Chapter One
23 May, 1813
Sanditon, Sussex
“Why, Lizzy, you make a perfectly pretty picture.” Lady Parker lingered in the doorway, admiring the sight of her beloved friend reclining informally in the window seat, gazing out at the glittering sea.
“Charlotte!” Elizabeth set aside the letters in her lap and leapt to her feet to welcome her oldest friend. “You are looking so very well! I hope you are feeling well.”
“Church this morning was my first outing since my lying-in,” Charlotte replied, heaving a weary sigh as she sank into a plush sofa near the window. “So I am behaving well, but I suppose that is not quite the same thing.”
“The two things rarely go together,” Elizabeth said with a wicked smile.
“Then I should take heart, I suppose, at finding you so unrepentantly truant.”
“I am well enough – and honored that I should be the first call you have paid in a month! How is little Lottie?”
“Unchanged since you visited on Thursday,” Charlotte said, yawning as she lounged indecorously on the expensive but comfortable furnishings.
“Perfectly cherubic, then?” Elizabeth smiled as she nestled into the sofa opposite her friend, propping her feet up on the same large footstool. “Whereas you find me a wicked and indolent creature, reading my letters instead of attending the services and thanking God for my own good fortune.”
“Your endeavors certainly entitle you a day of rest whenever you can manage it. Is Sir Edward at home?”
Elizabeth shrugged. “He is somewhere on the premises.”
The premises she referred to included one of the finest hotels in all of England. The Tremont had been completed the previous summer, a month after Elizabeth had accompanied the Gardiners to the scenic coastal town of Sanditon. Madeline Gardiner had made a miraculous recovery after a period of ill health, and her devoted husband had credited the restorative seaside resort for her salvation. When the original owner of the nearly-completed hotel was obliged to sell after a sudden and significant financial crisis, Edward Gardiner sold his home and his business in London to invest in the village that had given him his wife back.
There were traces of Madeline Gardiner, née Tremont, in every room, for she had possessed a keen eye for all the details and decor of the luxurious establishment, which even bore her maiden name. But the woman who had been like a second mother to Elizabeth had scarcely lived long enough to see the hotel flourish. Just two months after the grand opening of the Tremont, a mere fortnight after her husband and the Parker brothers had been knighted for their hospitality to the King, Madeline Gardiner had died of a difficult pregnancy.
It had been seven months, and Sir Edward Gardiner was still as desolate as he had been at Christmas, when Elizabeth informed her family that she would be accompanying her uncle back to Sussex to assist him in any way that she could. Since then, she had bestowed her boundless affection upon the four Gardiner children and made herself indispensable to Sir Edward, who poured himself into the endeavors of developing Sanditon into a premier destination.
“I shall try again to cheer him tomorrow,” Elizabeth mused. “Miss Stafford has given her notice, and I am interviewing several candidates for governess. Selecting the most qualified lady has produced no effect whatsoever in the past, since this makes four governesses my cousins have managed to drive to distraction since Epiphany. For my uncle’s sake, I mean to choose the prettiest one this time.”
Charlotte laughed, coloring a little. “I have heard that he was quite popular amongst the ladies in his younger days.”
Elizabeth sighed. “Strange, is it not? He broke his fair share of hearts in his youth – that is what Mamma used to say – and yet he was deeply devoted to my poor aunt. I should like to be so cherished, someday – to be so absolutely adored that my beau would take leave of his senses entirely without me. I suppose it is cruel of me, when I can see how my uncle suffers from such a consuming love.”
“It is understandable; you have had your share of heartbreak.” Charlotte offered her friend an encouraging smile.
The two women lapsed into a contemplative silence as a maid entered to serve tea and cake. Elizabeth felt the weight of her friend’s watchful gaze and rose from the sofa to open all the west-facing windows, letting in a refreshing sea breeze. She had indeed known what it was to love a man, and to feel beloved in return, but it had been an ill-fated thing from the start, and she knew she ought to be relieved that it had recently come to an unceremonious conclusion. Like her uncle, she wished to apply her mind to the operations of the Tremont.
When their privacy was restored, Elizabeth sat down across from Charlotte once more and began to serve their refreshments. “On a happier note, I have had two letters from my relations.”
“Oh?” Charlotte made a droll face, telling Elizabeth that she could see the deliberate changing of subjects, but was content to allow it.
“My father has written again – I had no notion he would prove such a faithful correspondent; my stepmother has improved him as much as she has improved my younger sisters.”
Charlotte leaned forward with interest. “And the baby? Mamma has written that your stepmother has entered her confinement.”
Elizabeth grinned, feeling the buoyant joy swell in her chest. “She delivered a healthy baby boy three days ago. Papa has promised to transcribe the inevitable communication from Mr. Collins as soon as he receives it, as much as I enjoyed the letter from my cousin attempting to dissuade Papa from remarrying. His humor has certainly not altered, for they shall Christen my new brother William Colin Bennet. My brother! Can you believe it?”
Charlotte pressed her lips together but could not quite suppress her laughter, which came out as an indecorous snort. “I am very happy for them. The new Mrs. Bennet is an excellent woman.”
“She is just the sort of creature to suit him, as Mamma never did. But then, had he married a woman like her the first time around, my sisters and I would not have such… dynamic characters.” Elizabeth shook her head, her mirth turned bittersweet at the recollection of her late mother.
“And the other letter? It must be from Jane,” Charlotte prompted.
“She believes she is with child again!”
“Already? Good Heavens! I am very happy for her, of course, but I should prefer a few months respite at least, before beginning the attempt again.” Charlotte clamped a hand over her mouth after this indelicate declaration, and chortled once more.
Elizabeth shared in her friend’s mirth. “Your Sir Thomas had an heir and a spare before you wed. Poor Jane! Her darling Frances is quite a beauty already, but I know Jane wishes for a son – and I need not repeat Miss Bingley’s unkind remarks on that score.”
Charlotte was in fine form, for she gave a telling roll of her eyes as she grumbled, “Our Jane has the advantage over that harpy – she may not have a son yet, but she has at least made a fine match. And you shall have your turn ere long, I daresay. You must put that unhappy business from your mind. I am very sorry for it.”
“I am well enough, Charlotte. It was a mere distraction. At any rate, I am perfectly content in my new life of leisure; I have no need of romance.”
“I fancy that when I said such things, I was at least believable,” Charlotte drawled. “And you are terribly busy for a lady of leisure – I am sure this is the longest I have seen you at home, sitting still, since you have come to Sanditon – and what I meant to say was that you may soon have cause to forget the heartbreak you will not own to. Sidney is coming home.”
At the mention of Charlotte’s brother by marriage, Sir Sidney Parker, Elizabeth began wrinkling her nose with distaste before she could recollect herself. She had met the gentleman at Charlotte’s wedding to the eldest of the Parkers, Sir Thomas, a widower with four children. Unlike his brother, Sir Sidney had struck Elizabeth as a popinjay; he was not unpleasant, but neither was she the least bit interested in him.
“Well, I suppose I can look forward to the delights of observing Miss Denham set her cap at him. But I should not tease the poor creature – the only other wealthy fop in town is her own cousin. What a pity that the Bingleys cannot come to Sanditon at present, for I am sure Miss Denham and Miss Bingley would be fast friends – or better still, mortal foes.”
Charlotte smiled. “You are saucy this morning, Lizzy, but I shall not let you avoid the subject of Sir Sidney. Both of you are lively and charming and entirely unattached, though Tom tells me his brother has hinted at having a mind for marriage.”
“Sir Sidney Parker has remained in London since attaining his knighthood, and I know very well his communication with your husband has ranged from inconsistent to incoherent at times. I strongly suspect him of being entirely debauched, and it would not be unreasonable of me to suppose he should prefer a more advantageous match – indeed, after so long in town, I daresay he has found one, and will turn up in Sanditon with some horrid heiress and her overbearing mother. What a joy for your family.”
Though her eyes twinkled with amusement, Charlotte shook her head and reclined further into the plush sofa, staring out the wide windows at the sparkling sea. Elizabeth took heart from the ease of their raillery, raising her teacup to her lips as she said, “I am saucy indeed, am I not? And so now you must understand that Sir Sidney and I would never suit.”
“Married life has taught me that a man may prefer a little impertinence in his wife.”
Elizabeth let out a burst of astonished laughter, but her cheeks burned with mortification. Sir Thomas Parker was a kind and amiable widower, nearly handsome for a man of five-and-thirty, but Elizabeth decided against allowing her thoughts to dwell on the details of his and Charlotte’s marriage. “I daresay you have shocked me into modesty.”
“If such a thing were possible, I am sure I should have managed it many years ago, for we have always been open with one another, have we not? And if you tell me that your heart has not recovered from your recent disappointment, I will cease any further endeavors on your behalf. I only wish to see you happy.”
Charlotte reached forward to clasp Elizabeth’s hand, and Elizabeth moved to the other sofa, where she rested her head on Charlotte’s shoulder. She would have preferred to banter and not burden her friend, but Charlotte knew her all too well. “I am happy – I am not unhappy . I allowed myself to get swept up in the mere mirage of romance….”
“And time will be the cure? Or do you mean to devote your every waking thought to the operations of this hotel, as Sir Edward does?”
“Both – or neither. I hardly know. Perhaps with summer nearly upon us, Sanditon itself will be the cure. But I do not think one foolish attachment shall be remedied by another.” Elizabeth closed her eyes as she snuggled against the friend who was as dear to her as any of her sisters.
Charlotte let out a low, affectionate chuckle before resting her head atop Elizabeth’s. “Perhaps you are right. Perhaps Sanditon will be the cure. Even without any schemes of romance, I am resolved that you should have the happiest summer of your life, and then you shall never want to leave us.”
“Leave Sanditon?” Elizabeth laughed. “Why Lady Parker, where else could I possibly be at once so useful and so spoilt? I daresay you shall never be rid of me.”