Tom walked with a swagger towards Trafalgar House. He was so absorbed in planning what he would say to his siblings and wife once he got there that he was oblivious to having passed by the Heywood picnic party spot. Two people did notice his sudden appearance on the beach, though. That was Charlotte, who happened to be helping Jenny build a castle wall at the time and Lady Susan who narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously whilst continuing her conversation with Mr Nash.
Charlotte felt a wave of anxiety ripple through her. Her mind went to overdrive. What was Tom doing at the beach? Was he not supposed to meet Sidney and the others at Trafalgar House? Did something go wrong?
Jenny noticed Charlotte's worried face and touched her arm to get her attention. She remembered her mother's advice that Charlotte had to be kept happy and she did not want her friend to go away again! 'Charlotte, Charlotte! Help me build a bath for my dolphin!'
Charlotte snapped to attention at Jenny's voice and focused her attention on the little girl, 'Why, Jenny, what a marvellous dolphin it is! We shall build him a bath to swim in. Who gave it to you?'
The little girl giggled merrily and replied in a matter-of-fact way, 'My papa did, of course! Me and Alicia saw him with his friend James near the cove. He made one for me and one for Alicia. It is a secret Charlotte. Don't tell Henry, please! He doesn't have one and he would take this one away from me!'
Charlotte reassured Jenny that she would not say a word and asked Jenny whether she could play with it for a while whilst she started building the walls of the bath. Jenny nodded and put the dolphin in Charlotte's outstretched palm. She admired it exceedingly. It was masterfully done. Who would have known that Tom Parker had been hiding such a talent behind his jovial interior and absentmindedness? Who was James? She made a mental note to speak to Sidney about this at the earliest opportunity.
Jenny again demanded her full attention as the bath walls had been built. Charlotte praised the little girl's efforts and went with her to the sea to gather some water to fill it. She knew that it would be absorbed by the sand straight away, but she really did not have the heart to dash Jenny's youthful hopes for her dolphin's bath. Thus, she smiled indulgently as Jenny added the water in bath hole with immaculate precision and gave her dolphin an imaginary bath telling him a story about a mermaid.
The rest of the party continued having a merry time. There were running games as well as sandcastle competitions between the girls and the boys. The adults have even been roped in to help. Every single person at the picnic was divided in two groups under the supervision of Dr Levinson. He was assigned to be the judge and to the children's satisfaction and the adults' mirth took his role seriously. He checked upon everyone's progress and reminded them of how much time they had left before the end of the competition. The first one was the one for the men and the boys and the second one for the ladies and younger girls. Everyone took part. Even Lady Susan and Mr Nash.
Mr Nash was a very happy man when anybody asked him to build anything for them. He was paired with two of the Heywood boys, Thomas and Christian, Mr Tom Parker's son, Henry as well as Frederick. Mr Nash and Frederick focused their efforts in helping the boys with their sandcastle exchanging pleasantries about the places that Frederick has travelled to.
He could not remember when it was the last time that he had built a sandcastle or when he had had a most pleasant conversation on travelling. Could it have been when he was 6 years old? That long ago? Oh, what fun he had been missing out of! He felt young again and helping the two boys build their castle confirmed in his mind the worthiness of the Parker and Heywood family. No wonder everyone is besotted with this place!
On the one hand, both Heywood boys were polite, exceedingly well behaved and very talented in building structures. They had the makings of two very worthy gentlemen, indeed! They asked him intelligent questions which proved to him that they read extensively under the supervision of their eldest siblings. They gave him an enthusiastic account of the favourite hut, which they built themselves with some help from their papa. They told him of their fishing adventures and picnics. It all sounded so idyllic and innocent!
On the other hand, Henry Parker was a very polite little boy as well. He had the uncanny ability to give you facts on all manners of topics around the natural environment. His knowledge was truly impressive for a boy of that age. He was a bit shy at first, but both Thomas and Christian brought him out of his shell as soon as their castle building adventure had begun.
Mr Heywood was also having a wonderful time in the company of Mr Stringer, Michael and Ben. It was a great opportunity to spend time with his sons and get to know Mr Stringer at the same time. He quickly concluded that his daughters had excellent taste in young men. His Charlotte chose a prince amongst men for her future husband and Alison could not go wrong with Mr Stringer. He was a polite, considerate young man who made the effort to get to know both the boys and him. He got on with the boys exceedingly well. He must be good at his job as well if his sand-building skills went anything to go by.
The ladies were divided into different groups as well. Lady Susan was paired up with young Beth and one of nursery nurses. Lady Susan was vastly amused and charmed by the clumsy efforts of young Beth trying to build her sandcastle. The little girl was enthusiastic in all she did. This must have been how Charlotte was when she younger.
Mrs Heywood was having a great time as well. She was enjoying spending time with Gina. It was so lovely to be able to give her full attention to one child and so rewarding to have all her family around her. She was a very happy woman today.
Alison was helping Laura and Alicia with their structure. Both girls took their task very seriously and they were hard taskmasters in bossing Alison around in fixing things for them. Alison found it endearing and dared not laugh as much as she had wanted to do so. Yet, she could not help stealing glances at Mr Stringer and to her delight he was discreetly doing the same thing!
Charlotte was still helping Jenny with her sandcastle. Both were joined by Anne who took the chance to speak to Frederick's cousin without any distractions whilst accommodating Jenny's requests of assistance on her sandcastle. They enjoyed their discussion so much that by the time the sandcastle had been built, they were on first name terms to Frederick's delight, who was watching his fiancée talking to his favourite cousin. Charlotte had always held a special place in his heart so seeing her get on so well with Anne made him exceedingly happy.
Finally, Emily was relishing the chance to spend time with Mary. Her sister was growing up fast and she had question after question for Emily whilst they were building the castle with the help of the nursery maid.
All the different groups worked diligently indeed. It took them a good hour and a half to finish their creations. Dr Levinson triumphantly announced that Mr Nash's team was the winner. By that time both adults and children were tired, and lunch was to be served. Everyone partook of the food without protest. The food made the children very drowsy, so to the unexpressed relief of the adults the nursery nurses put them on two of the blankets where they had their naps.
This gave the adults a window of opportunity for supervised walks. Frederick immediately claimed Anne's hand and asked Dr Levinson and Charlotte whether they would accompany them. Then, Mr Stringer asked Alison and Lady Susan accompanied them with Mr Nash and Emily. This gave the Heywood parents the chance for some time for themselves.
Dr Levinson thought this was an admirable opportunity to check upon his patient. He did notice Charlotte's worried look earlier and addressing her concerns now might well prevent future health problems. Charlotte and her doctor were still walking behind Frederick and Anne, but they did keep a respectful distance to give the betrothed couple some space.
Charlotte looked up at Dr Levinson hesitantly. He noticed her nervousness and said gently, 'Miss Heywood, I am your doctor. Anything that you tell me will not go further especially if it has to do with your health. Go ahead, ask away.'
She smiled gratefully at him. She was dreadfully nervous about voicing her thoughts aloud, 'You are very kind, Dr Levinson. I was wondering about my heart condition. Is it healed? Do I still need to be vigilant? Will it affect me when I get very upset? You see, doctor, Mr Sidney Parker asked me to marry him. I have accepted. He is to seek my father's permission today. I want to live and have my own children. I want to laugh and cry without having to worry about me going into a coma or not.'
She was out of breath by the time she finished her short speech, which did not go unnoticed by Dr Levinson. His heart bled for this young lady, who was so full of life, and yet any strong grief could have serious repercussions on her health. He struggled to find the words to tell her this.
He chose his words carefully, 'Miss Charlotte, your concern is justified and please forgive me for speaking so plainly to you. Your condition has not changed. It is still the same. However, something substantial has changed. You are in love and very happy with Mr Sidney Parker and he with you. A heart that is in love, a happy heart will live a long life. He was the one who brought you back to us after all.
You also have very wise parents. They have given you a happy and carefree childhood. This is what you needed to remain healthy. You say that you wish to create your own family with Mr Parker, which is the most wonderful of news and I congratulate you both from the bottom of my heart.
You and I both know that life is not always full of happiness, though. There will be sorrows and deaths. You were worried earlier when you saw Mr Tom Parker go past. Young Jenny caught your distress on time and distracted you. You need a support network; you need to be around people who make you happy. Surround yourself with them, my dear Miss Charlotte and actively avoid any circumstances that may upset you. If there is no way to avoid any unpleasantness, any grief that you get in future can be mitigated by your positive support network.'
Your heart condition will not stop you from having children. It may be wise to have a doctor present in the birth just in case anything untoward happens and insist upon the presence of your future husband and mother in the room no matter how much any midwife finds it unorthodox. Remember, Miss Charlotte, your positive support network. It will keep you alive!'
Charlotte nodded at him, 'That is excellent advice, doctor. I shall remember and cherish it. I thank you for speaking the truth to me. One more question, if I may. Is my condition something that I could pass on to my children?'
Dr Levinson thought for a moment before saying with a confident voice, 'The chances of that are very slim as far as we know. None of your other siblings suffer from it and none of your parents or other family do.'
She breathed a sigh of relief, smiled widely at him and moved on to discuss his plans on his practice in Sanditon . They continued with that conversation for the duration of their walk.
In the meantime, Frederick and Anne were enjoying their time together. They talked about the picnic, Anne's discussion with Charlotte, Frederick's discussion with Mr Nash. Anne was telling him how delighted she was to spend some time with Charlotte, 'She is a special young lady, is she not darling?'
Frederick smiled at his Annie, 'Yes, she is. She has always been one of my favourite cousins. She is a bright, happy creature who deserves all the love she can get. I hope Mr Sidney Parker gives her that.'
Anne grinned at him merrily, 'Oh, he is as besotted with her as you are with me, I dare say. Did you know that he wanted to beat you black and blue when you were telling us your story in the sitting room and all the other ladies were mooning over your good looks? Charlotte explained things to him, and she fully expects both of you to be the best of friends, my love. In fact, so do I.'
Frederick kissed her hand sweetly and simply declared 'Anything for you, my sweet.' They went on discussing their wedding plans and the arrangements that they still had to make before the actual day for the duration of the walk.
Mr Stringer and Alison's conversation was not as free flowing as Frederick's and Anne's. He was in fact so nervous and tongue tied that they went without speaking to each other for at least 5 minutes. In the end Alison decided to take the bull by the horn and enquired after his discussion with Mr Nash.
He looked at her with such tenderness that this earned him a smile from her. He wasted no time to wax lyrical of his admiration for the gentleman's skill and the discussion that they have had. Alison could not contain her joy on their conversation- a joy that made her whole being glow and her eyes as bright as sunshine. Neither Mr Stringer nor the rest of the party missed how flushed both their cheeks were and how they could not hide their feelings even if they tried.
Lady Susan and Mrs Heywood exchanged a happy smile and a nod at the sight of Mr Stringer and Alison which Charlotte and Emily shared with them. The men in their walking party, Mr Nash and Mr Heywood who were looking at them and the young lovers, were trying very hard to suppress their mirth. All of them were truly happy for the prospect of a future union between them.
Mr Heywood was enjoying his private time with his wife. Their large family did not always allow them this much private time together, so they both took full advantage of this opportunity. They talked about their children, their plans and Mrs Heywood asked him in more detail what was happening at their farm.
Mr Nash was also having a great time. He had two beautiful ladies, Lady Susan and Emily, on each arm and he felt a very lucky man indeed. Lady Susan was a beautiful and shrewd lady, whom he had always admired, and Miss Emily was a breath of fresh air. She was a demure, polite, non-pretentious and knowledgeable young lady on many topics such architecture, art, books. All three of them lost no time in discussing their favourite poets and authors which was most satisfying.
The whole walk proved to be most pleasant for everyone. When they reached the picnic place, the children were still asleep, so the adults took the chance to take them back to the hotel to rest properly. They all helped carry at least one sleeping child and the picnic provisions and some of the retired to the hotel and others to their perspective residences for a well-earned rest.
