Marcello made his way to the guardhouse, whistling "Good King Wenceslas," and suddenly aware that the guards were stopping to let him by, attentively, in a way that they never had done before. He slipped inside, deferring the few guards who asked if there was anything they could do, and waited, leaning against a wall, until the particular guard he was looking for passed by.

It was very difficult to tell one guard from another this morning. Cormac was only identifiable because he had not yet wrapped his face in his scarf or tied on his hat. The moment he saw Marcello, it occurred to him how incredibly complicated their relationship had just become. He tapped his breastbone and bowed his head. "My lord."

Marcello took off his gloves, grinning, and held a hand out to Cormac. "No need for that. You're not on duty yet, are you? Do you have some time?"

"I'm yours to command, sir." He swallowed, nervously.

Marcello sighed. "No," he replied, as kindly as possible, trying not to remind himself that Cormac was several lifetimes older than he was. "I wanted to talk to you about Mira. I can't do that as your lord."

"Of course, my--ah, sir." He bowed his head again, in apology, then stood aside for Marcello. "Might be we best step out? Not a lot of room for talk during the change."

Marcello put his gloves back on, and nodded for Cormac to lead the way. "Of course," he anwered. "And Marcello is fine, if you're comfortable with that. Or Bas-- Err...O'Dowd. It might be easier, to separate between the formal and informal. For both of us."

Cormac smiled. "You're going to be like herself, then, are you? You'll hear no quarrels about that down here. Come then, there's a fire." He pulled on his hat before they started out. "How is your lady sister? Seen her this morning?"

"Briefly," Marcello answered, and he frowned. "I take it that means you haven't? Er...if you don't mind my asking?" He trudged after Cormac, sliding his hands into his armpits for warmth.

"I stuck my nose in early but she was still asleep. The way things have been with the child, I didn't have the heart to wake her." He put out his hands to the fire.