Oz's "work" went in cycles based on his moods; he'd go weeks without even bothering to trek down to his workshop, leaving half-finished projects abandoned likely never to be resumed, then when the inspiration struck him he could work ten hours in a single stretch without breaking for anything except the occasional bite of toast. He'd been in one of the latter moods the past few days. The timing was inconvenient, with the social season just properly spinning up, but he'd been sneaking off to his workshop every time he had a free moment between engagements. He had emerged now because he had a pre-existing appointment for cards at the club and he couldn't have delayed even five more minutes and still arrived on time, particularly given that he need to change first. He might have canceled it entirely, except one of the gentlemen attending had been vaguely hinted to have some interested in Shalott, and after the disaster that was Christabel's short-lived marriage to Daphnel, Oz was hardly going to miss an opportunity to vet any future would-be brothers-in-law.

He was half-dressed and on the hunt for his pocket watch when he came across his wife (he misplaced things twice as often when he was in one of his inventing moods, but there were only so many places his pocket watch could be — and if it turned out to be in none of them, he did have others; this was only his favorite pocket watch). "Fine," he said without paying much attention to what he was responding to. He had moved to the desk, opened the top drawer, and scanned the contents before what she'd said actually sank in. He stopped, hand still on the handle of the drawer, and looked at his wife as though she had just handed him a letter in a foreign language.

"I'm going to the ballet Friday," he said, frowning at her. Of course she would have no reason to know that; he didn't keep her apprised of everything he did while she was working, and she'd had this shift scheduled since last month. She would also have no reason to know why he might not be eager for her company during the ballet, obviously. Well — her company during the ballet wasn't half so problematic as it would be during the activities he'd planned after the ballet.

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