CHAPTER 16

The events of the afternoon unfolded in something of an expected manner. The heat increased and with it Arthur Parker’s appetite. Lady Denham had begun to feel fatigued by the time Tom Parker was alighted upon his podium with his speech polished and ready to be heard.

Latecomers to such events are always greeted with unwarranted excitement.This enthusiasm often bears no relation to the person’s having unusual qualities or outstanding gifts; it is merely their lack of punctuality that affords them undue allure. Miss Esther Denham was so regularly late that there was a kind of reliability about her. It was her absolute abhorrence to arrive at a place without there being the highest possibility of her being seen by everyone. The aspect of herself that she most eagerly wished to draw attention to was her devotion. Lady Denham had a dependency on devotion, but she was not so foolish as to think that Miss Denham’s compassionate attentions were all the result of concern. Such love, such care as the kind Miss Denham bestowed upon her senior relative was outwardly impressive but inwardly calculating. A share of the lady’s fortune governed every smile, every errand, every benevolent offer to read aloud to or otherwise entertain her aunt. Miss Denham was always supremely attentive to Lady Denham but an audience could be depended upon to improve the manner and the depth of her commitment. If Lady Denham’s Sanditon neighbors could all see what a good-hearted, deserving girl Miss Denham was, then they were sure to recommend her as being so.

Lady Denham’s fortune was no secret, but the nature of her intentions for it was. No hint of her proposals ever left her lips and those three parties, the Denhams, the Hollises and Miss Brereton, who considered themselves likely contenders for it, vied with each other in the sweetest of ways. Sir Edward and Miss Denham had formed a kind of alliance; it was very likely, they thought, that one or the other would be favored, their shared name and relationship would ensure security for both. But there hung around this arrangement an uneasy feeling that on acquisition of the fortune, the favored party might well forget all previous promises of generosity.

What a monstrous dictator money is! It forces civility between foes, creates acrimony between supposed friends, and has been the cause of countless loveless marriages throughout the world. It is hard to say, of this little circle of contenders, which member was the most calculating or self interested and harder still to say which the most probable recipient of the coveted riches. And it was almost impossible to find any one of the competitors entirely deserving. The Denhams were concerned that Clara Brereton, by the nature of her constancy and general sweetness, might just succeed.The Hollises’ chances did not seem great, they were rarely come to Sanditon, and it was hoped, by Miss Brereton and the Denhams alike, that their absence would make them as good as forgotten. A sudden visit by the Hollises was dreaded, the avoidance of informing them, should Lady Denham fall ill, was agreed upon between Sir Edward and his sister; in this their complicity was unreserved. Where Miss Denham was scheming, her brother was thrice so, and accepting there to be a likelihood of Miss Brereton’s inheriting, the pair had devised a plan to ensure that he could ingratiate himself to her. Love, or the cunning imitation of such emotion, was his favored weapon in what he acknowledged to be a battle. Sir Edward Denham, having decided that softening of Miss Brereton by way of emotional manipulation would be his security, did not appear to be making a success of things. He actively pursued other ladies, overtly flattered them, even in Miss Brereton’s presence, and flirted without restraint at every given opportunity with the first woman unfortunate enough to give him a polite smile. Could Miss Brereton think him so in love with her and believe herself to be similarly enamored with him when all his actions seemed to imply otherwise? She did not question it. She did not give consequence to the fervent attentions he showed to any lady who came into the neighborhood. She barely acknowledged him, crushed between the Miss Beauforts, and there seemed, in her denial of his presence, no malice, no hurt pride, nor any feelings of rejection.

 

Charlotte’s introduction to Miss Denham was brief, for the latter was eager to be by Lady Denham immediately. “Forgive me, Miss Heywood, I have been quite determined to make your acquaintance but Lady Denham looks fatigued, does she not? I must forego any chance of starting a conversation and go to her at once, excuse me.”

Lady Denham was tiring and despite her own avid interest and ample investment in Sanditon was unable to sustain prolonged enthusiasm for Mr. Parker’s promotional speech. She was not given to fainting, she had never been a swooner, not even in her youth, so her collapse had about it the appeal that novelties invariably bring. The vapors were called for, and once they had been administered and praised for their remarkable effectiveness, Lady Denham was thereafter escorted home to Sanditon House. One nurse is usually considered equal to the task of attending one patient, but Lady Denham was obliged to accept the attention of three aids. Clara Brereton, Miss Denham, and Sir Edward all departed with expressions of gravity and very powerful feelings of anticipation.

 

The Miss Beauforts expounded between themselves on the inconvenience of having lost their admirer so early in the afternoon and knowing Sidney Parker to be handsome but otherwise engaged they deigned to grace his brother Arthur with their company. He was not the handsomest of men (the Miss Beauforts loved a handsome admirer) but he would do in place of any other. Poor Arthur was forced to talk! This he managed between mouthfuls. He had never enjoyed female attention other than that of his sisters, to be enjoying it now from two young ladies was a marvel to him. They giggled when he spoke and sometimes when he did not.Arthur took their laughter to be a measure of his success in the art of amusing the fairer sex, so he spoke more and ate less.

Diana was concerned for her sickly brother’s well-being. “He should not over enthuse, he will be sure to suffer later, all manner of irregularities will no doubt seize him. Not that I wish to shield poor Arthur from social pleasures, no, indeed I do not, but it will fall to me to resurrect his health, I am quite harsh upon myself in matters of duty. But I am far from robust, that is no secret, and Arthur is prone to an internal condition, that is something of a delicate matter and I worry terribly. But it does not end there.We are quite stricken as a group. My sister Susan, of course, is entirely reliant on the leeches. Cupping has no effect on her.Wet or dry. It is completely ineffectual! It must always be leeches for Susan, but she is so reluctant to give up her blood that three are applied to draw just an ounce from her. The best I can hope for, for myself, after such an afternoon, is that some bitters will be my salvation. If I manage some bread that alone will be a miracle.”All this she voiced to Mrs.Whitby who heard the forthright declarations with astonishment. She had been sitting with Miss Lambe whose appearance at the gathering had had less effect than Mrs. Griffiths would have liked and far more than the girl herself would have wished for.

“It is a shame, my dear, that Sir Edward Denham has departed,” said Mrs. Griffiths to her charge.“I rather hoped that your acquaintance with him would be enlarged upon this afternoon.”