"Is everything packed for market?" Isobel asked Frang.

"We're ready when you are," he responded.

"Let's go. Ailene is dancing in her eagerness to see Stuart. It's driving me mad."

Frang laughed. "Would you dance if you were eager to see me?"

Isobel smiled up at him. "Probably."

"Six months ago, could you have imagined yourself today. Married again; to a gambler no less; expecting a child and dancing to see him if you've been apart."

"No. Six months ago I was living a life in hell and my fondest hope was it be a short life. When I was won by you in a card game, I expected more...