There's a chill in the air speakin' 'a frost soon. It bites at me some as I walk down t'the house where the party's happenin'. It ain't hard t'find - there's only a couple houses this big in the whole town, and one 'a them's gone now. There's someone out from with a peaked and feathered cap with a toy boy hung over one shoulder, 'n I hurry my steps, feeling warmer despite the chill thinkin' 'a that night just past.

"Evenin', good sir," I say t'her as she turns, watchin' me come up. She's got the hose 'n everythin', and it looks great, even if the mask does make her look somethin' 'v a robber. I figured I dint want t'go with all the courtly clothes, so I'm wearing mostly what I was last time, only with a longer, finer inset over the dress, done up in green and with a nicer girdle belted over my hips. I wasn't sure what t'do fer a mask, but I decided on a green half-mask with a leaf pattern at the market. I glance 'round, but it's early yet, and Kate's dressed as a boy, and I kiss her quick.