This is in an indeterminate place in the timeline of 1995. It takes place mostly in Katherine's mind, and it is a fantasy she has about her real-life co-worker and lover Renée. It struck me that Katherine may have seen "Meet Me in St. Louis," which inspired the turn-of-the-century setting she uses. She especially likes the clothes and the presumed innocence of young girls which she suspects was an illusion even then. Thus it must have been intriguing for her to add a lesbian/bi-sexual angle to the "good girl" world of Esther Smith. She is also aroused by the corporal punishment of young people which was likely more common in those days and is described in more detail in Chapter 10.