Lady Hackle had arranged a magnificent feast. Lady Tremaine always thought she was an exceptional hostess, but tonight she could hardly eat a thing. She was enraptured by Sir Richard, who was becoming more interesting to her by the moment. She hardly thought of her girls that evening at dinner, not until Sir Richard asked about them.

“Lady Prudence tells me you have two lovely daughters,” he said.

“Yes, Anastasia and Drizella. They have been my world since Lord Tremaine passed away.” She didn’t see the point in mentioning it was probably the reason they had become snotty little twits spoiled past redemption and that she’d had to leave them home.

“I also have a daughter,” he said. “Aren’t they our greatest treasures?” He was looking at her intently.

Lady Tremaine kept her face passive, not wanting to scare the man off with tales about her wicked girls. She wondered if it was too late for her daughters, hoping she hadn’t ruined any chance of them becoming the young ladies she and Lord Tremaine hoped they would become.

To hear Sir Richard talk about his angelic daughter, one would think she was a treasure, fashioned by the gods out of all that was good and glittering and bestowed to him from the heavens. He must have raised her well. Lady Tremaine was envious really, thinking of how awful both her daughters had been to her before she left for this trip, and she probably only knew the half of their usual misdeeds. She decided she’d better sit down and chat with Nanny Pinch when she returned to see how deeply this behavior had taken hold of them. She felt more than ever that she had done everything wrong after her husband died.

As she sat next to this enchanting gentleman, she realized she had lost something of herself over the past six years. She had lost her edge, her wit, and her stoicism. She had become soft, and she resolved to find herself again.

Chapter V: The Gift

Lady Tremaine woke the next morning to Rebecca opening the curtains in the Fairy Room. She hated to admit it, but it was a nice change to have Rebecca looking after her. She was a happy young woman, with ginger hair, green eyes, and a willowy stature, almost fairylike.

“Good morning, my lady. I have brought you some coffee,” said Rebecca as she tied back the long purple curtains.

“Thank you, Rebecca dear. What does Lady Hackle have planned for us today?”

Rebecca walked over to the bed and began arranging the pillows so that Lady Tremaine could enjoy her coffee sitting up. “The gentlemen are in the vestibule enjoying some libations before heading out for their hunt,” she said.