The only reason to marry is Love - A Sanditon fanfic

Chapter 2: A shocking proposal

When Charlotte woke up, there was a blissful moment during which she had forgotten where she was, and it felt like any ordinary day about to start. Then she took in the sight of the room, where the sumptuous bed she was lying in was the predominant feature. When everything came back to her, reality hit her like a punch in the stomach. She was far away from home, held captive in a brothel. The room may be luxurious but had one purpose only; to serve her on a plate to anyone who was willing to pay. She had been lucky to escape that fate last night, but she was clever enough to know that luck would not last. Likely she would be introduced to another man who was less considerate already this evening.

This made her thoughts drift to Mr. Sidney Parker. To her own surprise, she was disappointed to find him already gone. The armchair was empty and there was no sign of him, the coat he kindly had borrowed her was missing too and instead she was covered by a blanket. She seemed to remember gentle hands tucking her in and caressing her forehead as if she was a child, but perhaps that was a dream.

She had been so frightened when she entered this room last night, certain that on the other side of the door she would meet the first man who would bed her against her will. Home in Willingden her family used to joke that her appetite for adventures was bigger than was healthy for any young lady, but in that moment she had not felt courageous at all. She feared that at best she could expect one of those overweight, lustful but effete elderly men who she had seen around with the other girls, men who wanted much but had energy for little. At worst, she dreaded to meet a brute who would have his way with her all night.

He had turned out to be neither.

At first sight he had been intimidating, so tall and broad-shouldered, with dark hair and eyes, all dressed in black and seeming strong and tense underneath the clothes as if harbouring rage or perhaps distrust against the world. His stern face was the handsomest she ever had seen, and she thought there must be some hidden serious fault to him, because why would otherwise a wealthy man, looking like him have to pay for company? Even if she knew it was common, she could only feel contempt for such men. Her own father had always adored and been faithful to his wife and had set the bar high for any man Charlotte would come across.

When the stranger first looked up, he had seemed surprisingly annoyed at the intrusion, like he certainly did not want her there. It was not the expected reaction, but an explanation had followed, and she had realised that he wanted to escape this too, even if not with such desperate intensity as herself. He was free to walk away, she was not.

As he listened to her story, his initially hard expression had softened. He had comforted her, had taken care of her like a brother and made it crystal clear he would not claim what his friends had paid for. She got the impression that he was a good and kind man, but for some reason reluctant to let the world know. In his presence she had felt safe for the first time since she was brought here.

She woke up once during the night and saw him sleeping in the armchair. Dressed in white shirt, waist coat and with the cravat untied, he looked less threatening than clad all in black. Sound asleep, he was almost boyish except for the emerging stubble on his chin. She wondered how old he was and if he was not married, since his friends thought a night at the brothel was a fitting birthday gift. She knew that none of that ought to matter to her but was grateful for his presence because for one more night she was able to sleep untouched, unruined, even if he was the only one besides herself who knew that.

Apparently, he had woken up before her and decided to leave without saying goodbye. Of course he had no obligation to do so, but she wished that she had had the chance to thank him once more and being alone made her feel as desperate as before. She irrationally wished he could be there to protect her, but of course he had better things to do with his life than remaining by the side of a woman he did not know and who was nothing to him. She wanted to be brave, like the heroine in one of her novels, but reading about such adventures was one thing, experiencing them in real life was something completely different. There was no salvation or happy ending in sight here.