~~Charlotte~~

After returning from our early morning lessons with Sidney, Alison and I ate some breakfast before heading out towards the building site. Lady Denham was still in bed when we left, so we didn't have a chance to talk, but she was usually anxious for us to return in the evening to tell her all about our day in town.

When I asked Sidney to teach me how to throw a punch, I was surprised he agreed. I was hopeful he would just direct me to the right person who could teach me a thing or two. It also came as a shock at how quickly I accepted his offer and made plans to meet with him alone. I had confided in Alison on what I had done, and she insisted she attend with me. I assumed she'd talk me out of it all together. I think, in some way, I was hoping she would. Instead, she agreed on needing to know how to protect ourselves and thought it best she learns the same skills, considering she's at the building site a lot more.

Before we met with him, I had decided to let him go for good. I had pushed my feelings for him so far back in my mind, he was nothing more than an acquaintance now. Perhaps, in time we could be friends, but nothing more; not ever.

I did seem to feel better meeting with him, knowing there were no expectations and no hopeful glances. I focused on the lessons and left it at that. It's all I wanted from him.

Seeing him arrive at the building site was even easier and less painful. I did very well staying professional and being kind without looking too eager to see him. I was quite proud of myself for finally putting my life back together. With time, being near him would be even easier.

I had just sent Arthur on an errand when a familiar voice said my name from behind. It was a voice I hadn't heard in quite some time but welcomed all the same. I turned around and saw Mr. Stringer behind me with his hat in hand and that familiar bashful grin.

"Mr. Stringer!" I said excitedly. "I wasn't expecting you."

"I had a letter asking for my assistance," he explained.

"From who?" I wondered. It couldn't possibly be Sidney who requested his help like he did all the others.

"Mr. Robinson said you lost your stonemason and you needed a fill in. I'm not a stonemason by trade, but I am very well-versed in the craft from my father's teachings. I can help the best I can."

I grinned, overwhelmed with happiness. He was exactly what we needed. "I'm so grateful for your help. Perhaps you can tell me all the things I'm doing wrong as well."

He laughed and shook his head. "I can't imagine you doing something wrong. I'm sure you're a far better foreman than I was."

"I doubt it." I smiled and let out a sigh of relief. "Mr. Robinson is the foreman. I'm merely the overseer of things."

He took a step closer to me and looked down at the paperwork spread out in front of me. "Are you planning to stick with Tom's original designs?"

"I was at first," I explained. "But then I had a thought. What if we design the houses in a way that they can always see the ocean? Mr. Tom had all the houses facing towards the street. I thought it better if all the houses faced towards the beach. Thankfully most of the houses needed minor repairs from the fire damage. It wasn't bad at all."

"What a fantastic idea," he complimented. I smiled at him pleased with myself.

"Isn't she brilliant?" Mr. Robinson stated now joining our conversation.

"I wouldn't go that far," I said shyly. "It was merely changing the position of the doors and a few windows. I didn't do anything special."

"On the contrary, you have been a constant force of action here," Mr. Robinson said. "I'm not so great at being direct with the men. It's been nice having someone whip these men into shape."

"Obviously Charlotte is a force to be reckoned with," Mr. Stringer said.

"You're both going to make me blush," I said, ducking my head from embarrassment.

"You should learn to take some of the credit. You've done amazing things here," Mr. Robinson said.

I smiled at him accepting the compliment but not really feeling like I deserved it. "We have the welsh slate arriving at the end of the week," I explained changing the subject. "I'm hopeful that everything else is done so we can get started on the rooftops. Not everything will be perfect, but it's a good start and will look nice for when the Prince Regent arrives. Hopefully some of the houses will be livable by then. I've heard the hotel is overrun with tenants in anticipation for his arrival."

"I can imagine so. My wife is quite excited about coming to visit," he blurted. I almost gasped. Mr. Stringer was married?

"Your wife?" I asked hoping for clarification.

Mr. Robinson patted Mr. Stringer on the back a couple times. "Did you hear that, Charlotte? Our James Stringer went off to London and got himself married," he teased.

He dropped his head nervously and smiled. "Yes, I got married just last week. It was quite the whirlwind romance." I smiled at his expression of admiration while talking about his wife. "She's the daughter of the man I apprenticed for. I fell for her quite fast. Thankfully her father approved of the match. I sometimes wonder if his purpose for hiring me was to find a husband for his daughter. She's wonderful at everything and amazingly smart. She keeps me on my toes for sure."

"Well, I need to get back to work," Mr. Robinson said. "I don't need to hear all the details of your whirlwind romance. When you're done filling Charlotte in on all the particulars come see me and I'll show you what all we've done." Mr. Robinson and Mr. Stringer nodded at each other before Mr. Stringer turned his attention back towards me.

"I'm so happy for you. I can't wait to meet her," I said honestly.

He placed his hand on top of mine and squeezed my hand for just a moment. "I want to thank you for encouraging me to take the apprenticeship. Your letters were what made me believe it was the right path. If I hadn't listened to you, I would have never met my Hannah. I believe you both will be great friends."

"I'm sure we will. Anyone you care about will always be a friend of mine," I said with a smile.

He grinned sheepishly before releasing my hand and taking a step back. "Well. I'll go see what I have to work with," he said shyly before walking away. I watched him leave with a grin on my face. I couldn't help the feeling of pride that I had a small part in his happiness. He seemed overjoyed.

I caught Sidney's eyes on me for a slight moment before he ducked his head and walked towards one of the buildings. He seemed upset, but I wasn't sure why. Surely, he wasn't upset that I was talking with Mr. Stringer and Mr. Robinson. I'd spoken to them plenty of times. I didn't see him again for the rest of the day. Even when Arthur came to say goodbye, he didn't come with him.

When Alison and I returned to Sanditon House in the evening, Lady Denham was in the library with a few of her many servants removing books off the shelves. She had crate after crate of books stacked up.

"What's all this, Lady Denham?" Alison asked.

"Ah, there you girls are," she greeted. "I'm cleaning out my library of books. There are far too many books in here. Many have never even been read. My late husband was an avid reader and connoisseur of books. I have no use for them, so they are all going."

"What do you plan to do with them?" I asked.

"Oh, donate them to some university or girl's school in London, I would think. Perhaps they will have more use for them."

"We could open a library here in Sanditon," Alison suggested nonchalantly while flipping through one of the many books.

"That's a great idea!" I exclaimed. "What do you think, Lady Denham?"

"Another building I have to fund! Poppycock!"

"We wouldn't have to build anything new. Perhaps there's a building somewhere already in town not occupied. I'm sure it wouldn't cost much to turn it into a library. We could find someone to oversee the borrowing of books in exchange for room and board. It wouldn't be much of an expense at all. Alison and I will oversee everything," I offered.

She pondered the thought for a moment. "I suppose if I'm not paying for anything, I could agree."

Alison and I smiled at the potential of a new project, especially a library.

"What do you plan to do with this room after all the books are cleared out?" I asked, walking around the large room that was now echoing with the lack of books on the shelves.

"I'm having some renovations done beyond just my drawing room floor. This seemed like a good place to start," she explained. "I'm thinking of turning this room into a nursery for when Esther visits with the baby and, god-willing, more as the years go by. Perhaps both of you will bring little ones around as well."

"I never knew you to care much for children," I said.

"I said I was never blessed with any. Doesn't mean I didn't want them," she clarified. "I'm looking forward to watching Esther become a mother."

"I think it's a grand idea. I'm sure Esther will appreciate the gesture," I said.

"Yes, it is, isn't it?" she said going back to directing her servants on which bookshelves to empty next.

I glanced over at Alison who was enthralled in a book she found in the stack. Her mouth hung open and her eyes were wild with amazement. I walked over and glanced over her shoulder. "What are you reading?"

She quickly shut the book and dropped it on the floor. "It's nothing," she said.

I picked it up, curious what she was reading. I flipped through the pages and my eyes grew wide with what I saw. I can't even describe what was in the book. Drawn Pictures of women and men doing unmentionable acts. I stared at my sister in a scolding way. She looked away like she was embarrassed. I, myself, was embarrassed. I hid the book in my skirt and took it with me up to my room. I peaked at it again, before hiding it where no one would find it. I didn't think it an appropriate book for a library in town, anyway.

After we ate with Lady Denham, I went back to my room and once again peeked at the book. I was curious and couldn't help myself. I only looked at a few pages before putting it away and vowing not to look at it again. Although, during the night I had dreams of some of the pictures I had seen in the book mixed with Sidney's body I had seen at the cove. It was a restless night, to say the least.

In the morning, I splashed my face with some cold water and pushed the thoughts of the dream away, knowing full well it was wrong and I shouldn't have those thoughts. I was supposed to be moving on with my life. I had to be determined to get over Sidney Parker.

I walked down to see the process on the library cleanout and found Lady Denham discussing renovation plans with someone I'd never met. It was still very early. It seemed an odd time for a meeting. I walked in the room and listened to this man talk about what he thought would be a great look for the room and ran numbers by Lady Denham. He seemed to not have a clue what he was talking about and was planning on charging her far too much. She seemed thrilled though and shook his hand thanking him for his services.

When he went to leave, I curtsied politely towards him before making my way over to his plans he left behind to have a look for myself. "Well, what do you think of Mr. Frank's ideas? I've brought him all the way from London to create the grandest nursery in all of England."

I gave her a saddened look before I began. "Can I be honest with you?" I asked nervously.

"Of course! I wouldn't accept anything less."

"I think his plans are a little ridiculous," I said. "He's got a big chunk taken out of the wall here. If you do that, the structure won't hold. This whole side is the foundation for the rest of the floors of the house. Beyond that, he's talking of charging you far too much for a simple room design."

She hummed and observed me for a moment. "What would you suggest then?"

"For starters, I wouldn't take out the wall." I scribbled across Mr. Franks plans and changed a few things, added a couple others.

She came over and saw what I had done and smiled. "I believe you should be getting paid an architect wage with these skills," she said.

I laughed. "I'm not taking anything for myself. I have no need to."

"You haven't worked in a wage for yourself with everything you're doing?" she asked with a sound of disappointment."

"What do I need a wage for? I only want Sanditon to be beautiful like it's meant to be. I'll do whatever I need to make that happen," I explained. She observed me for quite some time before turning back to the plans in front of her. I explained a few more details to her and watched as her eyes lit up with excitement. I offered to invite Mr. Stringer out to look at the plans and perhaps oversee the renovation project. He would give her a fair price and know a little more about what he was doing than that Mr. Frank she brought from London.

"I'm going to insist you take a wage from the Sanditon rebuild," Lady Denham said.

I shook my head. "I cannot do that."

"And why not?" she asked forcefully.

"Mr. Parker has been paying the men's wages. I don't want to take his money," I answered sadly.

"If Sidney Parker is paying the wages, he must be in possession of his fortune. I asked him to come see me this week, but he has not. I will call on him again. I would like my investment back."

"If I see him today, I'll let him know also."

Alison came down the stairs and looked at me expectantly. We were to meet with Sidney again to practice fighting. She had overslept a little and was now ready to go. But getting by Lady Denham was going to be tough now.

"Shall we have breakfast before you leave for the day?" Lady Denham asked.

I looked at Alison with wide eyes. "I think we may just grab a little something to go, Lady Denham," Alison said. "We have a lot to do today and we want to take advantage of the nice weather."

"Very well," she agreed. "Please make sure you take plenty for the afternoon as well."

"We will," we said in unison.

NOTES: So... I contemplated on whether to include a particular book scene. I had to ask my husband, who has never seen Sanditon but probably knows the whole story from me, what he thought. He said to leave it. Later in the story this book will have relevance. Hopefully no one thought it inappropriate.