Note: When I wrote "A midsummer night's proposal", a few of you lovely readers here as well as on AO3 asked if there was going to be a continuation to that story. Which, I'll admit, took me a little by surprise because I honestly hadn't thought of how the story would proceed with this development; I just wanted to write a way out of *that* ending.

... So here is my attempt at continuing along that line of events. Thank you for pushing me to do this — I'm having fun figuring out and planning and writing this story. I hope you like it as much as you did its prequel!

Sidney was seething as he and his siblings made their way back to Trafalgar House after their visit to the burnt terrace the morning after the fire. Eighty thousand pounds. Eighty thousand pounds! Even being well cognizant of Tom's carelessness, he found it hard to believe, to accept that his older brother had been so reckless. What idiocy had prompted him take such a perilous gamble as not insuring the building work?

From where were they to obtain so much money? How and from where had Tom managed to get so much money to sink into Sanditon in the first place? As Tom had said earlier, even their combined fortunes were but a drop in the ocean when compared to the magnitude of his debts.

And yet, the pressing matter that occupied Sidney's mind foremost, the dread that had filled him the minute Tom revealed the extent of their dire straits, had to do with Charlotte.

She had made him the happiest man alive mere hours ago when she'd agreed to marry him. He who had been convinced that he was destined to remain alone forever, to never find love and be loved. He who had never imagined he'd ever feel such happiness, beyond his wildest dreams. And now, with such horrific financial ruin staring the Parkers in the face, he was obliged to give Charlotte the chance to back out of their engagement. She had a full and bright future ahead of her; she did not deserve to be shackled to a man who might well end up in penury. Her parents would never agree to such a match. And he could not call himself a gentleman if he didn't allow her the chance to withdraw.

Just the mere thought of it was enough to drive Sidney to the brink of despair, threatening to bring him to his knees. In just a few short, turbulent weeks, he had fallen deeply, irrevocably in love with Charlotte. He didn't think he could live — survive — without her.

He remembered Charlotte's face when he told her he was in love with her, when he asked her to marry him. The hope that had bloomed in her eyes, the happiness in her smiles. Her emotions mirroring his, the evidence of it in her kiss. The thought of losing that, losing her made him feel sick.

The thought of losing it all because of his brother's staggering incompetence filled him with a rage beyond belief.

The Parkers arrived back at Trafalgar House and were let in by the footman. Sidney headed for Tom's study, his siblings following, intent on clearing the matter out with Tom. But he changed course when he saw Charlotte and Mary in the drawing room. Something had clearly happened, for both women's faces were grave, and their eyes were reddened, as if they'd been crying.

His heart stopped. "What is it?" he asked urgently as he rushed to Charlotte's side. She rose to her feet as he reached her, and he took her hands in his, scanning her face for a clue to what had upset her.

"It's old Mr. Stringer." Her voice was quiet with grief, fresh tears spilling down her cheeks. "He was in the terrace building fixing the wall sconces when the fire started last night. He's dead. They found his body this morning."

Sidney's mind reeled at this fresh horror. He had not known — there had been no one at the site of the fire when he and his brothers and sister were over there just a little while ago, and no one had informed them of this tragic occurrence. The news filled him with apprehension and dread, and he wordlessly gathered Charlotte close, as much for himself as to comfort her, unmindful of their audience.

If Arthur, Diana, and Tom were surprised at Sidney's openly affectionate gesture towards Charlotte, it was eclipsed by their shock at the news of old Mr. Stringer's death. Although, if anyone in the room had a mind to look closer, they would have seen the relief that flashed across the eldest Parker's face for a brief moment. They could not blame him for the fire.

Arthur sat down heavily in a chair, but Diana strode to Mary's side. Usually so fretful, the Parker sister realised that, at this moment, she needed to be a pillar of strength for her brothers, her sister-in-law, and their houseguest. "That is indeed a terrible tragedy," she said. "I'd heard that Mr. Stringer was a very diligent worker, and I am most truly sorry about his demise."

She reached out and squeezed Charlotte's hand in sympathy. "But we cannot let these setbacks defeat us. We are Parkers, we will find a way together. Sanditon must not be allowed to founder and fall!" There was a ring of determination in her voice, making her almost unrecognisable from the usually plaintive, complaining woman that she was.

"Whatever do you mean?" Mary asked, completely at sea as to what Diana was talking about. Her eyes moved from her sister-in-law to her two brothers-in-law, both of whom looked uncharacteristically grim, and finally to her husband, who refused to meet her gaze. "What has happened?"

Charlotte too was looking at all the Parkers curiously, and raised her gaze to Sidney when she felt him tense at Mary's question. He looked back at her, extremely anxious and worried, alarming her because she had never seen him this way. "What has happened?" she repeated Mary's question urgently.

"There was no insurance for the terrace construction." Sidney's voice was tight. "If we cannot find a way to recover our losses, to repay the debt, we are ruined."

There was a short, appalled silence. Charlotte's heart sank, and she gripped Sidney's hand tighter, trying to glean just how bad the situation was.

"How much do we owe?" Mary asked, staring at her husband, who still refused to look at her. "How much, Tom?" she demanded.

Tom remained silent. He had the decency to look a little ashamed, but mostly sported the injured manner of a victim.

It was Arthur who answered. "Eighty thousand pounds."

Charlotte gasped. Even knowing that Georgiana was worth a hundred thousand pounds, such huge sums of money were still unfathomable to her. To owe so much!

"Eighty thousand pounds," Mary whispered, unaware that she was echoing her brother-in-law's earlier horror. "Eighty thousand pounds? How?"

"You must not worry about it, my dear." Tom finally found his voice, and moved to placate his wife, putting on what he hoped was a brave smile to reassure her. "It– It– It's just a temporary setback. Sidney and I will have this sorted out in a matter of days, you'll see."

Both Sidney and Charlotte's heads came up, perturbed at the casual way in which Tom assumed that Sidney would do whatever was needed to fix his — Tom's — mistakes, and appalled at how dismissive he was being about the calamity.

"A temporary setback?" Mary's voice quivered with incredulity. "Tom, have you taken leave of your senses? We owe eighty thousand pounds!"

Tom's fake, plastered-on smile faltered. "Come my dear," he began, "It's no use dwelling on it, what's done is done–"

"'No use dwelling on it'?" Mary repeated, "Tom, you have ruined us! How could you not buy insurance?"

"I– I had intended to, of course. But the premiums were so high, and there were so many other calls on my capital… The money was better used elsewhere." Tom paused as Mary let out something akin to a short, sharp strangled scream. He continued, a little uncertain but determined to be heard, to make Mary see how unfair she was being, "Besides, the fire was old Mr. Stringer's fault. If he had not been inside the building, it would have never–"

Mary whirled on him. "Do not blame him for this! He would have never even been inside that building if you had provided enough workers and equipment to finish the work on time!"

Tom's voice hardened. "There's no need for us to have our disagreement in front of everyone. You and I shall talk about this later when you have calmed down."

"How dare you, Tom Parker!" Mary's eyes blazed with a fury no one had ever seen or even expected from her. "You have lied to me, hidden from me how bad things really are! You show no remorse that you've squandered away our fortunes and disgraced our name, or that you've put the lives and livelihoods of your workers in jeopardy!" She paused to let the severity of her words sink in, but knowing Tom, they probably wouldn't even make a dent. "And everyone here is family! They certainly know better than I of your troubles and debts, don't they?" she added with a speaking look at Sidney, who coloured a little.

He had indeed realised, when he returned to Sanditon after his first visit, that Mary knew nothing about Tom asking him to speak to the banks in London to extend him more credit. In fact, Tom seemed to have hidden everything about his financial problems from his wife. But it was not Sidney's place to say anything to Mary, so he had evaded her tentative questions and tried to help Tom as unobtrusively as he could. Neither he nor Mary had known how truly dire straits Tom was in.

Tom had quailed before Mary's wrath, and now stood with his eyes cast down, her accusations burning in his mind. He was aware of the truth in her words, but had no answer for her. He had tried his best to hide the enormity of the situation from her, so that she wouldn't think he was a failure. Now, things had worsened beyond anything he could have imagined.

The room was swamped in silence and despair. Sidney, Charlotte, Arthur, and Diana stood, awkward and uncomfortable, as Mary paced back and forth before the windows, anger and distress pouring off her. None of them had seen Mary and Tom argue so, and none of them knew what to say after Mary's outburst.

After a pause, Tom spoke again. "I will repair this. I promise you, Mary," he took a step towards her, then desisted at the warning look she flashed him. "Sidney and I will leave for London straight away. You have my solemn word that this will all be fixed in no time at all."

Charlotte glanced up Sidney, noting the way his jaw clenched at how Tom just seemed to take for granted that he would right this grievous misfortune caused by Tom's own mismanagement of his affairs. Sidney's words from their conversation the previous night rang through her mind: "He takes it as his due, without any consideration for others nor a thought for any consequences."

Yet she knew Sidney would do whatever was needed to fix this. He loved his family, and his heart was too big to allow them or the people of Sanditon to suffer. Charlotte could do no less, and resolved to do everything she could to support Sidney in this.

Besides, she and Sidney had spoken of this last night, had they not, of how someone needed to rein Tom in before he bankrupted them all? They had both known even then that that person would be Sidney, and now Tom had gone and done exactly what his brother had feared. They had no choice, if the Parkers and Sanditon were to be saved.

Mary threw her husband a disgusted look. "I told you Tom, I want no more of your promises. You've broken every single one that you've made so far. I have made allowances for you all this time, but I cannot rely on you anymore. This family cannot rely on you anymore. All you care about – all you have always cared about – is Sanditon, and you've ruined even that."

Thanks for reading! Leave a review, let me know what you think! :)