This extended farewell scene from Season One was written for useyourtelescope, a fellow fan of the Charlotte/James pairing, for the 2021 Juletide Exchange.

A Bit of Hope

"May…may I write to you?"

The hesitant question sounded across the room just as Charlotte reached for the door to let herself out of Mr. Stringer's lodgings. She turned quickly back towards the speaker again to find that even though the man had not moved from his position in front of the hearth, a look had appeared upon his visage that she could not immediately identify. In fact, it contained such a mix of emotions that it was impossible for her to puzzle them all out.

Nevertheless, Charlotte thought she could discern a glimmer of affection there directed towards her. Little did she suspect the actual depth of his feelings. However, to her surprise, she found that what she was able to see warmed her shattered heart a bit. After all, it was quite nice to realize that…despite whatever else may have happened…at least Mr. Stringer still held her in high regard. That warmth increased even more when she recalled that he had tried to comfort her earlier and make her remember her own self-worth after her disappointment - even though his own misfortunes were far worse than her own.

As Charlotte embraced the unexpectedly pleasant feeling, she focused on the man in front of her. She knew that she had enjoyed his company very much during her time at Sanditon and that he had become a friend whom she would sorely miss – even as much as Georgiana and Mary, if she was to be honest with herself. Indeed, that was why she had come to give her farewells to him in person in the first place. She had simply wanted to see him one last time.

Besides that, even in the midst of her own pain, she knew that his was still greater. After all, her heart did grieve for what she had lost, but she was headed back into the bosom of her family for comfort. Thus, surrounded by such familiarity, she had high hopes that her disappointment would eventually fade and she would soon be able to be herself again.

Mr. Stringer, however, had just lost his only family. Therefore, he no longer had such recourse. As a result, he would need the support and encouragement of all of his friends…including her…in order to move forward and perhaps, one day, be ready to pursue his own dreams again. Consequently, she smiled back warmly at him.

"Of course," she replied with heartfelt sincerity to his query. "I look forward to receiving your letters…but be forewarned. You may eventually regret the request because I shall write back with far more detail about the life of a farmer's daughter…and all of the books that I shall read…as well as the exploits of all of my younger brothers and sisters…than you should probably ever want to know."

That lighthearted reply finally provoked a small smile from the young man. "I doubt that, Miss," he replied and Charlotte was pleased to note that his tone was much warmer than before, more like it had been before such tragedy had befallen him. "In fact, I should very much like to know how Miss Charlotte Heywood behaves when she is at home among her own."

"Be careful what you wish for," the young lady replied with a glimmer of her former playfulness, as well. After all, there was just something about Mr. Stringer that always made her feel at ease. Unfortunately, that made her imminent departure all the more regrettable.

Yes, I will definitely miss his company, she acknowledged to herself.

That unhappy knowledge added a touch of sadness to her sweet smile as she gave one final farewell wave before she stepped out of the door of his modest rooms for the final time. However, even as she left, she still held onto the promise of their future correspondence as a bit of hope that their acquaintance would not fall to the wayside because of her absence.

"Farewell…Charlotte," Mr. Stringer whispered in response…and his morose tone reappeared…as he watched the door close behind her. His all-too-temporary cheer had vanished again…just as quickly as it had arrived - especially since the most intriguing lady he had ever met seemed to take what little light there was in the small space with her when she left.

Nevertheless, he still felt comforted by the fact that she was at least fond enough of him to be willing to continue their acquaintance. Thus, he knew well that he would look forward to and welcome each piece of her correspondence as a ray of sunshine in such dark times. He would not quite allow himself to hope for more than that, though.

After all, he knew that not only did the lovely young woman not know how he felt about her…simply because he had never had the chance to tell her before Parker had come between them…but it was also extremely unlikely that he would ever see in person again the one who unknowingly held his heart. In fact, James knew that he was certain to be in Sanditon for much of the foreseeable future during the rebuilding – especially since he felt honor bound to complete the work his father had wished for him to do there. However, due to recent events, he did not expect that Miss Heywood would ever desire to spend any more time in the location herself. Nor would he wish such a painful reminder upon her as the place would surely bring.

Plus, in addition to that long separation, even if they did manage to cross paths in the future, she may not ever to able to recover enough to accept someone else into her heart. Not after the hurt that the scoundrel Parker had caused her when he rejected her for someone with more money and connections. Oh, how he wanted to punch the blighter in the face for his foul treatment of such an angel! In fact, it made his blood boil just to think about how the rogue had been so careless with the woman's affections after he had been lucky enough to win them in the first place – especially since they had been so desired elsewhere.

Perhaps, though, he thought when he managed to calm himself down from such fiery musings, I do not give Miss Heywood enough credit.

In truth, she had constantly surprised him…in one way or the other…ever since they had first met that day on the building site. In fact, that...along with her multitude of other charms...had probably been the reason that he had fallen for her so quickly. Therefore, if he was very lucky, after some time had passed to aid in the healing of her wounded heart, perhaps she would be able to surprise him again. That pleasant thought…as well as the memory of her sweet smile as she departed…brought him some strength in his disappointment and grief. Consequently, he found that he was able to return to work again with a heart that felt a little lighter than before as he already began to plan out his first letter to Miss Heywood in his mind.

After all, he knew that even just a bit of hope was far better than none at all!

Author's Note: I believe this one-shot stands well on its own with a realistic, but "hopeful," ending that is definitely heading in the right direction. However, I still strongly suspect that I will continue it at some point in the near future in order to insure the more concrete and satisfying resolution for our heroine and her suitor that they deserve.