The Future of Sanditon

Part 5

     Charlotte felt that she would never get used to staying up so late and sleeping all day as many of her acquaintances in London were prone to do. Having grown up on a farm she was drawn to the early morning hours and had great difficulty staying up as late as Lady Susan and many of her friends.

She adored the quiet of the house in the early morning.  Even in the streets one could only occasionally hear a solitary horse and the daily milk wagon. Charlotte's rooms looked over a courtyard and Lady Susan's hot house which was full of various citrus fruits she had previously heard of,  but rarely seen in real life until recently and though the view was lovely, she preferred the sitting room in the front of the house for her time in the morning. The quiet crackling of the fire and working her way through Lady Susan's expense ledgers was becoming Charlotte's way to start her days though sometimes she did miss all the noise and bodies of her bustling farmhouse home in Willingden.

On this particular day she was drawing up a potential list of  expenses for Lady Susan's desire to build a summer home near Sanditon. On Charlotte's recommendation she had commissioned Mr. Stringer to draw up the plans and give her estimates on the work. She was hoping to have the home finished by the end of next years summer season. Charlotte was beginning to write another letter to Mr. Stringer regarding the location of the building site and soil samples for the gardens, as well as some of the finishes that Lady Susan was interested in having seen them in London when she heard a coach pull up in front of the house. She heard voices outside and the bell ring in the foyer. Charlotte rose from her desk curious as to who would possibly consider calling this early in the morning. Lady Susan's butler came in shortly and introduced the visitor, it was Lady Denham.

     "Miss Heywood I would apologize for the earliness of the hour but you know enough of my candor and eccentricities to understand why and how much I abhor convention. Besides, I had a feeling you would be an early riser like myself being the daughter of a farmer and all. Run along now lad," she said as she turned to the butler who looked like he was close to her age, "fetch me a cup so I can have some of this tea. Have you tried coffee yet Miss Heywood?"

     "Um, yes, Lady Denham." She stuttered out.

     "Of course you have, staying here in Kensington with your rich friend. I'm sure you have sampled many delights, the likes of which most folks will never imagine! But enough of that, let's get to the point and purpose of this visit shall we? I have a proposition for you Miss Heywood," as she seated herself by the fire, "I require some help getting my estate in order and was wondering if you would be inclined to come back to Sanditon with me and see to organizing my business affairs. I am too old to bother with it myself and I can't abide idiots or sycophants which seem to be the only type of clerk available for hire these days. Mr. Parker repeatedly mentioned  your usefulness to him and I feel confident that should you choose to come you would make a success of it. I have begun repairs on Denham house which shall be yours to live in so long as you are employed by my estate and I can pay you a salary of eight hundred pounds a year."

     She abruptly stopped here and Charlotte was dumbfounded, why on earth would this woman who was decidedly miserly make such an offer to Charlotte?

     "I... I..." She started with her mouth open and slightly moving but not making much sound.

     "Of course, if you accept, all this will be put into writing by my solicitor which is why I am here in London and so early in the day. I would like to have you back in Sanditon by the end of the week if at all possible. That terrible Campion woman is pushing for her wedding to be at Christmastime so Mr. Parker is begging me to allow her to have the thing in the Assembly Rooms as planned so the gentry don't freeze. I find I can't argue with the logic of making the event an opportunity to show off Sanditon to its best advantage, but I cannot abide that woman! She paused and looked quizzically at Charlotte before continuing, "Well, I like fish as much as the next but I'm not accustomed to having NO response whatsoever when I speak."