I meant to have this chapter up a while earlier, but for one, it's been a slightly tough couple of weeks for me mental health-wise, and it took a few days to refocus.
And for another, the original version of this chapter became so long, that I decided to split in at a point where it made sense, and put this one up now, with the next part to follow soon-ish.
I hope you all are still enjoying this story as much as I'm enjoying writing it, despite the gaps in updates. Thank you once again for your kudos and lovely comments. They are such encouragement and I appreciate them very much!
Finally, in tackling the matter of the debt, I have based it on my extremely basic knowledge and understanding of all things business and finance. So while there are hopefully no gaping holes, if there's anything else… let's just go with it.
I hope you all enjoy this chapter!
Sidney was up early the next morning. Exhausted from the long ride from Sanditon to London, he'd slept solidly, and felt as rested as was possible with the short hours in bed. He'd woken up to the thrum of nervous anticipation in his veins at what the day might bring.
He had sent notes to Mr. Cartwright, his man of business, and Mr. Wetherby, his accountant, the previous night, asking them both to meet him at his office at his warehouse this morning on an urgent matter. It was the only task Sidney had managed to accomplish before crashing into bed.
This morning, he had a quick breakfast and was just shrugging into his coat when Charlotte came rushing down the stairs and into the entrance hall. His heart tumbled in his chest the way it did every time he caught sight of her, a feeling that had quickly become familiar but did not lessen in its intensity in any way for the number of times it happened. He didn't think he would ever entirely get used to it.
It was immensely gratifying to see that she seemed to have a similar reaction to him. Her cheeks turned decidedly pink the moment she spotted him.
"Sidney!"
She looked well rested; there were no signs of tiredness or sleeplessness on her face. In fact, she looked her usual cheerful ray-of-sunshine self, eager to take on the day, which did far more to bolster his spirits than the pep talk he'd been giving himself all morning.
It was time for him to leave — the carriage was waiting outside — but he let himself linger with her for a moment. He so very rarely had her to himself. "What are you doing up so early?"
"I'm always up early." Her brows furrowed adorably in confusion. "I wanted to send word to Susan that we're here in London. I thought it best to meet her as soon as I can."
Sidney didn't doubt that Lady Worcester would meet Charlotte, but he did not see how or why she would help, especially as it was the Parkers on behalf of whom Charlotte was making the plea. Sure, she seemed to have quickly developed a deep fondness for Charlotte — his fiancée had the kind of charming, magnetic personality that drew people of all ilk to her like flies to honey. And sure, Lady Worcester had come to the Sanditon regatta only to meet her, as she had told Tom and Mary, much to the bewilderment of his brother, who could neither fathom her fascination with Charlotte nor understand how Sanditon itself was not the draw. But in Sidney's experience, people did not just form fast friendships and help each other solely from the goodness of their hearts without wanting or expecting something in return, especially not members of the haut ton.
Sidney had felt selfish for allowing Charlotte to come with him to London — or how ever much it was 'allowing' on his part, considering Mary had rolled over any objections he might have made. But he wasn't sorry one bit to have Charlotte here — she had proven herself unexpectedly resourceful in tight situations before. And if nothing else, he was glad they didn't have to be apart these few days, especially when their future hinged on whatever happened this week.
Besides, Charlotte's brilliant mind was the reason Sanditon had even come to the attention of the beau monde, not Tom's, whose idea of promoting the little seaside resort had been to badger people at a ball in London. So, Charlotte may well turn out to be their lucky charm and strike gold for Sanditon once again.
There was a footman standing next to the front door, holding his hat and cane ready for him, so Sidney shifted, shielding Charlotte from his view.
"I should go." He took her hand in his and raised it to his lips to press a kiss to her fingers. "I'll see you when I return."
"Good luck!"
Charlotte gave him such a blindingly lovely smile that it quite transfixed him for a moment even as he was struck by how domestic it all felt, her seeing him off for the day. Was this what it would be like when they were married? He fervently hoped so.
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~
It was a rather ordinary morning for the rest of the occupants of Bedford Place after Sidney left. Having sent her note to Susan, there was nothing Charlotte could do except wait to hear back. She had breakfast with the children and Mary, who had also dispatched a note to her brother, informing him of her arrival in London and asking him to call on her.
After breakfast, Mary decided to sit with Mrs. Mullins and go over the domestic accounts and matters related to the household management of the Bedford Place house. She had come to London after a very long time, and given their newly-straitened financial situation, she wanted to see where they could economise and cut back. She would have to do the same — in fact, even more ruthlessly — once she returned to Trafalgar House.
With Mary busy, Charlotte took the children to the park around the corner from Bedford Place, the nanny accompanying them. She did not want to go anywhere far in case a reply from Susan arrived, and a footman could easily come and fetch her from the park if she received one.
After the beaches and open spaces of Sanditon, the park was certainly a change, though Charlotte found she preferred the former. Both Tom and Dr. Fuchs had a point after all about the sea air being most refreshing. In comparison, the London air had a smoky, stale feel about it.
But the children enjoyed the change of scene, and ran around and jumped and played. They came back home tired and sweaty but invigorated, and Henry spent all of lunch excitedly telling his mother everything he'd seen and done, and was so caught up that he had to be reminded to eat.
After lunch, Charlotte spent the afternoon writing long-due letters to her parents and family. She had told only Alison the entire truth of her stay in Sanditon so far, including her tempestuous acquaintance with Sidney, her trip to London to rescue Georgiana, and how her feelings for the middle Parker brother had changed. Her last letter to Alison had contained news up to the day before the regatta, and now she updated her sister on all the developments since then.
She could scarcely believe it had been but two or three days since the regatta, when she had resigned herself to the idea that Sidney would marry the woman he had loved for a decade, and that anything she had felt between them was a figment of her imagination. But in a bewildering turn of events, Sidney had decided to stay in Sanditon with her instead of going back to London with Mrs. Campion.
She told Alison about their walk on the clifftops when he had kissed her for the first time, the Midsummer ball, the fire destroying the terrace, and how Sidney had finally asked her to marry him. She explained about the lack of insurance and Tom's debts, of Sidney telling her she could withdraw from the engagement if she wanted, and how, after a blistering argument, they were still affianced.
She wrote that she was in London again, with Mary's permission and indeed with Mary herself, and how they'd come to the capital to find a solution to resolve the Parker family's financial situation. As her pen sped across the paper, she imagined Alison would be utterly astounded at the unexpected turns in Charlotte's life over a few short weeks.
To her parents, Charlotte decided after much deliberation not to reveal anything yet, neither about her engagement, nor about Tom's debts, nor that she was in London for a second time, not that they knew about her first trip here either. She was not sure how they would react to any of it, and decided to wait until she and the Parkers had some clarity about the debt. Mama and Papa might understand her insistence on standing by Sidney through a time of crisis, but they would likely not take kindly to her gallivanting around all over the country alone with him, and she did not want to give them a reason to summon her back to Willingden for good.
She felt a little guilty about deceiving them but reasoned that she was old enough to know her mind, and that she and her reputation were not in any danger as long as she had Mary with her.
So, instead, she painted a vibrant picture of the Sanditon regatta, going into great detail about the children's sandcastle competition, the men's boat races, the lavish food and drink at the luncheon tents, and the colourful dresses and attire the visitors from London's beau monde had worn for the day. Her letter would contain enough general news to satisfy her parents, and enough colour to entertain her siblings, to whom Charlotte knew her father read her letters out.
As she wrote, she wondered what her family would make of Sidney, and what it would be like if he went to Willingden to meet them. It was difficult to picture someone as worldly and sophisticated as him in her quiet little rural village. Indeed, Charlotte wondered if even she could go back to living there anymore. Willingden felt both far away and a long time ago, and in her heart of hearts she knew she had left it behind. Whatever happened now, her future did not lie in her sleepy little hamlet, but beyond, and if all matters were resolved as they hoped, with Sidney.
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~
Mary received a reply from her brother that afternoon, saying he would call on her at Bedford Place the next morning, but Charlotte still had no word from Susan, which had begun to make her a little uneasy.
Sidney returned late, just before dinner, and one look at his face told Charlotte whatever news he had to share was not promising. She was impatient to know and had to sit on her hands not to ask him about it immediately. But he looked weary and worried and tense, and volunteered no information right then, so she said nothing for the moment.
He was quiet during dinner, but he joined Mary and Charlotte in the back parlour afterwards instead of disappearing into his study. Pouring out glasses of brandy for everyone, he subsided into a chair the minute the women had taken their seats, and told them about his day.
Sidney had spent the first half of his morning with Mr. Wetherby, his accountant, who had procured Tom's records from the bank and taken him through the disastrous state of his brother's finances. The long and short of it was that Tom had completely drained his coffers, even the money from the accounts he had set up for his children, to put towards the Sanditon venture.
Mary sat as still and silent as a statue, gripping Charlotte's hand, which the younger woman had extended to her, as she absorbed this latest blow. She was numb with fear. There seemed to be no end to the depth of the misery that her thoughtless husband had cruelly inflicted upon his family. He was so lost to Sanditon that had not even spared a thought for his children.
Charlotte was struck by how drawn Mary looked, and how stooped her shoulders were, as if she was carrying the weight of the whole world on them. It was clear that neither she nor Sidney, who looked equally worn, had expected matters to be quite so bad, for Tom's betrayal to be this deep.
She appreciated that Sidney was being honest with Mary, and with her as well, and telling them the full extent of the Parkers' troubles. Tom had kept everyone, especially Mary, in the dark long enough.
"As soon as the banks learn about the fire and the debt — indeed, I would be surprised if they haven't already — they'll want to foreclose on their loans," Sidney explained gently. "Once they send us the notice, we'll have about a fortnight's time to return the money, if that. And Trafalgar House is collateral."
Mary made a valiant effort to rally herself, though her nerves had never felt so frayed before. "What about this house or the old Parker place? Could we not sell them? That might bring us some money, would it not?"
Sidney's expression turned deeply uncomfortable, and it alerted Mary to the fact that she was not going to like whatever information he would reveal about this. She took a deep breath and gestured for him to go on, just wanting the litany of problems to end so they could focus on finding a solution once and for all.
Sidney exhaled. "Tom already sold Bedford Place and the old Parker House a year and a half ago–"
"What?!"
"–to me." Sidney finished. "He wanted money for the Sanditon venture, and he was already after me to invest more, but I didn't want to, though I didn't know how to tell him that. When he mentioned he was going to sell the properties, I bought them from him. That gave Tom enough money — from me — and the houses stayed in the family. I know Tom is not very sentimental about things that are not Sanditon," he added, trying not to sound irritated or critical of his brother — they had come a long way past that, and he didn't want to upset Mary any further than he had to — "But I didn't want to lose either house. One is my home now, the other was my home as a boy."
Mary felt blank with shock. Tom had taken such a huge step but he had not even informed her of it, let alone discussed it with her. She was well aware that a wife was rarely involved or had any say in the financial decisions taken for a family; it was why she had never said anything to Tom about the amount of his time, money, and energy he expended over Sanditon. But to hide information of such magnitude and import from her…. Or was it not to do with Tom hiding anything from her, but rather him not thinking she was important enough to share such things?
Did she know her husband at all? What else had he kept from her, knowingly or not, that would come back to hurt her family, her children?
"We might indeed still have to sell one or both properties," Sidney went on after a pause, "But Mr. Wetherby and Mr. Cartwright both advised us to wait and see the outcome of the meetings with the banks and investors. I am hoping we will not have to. Owning a house in London is an advantage we should not give away, if we can help it. We might be able to rent Bedford Place out if matters come to that, it would provide us with a source of income. As for Parker House, selling it will not help us much financially. It is located unfashionably far from the centre of Sanditon town to be of any interest to anyone. Besides, I'd hoped–"
He cut himself off, but the quick glance he shot at Charlotte immediately told Mary of his intentions. "Oh."
The thought was sweet. She could easily picture Sidney and Charlotte making their home at the old Parker House. She suspected it was exactly the sort of life they wanted — somewhere cosy together and away from the bustle of people and society. They would be very happy there.
Charlotte, who hadn't caught the byplay, frowned in confusion.
"It is large enough to accommodate all the Parkers, should the need arise," Sidney hastily explained to her. It was not a lie — things might well come to that — but he set aside the real reason for now. As much as he had already begun to picture his and Charlotte's married life together, he knew not to build castles in the sky when the rug could still be yanked out from under his feet. They could be certain of nothing until they cleared the matter of the debt first.
Sidney explained that had then set up appointments for the next day with two banks as well as two or three investors. He tried not to be pessimistic, but he was not very hopeful about the banks. He had already once attempted requesting them to extend credit on behalf of Tom, and they had refused. There was little chance they would agree to it now, especially given that it was Tom Parker's venture that was in need of money even if it was Sidney who would be the one borrowing.
Equally, he was worried that the banks would grant them the loans, because then he would have to borrow against his own company. It was the only asset of any value the Parkers owned, other than the two remaining houses. Trafalgar House had already been mortgaged to the hilt.
Sidney and Mr. Cartwright, his man of business, had spent the rest of the day combing through his own business holdings, marking how much and which areas of it could be liquidated for ready cash in case it was needed, and taking steps to strengthen the areas they could, so that his company did not go into any loss. Sidney was responsible for his own employees, who depended on him for their wages, and unlike Tom, he had no intention of letting them suffer. And if the Parkers did not manage to raise the required amount, Sidney's financial holdings would be their only means of income. For it was clear that, barring a miracle, Arthur's inheritance too would have to be used towards repaying the debt, no matter how insignificant it was compared to the amount Tom owed.
Charlotte had listened quietly as Sidney explained matters, taking in everything he said. Now, she gave him a troubled frown. "Is that wise?" she asked, referring to the liquidation his business assets. "Or advisable for your company?"
"It's wise to be prepared beforehand," Sidney said gravely. "And we don't have a choice. If the worst comes to pass, this is the only thing that will keep our heads above water."
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