The marketplace was not as busy as it usually was this time of day, Frederic noticed, pulling his coat tighter around him, and for good reason- it was freezing outside; the wind had picked up overnight and now blew frigid air across the town from the sea. The clocksmith strolled around the market, buying the usual necessities as well as the gift of a cookie for his son Clover, but his true purpose here was to encounter Karen. Ever since the moment they'd shared in his shop, the moment that changed everything for Frederic, he'd been aching to see her again, and in the week that had passed since, he hadn't seen her around town nor had the nerve to go to her house to see her. He had a good feeling about today, though, and so had brought the pie tin of the shepherd's pie she'd made for him and Clover that day to the market in his bag, he was that confident he would see her here today.

And his intuition proved to be correct, as he spotted her by the frozen fountain just a few minutes after buying that cookie. His first instinct was to sneak up behind her, tap her on the shoulder, and pick her up when she turned to see who it was and twirl her in a circle while saying something witty, but he quickly decided against that and instead approached the same vendor, 'accidentally' laying his hand on the same item she reached for at that moment and smiling affectionately when she looked to him, the warmth in his smile a striking contrast to the freezing wind swooping through the marketplace and blowing around his scarf and hair.

"Fancy seeing you here, Miss Calloway," he said, careful to remain merely polite in public company despite their newfound relationship that they had yet to put a label on.