Sanditon: Episode 9

9

It was ebb tide now, the mud flats stretching out far towards the horizon in the light of the low-standing afternoon sun. The beach was busy, with tents put up in front of the dunes, children playing and running around and the heavy silhouettes of the bathing machines lurking in the distance. They passed a group of young men playing cricket, and they heard Fred Robinson cry out: »Now look at that, Young Stringer! Seems as if someone's finally had a more substantial conversation.«

»I'm glad he never made his move,« Sidney said.

»He did, but I was too preoccupied to notice,« Charlotte replied.

»So I had a narrow escape here?«

»Not so narrow. I would have turned him down, even though back then I would not have understood the reason.« She waved at Mr Stringer, who with a smile waved back. »He's been a good friend in times when I needed one.«

»I'll have to make sure he's commissioned with all our building contracts as soon as he is an architect,« Sidney said. »Provided that by then, he stops smiling at you like that.«

An elegant gig came driving towards them, the wheels splashing in the mud, stopping just in front of them in a rather daring manoeuvre. »I thought it had to be you,« Lord Babington said, taking the reins from his wife. »I'm pleased to see you fully recovered, Miss Heywood.«

»Thank you, Lord Babington. And thank you for carrying me to Trafalgar House this morning.«

»No reason to thank me, Miss Heywood. I'm glad I was of any help at all. And it looks as if Sidney has finally managed to end his conversation with you?«

»He has.« Charlotte smiled, even when Lady Babington raised her eyebrows.

»Don't engage in marriage, Miss Heywood, it is not a recommendable state.«

»Are you serious?« her husband asked.

»Sure. It's an endless succession of carriage rides and morning walks, sometimes suspended by a mermaid popping up on the beach.«

»Well, I distinctly remember you, my dear, telling me that you believed Sidney and Mrs C left us early back on the estate because the lady couldn't bear our marital bliss anymore, having to put up with a sulking fiancé herself.«

»Did I? I must have been talking in my sleep.« She took the reins from him away and sent the carriage rolling, getting faster and faster, sending mud and water all over the place.

»I'm certainly not an expert on the matter,« Sidney said, shaking his head. »But I cannot pretend to understand the workings of this particular marriage.«

»Neither can I,« Charlotte agreed. »But will you teach me how to drive?«

»Oh! There is something the ubiquitous Miss Heywood does not know?«

»Will you?«

He was smirking now. »And watch you and Lady Babington drive races at the next Sanditon regatta? I'd be mad if I would.«

»Equal partners, you promised. - I'll reconsider my answer,« she said, pretending to turn away from him. He caught up with her quickly.

»I'm not going to get disengaged twice on one day. And I'm going to teach you everything. – Everything you want to know, Charlotte,« he added in a way that made her realise that this »everything« would comprise matters far, far beyond from driving a carriage.

»Alright,« she said, trying not to sound too meek. He took her arm again, leading her now towards the dunes where the lady of the town was presiding under a white tent. She was alone, only attended to by a servant, no niece, no nephew, no fortune-hunters around her.