He and his sister made their own slow progress along the boardwalk, enjoying the warm sun and the ocean breeze that almost perpetually clung to the Sanditon and its surroundings, thanks to no small number of weather charms. Wystan Pomfrey was not altogether sure how his sister filled her summers, but thought he would be entirely remiss if he did not invite her to spend at least some of her summer holidays with him at his home in Sanditon Terrace. After all, their time together in the coming months would be entirely limited, and the tremendous difference in their ages did not make him any less fond of her.

"Look there," he directed his sister softly, trying to be as surreptitious as possible as he gestured to the trio of young ladies down the boardwalk. "It is the third time they have walked past that particularly clump of gentlemen," Stan explained, bemused, "and each time they slow their progress."