Sanditon revisited

1: Bluntness on a balcony

- o -

In which a new acquaintance sparks feelings in Sidney Parker like he has not experienced in a long time

- o -

He could not believe how that woman had had the audacity to talk to him. Who did she think she was?

Still fuming with anger, Sidney Parker slammed the door closed and threw himself on top of the bed in the hotel room which temporarily served as his base here in Sanditon. He did not even bother taking his boots off first, just sank down with a curse and then, unable to relax, lay there tense and furious, staring at the ceiling.

Miss Heywood. What an infuriating woman! Or girl was a better description of someone so young and immature, with so little knowledge of the world.

No matter what one chose to call her, it had been a long time since anyone had provoked such strong feelings of any kind in Sidney Parker. In this case the feelings sparked were anger and frustration and even in resting position he could feel his pulse still racing, his attempts to will it to slow down were futile as long as the adrenaline rush lasted.

Miss Heywood was the summer guest of Sidney's older brother Tom and his wife Mary here in the town of Sanditon, where Tom lived and worked to enthusiastically transform the former sleepy fishing village into a fashionable seaside resort. Sidney was a temporary visitor from London, here to help his brother in his venture. He had arrived only yesterday, summoned by Tom to come join the first Sanditon ball and bring his fashionable friends, to add some flair to the event. Somewhat reluctant, albeit wanting to support Tom, Sidney had left the pleasures of London and convinced two friends, Mr. Crowe and Lord Babington to join him. He knew that Tom depended on him to make his ambitious plans for the town take off and he also knew that Tom would be in deep financial trouble if he did not succeed. So, here he was, pulling his weight, not by investing money but by using his connections in high-society.

Already when Sidney's carriage approached Sanditon yesterday, he had come across Mary and another woman on the road leading into town. His dear sister in law had been thrilled to see him and happily introduced him to her companion, but Sidney had paid little attention to Miss Heywood, who he at the first uninterested glance mistook for a new maid. He quickly dismissed her as an insignificant, bland country girl who rather belonged in the nursery than with the adults and fleetingly noted how unladylike it was of her to wear her hair down, disobediently flapping around her face in the sea breeze despite her bonnet. He had given her no thought between then and the ball tonight, in fact almost forgot she even existed.

Seeing her at the ball, he had realised that she was far from a child, prettyish rather than plain and somehow, she had disturbed his usual equilibrium even before her tactless remarks about his family.

Sidney closed his eyes but immediately opened them again as Miss Heywood seemed to be projected on the inside of his eyelids, appearing the way she had stood before him this evening. He did not wish to be reminded of that. He did not wish to see her twinkling hazel brown eyes, the little dimple in her chin and another pair of dimples appearing whenever she smiled, or her dark curls transformed into a fashionable hairdo revealing her delicate neckline and showing she was actually a young lady not some wild peasant girl. He definitely did not need to be reminded of her feminine figure enhanced by the white dress with a very flattering décolletage, showing just enough to make a man curious as to how her curves looked underneath. Nor did he wish to remember how it felt to hold her when they awkwardly had been paired for a dance. He had held her stiffly, almost at arm-lengths distance and avoided  meeting her gaze, yet he had been strangely aware of her one small, gloved hand wrapped in his, the other resting lightly on his shoulder as they floated over the dance floor. He had been equally aware of her body heat through dress fabric when he held his palm to the small of her back and the pleasant faint scent of jasmine perfume finding his nostrils. It was like all his senses suddenly were extra sharp, tuned in and registering every tiny detail about her and to his dismay he could not turn it off.