Bright and early the next morning Sidney sat at one of the tables at the hotel waiting for the arrival of Charles, Nicholas and Samuel. He had corresponded with Charles and they all agreed to first arrive at the hotel then he would take them to Trafalgar house to meet his family and Charlotte then they would have a meeting with Lady Denham at Sanditon house.
He stepped outside just as the carriages were pulling up. Passersby looked on with curiosity as the carriages came to a stop. The three men stepped out.
"Sidney! Well met!" Charles said as he shook his hand.
"Welcome to Sanditon, gentlemen," Sidney said as he shook Charles' and Nicholas' hands.
Charles turned towards Samuel and formally introduced him to Sidney.
"Gentlemen, I cannot thank you enough for coming and agreeing to help my family and I in our time of need. You can go ahead and get settled into your hotel rooms and when you are ready you can come by my brother's home which is just right there." He said, pointing to the house just yards away.
"Afterwards, my brother and I will take you to meet the lady of the town who is its principal investor."
The men nodded as their belongings were unloaded from the carriages.
About half an hour later the bell rang at Trafalgar House. Tom and Sidney, along with Mary and Charlotte, stood in the foyer ready to welcome their guests. Once they stepped inside Sidney spoke.
"Allow me to make the introductions. This is Charles, his good friend Samuel, and my friend Nicholas."
The three men nodded in greeting.
"Gentlemen, this is my brother Tom Parker, his wife Mary and my fiancée Charlotte Heywood."
Charles smiled brightly and spoke. "It is a pleasure to meet you all and to be here. Nicholas and I have known Sidney for quite some time and he has helped us both many times without hesitation therefore it is time we returned the favor. Apologies for not being able to visit Sanditon sooner but now we look forward to visiting Sanditon for many years to come and of course first help the town rise from its ashes. There is much work to be done but we are confident that everything will be sorted out in a timely fashion."
Samuel then spoke up.
"Although I just met Sidney just days ago, I was very impressed by what Charles told me about his work ethic and his determination to help his family. As Sidney has hopefully told you by now, I offered to bring some of my workers to help with the rebuilding. They will be arriving tomorrow and we can start going over the plans with the workers you already have. Of course, if you have any type of model or drawing of the terrace or even of the town itself that would be helpful as well (A/N: The blueprint wasn't developed until the 1840s which was roughly 25 years after Jane Austen's death so I decided not to use that term). Bear in mind that the terrace design may not turn out exactly how you originally planned it to."
"That won't be a problem," Sidney said. "Any and all suggestions are welcome. If it isn't too much trouble, I took the liberty of offering my brother to still be a part of the design planning. Of course any ideas will be within a set budget. If an idea can still work after being scaled down, I think those should still be taken into consideration."
"That is agreeable. As long as we work together I think the end result will be a positive one."
They all moved to the study and continued to talk about what was to come in the rebuilding process and making sure that there was a place for Samuel's workers to stay. They also discussed how much work they hoped to get done before the colder months came as summer would soon be ending. The three men were appreciative when Tom told them of his suggestion to have a ball to welcome them to Sanditon.
They did not want the Parker family to do anything too extravagant for them with the upcoming ball but they were grateful nonetheless and excited to experience a Sanditon ball.
Before it got too late in the day Sidney, Charlotte and Tom took the three men to Sanditon house to meet Lady Denham. Of course Sidney had not forgotten that Lady Denham needed to know of the Prince Regent's request. Although he did not show it, Sidney knew that Tom was still not happy that he was being cast aside and he just hoped that Lady Denham would not make Tom feel any worse than he already was.
When they arrive at Sanditon house they are led to the parlor where Lady Denham is seated. She eyes the three strangers walking behind the Parker brothers and Charlotte.
"I gather you have news for me?" Lady Denham asks no one in particular.
"Yes, we do, Lady Denham." Tom says. "I will let my brother speak about his trip to London."
"Lady Denham, allow me to introduce my friends: Charles Dawson, Nicholas Mason and Samuel Green. They have all offered to invest in Sanditon and the rebuilding of the terrace as well as promote Sanditon to their friends and acquaintances. Mr. Green here has offered his own workers to help Mr. Stringer and the rest of the men. Moreover, Lord Babington left £15000 before he and your niece departed for their honeymoon."
"Splendid, but where does that leave Mr. Tom Parker?"
"Whilst I was in London I spoke to Lady Susan Worcester. She was kind enough to introduce me to the Prince Regent and he has agreed to accompany her to Sanditon in a few weeks time. However, he requested that Ms. Heywood and I host him. I offered my brother the chance to still be involved in the design planning of the terrace. He obviously has the original plans and there might actually be a chance to improve on and expand them so we will certainly figure that out together with the investors and with Mr. Stringer. I will handle the finances and make sure that the investments of my friends, as well as your continued investment, is used productively."
"Very well. That is agreeable. Therefore, I will not retract my investment."
"Thank you. My brother suggested we give my friends a proper welcome to Sanditon so what is your opinion about having another ball come the week's end?"
"I suppose that could be arranged."
Tom spoke up then. "Lady Denham, I would like to address the people of Sanditon to inform them of what is happening with the rebuilding of the terrace. Introducing these gentlemen as investors will certainly present questions from Sanditon's inhabitants on why additional investors, besides yourself, are needed in the first place. I would like to be honest with them."
Before Lady Denham could answer, Sidney spoke up.
"Lady Denham, you may not believe it still, but my brother is fully adamant on taking responsibility for his mistakes. If all goes well, I will have no objection to giving my brother back the reins of Sanditon somewhere in the future."
Lady Denham was silent for a few moments. "Very well. Honesty would be the appropriate action to take. And what will Miss Heywood's role be as I assume she will have one, being the future Mrs. Parker."
"I've asked her to help me organize all of the financial papers. Once we have all of it organized, we will be able to make a list of things we need and a record of how much the workers will be paid and when, among other things. Also, given the success of the regatta, she will also help organize events and balls for the upcoming winter season as there won't be much to do outdoors and the rebuilding will be temporarily paused. As much as possible will get done before the weather conditions get difficult."
"Well, it seems like you have it all figured out for now."
"I believe so. Once Lord and Lady Babington return to Sanditon, he will join Miss Heywood and I in entertaining the Prince Regent and Lady Susan and showing them around town. Of course you will have the opportunity to meet them first."
"Excellent as I was most unfortunate to miss the first regatta but I am more than able bodied enough to meet the royalty that will soon arrive in Sanditon. I must admit that you achieved something that I have not seen in this town ever."
Sidney looks between Tom and Charlotte for their reactions to Lady Denham's comment.
"It was really Miss Heywood who achieved it as she befriended Lady Susan in London. My brother may have made some mistakes along the way but his vision has always been clear."
"Yes, yes. However it seems like Miss Heywood came to Sanditon at the right time after all."
"Yes it would. She might not be the richest person in the world but her intellect and determination are invaluable."
"I suppose I can see why you fancy her, Mr. Parker, as opposed to that haughty Mrs. Campion. Although I have not met the woman, her reputation is questionable."
Sidney smirked and looked at Charlotte once more. She smirked back at him.
"My trials and tribulations have led me to a wonderful woman and I do not regret my past. I only wish to move forward from here."
"Well said. When do you plan to wed?"
"We do not know yet. I would like to properly court Miss Heywood a little more but we do not want to wait too long either. Perhaps in late winter or early spring before next year's summer season. It is our hope that next summer will turn out much better than this summer with the balls and a second annual regatta and so forth."
"Let us hope it will be as you say. I look forward to your next visit accompanied by the Prince Regent and Lady Susan."
Soon after Sidney, Charlotte, Tom and the three men took their leave. As soon as Samuel's workers would arrive the next day they would begin the rebuilding process. Things in Sanditon were looking up.