better, he wanted to run down to the river and take a bath. He walked down the path behind the small estate, as the boys had explained to him the night before. It was early in the morning, the house was still in complete silence, although he could hear Mrs Heywood humming in the kitchen as he left the house.
After he had found a secluded spot surrounded by thick bushes, he took off his clothes. Looking around him to make sure that no one, especially no young ladies, were around, he let his body slide into the cool water of the river. It was a relief. Refreshing and invigorating at once. Even if the wound on his back was a little tugging, it was fun. He easily found his rhythm and swam the narrow river to the opposite bank and back again. The current drove him a bit, but swimming against the current was the kind of effort he needed now.
Sidney had a great desire to swim back a little further down the river to get a little more exercise and get rid of the tension that had been holding him for days. These unexpected and also unwanted feelings that burst inside him were extremely confusing. It seemed as if an old wound that he had been trying to hide and forget for years was about to burst open. But until a few days ago, he hadn't realized that he was longing for it. For a life away from his London and Sanditon commitments. He couldn't explain why it happened and why here.
Of course, deep down he knew this confusing feelings and what, or more to the point, who was to blame for it.
Since she was going to live with his brother for the summer, he had to banish her from his mind. He would avoid any interaction with her and see if that would not dissolve into pleasure. That she confused him was a very natural reaction, after all she was the only young lady for years who had come so close to him, not only physically. Yes, that was the point.
He sucked in deep air and dived quite a distance and when he came to the surface again he swam further up the river with strong strokes.
The only moments of peace and quiet Charlotte could enjoy at the early hour of the morning. She got up at the first light, even before her mother prepared breakfast in the kitchen. After she took the eggs out of the barn and laid them in the kitchen, and lit the fire in the oven, she went into the stable to help the boys feed the cows. At this early hour, she did not need to talk to anyone, no one wanted to talk to her. These were the only hours when she could be alone with her thoughts without being constantly disturbed by any of her brothers and sisters or her commitments.
Ever since the Parkers came into her life, she had a lot more to think about. Not only was this great and unexpected journey coming up, there was so much more to think about. Her father had already warned her about the place and the visitors there. Her sisters were a bit jealous of what she might experience there. Her brothers were all happy not to be invited, although a few detailed reports of the construction sites and sports activities were required. Their mother had made strange suggestions about happy happenings and had told her several times not to be too picky, especially when it came to dancing. Even if this would have been enough to make her think, it was obvious what captivated her thoughts most. Or rather who.
This distracting young man, who was so rude at first and now so friendly after all. He had enriched last night's dinner so much, all his reports about far away Antigua and his work had been so interesting. Apart from the fact that he was the only young man she had ever got so close to. Of course, she had to deal with the stable boys and harvest workers, her neighbors, the men at her father's construction site. But most of them she had known since childhood and nobody caused the strange feeling in her like Sidney Parker.
Every time she was near him, she blushed. His eyes penetrated her and her heart seemed to lift in her chest. It felt in her stomach like when she first jumped from the strong branch of the thick oak into the river. A brief feeling of flying. And the disappointment! So strange to get that feeling every time she had to leave his room, or like last night when he went out with her father. How she would have loved to be in her father's place.
Again her heart was beating wildly in her chest, just at the thought of him. How could she survive the carriage ride to Sanditon when he was so close to her? Probably she would not be able to look at him and would look silently out of the window until he could finally flee from her. Charlotte didn't know what he thought of her, nor what made her to forget how to speak every time he spoke to her.
She had to get a clear head and ran like every morning across the fields to her favourite place. There she could think, read in peace or even write poems without anyone watching her.
When Sidney swam to the shore to rest for a moment, he realized how the accident and the days tied to the bed had exhausted him. He was out of breath and his heart was beating wildly. Fortunately it was relatively mild and he had no problem cooling down. He really longed for it, after all he had been swimming in the cold North Sea every day since he could swim. Even in winter. Indeed only for a short time, but his father had demanded this from his sons. To toughen them up.
Nevertheless, he now realized that the effort after days of lying down was a bit too much and he was intelligent enough to know that weakness in the water could be life-threatening. He decided to take the shortest way back. So just cross the river and stay close to the shore to get out of the water in case it was getting too much.
It was not long before he reached the opposite bank. Totally exhausted, he pulled out of the water and sink into the grass. Now it would be really unpleasant if someone saw him in this state. Yet he almost wished she would see him like this. Wondering what she would do. Run away? Or would she bend over him in concern? The thought sent a shiver down his spine.
When he had gathered enough strength, he sat up and looked around in all directions. To his right were dense bushes and tall trees. Under the shelter of the forest he would safely advance to the place where he had left his things. As he had returned to his place unnoticed, he let his gaze wander, lost in thought, over this nice little spot of earth when he saw her.
She sat under the shelter of a thick oak whose branches reached over the river and wrote in a book. Maybe a diary? He wondered if he was in it. If so, he would love to know what she thought and wrote about him.
His thoughts were still busy when she put her book aside and stared up at the top of the tree and stood up.
She was a really beautiful creature. Of course, he had noticed she was a pretty girl before. Her big warm eyes, showed her intelligence. The light smile on her full lips. Her demeanor, resolute and courage while she looked after him. Shy and witty he had seen her, tense and embarrassed. These were all attributes that made her attractive to him, but never before had he been so aware of her as in this moment when she looked detached into the sky. She was young. Inexperienced, but interested in life. And her body!
Distracted by her delicate neck, he realized too late what would happen. Her small hands, which he had already felt warm and firm on his skin, which had lightly and tenderly chased a burning path over his body, now slid to the front of her dress.
He didn't want to stare, but he couldn't take his eyes off her as if he were under some kind of spell. Her spell. In a flash, the fabric slipped off her and exposed her shoulders. She had apparently taken off her stockings before, because she was only standing there in her undergarment.
Her hands reached for the bow of her petticoat and pulled it up. His mouth became dry when suddenly she stood there only in a chamise. Although she was hidden by the trees and bushes around her, a protective instinct rose in him. He couldn't stand the thought, that anyone could see her like that, except him.
As she slowly slid into the water of the river, he realized that he was still standing there. Though it was quite cool, his skin was tingling as if the sun was burning down. Miss Heywood reappeared in the middle of the river and he took the opportunity to go back into the water.
Not only did he suddenly need to cool down, but he was afraid that she might see him standing there, starring. Naked, exposed, and barely able to hide his desire for her. In order to cool down further, he stood there for a while and then left when he thought it was safe to leave the water again.
While he was getting dressed, he could not prevent his gaze from wandering to the place where she had been. And there she stood. The water was up to her waist. The chamise stuck to her body and showed her remarkable curves.
He stared at her for a moment before he was able to turn away. Since she had closed her eyes and held her face to the sky, he could only hope that she hadn't noticed him.
It would be an interesting breakfast, he thought as he ran back to his hosts' house. But he was sure, he had a problem, a serious one.