When Frank returns, Emma is convinced that he is less in love with her than before, as he seems restless and filled with the obligation to visit other Highbury contacts. Emma, however, worries that Frank’s presence in the neighborhood will renew his feelings of love for her.

When Frank is to stay with the ailing Mrs. Churchill at Richmond in Surrey, the plan for a ball at the Crown Inn is reinstated.

At the ball, Frank is restless as he busies himself with the arrivals of the carriages. He pretends to Emma that he is curious to catch a glimpse of Mrs. Elton, although it is really Jane who he is eager to see. While he is haphazardly attentive to Emma during the course of the evening, he takes every possible opportunity to get close to Jane.

Expecting that the ball is in her honor, Mrs. Elton begins the dancing with Mr. Weston, meaning that Frank and Emma must go second. Humorously, Emma also “had always considered the ball as peculiarly for her” and feels that she would almost wish to marry in order to not have to stand second to Mrs. Elton (278). While she is dancing with Frank, she spots

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