Yes, that had to confirm it. Lady Monica tilted her head to the side with an amused smile when the man, who now was wearing spectacles on his mask to boot, suggested that he didn't have the power to make his words real. Few had, but if something confirmed the fact that this gentleperson had no idea of what had been spoken between the lines just a bit earlier, this was it. The poet turned continued to judge the movement of the two new arrivals, but just as he followed the brief moment where a constable brought a platter of assorted food to Wines, a name was given and asked for.

To be fair, when she took a half-step back this time, it was genuine. Monica was well and truly surprised, flabbergasted, baffled, astonished and at a loss in general when it came to this request. "You truly are singling a lady out, aren't you?" she asked after a second with a tone that was a mixture of sheer confusion and the barest hint of the teasing her voice had carried when she had put up her act just a moment ago. She stepped closer, tapping the man's mask with her forefinger and bringing her face a bit closer, just to see if it would provoke a reaction. "Well Arthur...", she began, withdrawing and flicking her wrist once after a couple seconds, "you may call me... Isolde." Really now, could he have made the reference to literature any more obvious? It was almost insulting in a way.

She turned about a bit, taking a brief look around. Why, yes, Renee had found herself something to do just as well, though her dance partner had quite probably seen better years. He was no octogenarian at the very least, though speaking of which she couldn't tell right away if there were any of the sort around. It was rather close to none if not that exactly, as far as she could tell. Well, Mr Wines didn't often invite that sort in any case. Well, if she was busy then Monica needn't go looking after her at least!

Returning to following the movements of the Masters proved to show that the one who was expecting less of the party itself had sat down at a hookah. Wait, had that pipe always been there? She hadn't noted it earlier. Mr Wines was being its joyous self and indulging in what the masquerade had to offer. But with that identity clear as day, she couldn't help but wonder who this remaining one was. "But penny for your thoughts Arthur... who do we have the honour of seeing before us? Mr Wines is a given. But the other?" She had her own suspicions of course. But given the man was more eager to share his opinion openly, she wanted to try her luck.

[@Sofaking Fancy]