#girlpower saves sanditon

[growingstronglikeahighgardenrose]

The Christmas Miracle

Pairings: Charlotte/Sidney

POV: Georgiana

Prompt: When those blue snowlakes start falling (12 days of Sanditon challenge hosted by @sanditoncreative​

Synopsis: 'You’ll come to regret ever setting foot in Sanditon’, Esther had said. Four months after her departure, Charlotte was indeed wondering if the adventure had been worth the pain, but Esther, Georgiana and Lady Susan are determined to invalidate Esther’s statement. Never underestimate four girlfriends when one of them has been hurt by a man.

Also available on AO3

Georgiana hated the English climate.

It was cold.

It was wet.

It was windy.

And not a single beach or park could ever compare to the natural splendour of her country of origin.

And right now, she considered England the worst place on earth.

It had never been a good place to begin with. She was shipped to it like some kind of slave, forced to live and perform in England. The only difference was that her cage was a gilded one, but she had about just as much say in her life.

No, the unfairness was that over the summer, she had started experiencing joy and moments of happiness with Otis and Charlotte, and come Autumn, both had been ripped away from her.

The first by his own mistake, her heart still ached too much to pity him, and the second all by the fault of her brother.

Because Georgiana didn’t know a lot, probably not half of the story, but she didn’t need to. Sidney was a brute: he was moody, antagonistic and rational to the point of being heartless.

Yet, for some reason beyond her comprehension, Charlotte had decided to be interested in him.

And coincidentally, or rather by no coincidence at all, her best friend left shortly after news of his engagement to the blonde rat who wore a constant scowl.

Georgiana had actively avoided the woman, only seeing her during the wedding of Lord Babington and forced dinners, but she had a calculating look in her cold blue eyes, and talked in a contrived London manner she instantly detested, and then there was the barely concealed disdain in her words whenever the topic of Charlotte Heywood or Sanditon was broached.

And whenever she talked to Georgiana, Georgiana felt treated like a little girl. If she had an opinion, it was amusing, if she said something sharp, she was addressed with the nickname girl, and when she took a stance, she was often put down for simply being unknowing.

Just as the wretched Lady Denham had finally taken notice and calmed down, a new enemy entered her social life.

Was there to be no end to the endless list of awful people in England? Surely, she’d met many unpleasant people in Antigua, but this was on a whole other level.

The only good thing during the Autumn season were Charlotte’s letters, in which her dear friend told her, upon hearing of her bad encounters with the blonde serpent, how she’d belittled Charlotte on the day of the regatta as well.

Georgiana felt bad talking about the serpent and Sidney to Charlotte, because she knew it hurt her. It was visible in her writing. Charlotte almost never reacted to statements considering Sidney, and the comments about the snake got comforting and supportive replies. She didn’t know why it pained her friend. She herself wouldn’t mind getting weekly letters about how poorly Otis fared after he’d hurt her heart.

It would serve him right, literally gambling away their happiness.

Just as it served Sidney right that he looked to be completely miserable with the serpent. He chose her for her money, not for her character, so it served him right that she didn’t possess a single redeemable quality.

At the end of November, Lord Babington, who had stayed in Sanditon for Sidney, had to go to London because the prince regent requested it, and parliament would pick up soon. Mrs. Campion wished to go as well, since she missed her London friends, wanted a London dress for the wedding and wanted to show off her fiancé.

Georgiana’s fate was uncertain, but Sidney seemed disinclined to take her with him, since she: ‘Was able to cause enough problems in Sanditon, and managed to cause problems from Sanditon to London.’

But then a letter of Charlotte arrived, in which she said Lady Susan had invited her to visit London with her.

Leave it to Georgiana to make a scene and hold a pity party if she thought there was something to be gained from it. In the end, Sidney gave in and allowed her to go to London though Mrs. Griffiths and her other charges were to go as well.

So all went to London, and on the day of their departure, the first snow greeted them on their way to London.

 ☼☼☼☼☼

Though there was no chance Charlotte would set foot in the Parker residence, Georgiana got an invitation for tea at Lady Susan’s almost immediately. She delighted in only telling Sidney of her plans over dinner, since dinner was almost always had with Mrs. Campion, so he was never able to ask about Charlotte or show his emotions when Georgiana announced she was visiting again.

One time, Mrs. Campion, jealous of the time Georgiana spent in the presence of one of the most famous and esteemed ladies in London, asked why she was not invited. To which Georgiana gleefully, and with the same haughty tone, with all the pretended innocence Mrs. Campion showed when she made a nasty remark, replied that she didn’t feel secure enough to ask anything of Lady Susan, since she was such a busy and esteemed woman and her table was always full, since she wished to see every acquaintance worth having. She’d always cleverly left out the fact that most meetings were only in the presence of Charlotte.

The reaction was instantaneous, Mrs. Campion pulled back from the table she’d been leaning on, her face paling. Little black Georgiana worth having every couple of days, Charlotte Heywood living with her, but wealthy Mrs. Campion who had already known and greeted Lady Susan on numerous occasions wasn’t worth having.

She could see her struggle with the fact that she herself wasn’t wanted by Lady Susan, and that Lady Susan preferred the two girls she so clearly disliked.

‘But y-‘ She was like a fish on dry land, her lips forming words but her vocal chords weren’t producing them. She wanted to say it. Georgiana could see how she tried to ask why such a lady would want Georgiana and Charlotte, but she could also see the stern look that Sidney was giving his fiancée.

He knew, Georgiana realized.

He knew that she wanted to make a mean-spirited remark. And he hated her just as much for it.

Just ditch the bitch, please.

‘But how unfortunate. Does she know I am in London?’

Clever, a most clever save… But a bad one.

‘I believe so, I’ve mentioned dining with you… And we’ve already been to a ball she was present at’, Georgiana replied, the last comment with an innocent smile saying: how could you have forgotten, you poor silly thing.

Bested in her own game, Mrs. Campion could only stare with an open mouth.

‘Oh, I understand. She must be busy then, perhaps at the next ball we might talk.’

‘Perhaps.’

 ☼☼☼☼☼

The next day proved uncommonly cold as Georgiana went towards the Babington residence. She’d never really cared or interacted with Lady Babington before she got married, she’d always seemed cold and quiet, but during their first ball in London, she’d lost Charlotte for an hour, and found her red eyed but with dry cheeks at the refreshment table with Lady Babington. Apparently, Charlotte had a run-in with Mrs. Campion and Sidney, and as Lord Babington had gone after Sidney, he’d alerted his wife that Charlotte might be in a bad state as well. She’d escorted Charlotte to a private chamber, in which Charlotte had admitted that indeed nothing good ever came of Sanditon. Afterwards, they’d talked a couple of times and though she didn’t form a natural friendship with the woman, she could at least agree that they both cared about Charlotte. She was as snappy, snarky and opinionated as her, but as always, two people similar in character had trouble connecting.

A maid let her in and showed her to a green drawing room upstairs. Lady Babington and Charlotte were already present… As was Lady Susan, unexpectedly.

‘I called you all together, because, through our combined knowledge, I hope to find a solution to our problem.’

‘Our problem?’ Georgiana asked.

A maid came in bringing tea and biscuits, and the red haired woman waited until the maid left again.

‘Yes. Our problem. Now, I know I was a bit preoccupied with my own problems this summer… And any potential friendship has suffered under it, since you rightfully avoided my brother, Miss Heywood. But lately, I’ve come to a conclusion that many people seem to be bothered by a particular problem. And since men are too stupid to tackle the problem, and are to occupied pitying themselves, it’s up to us. I won’t beat around the bush any longer: our problem goes by the name of Mrs. Campion. I’ve asked Charlotte if it was alright to discuss it beforehand, and it is. Mrs. Campion is a mean cruel creature and the thing standing between Mr. Parker and Miss Heywood.’

Georgiana refrained from telling Charlotte to just pick a better, less crappy person, and continued drinking her tea.

‘The information I’ve collected thus far is the following: Charlotte and Mr. Parker are in love. Charlotte and Mr. Parker were about to get engaged, until something happened that lead him to engage himself to his former fiancé who’d left him for a rich man. This we all know, by knowing Charlotte. Now, my husband strongly believes in privacy and wishes to keep the secrets of his friends. So the past few months I’ve only managed to notice that Mr. Parker was faring badly. James stumbled home late, or drunk and late a lot, and the person he’d entertained was always the same: Mr. Parker. Now, I’ve also met Mrs. Campion a lot and she’s an upright bitch. Of course, Mr. Parker could just have developed a bad taste, or decided that personality isn’t important in a woman. Yet, if her personality didn’t matter, he had no reason to be so miserable.’

Georgiana found herself becoming interested in the story. These were all things she had observed herself, yes, but she was curious what this was leading up to.

‘Now after the first ball, I’ve started paying more attention. Why, if both Mr. Parker and Miss Heywood are unhappy, and nobody likes Mrs. Campion, is he engaged to her? There had to be a reason. And I thought that if I found the reason, we could treat the reason. If there’s no reason for him to be with her, we can split them up and fix things… Alright now fixing it won’t mean everyone can go straight back to being happy… That’s not how feelings work…’

Lady Babington seemed a bit lost in thoughts as her eyes wandered across the room. Georgiana coughed, which managed to snap her out of it.

‘Right… So though it still may take a while for things to be actually fine, things can at least start getting better once she’s out of the way. Happiness is still possible.’

‘I’ve listened with my ear pressed to closed doors, I’ve played the part of worried wife – which mind you I am – when James came back home drunk and down because of Sidney’s misery… And I’ve talked with James when he was sober. I’ve found out the following, of which I’m not sure you are aware. When those buildings burned down, Sidney discovered that Tom didn’t pay for the insurance for the same reason he always pays his workers late, skimps out on spending money on new material and so on: he’s broke. He has an incredible amount of loans, his debt is ginormous. But he keeps thinking that once Sanditon catches on, he’ll make the money back. However, the amount of money invested in the houses, was large, and he needed to sell or rent those buildings with great urgency. All Parkers knew Sanditon cost a lot, they knew he depended on Lady Denham’s financial support, they knew he’d asked Sidney to ask for loans in London, they knew he needed to get Sanditon on the map. But when he told them how much he owed his debtors, they knew they couldn’t pay it. Even if my aunt had died and all the money had gone to Sanditon, he’d still be in trouble. His debt was bigger than all the money the Parkers possessed, plus the money of my aunt. They needed new money and couldn’t lend it.’

‘So he asked for the bitch’s hand’, Georgiana concluded.

Lady Babington nodded.

‘So the reason is money.’

‘Only money. Not even for his own benefit, purely for Tom’s. Mrs. Campion wanted Mr. Parker back since her husband died, and her money only becomes his after the marriage, so he complies with every whim. She sometimes uses it to make him do things, because, despite claiming to want him, she has no problem threatening to break off the engagement if he doesn’t do as she wishes. And though he dislikes her, he does hate marrying her just to use her money. He feels miserable being with her, and he hates having to use the only benefit marrying her brings.’

‘That makes.. Sense actually’, Charlotte muttered. ‘I always told him how he should make more of an effort to support his family… But I never meant this… I never thought… To trap two people in a loveless marriage just to help Tom… Oh poor Sidney, poor Mr. Parker.’ Her eyes were filled to the brim with tears threatening to overspill any moment.

Were they to all suffer because of money? She a bird in a cage because of it, her engagement ruined because of Otis’ debts, Lady Babington suffering through money troubles and having to comply with Lady Denham prior to getting engaged, Sidney’s engagement being broken off because the serpent wanted to marry a wealthier husband, and now Sidney and Charlotte both being miserable because of Tom Parker’s money trouble.

‘And his family, he’d go straight to debtor’s prison, and his wife and children would be in a lot of trouble. And the other two brothers as well, since they too wouldn’t be able to pay off his debt.’

‘So they need money’, Lady Susan decided.

‘And they need it before the marriage takes place’, Charlotte replied.

‘So, we need to find money’, Esther explained.

‘Or find ways to make it’, Georgiana decided.

‘Yes. Anyone ideas?’ Esther asked as she sat down with a notebook in hand.

‘Either we need to find a way to make sure Sidney wouldn’t be harmed by Tom’s trouble’, Georgiana sighed.

‘Or we need to find a way to make Tom’s trouble go away’, Esther agreed.

‘So Sanditon needs to become a thriving town, within half a year?’ Lady Susan asked.

‘Or the Parkers need a lot of additional funds so that Tom can focus on paying back the money, instead of spending for new stuff’, Georgiana concluded.

Charlotte looked around the room. The Babingtons, Lady Susan, Georgiana…

‘I can’t ask this of you. If it was about a little amount, it would be kind and I would know they’d give it back to you, but I doubt that would be the case. No.’

‘We can, of course, always poison her shortly after the marriage’, Georgiana suggested.

Lady Babington smiled but the other two looked reserved.

‘What? Then we wouldn’t have to do anything. They’d have the money and Sidney would be free.’

‘Except that murder is illegal’, Charlotte said.

‘Only if they find out.’

‘Hold on, she might be on to something’, Lady Susan decided.

‘Murder might not be the answer. But as long as they get married, the money is his. Now I’ve seen many marriages dissolve in my time… Perhaps, we only need to find a reason for divorce.’

‘Good luck with that,’ Esther huffed, ‘a marriage is practically a lifelong contract. The only legal grounds are if the husband almost beats his wife and children to death or if a party, but most frequently the woman…’

‘Commits adultery.’

‘But, that doesn’t make it possible for Mr. Parker to remarry’, Charlotte said.

‘It does… if you take it to Parliament’, Lady Susan explained.

‘But doesn’t that only happen a handful of times a year?’ asked Esther.

‘Yes, because it costs money to take it to Parliament, and since it doesn’t happen a lot your name and reputation might take quite a hit. Most who have the money are society people, but it frequently leads to them being shunned… Luckily, I doubt that would be the case, since I, Lord Babington, Mr. Crowe and other very influential people would make sure his reputation would remain good enough. We’d make sure it would be known that he’s still welcome at parties attended by the Prince Regent. That really sends a sign. If he, as a divorcee, still moves in the same circles as the Prince Regent, no one will dare close their doors for him.’

‘But Mrs. Campion…’

‘Now most divorce cases I know are awful things. And the wife ends up a poor outcast, not allowed to remarry and not receiving the alimony she should. But I’m sure that Mr. Parker would allowed her to remarry, and would pay her alimony.’

‘So what you’re saying is: we should make her cheat with someone with enough money to take her on in case of a divorce, despite the serious social repercussions.’

‘Yes.’

‘It’s, a lot… Though… To put her through. I don’t like her, and she’s definitely mean, but she’s only about thirty, this could impact her the rest of the years of her life. And we are already assuming she would commit adultery.’

‘Someone doesn’t have to commit adultery, there are bad men who have divorced their wives with no real proof of anything.’

‘But let’s just pretend she at least has to be a bit guilty, otherwise she isn’t deserving of such a punishment.’

The woman all grabbed their teacup to drink and collect their thoughts.

‘Lady Susan, you managed to get a lot of people to Sanditon this summer. Perhaps, it could happen again, if Sanditon hosted more events’, Charlotte asked.

‘It could, perhaps with even more people, my going was a last minute decision.’

‘But would that be enough?’ Esther asked.

‘I doubt it.’

‘If I marry, the money will go to my husband, I’d much rather spend it on that damned sandy place if it helps you. I care more for having you as something as close to a sister as it could get, than having more money than I’ll ever need in the possession of a future husband.’

‘I doubt Sidney would allow you’, Charlotte sighed. ‘And neither would I want you to.’

Esther stood up and walked about the room, coming to a standstill in front of the window. Georgiana noticed it had started snowing again.

Lady Susan and Charlotte took the paper and started noting down ideas for future events and ways to get people to Sanditon.

Georgiana sighed in frustration. All these tactics would take months. Not knowing a lot about making money, she started imagining ways to murder Mrs. Campion.

Stupid horrid woman, why did she have to marry him?

Why, after all these years, did she suddenly want him?

‘Wait, when was the wedding again? I never paid attention to the date’, Esther asked. She turned away from the window. Her lips were a flat line as she looked at Georgiana.

‘They were going to marry on the day they got engaged all those years ago, somewhere around the beginning of July… But, she’s been asking for a date at the end of January the last couple of weeks. Since the bans would already be read by then. She wanted a London wedding and claimed to not want to wait until the summer season.’

‘That soon?’ Charlotte asked in panic.

‘Oh, interesting. She doesn’t seem the type to suddenly change plans.’

‘She isn’t she’s a control freak.’

Esther walked away from the window.

‘How many weeks ago did she say that?’

‘I don’t know, the week before we left for London. Mrs. Campion had been visiting Sanditon since the ending of July, but always returned to London. She had already wanted Sidney to go because she was going to spend the entirety of the season there. Sidney wasn’t planning on going, but since you and Lord Babington and Mr. Crowe went, he felt inclined. Then Mrs. Campion returned and demanded he go, because she wanted a London wedding “where everyone could attend, and it would be such fun, perhaps there might even be snow.” And stuff’, Georgiana said, mimicking Mrs. Campion’s airs as she spoke the words.

‘Interesting’, Lady Susan concluded.

Esther’s eyes connected with those of Lady Susan.

‘I think, perhaps, our initial suggestion might not be so unfair to Mrs. Campion.’

‘Death?’ asked Georgiana with amusement.

‘Adultery… Miss Lambe, we need you. Please, try observing her as well as you can over the next few weeks’, begged Esther.

‘Look how she responds to food. Does she get ill, nauseous, refrain from eating certain things… Check how often she feels faint-headed, or says she’s indisposed or ill.If possible, try to determine whether her face is getting rounder, or the silhouette of her dress is changing’, Lady Susan instructed.

‘Why?’ asked Charlotte, who just like Georgiana, didn’t know what the married women were aiming at.

‘They’re signs of pregnancy.’

‘You think Mrs. Campion might be – that?’

‘Why would a woman, with more than enough money to provide for herself, want a husband beneath her in rank and wealth? Love, one might say, good enough. But why suddenly love a man you haven’t spoken to in years, and were able to give up years ago? Why suddenly marry half a year sooner than planned, if she herself suggested the original date? Perhaps she’s been in a relationship for months, and wanted Sidney as an insurance that should she become pregnant, there’d be a father and no scandal, but it could have already happened, and now she has to speed up her plans.’

Esther and Georgiana were smiling now.

But Charlotte wasn’t faring too well.

‘She’s using him again. Leaving him and taking him depending on what’s useful. Are we to let her marry him?’

‘She’d be cast out if she became pregnant whilst unmarried, no matter her money. It practically makes no difference, the scandal would be as large as it would be if there was a divorce… The only thing which would be different, would be who the money belongs to.’

‘But to have Sidney go through a wedding and a divorce…’

‘She has to marry someone or she’s ruined, and he’s so desperate for her money, that it wouldn’t matter if he discovered about her condition shortly before the marriage.’

‘So she has to marry someone, and Sidney will take her on out of loyalty for Tom.’

And then.

Like a snowflake falling out of the sky,

Twirling in the wind,

A thought formed,

And slowly solidified as it floated through her head,

Until it hit her.

‘She doesn’t have to marry him. If our guess is right, she wanted Sidney because he was wealthy enough and she liked him. She also knew he needed her money and would take her back. It was a good situation for her, if she got pregnant, the child would be born within a marriage. She’s known Sidney before and she knows that Sidney would be too good a man to go through the trouble and humiliation to divorce her, should he discover her relationship. But she hasn’t taken into account that he loves someone else. She hasn’t taken into account anyone discovering before it happens. We can blackmail her. We can inform her that we know. There’s no time left to entrap another husband. She has to marry. But she has no choice as to who she marries. We can force her to marry into the family, that way her money is ours, but she gets to keep her social life, and her child won’t have to grow up in poverty, its name forever coated in scandal.’

‘That still means they have to marry.’ Everyone was visibly confused.

‘No, she has to marry a Parker, not that Parker in particular. It doesn’t matter which brother gets the money. There are two single Parker brothers, and they’d both willingly give the money to Tom.’

‘You mean we should put… Mr. Arthur through a marriage to that woman?’ Charlotte asked.

‘Yes. That’s exactly what I’m saying.’

‘That would solve our problems… But it would force him to be with that woman for the rest of his life’, Lady Babington sighed. ‘It doesn’t seem like the best solution.’

‘Actually, the more I think of it, the better I think it would be. I have an advantage none of you have. For some reason, he has taken it upon himself to befriend me, grumpy and unwilling as I was to make friends. Now, I might be betraying his confidence, but it’s essential that you know. If you know, you might understand why I think he would agree.’

All other women were silent as they looked at her, hope, interest and confusion written in their eyes.

‘Firstly, Arthur Parker would do everything for his brothers. Secondly, he’s a happy go lucky guy, even Mrs. Campion’s awful mood wouldn’t be able to break his spirits, rather, his spirits would annoy her and she’d have to live with him for the rest of her life. Thirdly, he loves children, no matter whose they are. Fourthly, the changes of Arthur marrying were already quite slim to begin with. And the chances of him marrying and procuring children even slimmer. This would actually be a solution to his problem, since it would give Arthur and heir, and she’s possibly the only woman who’d agree to marry him. She has no choice but accept him.’

‘Why?’

‘Arthur Parker doesn’t like women. He never has. Not in a romantic way. If he were to marry, it would be a marriage from which no children would come, few women would agree to that. But Mrs. Campion has no choice, and has a child on the way.’

‘Oh my.’

‘Heavens.’

‘The chances of such a thing…’

‘Are you sure he would agree, it’s still Her?’ Charlotte asked. She was the least surprised of the three.

‘I believe so, I could write to him?’

‘Shouldn’t we wait until we know she’s with child?’ Lady Susan asked.

‘It’s snowing. Post will be slow, and we have to act fast. We have to know of her pregnancy and the youngest Mr. Parker’s willingness by the middle of December, so that there’s enough time for the bans to be read and the preparations to be made’, Lady Babington replied.

All women stared at the snow twirling past the window.

‘So… If we are lucky, we have found a solution?’ Esther asked.

‘’It seems so’, Lady Susan replied.

‘Charlotte, we don’t want to encourage you to hope, but we just want you to know that we’re here for you. To listen, and to help should you wish.’

‘Thank you all. The last months have been… Certainly something… Thanks for going through the trouble. I’m not hoping for a magical solution, I think I’ll only believe there to be one when I see it happening. The past year has made me realize that I’ve been overly open and overly trusting and optimistic. I’ve quite lost that spirit now, which I believe is a good thing, but still, it would be nice to have the guarantee that some things could get better.’

☼☼☼☼☼

Hugs and support were given, and by dinner time all left for their homes. Georgiana asked Lady Susan whether there were particular foods known to agitate a pregnant woman, which there were, and lo and behold, the next day when Mrs. Campion arrived for dinner, it didn’t even take a full ten minutes for her to scowl and stare at the soup, which she didn’t eat a lot of. Then came the first course, and her face paled further as she subtly held her hand in front of her throat. When Mr. Parker asked her whether she was alright, she smiled sweetly and claimed to have been feeling bad all day. But the real spectacle came during the main course, when a very red piece of meat was served, barely cooked.

After the two previous courses, she’d already gotten pale but when the servants lifted the lids of the main course, she didn’t need more than a sniff to jump upright and run away.

Georgiana couldn’t explain her laughter to Mrs. Griffiths or her brother. A laughter that didn’t disappear by the time she went to bed. She didn’t want to report back to the ladies because of a single event though, so the next couple of days she kept looking and testing, until, after three dinners had gone by during which Mrs. Campion had become unwell, and two cancelled dinners because Mrs. Campion was “indisposed”, Georgiana felt certain enough in her observing to report back. She asked the ladies over for tea, and as she reported her findings, a letter arrived for her. It was by Arthur Parker.

He agreed, that if it were the case, he would gladly assist.

☼☼☼☼☼

By the middle of December, Arthur arrived, Sidney was informed, and Mrs. Campion was confronted. She was shocked at having been found out, and surprised by the suggestion of the Parkers. But she found herself, as Georgiana had predicted, unable to refuse. And on the 24th of December, the bans announcing the wedding of Mr. Arthur Parker and Mrs. Eliza Campion were read. It was more of a Christmas Miracle than any of them had ever experienced or read about.

And, when those blue snowflakes started falling again on the 1st of February, they were wed. Sidney and Charlotte had a lot to sort through, her trust and heart had been broken, and if it hadn’t been for Charlotte’s friends, he’d have been stuck in a loveless marriage. But, the love was still there, through it all. It took time, for Charlotte to grow comfortable with her feelings again, and she and Mr. Parker spend a lot of time rebuilding and solidifying their bond, which had always been tumultuous, but by the time the winter left their country, their bond was blooming and an engagement was announced.

And Georgiana, despite her initial reservations, had to admit that Charlotte had managed to bring out the best behaviour in him. She had even succeeded in mending the bond between Georgiana and Sidney.

And truth be told, if Charlotte smiled so much, and Sidney was so desperately in love he couldn’t even pretend to be gruff anymore, Georgiana could only be happy for them.