Sidney Parker …. he knows… should we run for the hills?
With everyone safely in the carriage Henry knocked on the roof for them to be taken back to Susan's home.
Lydia and Johanna were wrapped around either Henry or Charlotte and their heads were closely nestled into their necks. The children needed to feel safe as they had been scared by the strange man. In fact, the girls were crying and had to be consoled by the couple. After speaking comforting words they had dropped off to sleep. Alex had now seated himself flush against Henry and was resting his head against Henry's chest… he just sat quietly and was comforted by having Henry's arm around him.
Charlotte and Henry looking at each other as they knew it had not been Sidney's fault he scared the children. Both had witnessed his volatile personality and it swayed too easily into anger. Henry remembering the deadly threat he received when he commented about Charlotte in Sanditon. He knew if pushed too far Sidney could kill someone. He and Charles over the years had stopped Sidney when he had lost control.
"What do you think we should do?" asked a concerned Charlotte. She had also seen the change in Sidney's eyes which was causing her great concerned. She held Johanna closer as she couldn't be embraced by Henry. Henry had appeared when they needed him and she was grateful for his steady thinking in that tense situation.
"I am so sorry Charlotte… I should not have said or done those things in front of Mr Parker. I didn't realise he would react in that way" Alison herself leaning against her sister and started crying from the shock. The Heywood children had only experienced a happy home and the encounter with Sidney Parker had been confronting.
"Maybe we should run for the hills?" Alex suggested and Henry could see fear in the little boy's face.
Henry seeing he had to distract Alison and Alex commented...
"No, we are going to go back to Susan's and I believe she has something that no one has every tasted before?" he purposely put a mysterious tone to his voice. It worked and the little boy started to look excited.
"What?" he asked... Susan always had something exciting to show them...
"It is called ice cream!" exclaims Henry and was thankful. Alex forgetting about what had just happened and was already thinking about the magical thing called 'Ice cream'.
Once the girls had been put down for their nap... Alex and Alison tasting the delight of 'ice cream' ...
Charlotte and Henry sat down to talked about what had just transpired... "What are we going to do?" Charlotte repeating the question she asked in the carriage.
She could see in their short interactions that Sidney Parker was still effected by her. He also seemed darker and that his anger was just simmering below the surface. She still cared for him but not the way she loved Henry. Henry pulling her into an embrace and he held her as they thought about the next step. They were heading into troubled waters and they were going to need each other's strength. Henry remembering the promise he made to her father. Charlotte felt safe and was determined to support Henry in this difficult situation. They rested their heads together and he gave her a tender kiss. Both deciding another topic would be good to speak about... Henry sharing the letter he had just received from her father who had already had a number of farmers asking for Henry. Charlotte laughing... 'My beloved Cow Whisperer".
Sidney Parker had not moved from his spot even when the carriage had disappeared from his line of sight. His mind was jumbled and he was struggling to work out what had just happened.
"Charlotte was going to marry Crowe!"
He could feel his heart rate increase and he could feel the pressure building in his head. "This could not be happening!"… he remembered clearly telling Crowe to keep away from her. He wanted to hit Crowe but restrained himself due to the women and children. He knew he had frightened the children but he often struggled to control his anger… and when it came to Charlotte he was a brute.
He strode like an angry bull towards his carriage... slamming the door shut and hurting his hand as he bashed it on the roof for the driver to know he needed to go.
'What could he do? ' and as he headed home his mind was full of wild schemes...