The quiet peace of the Sanditon did little to squash Freya's growing feelings for August. She often found herself sitting on the balcony watching the skies for any trace of his owl, and was left disappointed more often than not. They couldn't be too obvious, after all. People would talk about their odd friendship and question why they sought one another out at events when there were no obvious connections between the pair. It wasn't as though Freya could claim August was a friend of Daniel's, for she couldn't recall a single conversation between the pair.

The countless dances of the evening served as a far better distraction. Freya bounced from person to person, delighted to find that despite her married status she wasn't wanting for partners. Of course, the one man she wished to dance with above all others walked with a cane and had no dancing skills to speak of.

Daniel's sudden appearance before her broke her from her thoughts. The one man she ought to wish to dance with was her husband. He was meant to be her choice above all others. Even if he suffered from terrible mood swings and left Freya more befuddled than she'd care to admit at times.

"Good evening," Freya replied with a smile she hoped resembled that of their early courtship. She then took his hand and fell into harmonious step beside him as they lined up to dance. "This was an unexpected surprise."