Arthur and Diana led the way back the clearing, towing Charity along behind them with Mr Crowe slowly coming back to his senses and trying desperately to think up a way out of the situation they had found themselves in.
Charity was still attempting to persuade the siblings that there was no need to tell anyone what they had seen; that nothing had happened and it could go away quietly without causing problems. But Diana and Arthur would hear none of her protestations or pleas for silence.
Charity found herself being pulled with remarkable indiscretion in the direction of the remaining Parker siblings. Mr Crowe trailed morosely behind them as the brother and sister descended on their brothers and relinquished the duty of upholding the lady's honour upon them with the disjointed imparting of facts and presumptions. Arthur and Diana wandered away after divulging the scene they had stumbled across, pleased to see that they had fulfilled their perceived duty and happily ignorant to the distress that they had caused the young woman who could only be pitied for the recent turn of events.
Tom and Sidney, who barely considered their own distress settled after the events of the afternoon, simply stared after their brother and sister as they departed. However, their gazes swiftly moved to consider the pair left before them. Miss Entworth really did look a sight with her dress torn and muddied as it was and, wearing the coat of a gentleman who was neither father nor brother to her, surely did not give one leave to think that something untoward had not happened. Mr Crowe maintained his typical air of disinterest that would fool anyone who did not know him well.
Mr Crowe was fortunate that Sidney and Charles, who had appeared beside them within moments of Arthur and Diana's departure, knew him very well. It was the work of but a moments observation for them to determine his mind was not nearly so settled as it appeared. Their knowledge of him would work in their favour, he acknowledged.
Tom, however, was an unknown quantity. There was no great depth to his relationship with the man or woman and, though he was a sight more sensible, he shared Arthur and Diana's excitability and penchant for involving himself in affairs that were not his own. Mr Crowe did not know what Tom Parker's reaction to the situation would be and passed over appealing to him in favour of his friends.
Sidney and Charles knew their friend quite well enough to be very surprised at not only his having been caught in such a position but also at his having found himself in that position at all. He was a reprobate who took great delight in chasing willing skirts and overindulging in drink but he was not entirely unprincipled. Or rather, he was not foolish. They knew their friend was not inclined to go after women whose honour and reputation would be hurt by his advances if only for being desirous of avoiding the marriage state that would surely result from such a pursuit.
But what was to be done? Miss Entworth was a well-liked young woman with a previously untarnished reputation which, given the conspicuousness of her present appearance and the concerning way in which they had reappeared, would suffer no small amount of damage if something was not done quickly to mediate the unpleasantness of it all. Indeed, the other parties present were already taking notice of her appearance and the identity of the man she stood with and drawing their own ruinous conclusions which would no doubt be spread rapidly about the town.
It did not take long to reach the conclusion that the most immediate course of action would be to remove them both from the sights of those who would judge them most harshly. Ignoring Tom's blustering about what should be done, Charles and Esther offered to bring them to Sanditon House where a more private discussion could be had on what was best done to reduce the possible damage that would result from Diana and Arthur's lack of foresight and neglectful forgetfulness of the effects of these situations.
Charlotte and Georgiana had been seated but a few yards from the group and thus recognised the tightly drawn tension and reserve that showed in her bearing for what it was: fear. Georgiana who knew her friend best of all those present to witness the event took her leave of Charlotte and insisted on departing with the Babingtons to lend her friend support and strength. It was not a wholly selfless decision; Georgiana recognised the opportunity to further evade the Ladies who seemed intent on controlling her.
Charlotte bid her two friends goodbye and, having also extracted a promise from them to write her a note if there was anything she and George to do to help, went in search of her husband, hoping that they might also take their leave. The exertion of the day had left her feeling quite fatigued and she was in want of a rejuvenating rest away from any further happenings that might arise.
George, taking note of her growing pallor was quick to agree and they were also gone from the forest shortly after taking their own leave of the Ladies and remaining Parkers. Upon their return home, the couple retired to the drawing room and settled themselves on the large chaise that overlooked the rear garden. They had each been sat comfortably for some minutes, the room filled with only the sounds of birdsong from beyond the windows and the rustle of turning book pages within, when Charlotte broke the silence.
"I thought that, perhaps, tomorrow we could avoid the main Regatta activities, George. There's a place here that I want you to see and it would be lovely to have the day to ourselves without any distraction or diversion." She said as she closed her booked with a finger holding her place.
George looked up from where he lounged beside her, her feet nestled in his lap and covered by his hands and own book. "Well, Lady Morpeth, if a day of solitude would please you, a day of solitude we shall have!" he agreed with a devilish flair as he pulled his wife to himself so that she was seated in his lap. "But I do agree, my love, I wonder if the excitement of the past few days has not all settled upon you at once? You have seemed rather more weary and inclined to tire than is normal for you." He continued with some concern.
George worried at his wife's uncharacteristic reserve. A day spent idly doing as she pleased with naught to worry her would serve her spirits well. He hoped that it might go a ways to resolving the fatigue that showed in her countenance and bolster her energy to its usual plentitude.
Charlotte smiled at her husband as she wrapped her arms about his neck and leant into him. "It would please me very much indeed." she breathed as she pressed her forehead against his and allowed her hands to drift a little lower and a secretive tilt to slip into her smile and light her gaze. "It is quite a secluded little place but I think we shall not be short of amusements, my Lord Morpeth."
George's eyes darkened at his wife's words and the double entendre contained within them. He lifted one of Charlotte's hands in his and pressed a kiss to it. "I think, wife, that we are not short of amusements even as we speak!" he declared, sweeping her further into his embrace and turning so that her back pressed into the cushioned seat of the chaise and he was positioned between her thighs.
Charlotte laughed as she found herself bathed in playfully passionate kisses and pulled him closer to her and cupping his face so that her lips might met his. It should suffice to say that they dined remarkably late that evening and that one aught commiserate with the maid responsible for the tidying of the drawing room the next morning. As it was, the chaise would need new fabrics.
Charlotte and George found themselves walking leisurely through the town the following morning after a very hearty breakfast with a basket of food for their luncheon. Charlotte navigated the streets of Sanditon with ease and guided their path toward the forest that bordered the opposite edges of town than did the sea. It was not long before the Viscount and Viscountess were following one of the many forest paths and, in no time at all, had arrived at the very place Charlotte wished her husband to see.
They were at that very moment traipsing through the patchy bluebell groves hidden amongst the trees searching for a place to settle themselves for the day. Charlotte's arm was linked with his, her one hand resting in the crook of George's elbow while the other carried a wicker basket containing crockery and cutlery and napkins as well as their books and a card deck. George was similarly carrying a basket loaded with foodstuff and a large, thick blanket tucked under the arm that was not occupied by his wife.
At last Charlotte observed a break in the trees large enough keep them and their belongings comfortably and directed her husband's attention to it. They diverged from the forest path and it was the work of but a moment to reach the little glade and set their burdens upon the ground. Charlotte took a moment to study their surroundings.
The glade itself was a combination of the earthy green and brown hues of the trees and brush brought alive by the vibrant splashes of blue and purple lent the space by the abundant bluebell flowers. The rushing splashes that resonated lightly in the air spoke of a nearby stream and the breeze was sweetened by the scents of nature. To one side of the glade could be seen a fallen tree, its roots, stump and trunk covered with a layer of soft moss and a nearby arrangement of large rocks had been similarly reclaimed by the forest.
The snap of fabric disturbed Charlotte from her attention to their environment as George shook out the blanket to lay it upon the grass and, having done so, was following by the muted thump of him dropping himself to the ground. Charlotte looked at him and stifled a giggle at the sight of him reclined on the cotton tartan, an arm draped over his face as he complained against the heat of the day and the sweat that had gathered during their walk.
"If you are feeling warm, my lord, I might suggest a dip in the stream." She said as she and her shadow stood over him. She lost the battle with her humour when he moved his arm, cracked open one eye and squinted up at her with a grunt.
"How delightful to see your wit in sporting form, my love." he drawled as he rolled to his side and propped himself up by an arm. George regarded his wife as she stood laughing at him and resolved to raise to her awareness the error she made in abusing him so.
George launched himself to his feet and moved toward her with such a suddenness that Charlotte jumped and gasped with the movement, having been taken quite by surprise at his unexpected show of energy and, as he lunged toward her in a predatory display, did not quite manage to successfully remove herself from his path.
She found herself wrapped in his arms as he pressed relentless wriggling fingers into her sides, setting loose streams of gasping laughter as she repeatedly evaded his grasp only to be descended upon again not seconds after gaining her reprieve.
"Stop! Stop!" she choked out at last between gasping breaths and sobbing giggles. "I should not have laughed at you. I'm sorry!" And then she could breath again and sagged in his arms as she pulled air into aching and deprived lungs.
"I'm much obliged to your change of heart, my love. It would be intolerable to have to keep punishing you in such a way!" George teased his wife. He was well enough able to give back what was received and had proven a very competent tormenter following the discovery of his wife's weakness when faced with tickling.
But he showed her mercy at last and settled them both upon the blanket, he lying with his back to the ground and her draped half across him. Charlotte panted heavily as she scowled at him. "You are a terrible person." she grumbled but without any real strength of feeling.
It was George's turn to laugh at her then, though his humour was of short duration as she shifted to reposition herself and the movement brought his attention to his arousal. With a groan at her continued restlessness, he rolled them over so that he was settled between her soft thighs and his evident stiffness pressing against her most intimate area even through the layers of their clothes.
His hands wrapped around her waist and held her there. "Unless you wish to expose yourself, my lady, might you not cease fidgeting?"
Charlotte smiled coyly at him and stroked a hand over what skin of his chest was visible after his earlier shucking of his coat and cravat and the loosening of the buttons of his shirt. "And if I do wish to expose myself, what will you do, my Lord?"
"If that were the case, it would be my duty to satisfy your desires. Would I not be a poor husband if I did not?" He said after some consideration as to her seriousness. His eyes had taken on a predatory hunger once more as his hands roved over his wife's form, brushing her shoulders and neck and slipping just beneath the ruched hem of her dress.
"Hmm, oh, yes, very poor indeed, so oblige me you must." Charlotte sighed under her husband's administrations and let her legs fall further open so far as the material of her skirts would allow that he might settle himself more fully and more comfortably between them.
George grinned down at her as he sat on his haunches and raised her skirts higher to expose her knees and the tops of her silk stockings. He slipped her shoes from feet and ran his hand up her calves, setting them free of their coverings as peeled her stockings slowly away from her skin. And then, pushing her skirts yet higher still, lay over her once more with a groan as he felt the heat of her nether regions against his own through the flap of his breeches.
Charlotte's mind had ceased to be capable of sensible thought as her husband tended her body and elicited the most wonderful flutterings within her. She draped her arms about his shoulders and pulled him down to her where her lips caught his in a kiss that was both passionate and tender and filled with the love she felt for him.
They remained like that for a few moments, exchanging kisses until Charlotte released a tremulous gasp at the sensation of his fingers stroking the lips of her sex and teasing the fluttering into ardent flames. George's fingers fed the flames and teased little sighs and gasps from her lips, raising an ever growing exhilaration that spiralled higher than she might have believed possible. It was with a strangled cry of his name that the sensation reached a shattering crescendo and stars crossed her vision as she clutched his shoulders for fear of flying away with them.
Charlotte panted as she came down from her high and George slipped his fingers from her core and licked them clean all while staring into her eyes until she reached down and grasped the fastenings of his breeches, loosening them and setting free his rigid erection. She stroked his length lightly with trembling fingers and his breath hitched at her attentions before laying his hand over hers and guiding himself to her entrance.
He slid in easily, the gathered wetness from her earlier completion and sensitive muscles that still lightly seized gripping at him as he pushed further into her. George set an alacritous pace, pushing in and pulling out of his wife's core with relentless strength and energy and stirring within them both the spiralling raptures of sexual excitement once more.
Charlotte's legs were wrapped about her husband's waist and clenching tight against him with each stroke of his erection within her. The sensitive muscles of her core jolting with every pass of its ridged and veiny surface over them as she fought meet his thrusts in kind. When climax occurred, it was, as it always was, in tandem and George's stiff member was entrapped in the contracting spasms of her completion as his invasion of her sex lost rhythm and his seed shot inside her, splashing against the walls clutching tightly around him.
George collapsed upon his wife, sucking in new air even while his softening length remained lodged inside her until it slipped flaccidly out, allowing their combined pleasures to drip from her weeping core. Charlotte lay panting beneath him, her fingers tangled in his hair until she could bear his weight no longer and pushed against his shoulder to roll them to their sides.
"I visited Doctor Fuchs a few days ago," she said as she caught her breath, "I know you've been worried about me recently and I will admit to having become a little concerned over the recent changes in my appetite and activity." Charlotte twisted from her position in his arms, shifting to see his face more clearly.
George startled at her words. He had been worried for her but he had not known he should have been so concerned as to encourage her to see a physician. He pulled his wife closer to him. "What did the doctor conclude. Something only very trifling I hope?" he asked anxiously. He did not know what he would do if her health was very seriously affected. He could not fathom her being taken from him so soon when they should have the rest of their lives together; lives that should both span any number of years.
"It is not trifling- no, let me finish speaking George!" she pressed a hand to his chest in exasperation and firmly pushed him back down when he went rise in a panic. "It is not trifling but it is also not something that will not resolve itself in due course so you needn't worry overmuch." she continued.
"Needn't worry? How can I not worry when you tell me there is something affecting your wellbeing and that it is not trifling!" He could not believe that she wished such a thing of him. It was only natural for a man to worry when the woman he loved was discomposed and in ill health!
Charlotte looked at him with fond exasperation and spoke with a patience one might draw upon when explaining complex concepts to curious children. "I am assured that it is a perfectly natural thing. Indeed, it is a condition any woman might expect to occur during her life." Charlotte smiled happily down at him even as his expression spoke of little else than confusion and concern. "I shall be quite well again in the spring and by then we will have welcomed a new addition to our family!" She was met with silence at her confession, but, as she looked down at him, she realised it was due to neither shock nor happiness.
No. Her husband only seemed perplexed and this was proven when he spoke his next words with an uncomprehending frown. "What has the child your brother expects to do with your health?"
Charlotte could only stare at him. His mother had warned her he could be ignorant about things he had no cause to understand but surely he could not be so wholly unaware of the meaning in her words?
"Heavens, George! Surely it cannot be possible to be so obtuse?" She cried in disbelief. "I am not speaking of my niece or nephew. Come spring we will be welcoming our own child into the world!" she really did have to make it explicitly clear to him.
The initial shock that had initially been anticipated finally made itself known. "You... We... That is to say... our child?" He parroted back at her. Charlotte fought not to roll her eyes as his verbal incoherence reflected his attempt to process what he had heard. She waited for the news to settle and knew the very moment her fully understood the revelation; for it was betrayed by an all-consuming look of happiness. "You mean to say that you are with child? So soon?" He said as his hand drifted to brush across her yet flat belly.
Charlotte laughed and threw herself back into his arms. "I am!" She confirmed. "We will have a son or daughter of our very own come spring!"
