The previous days events had ended abruptly following the accident. Sidney had been placed immediately into a carriage by the sailor who had hauled him out of the water and taken immediately home, an ashen and silent Eliza clutching his hand and little Thomas left in the attentive care of his aunt and uncle. Tom and Mary followed with their nephew and were gratefully accepted Charlotte and Esther's offer to watch their own children that evening that they might be with their brother.

Doctor Fuchs was sent for and arrived at the Parkers Sanditon home with all due haste to assess the seriousness of the injury. He determined Sidney to have bruised and possibly fractured ribs and concussion. This news was received by the family with much relief that no more serious injuries had been sustained and a bone setter would not be needed. Sidney would recover completely so long as he followed the physician's advice.

His ribs were wrapped and his wife, family and household instructed to remain with him until he woke and to change the compress over the wound on his head twice each day. His concussion would be resolved once he regained consciousness and laudanum added to his fluids to manage any pain while his injuries healed. Under no circumstances, they were told, should he engage in rigorous pursuit for at least a month complete.

Doctor Fuchs departed confident in his assessment of his patient and the doctoring administered but burdened the family with the importance of sending for him once more if the gentleman had not awoken in two days or if his condition seemed to take a turn for the worse.

Tom and Mary remained a few hours more but returned to their own home when evening came to relieve Charlotte and Esther of the care of their own children. It was agreed that little Thomas would stay with them until his father awoke to avoid frightening the boy and to allow Eliza to see to Sidney's care.

Charlotte was quick to ask after Sidney when Tom and Mary arrived home late that evening after the children had been put to bed and their worries over their uncle temporarily soothed. The four adults were sat in the drawing room, Esther and Babington having departed immediately upon their return to take their own child home and retire to bed themselves. As Mary assured them that Sidney would be well.

"Doctor Fuchs is confident he will make a full recovery providing he regains his awareness in a timely fashion, though we are sure poor Sidney will be in a good deal of pain for some time."

"We are pleased to hear it. But Laudanum, Mary? Does not Sidney despise the stuff?" Charlotte frowned as she posed the question. "Perhaps we will pay them a call tomorrow and I can take some the tea my brothers take when they are injured. They do injure themselves so frequently that it would be terribly expensive to be always replacing a stock of the stuff and the herbs in the tea are truly much better for one's health and more affordably obtained."

Charlotte and George did not remain much longer and were eager to be home after the excitement of the day. They did not eat upon returning home, having been provided with adequate refreshment by the Parker's cook, but retired immediately to their bedchamber and the waiting embrace of sleep.

The second day of the Regatta was tame by comparison. Sidney and Eliza were absent from the festivities and Tom and Mary had brought their children and nephew to enjoy the lawn games and treasure hunt that had been planned for that day.

George and Charlotte spent their morning playing a game of pall mall in one Sanditon's public gardens with the Parker children while their friends and family watched from the shade of the trees that lined the park's walkways. Jenny Parker won the first game but lost the second to her sister Alicia; George proved himself an inadequate player but took the teasing from his wife and family in good faith, promising that had it been a fencing or boxing match he would have won every time.

They retreated to join the rest of their group in the cool shade under the trees after the final game as the four children darted away to join the search for treasures around the park, Tom and Mary following them with Esther and her son to supervise them. They enjoyed an excellent luncheon on pies and fruit and cake and freshly pressed juice and lemonade as they waited for the midday heat to pass.

George was sat reading a book while Charlotte leant against him and engaged Georgiana and Charity in conversation while Crowe found himself being interrogated by the Ladies and providing Babington a source of much amusement. George looked up from his book as his wife shifted against him and noticed that she had barely taken a few bites to eat despite having selected and packed the fare herself that morning.

"Are you not going to eat any more, Charlotte? You seem to have lost your appetite. Is all well, my love?" He asked, concerned at the changes in his wife that he had observed over the past weeks.

"I'm not sure I could stomach much else, George, the smell of it makes my stomach roll. It is unusual though. I adore these little tarts and asked Mrs Pryde to make them specially. Perhaps something I've eaten recently has left me unsettled?" said Charlotte as she picked up one of the little meat and potato tarts and turned it in her hands before setting it back down as the smell invaded her senses and her lips pulled down in a grimace.

Lady Howard had turned to look contemplatively at her son's wife as she overheard their conversation. "You should try to finish something at least, my dear. You'll need it to see you through what remains of the day before the dinner hours arrive." she pressed the younger woman, suspecting what may have caused the changes in her and knowing that sustenance was necessary if not appetising. "If you truly feel you cannot tolerate anything here, perhaps you should go home and see what else can be had? A few hours of rest might also do you some good, you look quite wan, child."

Lady Susan and Lady Granville, who had paused their own discussion on Lord and Lady Granville's approaching return to France where the Viscount was set to resume his duties as Ambassador at the end of the summer, caught on to the Countess' thinking and voiced their own agreement with the proposed change in the couple's plans for the day.

George thought it an excellent idea. He was concerned that Charlotte had eaten very little at their meals since their arrival and, though he had initially assumed the change to be due to nerves, now wondered if there was not some more serious malady troubling her. Nourishment and rest would certainly do her some good for her complexion had become increasingly pale and her energy reduced in recent days.

The couple agreed, reluctantly on Charlotte's part, and departed shortly. The items that formed their picnic would be returned by his mother later in the day or on the morrow. They spent the early afternoon in company in the house's small library, George seeing to his correspondence and Charlotte nibbling her way through some bread crusts and cheese as she read a novel.

Such was the beneficial effects of an afternoon spent so peacefully, that by the time proper calling hours came, Charlotte felt much more settled and a good deal of her energy returned. Remembering her discussion with Tom and Mary the previous evening, she went to the kitchens and enquired after the availability of ginger, willow bark and mint and when it was determined no willow bark was to be had, a maid was sent to fetch some from the nearest herbalist. Charlotte then set about searching for a small tin that might be used as a tea caddy and combining the ingredients with a simple blend of dark tea.

The couple then dressed themselves for their evening commitments as they were set to attend a dinner and concert hosted by a local family who Charlotte could vaguely remember from her first visit to the town but, having spent little time in their company, had some difficulty in fully recollecting them and hoped that seeing them would resolve the issue. They were on their way an hour or two earlier than was needed but intended to call first on Sidney and Eliza to enquire after the former's wellbeing, offer what assistance they could give to the latter and deliver the tea blend Charlotte had suggested might be appreciated.

Their carriage rolled along the cobbled streets of the town towards the fashionable and well-appointed street where the Parkers had made their home. Charlotte was handed down from the carriage by a footman, her husband following behind them as they approached the house and were granted entrance by the butler who went to inform his mistress of her callers.

Sidney had awoken in the late morning to the sensation of a cool, wet cloth across his forehead followed by the placement of a foul-smelling compress over his brow. He lay there on his bed for some seconds trying to comprehend how he had come to be there for the last he remembered was sitting in a boat and rowing downriver only to wake to an obnoxious pounding behind his skull and a bone deep ache across his chest.

"Sidney?" Eliza had said when she noticed his eyes flickering behind closed lids and jumped up as he released a pained groan at the perceived volume of her voice. He tried to sit up but gentle hands pushed him back down and advised him not to move yet. It did not take long to realise the painful futility of the action as his movement jostled his being and searing pain shot through him.

"Eliza?" he groaned as he opened his eyes to the sight of his wife hovering over him. "What happened?"

"There was an accident. A tree collapsed during the boat race and your team were caught under it. You hit your head quite hard. We were so worried, Sidney, when you did not come up with the other rowers. You're very lucky you weren't more seriously injured than a cut on your head and some bruised ribs." She said as she plumped his pillows and helped into a more upright position.

"I'm not sure my head and ribs agree with the assessment that I'm lucky." He groused as another twinge subsided.

"Oh! Oh, you are in pain! Dr Fuchs left some laudanum. I shall add a dash to some tea for you." Eliza flustered and moved to the door to call a maid but was stopped when Sidney told her he would have none of the stuff and would bear the pain instead.

"Sidney! I know you despise it but surely you cannot want to be in this constant pain for weeks. If not for yourself, won't you at least take it so Thomas will not have to see you like this?" She tried to persuade him to take the painkilling concoction but he would not hear of it. Neither he nor anyone else in his household would take the stuff and he would prefer it removed entirely.

Eliza was not a fool. She knew he would not be moved once settled on his decision so she reluctantly ceded to his wishes. She would ask Doctor Fuchs if there was some other means of managing his pain. With that business resolved and a plan in mind, she instead asked the maid who arrived to see that a tray of tea was sent up with a light broth for her husband and a few cold cuts and some cheese for herself.

"Where is Thomas?" Sidney asked when the maid disappeared to carry out her mistress' orders.

"Tom and Mary have had him since yesterday afternoon. We thought it best that he not be here until you had woken and we knew that you would be well. His staying with his aunt and uncle also meant that I could stay here with you. They will bring him home this evening after he has been fed." She replied as she sat back down in the chair that had been placed beside the bed the day before.

They ate in silence. Sidney scowled at his meals being reduced to the awful broth that was typical of a sick room. Eliza, now reassured that he was in no lasting danger, scoffed at his irritation and scolded him for being ungrateful. Eliza left Sidney to rest after their meal for he was struggling to keep his eyes open and instructed his valet to stay with him.

She was I below stairs going through household accounts and planning meals for the next week when their butler informed her that she had callers waiting above-stairs. Eliza instructed their butler to show her guests to the drawing room and took her leave of the housekeeper to greet them.

She was surprised when she entered the drawing to find that it was Lord and Lady Morpeth who had come to call. But she would play the gracious hostess and offered them tea and refreshments. They declined. They intended to remain only a very short while as they were on their way to a dinner party and had no need of refreshment beforehand but thanked her for the offer.

The room was silent then and the birds and the sounds of the night-time activity could be heard through the sash windows that had been opened to let the house breathe that day, thinking cleaner air would be better for the master of the house.

"We wonder if Mr Parker is in any better condition today than he was yesterday?" The viscount ventured at last, realising that neither his wife nor their hostess could be depended upon to speak first.

"Yes, yes he is much better today, though in a good deal of pain still."

"That is relieving to hear, you must have found great reassurance in the good doctor's prognosis? Mary informed us that Mr Parker's injuries are not so serious as they might have been, had he been less fortunate or in poorer general health." said Charlotte.

"Yes, Lady Morpeth, I was very relieved to know that my husband would recover completely given proper care and the fullness of time." She smiled tightly at the younger woman, wondering at their purpose for being in her home. Eliza was about the ask after their intention in calling but found her question answered as the Viscountess spoke first.

"If I remember correctly, your husband has expressed abhorrence of the use of opiates and seems likely to refuse the use of laudanum in relieving his pain?" Charlotte asked as she picked up her reticule to retrieve the improvised tea caddy contained within. She looked up once more as she pulled it out to find Mrs Parker observing her warily. Charlotte tried to smile reassuringly, certain that the other woman would not appreciate the implication that she knew such intimate details of her husband's beliefs and preferences.

"You would be correct, my lady."

"I am glad to hear my understanding confirmed. I would hate to have gone to the trouble of obtaining this and have the gesture proved futile. It is a blend of tea my mother always keeps available. My brother's you see are prone to injuring themselves at any and every opportunity and it would be quite expensive to be always restocking such medicines as laudanum. We discovered that adding a little ginger, mint and willow bark to some tea had a very similar effect at dulling the pain without the cost of a painkiller from an apothecary or physician. I thought it might be appreciated." Charlotte explained the gift and passed it into Eliza hands.

Eliza could not deny her surprise at the generous gesture as she accepted the tin which the blend was stored in. If the other woman was right and the concoction did take away even some of her husband's pain, she would be very glad and have no need to further burden the good doctor.

"I… I thank you for your kindness, Lady Morpeth. It is much appreciated." She wondered briefly if the younger girl had some ulterior motive behind her actions.

"You need not thank us, Mrs Parker. I was in a position to help and so I did, it was no trouble. I am not sure what I would do if it had been Lord Morpeth who was injured, though I think I would be glad of any support to be found. It must be a difficult thing and I wished only to ease your own burden as well as his." Eliza knew then that, though Charlotte Heywood may have loved Sidney once, she clearly had no present intention of pursuing him and was very happy with her own husband. The adoring and vaguely distressed gaze she directed at the Viscount when speaking of the possibility of him being the one injured could only serve as proof.

Eliza thanked them again and the Viscountess' reaction to the various tinctures left behind by Doctor Fuchs further convinced Eliza that the girl posed no true threat to her marriage. She recognised the way the other woman's nose crinkled as she raised a gloved hand to cover it and waft away the smell. Eliza had experienced much the same unpleasantness when carrying Thomas.

The Viscount also noticed his wife's discomfort and made their excuses. "My wife and I both hope that your husband will be recovered and on his feet in good time. We must take our leave of you now, however, or we risk being late to our appointment this evening. Good day, Mrs Parker" he said as they rose and moved, with a polite bow and nod, toward the door where a footman waited outside to see them back to their carriage.

Eliza was left behind feeling a good deal more secure in the future of her marriage. Charlotte Heywood… Lady Morpeth was not worth concerning herself over. Whether her own husband was of the same mind she did not know, but now, at last, she could focus on trying to regain what they had lost so long ago without the worry that the woman she knew he really wanted would want him in return.