The following days were some of the best of Alexander's life. He could feel an energy within the walls and land of Heyrick Park. It was as though it had come alive, breathing in a renewed life. The girls could feel it too. They were all changing, and he prayed daily that their happiness would not be ripped away from them.

He watched Charlotte return to them, hour by hour. Whatever had happened to her after she had accepted the proposal of Mr. Starling, becoming a shadow of herself, was lifting. His Charlotte was there, bright, energetic, purposeful. It was like watching flowers bloom, the petals reaching for the warmth of the sun.

The first evening, Margaret pulled him aside after dinner, and stated she thought that he had feelings for Charlotte, and silently, he nodded his head. She smiled, and left things at that, but the next morning she encouraged Charlotte's opinion at every turn. Margaret stepped back and encouraged Charlotte to implement her ideas, while she assisted and helped as needed and where decorum was concerned. Margaret said it was her wedding gift to Charlotte, how to plan events and run a household. Charlotte tried to decline, stating that her life in Willingdon was so much different than her life in Sanditon, but then Margaret simply stated, you never know when the opportunity may arise.

Charlotte took to the planning as though she was mistress of Heyrick Park, and everyone let her. She spoke kindly to the staff, encouraging with her ideas and vision. Alexander was never far away, and she caught him looking at her frequently. She would give him a small smile, then return to what she had been working on.

A week had passed, and Alexander caught the sight of a wagon pass in front of the windows of his study. He quickly closed the ledger her had been working on, placed his quill into the ink, and rushed from the room.

He entered the foyer and called for the girls. "Leonora, Augusta, come quickly." Leo bounded down the stairs from where she had been receiving lessons from Miss Whitcomb, who had arrived just days before, while Augusta made her way from the music room, both with questioning eyes. He reached his arms out towards them, encouraging them to follow him.

They made their way out to the wagon, where he greeted Mr. Carpenter, one of his farmers, with a firm handshake. He saw Charlotte, Margaret, Susan, Miss Whitcomb, and Mrs. Wheatley come through the front door as they followed Mr. Carpenter to the back of the wagon. He reached into a crate, and withdrew a dark, bundle of fur.

"It is a mastiff puppy! Father, is it for us?" Leo exclaimed.

"I promised a friend for Luna, and a friend she got".

Leo threw herself around his waist, enveloping him in a tight hug, "Thank you father!" She released him, wandered over to Mr. Carpenter, and he placed the puppy into her arms.

Leo turned around, saw Charlotte standing there, and exclaimed, "Miss Heywood, father got us a puppy!"

"How wonderful! What are you going to name it?"

The little girl looked down at the animal, thoughtful, then looked back up at her former governess. "I do not know. Will you help me think of a name?"

Charlotte nodded, her eye starting to tear up, and said "I would be honored."

Alexander looked around the table at the ladies and children as they gathered for luncheon and took in the level of enthusiasm that surrounded him. Annie, the name that Leonora and Charlotte produced for the mastiff puppy, wandered under the table, bumping into their feet as she went on an adventure in her new home. He heard Leonora giggle, then exclaim that the puppy was licking her leg. Annie was short for Annis in Latin, meaning complete, had quickly made herself at home and into their hearts.

He looked over at Charlotte, whose eyes were dancing as laughter escaped her lips. Her very lovely lips that he so wanted to feel on his again.

This, this was everything he wanted. Not just for him, but for all of them. Together, they were complete.

There was a crispness in the morning air, so much that the fires were lit early and warming the rooms before the ladies were to arrive for the day. All the Colbourne's were surrounding the table breaking their fast when Alexander heard the main door open and quickly closed to keep the cold and wind outside. Charlotte and Susan had arrived early, but that did not surprise him. The ball was the next evening, and the day would be the full of activity. The prospect of seeing Charlotte so early made him smile, and as he heard shoes clacking along the floor, he stood to greet the woman who held his heart.

Susan entered the room, but Charlotte was not with her. Susan, normally so calm and collected, looked frustrated but determined. Her eyes quickly found Alexanders, and the joyful table quickly silenced, all looking at her with questions in their eyes.

"They arrived last evening, Charlotte's sister, her husband and Mr. Starling. Mr. Starling is insisting they return to Willingdon today."

Alexander stood there, shocked. The air was taken out of his lungs. He felt their happiness being stripped from them, right in front of him, and he could not move. He could not breathe. He heard the chairs scrap the floor as his family quickly rose from their chairs to circle Susan, but his feet were planted firmly to the floor. It was the sound of Leonora crying, and Augusta yelling, "Uncle, you must do something", that snapped him out of his reverie.

Leonora was clinging to Augusta, tears cascading down her cheeks, Augusta's eyes also full of tears.

As he felt Margaret's hand upon his shoulder, he turned his face to look at her.

"If you love her, you must go now. Tell her, no matter who is in audience. This is it, there is no more time Zander."

Mrs. Wheatley was standing in the doorway, her eyes boring into him. "Go Zander, go!"

He moved towards her, but stopped at the girls, took both into his arms and whispered in their ears, "I will do whatever I must." He then turned, determined. At the doorway, Mrs. Wheatley handed him his cloak, while Susan's voice caught his ear.

"Take my carriage. Time is of the essence."

He looked at Mrs. Wheatley, who quietly said "You must do this, so you do not regret it." She squeezed his hand in encouragement, then quickly released it.

He entered the foyer, whipped the cloak around his shoulders, and rushed from his home into the waiting carriage.

The ride towards Sanditon had never seemed so painstakingly slow, even though the carriage was moving as fast it could. He was having a challenging time gathering his thoughts. Should he just blurt out, "Do not marry him, stay with me. Marry me"? He quickly played scenarios in his head, but the one kept coming back to was that she was already gone.

He would have no choice. He would have to go to Willingdon. He would have to risk everything. He knew he could live without her, but he did not want to.

He did not want to. He did not want to ask the girls to.

The carriage had approached the cliffs and he could feel the push of the wind hitting the side of the carriage. Knowing that Sanditon would be visible in the distance, he peered out of the window as the land curved by the sea. In the distance, he saw a speck, quickly getting larger as they approached. He lowered the window of the carriage and stuck his head out into the wind.

Could it be? Could it be her, walking towards him as he sped towards her?

He yelled into the wind, "Slow the carriage!"

The driver brought the carriage to a halt about one hundred feet from her. From Charlotte.

Alexander opened the door of the carriage and paused. He fought every urge that he had to run to her, to take her in his arms and never let go. But he could not do that. Not yet. He had to find the words to tell her how he felt.

He slowly started to approach her. She was dressed in a light-colored dress with small blue flowers that reminded him of her favorite cornflowers, and small blue jacket. Her hair was flowing down to her shoulders, just the way he loved it. She was a vision, everything he wanted and loved, right there in front of him.

As he closed in on her, he realized that she was not moving. She was looking out towards the sea, in in her own thoughts, in her own world. In her hands appeared to be wrapped around a book, and if he had to guess, it was her copy of Heraclitus. He had seen her with it so often, he knew it was seldomly out of her possession.

He slowed as to not startle her, and he was a mere ten feet from her when she turned her head and saw that he was there. He watched her eyes pull him into focus, and he could see that her eyes were rimmed with red, remnants of crying.

They stood there, looking at each other. It could have been seconds or hours, they just stood there, taking each other in. Finally, Charlotte looked down to the ground before turning her head back towards the sea.

"They… they… they have come to take me home. My sister and her husband agree to stay until after the ball, but Ralph… Ralph insists on going today. I am… unsure that I am able to persuade him to stay. I wanted to take in the sea one more time, for I am afraid that I will never be able to return to Sanditon, at least no time soon. My duties as wife… and eventually mother, must be my priority."

"Do you love him?"

She whipped her head towards him, the look on her face telling him she was surprised at his question. She took a moment to collect her words, before answering him. "Ralph is a good man; he will be a good husband and father." She turned back to the sea.

"You did not answer my question. Do you love him?"

She shoulders dropped, as though the question took all her resolve out of her body. "The last several years have not been good for my family. In lieu of a dowry, Ralph is taking over the ownership of my family's farm, giving my parents lifelong tenancy. Once one of the boys become of age and decide if they want it, and has become profitable again, it can revert to them. Ralph is being very generous, to help my family."

That was it. A deal made to save her family. Charlotte was throwing herself down to help her family, at the sacrifice of her own happiness.

"The content of your character is your choice. Day by day, what you choose, what you think and what you do is who you become."

Her eyes made their way back to him. "Heraclitus was very wise."

"So is a young woman I know. I must ask, is this who that young woman wants to be? Is this who you choose to be? Day by day, become this person?"

Tears coming down her face again she exploded, "I do not have a choice!"

He made his way over to her, put his hands on her shoulders as he turned her towards him. "You do have a choice, Charlotte. And its standing right in front of you. I can help your family; they will never have to worry. Charlotte, I am in love with you. The vibrant, energetic, spirited woman who showed me how to live again. Charlotte, please, do not go back to Willingdon today, please do not marry him. Stay here. Stay here with me."

She abruptly stepped back, a mixture of confusion and anger on her beautiful face. He was confused at her reaction for a moment, and then the words started to fall from her lips.

"You love me? You love me? Now you tell me that you love me? Not before, before I went home, and made a commitment to a man. If you loved me so much, why didn't you come find me, tell me?"

"Because I had to become the man you deserve. I had to do it on my own. Day by day, what I chose is who I became. I had to do it for myself, for the girls, and for you. I wanted to be a better man for you. Every day I work at it, and while I may never fully be there, I know that I am a better man, because of you."

Tears were staining her face, her body starting to tremble. He moved towards her and removed his cloak. Gently, he wrapped the cloak around him, closing the wind from the sea from her body, and for a moment, his memory returned to the day in the rain, when they were looking for Leo, and he had offered his jacket to prevent her from being soaked through. His feelings for her had run rampant that day, before that day, but since then, anytime he was near her, he could not help but imagine her there all the time, with him.

The cloak around her, he removed his kerchief from his pocket and gently dabbed her cheeks to remove the moisture on them. She was watching every move he made, his eyes looking right back at her.

He finally broke the silence, knowing that she had decisions that she needed to make. He stated his feelings, and what she decided to do was her decision, and hers alone.

"Allow me to escort you back to Trafalgar House?"

She nodded, and they both turned towards the carriage that was still sitting where Alexander had evacuated it. She took the arm that he offered, and he offered her his hand as she entered the carriage. The door shut, and the carriage took off towards Sanditon, and an unknown future that only Charlotte could determine.