Author's Notes: This chapter is necessary for Charlotte's journey to continue, and while I know we all want her and Alexander to communicate, it does not happen in this chapter yet, but they will soon, I promise! Thank you for reading and reviewing! It encourages me immensely!

Chapter Four: A Wedding and an Engagement

Mr. Heywood gave Charlotte four weeks after returning home to Willingden before he decided to speak to her about her duty as the eldest child in the family. It was time for her to marry, and Ralph Starling had come to speak to him yesterday to ask permission to propose to Charlotte. Mr. Heywood thought they were a good match, and he hoped Charlotte would be receptive to Ralph's offer for her hand. He was coming to have dinner with the family tonight, and he would ask Charlotte when he took her for a walk afterwards.

As a father, he was quite alarmed that Charlotte had gone to work as a governess for a Mr. Colbourne. When he had tried to talk with his daughter about it, she had informed him that she had not wanted to burden him with her care. She would make her own way in the world. He was aghast with the choice she had made without his counsel. Gentlewomen did not reduce themselves to working for a living and he forbade her from ever taking employment again. She was to marry, and that was the end of it.

Charlotte loved her father deeply, and she would do as he asked, but she had no idea Ralph Starling was going to ask her to be his wife, and so soon.

That evening, before dinner, her mother asked her and Alison to dress for dinner. They had guests this evening and her young ladies would want to look their best. Declan ate dinner with them every evening, but the other guest was a mystery.

When Ralph Starling joined the family in the drawing room before dinner, Charlotte had a sense of foreboding. He smiled shyly at her, and to her dismay, she was seated next to him during dinner.

After dinner, he asked her to take a walk with him, and there was little she could do but agree to go. Alison and Declan chaperoned them but stayed a respectful distance behind to give the couple some privacy.

It was a beautiful evening for a stroll about the property. They reached the stone bridge and when they got to the center of the bridge to look up at the stars, Ralph turned to Charlotte and said, "Charlotte, I think you are the most beautiful woman in the world."

His heart was in his throat, and he knew the next few minutes would change the course of his life.

Charlotte had not realized what was happening until that moment. Ralph was looking at her, with all the love he felt for her in his eyes. She felt her stomach clench in a knot.

Ralph got down on one knee, and took her hands in his, "Charlotte, I have loved you for over two years. I want to share my life with you, and to do all I can to bring back that sparkle in your eyes that was once there. I want to be your husband, if you will have me. Will you, Charlotte, be my wife?"

Charlotte knew what was expected of her, and she was a dutiful daughter. No, she did not love Ralph, but she did like and respect him. She had known for a long time that he cared for her, so his proposal was not a complete surprise.

"Ralph, please stand so I can look in your eyes as I speak to you from my heart. I need to be honest with you, and for you to know the truth of what you are asking."

"You are a good man, but I am not worthy of you because my heart belongs to another. Nothing will ever come of that relationship, but my heart is not free to be yours. I have loved twice, and both times have ended in great disappointment. It would be unfair to you not to know this."

Ralph was hurt by her words, but he had guessed as much. When Mrs. Parker had fetched Charlotte from the Harvest Dance some months ago, he had seen Charlotte crying in her arms. She had become morose and withdrawn afterwards. He had wondered if the news had been about the man she had been attached to in Sanditon the summer before. Now, there had been a second man that she had allowed herself to care for, and yet again, she had come home from Sanditon much sadder than when she had left.

He took a deep breath, and said, "I appreciate your honesty, and if anything, it makes me love you more. I promise you, my dearest Charlotte, that I will never disappoint you as those men have done. My heart has always been yours and only yours. I know you are not ready to give your heart again, but I want to assure you if you do, it will be safe with me."

Ralph brought her hands to his heart, and he said, "Be my wife, Charlotte. Please look to the future and leave the pain of the past behind."

Charlotte knew what she needed to say, but her heart was not in agreement. She knew what was expected of her, and as a dutiful daughter, she had to say yes.

"Ralph, I will marry you, but you must give me some time. I am not ready to be your wife yet, but I hope to put the past behind me and to look to the future as you say."

Ralph grinned from ear to ear and could barely stop himself from picking her up and twirling her around. She accepted him, and he believed that love would come.

He restrained from kissing her, and said, "Thank you, Charlotte, and I will give you the time you need, and I will do all I can to make you very happy."

They returned to the house and told everyone their news. Alison was not sure Charlotte had made the right decision, but what other choice did she have? As the oldest of fourteen children and a daughter, she needed to make a good marriage.

That night, when Charlotte laid in bed, she thought of both Sidney and Alexander. Ralph was so different from either of them. He was uncomplicated and so open to the world because he had not been devastated by heartbreak. Why couldn't she feel attracted to him?

Alison, unable to sleep because of Charlotte's restlessness, asked her what was wrong.

"I wonder why being engaged to Ralph does not make me happier. Finally, a man loves me enough to make a commitment to me, and yet, I wish he had not. I am not yet ready to marry. I have grieved Sidney, but he still has a place in my heart, and I miss Mr. Colbourne terribly. Alison, he seems taciturn and cold, but there is something so endearing about Mr. Colbourne that draws me to him, Sister."

Alison took Charlotte's hand in hers, "Charlotte, you told me the first night we were in Sanditon that love is not simple. I found that to be true with William and Declan. I was mad about William, but what I have found with Declan is true love. He was not my first choice, but he is my best choice. I am glad things worked out as they did. He is a far better man."

"Maybe Ralph is not your knight in shining armor, but perhaps you are a stranger to your affections for him, just as I was for Captain Frazier?"

"Mr. Colbourne, while quite handsome, has a great many flaws, Charlotte, and he comes with a ready-made family. While I know you genuinely care for the girls, it would be quite an adjustment to start off married life as a stepmother. With Ralph, things will be far simpler."

Charlotte turned to look at her sister, "But Alison, when I dream at night, I dream of a dark-haired man with beautiful eyes. I dream of him kissing me and how he made me feel very much like a woman."

Alison gasped, "He kissed you, Charlotte? While you were working for him?"

Charlotte admitted it, but she was not ashamed.

"He did, and he also kissed me again the next day."

Suddenly, it all made sense to Alison. "Charlotte, he let you go from his employee because there could never be anything between you as long as you worked for him. He has integrity, Charlotte, and he was trying to do the right thing."

Charlotte was still hurt by his actions, "That is not what he said, Alison. When he came to speak to me at the Parker House, he came only because Augusta was angry with him."

Alison said, "I think you are wrong, Charlotte, but it won't matter now because you are to marry Ralph."

Charlotte agreed with her sister, "Yes, you are right, Alison. Thank you for helping me see things more clearly."

The girls fell asleep soon afterwards, but Charlotte dreamed of Alexander and his hands on her skin when he had kissed her in his drawing room. He had made her feel things that were inappropriate for an unmarried woman to feel. He was wrong to kiss her, but she would not change a thing. However, she felt guilty to think of such things now. She was engaged to Ralph, and she had to try harder to feel what she needed to feel for him.

The weeks flew by, and the girls stayed busy preparing Alison's trousseau and readying the house the young couple would live in.

Charlotte missed Alexander and the girls terribly, but as Ralph had asked her to do, she was trying to put the past behind her.

It was the day before the wedding and guests had begun arriving, including Declan's family, and the invitees from Sanditon. The Parkers, Reverend Hankins, Miss Hankins, and Georgiana Lambe all had come. Luckily, their little village had a quaint inn to accommodate all their guests.

Charlotte would stand with Alison as her maid of honor. The Heywood home was full of joy and good wishes for the happy couple. Charlotte should be looking forward to her own wedding, but she had yet to consent to setting a date yet. Ralph, to his credit, had been patient with her and had not pressured her.

The night before the wedding, Mrs. Heywood asked both girls to come to her room. She closed the door behind them.

"You are both young women now, and there are things that must be spoken of before the wedding tomorrow. There are aspects of a marriage that are very private, but if you are not prepared for the first time you are intimate with your husband, you will not understand what is happening with your body."

Both girls were terribly embarrassed but listened intently to their mother as she explained what it meant to be a wife in the bedroom.

The next morning, Alison and her Captain Frazer became husband and wife. The celebration went on until late afternoon. Charlotte had danced with Ralph several times but had yet to introduce Ralph to her Sanditon friends. She was standing in a circle with all of them when he came up to stand beside her. She introduced him to everyone, and he said, "Has Charlotte told you our news?"

Georgiana said, "What news?"

Ralph took Charlotte's hand in his, and he said, "She has made me a very happy man by agreeing to be my wife."

Everyone was so stunned that for a moment, nobody spoke. Georgianna was furious that Charlotte had not confided in her and glared at her friend.

Mary Parker, ever the diplomat, congratulated the couple, and Tom did as well. It was an uncomfortable moment, and it did not escape Ralph's attention. Arthur congratulated the couple in his jovial manner and exchanged looks with Georgianna.

Luckily, Charlotte was spared any more awkwardness because the happy couple was ready to cut the cake, so everyone gathered around to watch.

Georgianna whispered to Charlotte, "What are you doing, Charlotte? How could you have kept this from me?"

Charlotte knew she was hurt, "I am not getting married anytime soon, and to be honest, I was not ready to talk about it yet."

The girls turned their attention to the new Mr. and Mrs. Frazier, but both girls knew the conversation was not finished.

After the cake-cutting, the newlyweds left for their honeymoon at their own little cottage.

The Sanditon guests were returning home tonight, so there was little time for Georgiana to talk to Charlotte.

When Charlotte walked with them out to their carriage, Mary asked her to come to Sanditon in the next week or so. Author would come for her, and Charlotte agreed to come. She was sure her parents would allow her to return to Sanditon for her best friend's twenty-first birthday party.

On the carriage ride home, the Parkers and Georgiana discussed Charlotte's surprising news, and their fear she was making a mistake. Tom knew she should have married Sidney, and it would have been the life she deserved. He felt the weight of his responsibility in her situation and resolved to intervene on her behalf.

Tom thought back on the last few days Charlotte had been in Sanditon. Mr. Colbourne had come to see Charlotte at Trafalgar House. When he left, Tom had heard Charlotte crying, and he had sent Mary in to see after her.

Tom later learned from his wife that Charlotte had fallen in love with Mr. Colbourne and just as Sidney had done, he had broken her heart. The circumstances were quite different, but the results were the same.

Tom was not a friend of Alexander Colbourne, although they had known each other all of their lives. Alexander Colbourne was a recluse and did not want to see Sanditon developed into a seaside resort. Tom resented it, and the two men did not like each other.

However, whether Tom thought well of the man or not, Charlotte did. He would get to the bottom of why Alexander had turned away from Charlotte, and he would do it immediately upon his return to Sanditon.

The ladies had a plan of their own. The minute they got back to Sanditon, Georgina would write to Lady Susan and invite her to the birthday party. If anyone could make Charlotte listen to reason, it would be her.