Background: Romy is a thief in the House of Blackwall, a lowborn family of thieves. She overhears mention of a party, and learns from the man with the guest list where the party is going to be held. With a stolen costume, she crashes the party at the House of Guildstone, a prominent family of merchants, the Family Blackwall’s enemies. She wanders the party in her costume, pretending to be a noblewoman while discreetly picking pockets. At the party, she meets Julian, a son of Lord Guildstone. It is infatuation at first sight, as Julian admires the well-dressed woman, and Romy tries to gauge how much money Julian has on him. They part company in the middle of the party, and Julian asks a friend of his who the girl he just talked to is. The friend replies that the girl is Romy of the Family Blackwall, enemy to the Guildstones. The party ends, but Romy sneaks around to the back of the house. She sees the glitter of gold in a window, and watches as Julian comes out. He’s cuter in the semi-darkness, and Romy (almost) forgets about Julian’s money. She hides in the shadows as Julian speaks. Julian: What a night. Romy: (to herself) Wow, he does talk! Say something again, glittering gold nugget. You sparkle as much tonight as a gold-robed angel to my cousins, who would back up a step to consider stealing his garb. Too bad he’s too high for them to catch, as he walks across the sky. Julian: Romy, Romy.... Where in the world did you go, Romy? Tell me you aren’t the child of a rogue. Tell me you aren’t a Blackwall. If you do not, tell me you love me, and I’ll disown my family. Romy: Ugh, he’s a bad poet. Should I listen some more, or stop this rambling? Julian: It’s just the word Blackwall that I don’t like. You are yourself, even if you weren’t one of them. What is the name Blackwall, anyway? It’s not any part of the body. Change it. What’s with names anyway? If we called a forsythia something else, it would smell the same. So would you, Romy—even if you weren’t Romy anymore—be the same. Get rid of your name and you can have me. Romy: I think I should stop this babbling now. (to Julian) That’s good enough for me. Call me your girl and I won’t be Romy anymore. Julian: Who are you, hiding in the dark down there, eavesdropping on me? Romy: You don’t want to know. I hate my name, because you don’t like it. If it was gold I’d break it. Julian: I recognize your voice. Aren’t you Romy Blackwall? Romy: Not if you don’t want me to be. Julian: How’d you get here? Those walls are high and very hard to climb, and my cousins will kill you if they find you, since you are a thief and an enemy to our family. Romy: Unweighed by gold, I scaled the walls. Love makes me nuts and able to do anything. I could take on all your cousins and win. Julian: They’ll kill you if they see you. Romy: Your rich eye hurts me more than all your cousins can dish out. Your golden look protects me from them. (to self) Ai, sweet Heavens, I sound like him! Julian: I don’t want them to find you under any circumstances. Romy: I’m good at hiding in shadows. Unless you love me, I want them to find me. I would rather die at their hands than live without the treasure of loving you. Julian: How did you manage to find your way here? Romy: The king of matchmakers. He told me where. I came to look around for him. I’d cross the seven seas to obtain the treasure I’ve found in this house. (to self) Gah! I’d better take my leave before I start spouting Shakespeare! Romy and Julian talk more, agreeing to meet the next day to exchange vows. When Julian’s servant calls to him, they share a drawn-out good-bye, and part ways, Romy with an extra bit of gold for her family’s personal use.