Author's Notes: Thank you for reading! I have at least ten chapters planned for this story, but we will see where the story goes. I really appreciate your kind reviews!

Chapter Five: An Unexpected Visitor

The morning after returning from Willingden, Tom drove the carriage to Heyrick Park. He wanted to have an important conversation with Alexander Colbourne, and he wanted to do it today. He was worried that Charlotte would be pressured by her family to marry Ralph Starling very soon, and he intended to do what he could to keep her from making such a terrible mistake.

He felt he owed it to her to get to the bottom of why Colbourne had terminated her from her position as governess, and why he had broken her heart.

Mrs. Wheatley answered the door, and when Tom asked to see the master of the house, she informed him that he was in London and would be gone for several more days.

Tom returned home and told the maid to pack his bag for him. He would be gone a few days.

"Mary! Colbourne is in London and expected to be there for several more days. I must go to London this afternoon."

In a very uncharacteristic move, he pulled her into his embrace in their drawing room. Usually, Tom was only demonstrative in the privacy of their bedroom.

"Mary, I have to make Colbourne see what a fool he is being. I have to do this for our Charlotte. I live with the guilt of how her life and Sidney's were altered by my mistake. Every day, I share my life with you, the woman I love, and our children. Sidney never knew our happiness, and it hurts me deeply. I know he would want Charlotte to marry a man she loves. After all he sacrificed, and Charlotte's heartbreak, it is the least I can do."

Mary loved Tom, as flawed as he was, and agreed with him.

"Yes, Tom, you must go right away."

Within the half hour, Tom was on his way to London. He knew the Colbourne home in town was called Bentley House, so he had his driver drop him there and asked him to wait.

As it happens, Colbourne was home alone. He had hired a new governess for Leo, and they were out taking a walk. Augusta was at her great aunt's home for tea, as she often was in the afternoon.

When Tom was announced, Colbourne was surprised.

The two men shook hands, and Colbourne offered for him to take a seat.

"What brings you to London, Parker?"

Tom saw no need to waste time, 'You do, Mr. Colbourne. I have come to speak to you on an urgent matter."

"What would that be?" Alexander was very curious why a man whom he rarely spoke to in Sanditon would come all the way to London to speak to him.

Tom replied, "I want to speak to you about Miss Heywood."

Alexander asked, "Is she well?"

Tom said, "Yes, I saw her just yesterday, and she was fine. We attended her sister's wedding in Willingden, and we met Ralph Starling, her fiancé."

Alexander stood up and went to stand by the window to conceal his emotions. Charlotte was engaged! He felt like someone had just punched him in the gut.

Trying to conceal his dismay, he said, "Miss Heywood is a lovely woman, and I wish her every happiness."

Tom was getting agitated, "Do you? Do you really wish her every happiness, Colbourne?"

Alexander was confused, "Yes, of course I do. Why wouldn't I?"

Tom stood up, "Well, if I have been mistaken about your feelings for her, then I apologize and I will leave. Have I misunderstood your regard for her, Colbourne?"

Alexander turned to face Tom, "No, you have not, but I am unworthy of her. She is better off without me."

Tom was out of patience, "Then you are a damn fool, and worse than that, you are a coward."

"Charlotte was in tears when you left Trafalgar House the day before she left. My Mary held that dear girl in her arms as she wept for you, Mr. Colbourne. I do not know, and pray do not tell me, what has happened between you, but I know that Charlotte's heart was broken, and you are the cause of it. I also saw how the two of you looked at each other the night of the ball, and anyone with eyes could see that the two of you care for each other."

"Charlotte is my responsibility when she is in my home, and I must hae an answer, Colbourne."

Alexander had seen the tears in her eyes and had heard the pain in her voice when they talked the last day she was at Heyrick Park and at Trafalgar House.

"The very last thing I ever wanted to do was to hurt her, Mr. Parker. I am not the kind of man she needs. I am a recluse, an outlier. What do I have to offer her?"

Tom was exasperated, but he asked, "Might we sit down and discuss this situation?"

Alexander gestured for Tom to take a seat.

Tom said, "I think it would help a great deal if you understood some things that I doubt Charlotte has shared with you."

"Two summers ago, my wife and I met Charlotte and her delightful family in Willingden. It is a story for another day, but we invited Charlotte to spend the summer with us in Sanditon, and she accepted. Over the summer, she and my brother Sidney became close. In fact, the evening of the Midsummer's Ball, he was planning to propose to her when the fire broke out in Sanditon.

"I had not taken out insurance on the construction and was heavily indebted to Lady Denham. To make a long story short, Sidney saved me and my family from ruin by engaging himself to Mrs. Eliza Campion, a very wealthy widow, instead of to the woman he wanted to marry, Charlotte."

"After the fire, the loan on the construction was called in, and we only had a week to secure the funds. Sidney tried to get investors and failed. When he went to see Mrs. Campion, it was to ask her to invest, and she agreed, but her one condition was marriage."

"You see, Mr. Colbourne, my brother married a woman he did not love to save my family. Shortly after their marriage, he sailed to Antigua on business, and died from yellow fever."

"Sidney never knew happiness, and if I had not been so careless, Charlotte would be my sister-in-law, and maybe my brother would not be dead. I live with more regret than I can tell you every single day of my life."

Tom had to stop and compose himself for a moment before continuing.

"Charlotte told my Mary that she never wanted to feel that kind of pain again, so she decided she would not marry, and that is when she took the job with you as a governess. We were all against it, but she had made up her mind. You see, just when she was moving past the pain of the heartache of Sidney marrying Eliza Campion, he died. She did not even have the right to grieve him publicly because he had a widow. I believe the pain was so unbearable that she just could not ever face the possibility of experiencing that kind of agony ever again."

Alexander was listening intently. There was so much pain in Tom's voice, and Alexander felt compassion for him.

"Mr. Colbourne, somehow, our resilient and wonderful Charlotte found the courage to love again, but it would seem unwisely so since she left Sanditon with a broken heart. Now, she is settling for a man who does not have the power to hurt her, and in my opinion, she is making a mistake."

Tom asked him, "Do you love her, Mr. Colbourne? Do you have the courage to declare yourself to her and ask for her forgiveness?"

Alexander stood again and paced the room.

Alexander was not a man who was used to explaining himself, especially when it came to personal matters, but Tom had set his pride aside and had spoken to him of difficult matters.

"Yes, I have the courage, but what if I fail her as a husband? What if I never get the chance to marry her because she cannot forgive me?"

"You will not fail her if you love her, but if you do, she will forgive you. God knows my Mary has had to forgive me many times for my failings."

Tom stood up and extended his hand to Mr. Colbourne. "I want your word that you will explain yourself to Charlotte. You owe her that. She will be in Sanditon next week for Georgiana Lambe's birthday ball."

Alexander shook Tom's hand, and said, I will be back at Heyrick Park by the end of this week. '' I will call on her at Trafalgar House, if she will receive me.``

Tom said, "Very well then. I hope you can convince her to give you another chance. She would be taking a big risk to break her engagement, so the two of you must marry quickly if she does accept you. I think we both understand the gravity of a broken engagement to a young woman's reputation."

Alexander understood. "Of course, Mr. Parker, and thank you for coming to see me."

After Tom Parker left Bentley House, Alexander took a walk to think about all that had been said.

It was a bit of a surprise that Sidney Parker had been the man Charlotte had been in love with. He had heard of Sidney's marriage and then his death, but Tom had put things in a whole different perspective for him. The experience of love had left scars on both of their hearts, but if Charlotte could be brave enough to move forward with her life and not hide away, then he would, too. He had to let go of his insecurities as a man, and he had to let go of the guilt he carried around every day. It was like poison and destroying any hope he might have for a different life. A life that might include Charlotte if he could be the man she deserved.

Tom had asked him if he had the courage to offer for Charlotte, and he found the thought of it terrifying, but he had to try to convince her that he was the right husband for her, not Starling. After how he hurt her and given that she was now engaged to another man, there were hurdles that even his love for her might be too difficult to overcome.

The thought of her living with another man, of bearing his children, and growing old with someone else, nearly brought him to his knees. He had to make her see that he sincerely loved her and had sent her away because it was the right thing to do.

He had to try. If he did not, he would have something else to regret for the rest of his life.

Later that night, he took out his journals to write out his thoughts. God knows, he was not an articulate man when it came to expressing his feelings. Maybe he was too guarded, but he had to find the right words. His happiness depended on it.

When he tried to write, the words would not come. She was engaged to another man, and there was a good possibility that she would honor her commitment to Ralph Starling. The very thought that he may have lost her forever both terrified him and filled him with resolve. He would fight for her with everything he had.

It all began with forgiveness. Charlotte would need to forgive him. He needed to forgive himself and put the regrets of the past behind him, or he would never have the life he wanted. He would remain trapped in the past, as he had been these last ten years. He would remain alone, without her. Without Charlotte.

He put his quill down and turned down the lamp.

He got in his bed and tried to rest. He ran his hand over her side of the bed, and yes, it was hers. Nobody else would ever sleep there, and he ached to hold her. For the past few weeks, Charlotte had not come to him as often in his dreams. He needed her to come tonight, to ease his troubled heart. He closed his eyes and fell asleep remembering how it had felt to kiss her.