Lady Tremaine watched as Nanny Pinch silently took her daughters out of the room. As soon as the door closed behind them she broke down in tears. She had never been so harsh with her daughters before, but she didn’t know what else to do. They had become unruly. Nanny Pinch had tried to discuss it with her in the past, but she had refused to see her daughters clearly. She had refused to believe they weren’t the angels she had always seen them as. And she had to wonder what her husband would think of her now. He wouldn’t have approved of the way she was raising their daughters, and he certainly wouldn’t have approved of the casual manner in which she spoke with the servants. She had let things slip after he died.

Though he loved her and was always kind to her throughout their marriage, he had been a rigid man, always doing everything by the book, always proper and stoic, always on point. She loved him for it, and she didn’t understand why she had changed so much after he died. Why she allowed herself to become so soft, so familiar with the servants.

As she sat there, she realized time away in the country without her daughters was exactly what she needed. She needed time to think. Time with her friends, riding horses and hunting foxes, time to play silly games without having to worry if her daughters were going to embarrass her.

Time to become herself again.

Chapter III: The Dress

Time in the English countryside was exactly what was in order. Lady Tremaine loved visiting these old estates. She always knew what to expect. There was a schedule to these gatherings, a protocol; it was orderly, and everything was just so. It was a nice reprieve from her chaotic life in London.

Before she left London she spoke at length with Nanny Pinch. The conversation made her miss the earlier train, but she needed to make clear what was expected. “I need you to be stern with my girls, Nanny Pinch. I won’t have any more of these insolent outbursts. You have my express permission to be as strict with them as you deem fit. I want to see a marked improvement in them by the time I come back.” Nanny Pinch was all too happy to comply. She had broached the subject on more than one occasion that something must be done about the girls. Lady Tremaine just hoped it wasn’t too late to turn her little hellions around.