The Sanditon Regatta had begun in earnest. The townspeople had ventured from their homes and the beach and riverside fields had filled with crowds before the sun had reached its zenith. When Charlotte and George arrived, she had been quickly surrounded by the younger Parker children who quickly persuaded her to help them build their sandcastle for the children's competition that morning.
To Charlotte's surprise, Eliza could be seen sitting on a blanket in the sand with her son as he piled up a misshapen mound of the grainy substance with his hands. Mrs Parker's despair at the mess little Thomas had made of himself could be seen by all but no one could deny the fondness in her expression as she watched him.
"Mrs Parker." she said as she was towed past the mother and son by the eager the little hands that held her own.
Eliza looked up and frowned at the sight of the younger woman but nodded in acknowledgement of the greeting. "Lady Morpeth, good morning." She would not do anything to further alienate what few friends she had in the seaside town and the former Miss Heywood was well liked. Elize had no intention of being more friendly than was necessary, however, and quickly returned her attention to Thomas as he tried to shove his sand-covered fist into his mouth.
Charlotte studied Eliza for a moment before her attention was caught by the slip of her shoe and she fought to correct her balance before she tumbled to the ground. The little hand in hers, which belonged to Henry, tugged at her own and she began walking with him to join his sisters at their spot in the sand.
The morning passed quickly as Charlotte poured her attention into supporting the children to achieve their lofty sandcastle dreams. George watched his wife from the shade of the marquee that had been sent up by the circulating library while in conversation with Babington, Crowe and the Parker brothers as wagers were made on the outcomes of the various events to be held throughout the week. The group of gentlemen had been abandoned quickly by Sidney Parker who was still displeased with his friend and had no wish to be in the Viscount's company.
The Ladies had spent the earlier hours of the morning touring the town and making the acquaintance of some of the local people and emerged onto the strand shortly before the judging of the sandcastle competition commenced. Lady Susan had made the introductions between the Ladies Howard and Granville and Lady Denham, Tom, Mary, Sidney and Eliza Parker with great delight at the reactions she garnered from them and which ranged from pleasant friendliness to cold incivility. The sisters, for their own part, delighted in causing vexation to the individuals they met and were sure to scrutinise the couple who had previously caused their Charlotte such unhappiness.
As it turned out, none of the Parker children won the sandcastle competition that year, ceding victory to the son of the architect who had been employed to replace the young Mr Stringer in supervising the ongoing construction and expansion of the town. It was betwixt the judging and the start of the boat race that Sidney determined to speak once more to Charlotte. He had to make his feelings known to her; bring their unaltered state to her awareness.
He was not to succeed in his endeavour that day though for his plan was foiled by Lady Worcester. The Marchioness had been observing him and, upon the realisation that he intended to corner her friend, excused herself from her company to interfere with his plans.
Lady Susan positioned her person in his path and mulishly monopolised his attention. "Mr Parker, it has been sometime since you have been seen engaging in the fashionable pursuits to be had in Town." she said as she inconspicuously manoeuvred him away from his intended direction. "I confess it surprises me. I would have thought your wife reluctant to give up its pleasures."
Sidney scowled down at the interfering piece of skirt that had put herself in his way. "You are correct, Lady Worcester. My wife does not readily remove herself from Town when there is entertainment to be had." Sidney looked away from the woman before him to gaze at another and gave a reluctant sigh when he saw that she had returned to her husband's side and appeared to be having a merry time of things with Lady Babington, his ward and Miss Entworth.
"I have found the city to have lost some of its attraction in recent years and there is always business to be handled elsewhere." he continued, knowing he had lost his chance today. "Mrs Parker, however, makes time enough to travel when she wishes, though she is often alone or accompanied by my ward."
"And how is Mrs Parker? I'm sure you must find her as delightful as ever you did before your marriage." Lady Susan dissembled with a sharp smile. Oh, she was eager to hear what he would say to that.
"I assume she is as well one can be, ma'am." he said shortly as he searched for some means of escaping the lady's clutches. His luck proved itself absent when the Countess of Carlisle approached with Lady Denham.
"You assume your wife is in good health? Should you not, as her husband, make it your business to know these things, Sir?" Lady Howard asked as they reached her friend and the reprobate she was speaking with. "You must make for a very inconsiderate husband; your wife is to be pitied."
Eliza, who had been standing but a few short paces away and overheard much of the conversation contemplated this last question from the esteemed peeress and started at the knowledge that he husband had not cared to ask after her wellbeing in some time. If ever she had had cause to question his affection for her, this served as proof of it.
She had seen the way he looked at the Viscountess Morpeth, the longing he directed at the other woman and the growing disdain and ignorance he showed his own family… showed her. She knew he regretted offering for her, knew that he had done it solely out of loyalty to his brother, but she had hoped they might recapture what had once been lost all those years ago. She had been wrong. Eliza turned and walked away then, desiring to hear no more of their conversation.
Lady Howard watched woman leave. She had meant what she said; no woman, no matter how disagreeable they were, deserved to face scorn from their own husbands. She had seen too many friends lose themselves to it in their own marriages to wish such a thing upon anyone.
"You always were a fool, Sidney Parker." was the declaration Lady Denham made as she witnessed the dynamic shifting between these people. "You passed over a pearl and cannot even be satisfied with what worth there is to be found in the diamond you chose instead."
"I could not agree more, Lady Denham, Charlotte is incomparable and only a fool would not recognise it and claim it when the chance was to be had." the Marchioness concurred to the murmuring nod of her friend.
"You lost any chance you had with my daughter-in-law when you failed to follow through on intentions you had made known to her all those years ago, Mr Parker. Now she is my son's wife and our family will brook no encroachment upon her person or her wellbeing. You would be wise not to persist. Even your own wife, who is a grasping opportunist, has shown that she can recognise a battle she cannot win and picks her fights." Lady Howard cautioned and was pleased to see that the man before he went pale at her words.
Neither of the ladies remained and departed in favour of the greener pastures to be found among their friends and family as they enjoyed the luncheon prepared by the cook at Lady Susan's residence on a grassy dune. Sidney, when he was free of them. went in search of his wife and son and found them under small marquee browsing through the books on display from the circulating library.
He lifted Thomas up from peeking over the edges of some stacked crates that Eliza was examining and held the little boy aloft in him arms.
"Thomas wanted a new book, Sidney. What do you think? Shall we borrow Rip Van Winkle or The Little Sailor Boy?" Eliza asked as she extracted those volumes from the crate as her husband approached.
"A new book, hmm? Surely we can't already have finished the last one?" he asked and looked at their son then back to Eliza. "I think we might have a little scholar in the making!"
"He certainly does go through enough of these things." She smiled at Thomas and waved the books she held. "Shall we get both of them Thomas?" The little boy beamed and clapped his hand and cried out excitedly. Both it was and a few minutes later they left behind the shade of the tent in search of Tom and his family. They were to be found in another tent enjoying, as Charlotte's could been seen doing further up the shoreline with her own family, some light refreshments while they waited for the worst of the noontime heat to pass.
Eliza, he noticed, was unusually quiet, sullen even when Thomas was not occupying her attention with his childish energy. He hoped she had not taken their recent arguments and set downs to hardly. For all their marriage was fraught with tension, her confidence and determination in the face of any sort of adversity that put itself in her way had always drawn him to her and he would hate to see her lose it.
Sidney did not have the opportunity to spend long on that thinking as one of his nieces approached with a set of horseshoes in hand and asked if little Thomas could play with them as the master of ceremonies called for the rowers in the boat race to take their places.
Charlotte had also observed the unfolding conversation between Sidney, Lady Susan, her mother-in-law and Lady Denham with wariness as she returned to her husband and their friends.
"Lady Susan appears to be enjoying making an obstacle of herself." Esther observed as they watched the confrontation between the two. Charlotte nodded distractedly wondering if it was wise to provoke him. He seemed to rather highly-strung presently and she wasn't certain how he would react to aggravation. When she voiced this, Lord Babington, who had joined them since her own arrival, merely shrugged off her concerns; Sindey was a grown man and capable of handling himself, even against so terrifying an adversary as the Marchioness of Worcester.
Charlotte did not dwell long on Sidney Parker and missed the addition of the Countess and Lady Denham to the altercation. Instead their conversation turned to tales of their recent exploits and adventures and the group laughed heartily at hearing of Charlotte's almost tumbling her and the Viscount into a lake during the early days of their acquaintance and Georgiana's frequent flouting of ladylike behaviour.
As the sun rose high in the sky, they searched for a spot to take their luncheon and Charlotte suggested the grassy knoll near the cliff-face where they might set down a blanket or two and enjoy the view of the sea and the crowd while they ate. Georgiana and Charity agreed it was an excellent spot though the Babingtons declined to join them, opting instead to find a covered table and Lady Babington citing the difficulty in regaining altitude once she was down.
They had just finished laying out the blankets and edible wares that had been entrusted into the girls' keeping when they were joined by the Ladies, Lady Denham having joined her niece, and the next hour was enjoyed by all. When the Master of Ceremonies announced that the boat race was set to begin, they abandoned their picnic to join the spectators and cheer on the men that had chosen to compete, the number having grown from two teams to six that year.
There was an atmosphere of exhilaration to be felt as the group added their numbers to those already gathered as the gun fired and the race began. Thankfully, there was no drunken steering to be had that year, though many could report hearing Mr Crowe's grumbling at being forbidden to venture near a rudder.
The afternoon still proved eventful though as shouts and encouraging cheering could be heard along a long stretch of the riverbank from the little jetty that served as a starting point to the finish line that was marked by ribbons and garlands strung from two trees on opposite banks.
The first of the boats had could be seen making their way around a bend in the river when a great groan could be heard. No one knew quite what to make of it at first and quickly dismissed it from their thought as the other teams came into view. What happened next occurred very suddenly.
A large tree with drooping branches that brushed the surface of the water began to tilt and crack as the boats passed under it and, before their very eyes, came crashing down, smashing one of the boats and the rowers within it as its great roots tore free from their soil. The impact of the falling timber on the surface of the river sent the currents crashing into the boats as the teams lost control of their crafts and boats capsized and men were tossed into the murky water.
Panic ensued as the rowers emerged once more and dragged themselves out of the river and those men in the watching crowd who considered themselves strong swimmers launched into the water to help pull the boats ashore and help the team who had been caught in the path of the devastating collapse.
With collectively bated breath, the crowd waited to if they would emerge unharmed and a great sigh of relief let loose as the first of the men was helped from the water with little more than some unflattering surface scratches. It was only as the second man emerged from the wreckage that Charlotte realised that it was Sidney's team that had been caught in it.
Eliza came to that very realisation in almost the same instant and, with a cry of distress, thrust her son into his uncle's arms and ran towards the broken boat and wading into the shallows calling out her husband's name. It was a heart wrenching sight to behold as she disregarded the mess she had made of her skirts while Lord Babington chased after her and held her back, yelling at her over her hysterical screams to let the men find him, to not get in the way.
It felt like hours passed as they waited to learn his fate, though in truth it was mere seconds. And then at last a pair emerged, one man dragging an unconscious and bloodied Sidney Parker through the waters. Eliza sagged at the sight of him, caught between relief that he had been found and worry over the state he was in.
