In every household new shoes were placed on the feet of the eldest daughter. The honor of placing these shoes went to her father, unless she were old enough to be married. In that case, her husband placed the new shoes on her feet and did up the straps. In the receiving salon of the great apartment of the Tarcho family in the Tower of Guard, a great party watched and applauded as Hollein Kesepton tied the straps around his wife's ankles. Wine was passed around, and the fiddlers took up their instruments and began to reel out the lovely old dance tunes of Marneri, beginning, of course, with "A Fine Young Man of Marneri." Tommaso, the family patriarch, led the dancing with Lacustra, Lagdalen's mother. Lagdalen was dancing in Hollein's arms. And in the happy throng, Relkin, who'd been released only hours before, found Eilsa and swept her away from Aunt Kiri onto the dance floor. They touched their toes together and kicked out to the side and swung around arm-in-arm in the ancient way.
