A/N: I miss Sanditon!

Disclaimer: I miss Sanditon!

A Bit More Sanditon - Chapter 5

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Charlotte sat in the room Mr. Colbourne had proclaimed he despised at Trafalgar House, sitting cozy on the settee with a book in hand, too distracted to read while thinking over every moment of her afternoon. Seeing Mr. Colbourne on the path to Ireland walking toward her. How dismal she felt wondering why he was there, how he might seek to break her heart further, just like Sidney had. She chided herself for how on edge she felt, how defensive she must have seemed to him, until he started speaking about living a fathomless time's worth of days together.

Sigh.

Charlotte closed her book as she sighed then reopened it when she heard the front door open. She sat up straight on the settee, expecting to see Mary and Tom returning. Instead, it was Arthur!

"My charming housemate! You're back!" Arthur exclaimed, happy to see Charlotte.

"Oh Arthur, I have such a different view on Sanditon now. I've been persuaded to stay. Will you sit with me? I feel like I haven't seen you long enough for us to speak as friends."

Arthur had shrugged off his coat and placed it over the back of a chair. "Charlotte, I shall like to hear all about it." He sat in the high-back crushed velvet chair proclaiming he was all hers.

"First, I feel as though I've been so caught up in one thing after another that I'm sorry if you've felt our friendship had fallen to the wayside. Forgive me."

"No," Arthur said. "It was I who allowed it. This is why I sent you off with that food, to show you how much I care." Charlotte smiled to think she and Arthur were both distracted from each other. "So what has brought you back?" he asked.

"It's not what, Arthur. It is more of who escorted me back. It was Mr. Colbourne."

"Oh! Have you decided to stay in Sanditon and go back to work for him as a governess?"

Tears filled Charlotte's eyes. "No. Arthur, it's much more than that. I'm in love with him."

Arthur gasped. "In love? When did this happen?" He watched a tear stream down Charlotte's face and pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket, offering it to her.

"In truth, it happened right around the ball, back when the military was in town."

"And you didn't know until you returned?" Arthur was trying to make sense of the timeline, knowing somewhere in there she became engaged to Ralph.

"Arthur, before I had a chance to say otherwise, Mr. Colbourne sent me away. After everything I had been through with Sidney, I just felt that I was doomed to falter when it came to love. Ralph and I weren't a love match as much as an arranged match made years ago by our parents. But here, every time I opened my heart it was just putting it on a carving board to be … "

"Yes, I understand, Charlotte. I, myself, have always been rather protective of my own heart. But now, you and Mr. Colbourne have found yourselves on new ground, I suspect? One of equal footing?"

"Oh yes, Arthur, I hope so. He said things to me that only a person truly in love would say. Words of more importance than even Sidney ever said to me. I hope that is not offensive of me to say to you."

"About Sidney? No. Charlotte. Dear, dear, Charlotte, I didn't agree with his decision to marry Eliza. I say I will go to the ends of the earth to help my brother, but not like that. He did the exact thing to Eliza he so desperately tried to avoid happening to Georgiana. Marrying someone to use them for personal profit and gain. Sometimes, I'm still horrified as to why he did it. Diana and I were more than willing to give our own money toward the family cause, and the rest could have been raised over time. You see how much the town is flourishing now."

"Oh Arthur," Charlotte placed her fingers to her temples. "I fear his decision was indeed my fault."

"How could it have been?"

"Your brother and I did not get off to a good start. Very uneven footing. We seemed to have these spats or sometimes heated arguments in the beginning. During one I accused him of not doing enough to help Tom. I believe he was terribly offended by me. And despite how we mended things between us, there were many reasons he chose to marry Eliza. Perhaps one was to prove me wrong?"

"Oh dear Charlotte, I sense blame. Do not blame yourself! I have learned a lot about love myself over the past few months. It is very easy to put yourself in a compromised position that is more of an arrangement than a union formed out of love. I tried to talk Sidney out of it, I did! But Sidney –ah Tom did so much to protect us growing up that Sidney and I have always had a sense of obligation toward him. Did we have a close brotherhood? Yes. But having lost our father young, Tom was there for us in many ways. Sidney didn't always like it, but he was the problem solver among us. Tom was the dreamer, true but also our protector. We worked as a team."

"Thick as thieves," Charlotte added as she tried to reconcile Sidney's choice again in her mind.

"But no matter, may Sidney rest in peace and may you move forward with Mr. Colbourne if he is your choice." Charlotte smiled to hear Arthur say this to her.

"I know Tom was not fond of him due to his protesting the development of the town. Is that how you feel as well?"

"Oh me, no, on the contrary, I've always seen him as a smart man who could lead our town one day. I do not believe he remembers me but I met him years ago, as our sister Diana was friends with his then wife Lucy and her sister. I tagged along on some kind of outing. I found all of them to be quite civil and kind. I know a secret about them, their staff knew how to make ice cream from their fresh milk. It was a delicious treat." Arthur's face lit up at the memory.

"I shall keep that in mind," Charlotte said with excitement.

"Now Mr. Colbourne, would you say he's a man who enjoys taking in entertainment? Perhaps you might talk to him about my idea to have a grand royal theater built here in Sanditon so that we might host more entertainment like that of Ms. Elizabeth Greenhorn, the wonderful singer who graced us with her presence."

Charlotte thought back fondly on that evening as she had allowed her gloved fingers to reach out slowly toward Mr. Colbourne's hand as they listened to the powerful music under the night's sky. Forbidden or not, she couldn't help it as she felt herself under the spell of the music's lyrics, Sanditon's energy, and his gentlemanly presence beside her.

"You're smiling!" Arthur said. "Is that a yes?"

"Arthur, I do believe Mr. Colbourne has a secret affinity for entertainment and I shall promote your idea to him with the highest recommendation."

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A/n: thank you for reading. Next chapter will be fun!