The church bells tolled on a beautiful summer day as Lord Babington and Esther Denham exchanged vows. The ceremony was beautiful with the bride and groom radiating happiness. Sidney and Charlotte had both stood up with the couple during the ceremony. From time to time they stole glances at each other. They both were thinking of their own upcoming wedding day. They weren't in full planning mode quite yet however as they hadn't formally announced their engagement. The only people who knew were Georgiana, Tom, Mary, Diana and Arthur. Charlotte had written to her family as soon as she and Sidney returned to Trafalgar house after talking with Georgiana and Mrs. Griffiths.

Once the ceremony concluded, the guests mingled in the spacious courtyard behind Sanditon house. Lady Denham was quite satisfied to see her niece and sole heir wed into high society. Lord Babington had a good standing and would certainly be influential in Sanditon.

Sidney and Charlotte kept a bit of distance between each other so as to not attract any attention but they were always aware of where the other one was at all times. Finally when he couldn't bear to be far from her any longer, Sidney walked up to her.

"Miss Heywood, would you like to join me to congratulate the newlyweds?"

"Of course, Mr. Parker."

They walked together towards where Babington and Esther were receiving congratulations from other guests. They were not touching but were close enough to feel each other's body heat.

Babington and Esther smiled when they saw them approaching. Sidney was the first to speak.

"Congratulations Ben, Esther," Sidney said. (A/N: During one of the rewatches/Twitter Q&A earlier this year it was revealed that Lord Babington's first initial is "B". There's obviously endless possibilities of what his exact first name could be but I thought Benjamin would be common enough)

"Yes, congratulations you two. So happy to see you finally together." Charlotte beamed. Esther smiled back warmly.

Lord Babington eyed Sidney and Charlotte curiously. He could tell that there was something that they were not saying.

"Is it safe to say that the same could be said for you two very soon? Or are you still waiting on a favorable answer, Sidney?"

"You would be correct, old friend. I have finally received a favorable answer."

He took Charlotte's hand and tucked it in the crook of his arm.

"Well Charlotte, I for one am glad to see that someone has finally tamed Sidney here." Esther said.

Babington looked at his new bride, almost wide eyed and Sidney just chuckled.

"Thank you, Esther. I have apologized to Charlotte for being such a brute to her and I know without a doubt that she makes me a better man."

"I trust that you will take care of her. I know that Charlotte and I have sort of an odd friendship but I hope that the four of us will become even closer as friends."

"Of course, Esther." Charlotte replied. "I would love that."

"When are you formally announcing your engagement?" Babington asked in a low voice.

"We don't know yet. Only our families know about it."

"Well, what would you say to announcing it here right now?"

Both Sidney and Charlotte were surprised by Babington's offer.

"Are you sure? This is your day after all."

"I am absolutely certain and Esther doesn't mind either, do you my bride?."

"Of course not. It's another reason to celebrate."

"If you'll allow me…" Babington inquired. Sidney and Charlotte smiled and nodded.

Babington clinked a utensil against his glass to get everyone's attention.

"Ladies and gentlemen, first of all on behalf of myself and my wife I want to thank you for celebrating this day with us. We could not be happier than we are today. Each and every one of you is very important to us. I have a very special announcement to make and before anyone gets too excited, no, my beautiful bride is not yet with child but we will make that happen sooner rather than later. See, today is not just about celebrating the love that my wife and I have for each other but also the love between two particular guests here today. It is my pleasure to be able to announce the engagement of my good friend, Sidney Parker to Miss Charlotte Heywood!"

The guests all cheered for the newly engaged couple. Charlotte blushed a little at the attention. Sidney squeezed her hand in comfort and reassurance and smiled down at her. A few of the guests came up to them to offer their congratulations. Lady Denham then walked up.

"So you did find a rich husband after all, Miss Heywood."

"No Lady Denham, I have found a man who I share mutual love and affection with." Charlotte said, politely.

"Hmm well no matter. What would you say to having the wedding celebrations here at Sanditon house?"

"That would be wonderful, Lady Denham. Thank you. Everything was beautiful and well organized here today."

Sidney and Charlotte exchanged a smile as Lady Denham walked away.

As the celebration drew to a close Babington approached Sidney once again.

"Sidney, I left something for you at the hotel so you can get it whenever you can. Esther and I should be back in Sanditon by the time the Prince Regent arrives so I will be glad to join you in entertaining him."

"Of course, but I thought you'd have a longer honeymoon?"

"That was our original plan but after the scare with Lady Denham, Esther doesn't want to be away from her for too long even when she insists that she's fine."

Sidney nodded. Lady Denham was certainly a tough woman and after everything that happened with Edward and Clara that seemed to make her even tougher. If anyone deserves to inherit Lady Denham's fortune when the time comes, it's Esther.

Sidney escorted Charlotte back to Trafalgar House to bid her goodnight. Now that everyone knew of their engagement they were eager to start planning. Although they still couldn't publicly show displays of affection, they were content with being able to do so behind closed doors. Sidney felt like he was starting over and experiencing things for the first time with Charlotte. Even the thought of those houses of ill repute disgusted him now. He was now a man bound to only one woman for the rest of his life.

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The next morning Sidney retrieved the envelope that Babington left for him. There was a note inside.

Sidney,

In this envelope you will find a check for £15000, £10000 from me and £5000 from Crowe. I know you'll need a little extra to do quick improvements around town before the Prince Regent arrives so hopefully this helps. Do not worry about having to pay us back. Consider this an early wedding gift.

Your friend,

Babington

Sidney smiled as he finished reading the note. He knew there was not a whole lot of time to make vast improvements around Sanditon but hopefully some small improvements could be made within the next two or three weeks with this generous donation.

He walked over to Trafalgar House to tell Tom, Mary and Charlotte about Babington's generous donation. The children were always happy to see him and he realized just how hard it would be to be far away from them again. Henry was eager to play with their boats again on the river and maybe this time he and his uncle Sidney would be the victors.

"Any news, Sidney?" Tom asked as soon as they settled in the study.

"Yes. Babington left £15000 for us to use towards quick improvements around town. Have you come up with any ideas yet?"

"We are working on that, yes." Mary said. "First, since the regatta seemed to be a success thanks to Charlotte, we thought that it should be an annual event. There's not much residents and visitors can do outdoors during the winter months so I thought maybe we could try and come up with some indoor events. Besides a winter ball we can have something for the children to get presents, maybe an event for the men as well as one for the women."

"Those all sound like solid ideas, Mary, and certainly things that are not too over the top extravagant. Perhaps we could also keep doing the sand castle competition for the children before the regatta if we can't come up with anything else. And also just like you suggested for the winter season, in the summer we can have other events for the men and some for the women."

Tom and Mary agreed.

"Now, we need to figure out what can be updated before the Prince Regent arrives. For example, if we can update the bathing machines I think we should."

Tom nodded. The four of them continued to discuss the small improvements that could be made around town within a certain budget. Sidney had feared that Tom's ideas would still be outlandish but everything that Tom suggested was actually not too complicated at all. Sidney was glad to see that Tom was finally thinking reasonably when it came to the plans for Sanditon. It was too late to change the past but hopefully, as Mary had said, this was a fresh start for the town and for their family. He was not at all surprised when Charlotte took Mary's ideas a step further as well with specific suggestions for events they could hold for the townspeople and visitors. She had even said that she already felt like Sanditon was her second home from the moment she arrived and that she could not wait to see the Parker home and build a life with Sidney.

A/N: I struggled a bit with the second half of this chapter. I thought it'd be easier coming up with an idea to finish the chapter properly but it wasn't. So I hope it's still to everyone's liking.