The day before Charles, Nicholas, and Samuel were expected to arrive in Sanditon, Sidney, Charlotte, Tom, Mary, and Georgiana planned to go to the Parker house so Charlotte and Georgiana could see it. Mrs. Griffiths was also going to join them to chaperone Georgiana.
Charlotte was very eager to see the Parker home. She and Sidney had yet to speak with Reverend Hankins to have the first banns read, but getting to see the Parker house for the first time still made everything feel real that soon she would be marrying Sidney and moving into the home.
At Tom's insistence, he was able to find the necessary staff himself for the home. He was doing everything he could to show that he was truly supportive of Sidney and Charlotte's relationship. He was still dealing with the guilt of being responsible for almost separating the couple, but he was determined to make amends with them as well as with Mary.
Upon arrival, Sidney offered Charlotte his arm as they entered the house. By the end of the tour, Charlotte had fallen in love with the home. Even Georgiana seemed excited when she was shown what would be her bedroom. There wasn't much that Charlotte wanted to change in the home. The other Parkers shared their memories of the home with Charlotte and Georgiana as they walked through. Even Sidney shared some anecdotes of his own. Although the house is tied to the loss of their parents, the Parkers still hold onto the memories of their childhood fondly. Sidney was certainly looking forward to making new memories in the home with Charlotte.
After they finished going through the house, Tom suggested a walk on the beach. Starting the next day the Parker family was going to be very busy and the summer season would be soon coming to an end so they all wanted to enjoy those little moments as much as they could. Charlotte was especially eager at the suggestion. Sidney noticed her excitement and smiled. He knew she was probably thinking of the last time they walked on the beach together.
A short time later after Tom and Mary had gone to fetch the children, they found themselves walking on the beach.
"So, now I am the odd one out, am I?" Georgiana directed at Sidney and Charlotte.
Charlotte almost cringed, flushing with embarrassment remembering the day she and Sidney argued in the street because of Georgiana and Otis. Sidney frowned. "Georgiana…."
"What? The least I could do about my heartache is replace it with humor, no? Unlike someone I know. You needed a better coping mechanism, Sidney."
"Well I don't need it anymore now, do I?"
"Of course not. Just thought I'd lighten the mood since we are trying to get along now and all."
Sidney rolled his eyes while Charlotte giggled beside him. "Remember, I am still your guardian for another two years, Georgiana."
"Yes, I know. No harm in making a peace offering now though if you say you're going to try."
Sidney chuckled and shook his head. "I suppose not."
"Well, I can only take so much of you two swooning over each other for one day so I will leave you two alone and go join Mary and the children. But know that I, as well as everyone else, will have my eye on you two so no running off or anything." Georgiana half teased the couple as she walked away towards Mary.
"It seems like Georgiana is now the one with an odd coping mechanism, but I suppose it's better than what I did."
"You don't have to punish yourself over it anymore, you know. I understand. Maybe I should've listened to you and stayed in the carriage."
"While that would've been ideal, I should have expected you to challenge my authority as you already had on several occasions. To be frank, that's one of the things I have come to love most about you. I tried to push you away, intimidate you but you pushed back and stood your ground every time we had some sort of confrontation."
Charlotte smiled briefly then got serious. "Speaking of which, I do believe I owe you another apology. And before you object, I still would like to say my piece. You may think I do not need to say anything but I am doing this for me because I believe that I should."
Sidney nodded, letting Charlotte continue. "Upon reflection, I realized that I should not have mocked you the way that I did that day when you discovered that Otis was in Sanditon. It was very unladylike of me. You had been sincere in your request for that favor and I did not honor that request."
"I will admit that I was disappointed as I had begun to gain a different perspective on things between us after Old Stringer's accident and after playing boats with the children, but I will say that witnessing you imitate me actually made me reflect on one thing in particular."
"Oh? And what was that, if I may ask?"
"Well although I didn't act on it right away it was a bit of a shock to see you imitate me smoking. After I left for London to search for Georgiana I never picked up another smoke." (A/N: if I remember correctly based off of the Twitter Q&As there was no clear answer as to WHY Sidney stopped smoking after the cricket match so I kinda made up the reason and thought it seemed pretty logical)
"But you still did at the cricket match," Charlotte pointed out.
"Yes, that's what I meant. I guess I felt compelled to still do it that day for the gentleman's sport."
"There is nothing wrong with that and I certainly wouldn't hold it against you. "
"Like I said, you have changed me in more ways than one and I will be forever grateful for it even if we had had no future together."
"Lucky for us we do and we will have a future together. I may be naïve to love but I know that the outlier Sidney Parker will be my first and my only love."
Sidney chuckled and stopped and turned to face Charlotte before leaning in for a soft kiss.
"And I know that you, my ubiquitous Miss Charlotte Heywood, are the only woman I want by my side for the rest of my life."
Sidney pressed his lips to Charlotte's forehand as they smiled at each other.
"I have my eye on you two!" Georgiana spoke loudly from a few feet away.
"Georgiana!" Mrs. Griffiths admonished.
Sidney chuckled while Charlotte once again flushed with embarrassment.
"Despite somewhat having an audience, I am glad we had this discussion because although I do not want us to keep apologizing for everything we may do wrong to each other, for my part, starting our courtship with a mutual understanding is important."
"I agree. Is there something else you feel the need to apologize for then?"
"Well yes. I realize yet again that I attempted to put you in an awkward situation not only when we had our conversation after the first ball but also during our conversation after Old Stringer's accident. Once again you put me in my place for bringing up our encounter at the coves."
Charlotte blushed. "Well even though I said otherwise, I might have been a tad embarrassed. You were truly the first man I have seen in that state."
"And more so, you really didn't wish to see me at all, did you? No matter what state I was in."
"I suppose not. And you didn't wish to see me either."
"Well, as I said, I thought I had found a secluded spot but clearly it wasn't so secluded if you happened upon it," Sidney smirked.
"Perhaps we can do it together once we are married."
"Oh, so you wish to seabathe as the men do?"
"Possibly…." Charlotte replied, coyly.
"Woman, you may do me in yet. We'll have to make sure the first banns are read as soon as possible."
Charlotte smiled brightly. "So, there is something that has been on my mind since you returned from London that I wanted to ask you."
"I'm all ears, Charlotte."
"You told Tom that there were several things that happened the day of the regatta that gave you clarity about me and Mrs. Campion. I believe I'm aware of two, but 'several' implies more than two."
Sidney was not surprised by Charlotte's cleverness and attention to detail.
"I think I know which two you are referring to and yes there happens to be a third. I am curious as to whether or not you were aware of this beforehand, but Mr. Stringer said something to me after winning the gentleman's boat race that implied that you were not interested in him romantically and instead were interested in me. Up until then I was admittedly not completely sure of your feelings towards me even after everything that happened in London before Mrs. Campion appeared. After receiving his trophy he told me that it wasn't the prize he was after. I immediately realized he was referring to you and that was the final push that I needed to have that final conversation with Mrs. Campion and then approach you later that evening. Were you aware that Mr. Stringer fancied you?"
Charlotte thought for a moment before realization hit her. "I think he was trying to confess his feelings to me before the regatta without me realizing it. The conversation we had ended with me simply saying that I thought he was a sympathetic listener."
Sidney couldn't help but chuckle and a small smirk came to his face. Charlotte continued.
"At the Midsummer ball I told Mr. Stringer that I wasn't sure I'd be returning to Willingden at the season's end, that I had found a reason to stay. Even without me saying your name, he must have realized I was referring to you because he responded that he hoped that you would prove worthy of me."
Sidney smiled. "Truthfully, I also hope that I prove worthy of you."
"You HAVE proven worthy of me."
"And you have proven worthy of me as well." Sidney said before Charlotte could continue. "I know you must feel inferior because of the difference of wealth and social class but you must know that that is something I have never and will never care for."
"I know that now. I assume your experience with Mrs. Campion contributed to that?"
"In part, yes. Also my brief involvement with the sugar trade."
"I understand. I am glad that you are no longer that person you once were a decade ago."
Sidney smiled. "I too am glad about that. Now, I have a question of my own."
Charlotte nodded and gestured for him to continue.
"At the ball in London when I found you to ask for a dance I wondered what you were discussing with Lady Susan as she had mentioned my name."
"I told her that you inspired an anger in me that I did not know I possessed but that your good opinion meant more to me than anyone else's."
Sidney smiled and kissed Charlotte's hand. "And what did she say to you?"
"She concluded that I must be in love with you. I tried to deny it but deep down even then I knew it to be true. When she was here for the regatta she had inquired if you knew that I was in love with you. Mrs. Campion's presence discouraged me from thinking that you would reciprocate my feelings. I am glad I was wrong in the end, but I had told Lady Susan that you were spoken for."
Sidney couldn't help but still feel guilty that he almost let Mrs. Campion come between them.
"Well, I AM spoken for, just not by Mrs. Campion."
Charlotte smiled. "Our time in London was monumental, don't you think?"
"I will certainly agree. While I would never want to compromise your reputation, I was grateful for your help in rescuing Georgiana."
"I gained a new perspective about you from our conversations in London, as well as knowing that you paid off Otis' debts."
"As I said before I hope that I have proven that I do listen to you. I needed to acknowledge to you that I underestimated you. I know I was still vague about my history with Mrs. Campion and that you had to hear about it from Tom. For that I extend another apology."
"I accept your apology and I believe Tom is sincere as well in his apology. I can see that he is truly interested in making amends with us and with Mary. I had tried to help him organize all of his papers but it proved to be a difficult task."
"Now that I will handle the finances of Sanditon I still would like you to help me with the paperwork. I know that you are capable of doing the best job of it."
"Very well, Mr. Parker. I will gladly assist you." Charlotte mock formally replied, making Sidney laugh.
No more words were necessary between them for the moment. Both Sidney and Charlotte were glad that they were able to have that conversation and move forward from everything that had happened since Charlotte arrived in Sanditon up until Sidney's confession after the regatta. They spent the rest of their time at the beach watching the children play and being in each other's company.
PAGE BREAK
When the family returned to Trafalgar House and Mrs. Griffiths had taken Georgiana back to her lodgings, Tom called Sidney into his study.
"Sidney, I have an idea that I wanted to run by you if you have no objection."
"Of course not, Tom. What is it?"
"I feel like the appropriate thing to do would be to inform Sanditon's inhabitants of what is going on with the rebuilding of the terrace. We can leave out the more grim details if you think we should although I do plan to acknowledge my fault to some degree. I am ashamed to admit to everyone that I did not acquire the insurance for the building but I want them to know that we have acquired investors to help cover the costs. I do think we should give the investors an appropriate welcome….within our means, of course."
"I think that's agreeable and we do not have to go into the details with everyone if you do not want to. What exactly do you have in mind? A ball?"
"I guess our options are limited beyond a ball, don't you think?"
"I suppose you are right. We can downscale a bit from the Midsummer ball if we are able to and think we need to. Although the summer is coming to a close, this is like the beginning of a rebirth for Sanditon, wouldn't you say?"
"Absolutely. And although some of our acquaintances already know we can also make a second announcement of your engagement. I'm sure your friends that are arriving tomorrow will be delighted to hear the news."
"Yes, Charlotte and I would like that very much."
The Parkers and Charlotte knew things were about to be very busy but they were determined to stand by each other no matter what
A/N: So I know that the cast has reunited and is beginning to read through scripts and such and I think that's pretty cool but I have decided that I won't follow the updates nor watch the new seasons. I'm sure it's still an unpopular opinion but I am a fan of Theo James first and foremost despite any lingering feelings of disappointment in his decision. As I said previously, just because I'm not officially in the fandom anymore doesn't mean I won't complete this story and again, I may even write at least a few more stories for this fandom, no matter the length.
With photos of Theo and Ruth's daughter being somewhat public (if you know where to find them) from an outing they had in NYC at the end of June, I think they deserve a bit of privacy. Whatever hate they may still be getting from Sanditon fans needs to stop. They are professionals and there's a difference between the real life actor and the character that is being played. Theo and Rose had amazing chemistry on screen but nothing more. Unfortunately I don't think they had much of an opportunity to develop a friendship or a rapport off screen as they really didn't do a lot of interviews together. Theo and Ruth are clearly happy with their life and careers. Theo made it clear from the beginning (when the show was initially cancelled) that he only saw it as one season. Everything I've said probably sounds redundant after almost three months since the announcements and maybe it seems stupid to choose an actor over a TV show so to speak but I'm a loyal TJ/RK fan so that's my stance on things.
Also, I'm sure in reality the conversation that Sidlotte has in this chapter might be longer than appropriate for the time period so that's why I wrote it in a way where they weren't completely alone.