Walking curiously around the room, Mary noticed a line of pale light on one of the walls. Going over, she realized that it was the outline of a hidden door. Excitement bubbled up inside her. Where did it lead? She carefully traced her fingers in the groove around the door until they snagged on a slightly raised piece of wood. She pressed it, and with a faint click, the door swung open.

Mary caught her breath as she gazed inside. The room on the other side seemed to shine and glow with light. The moonbeams streaming in through the large window were reflecting off swathes of thick white cobwebs hanging from the ceiling. There were dressmaker’s dummies arranged around the room, clothed in beautiful, old-fashioned gowns, all decorated with gems that glittered brightly. Other dummies were piled with elegant cloaks and fur stoles. Mary stepped inside the room, her eyes widening in awe as she walked between the gowns, gently touching the soft, silky fabrics.

There was a pile of photographs and pictures stacked against each other in the center of the room along with boxes of photographs. Mary looked through them curiously. They were all of her mother and her aunt from when they were children through to when they were adults—her mother sitting with her twin sister’s arms around her, the two sisters running through woodland and dancing in a field. In every picture, her mother and her aunt looked wonderfully happy. Mary paused at one of them walking away along a path lined with beautiful flower beds and statues. They were with two very young children and were all walking hand in hand, their backs to the camera. There was another picture of them all sitting under a big oak tree that had a swing attached to one of its branches.

Mary drifted away from the photographs and opened a wardrobe. It was filled with even more beautiful dresses. As she riffled through them, a few fell from the hangers and spilled onto the floor. Picking up a silver one, Mary couldn’t resist trying it on. She slipped it over her nightclothes. It was much too big for her, but she spun around in it.

Once there was a girl called Mary Lennox, she thought dreamily. She was invited to a grand ball, and when she was there, she danced and danced and everyone thought she was beautiful. She whisked a feather boa from one of the dummies, sending the rest of the scarves and stoles tumbling to the floor, and then danced over to the chest of drawers and pulled open the heavy drawers one by one, finding folded lace, the softest leather gloves, tortoiseshell hair combs, and finally a drawer of jewelry boxes. Opening one, she took out a string of pearls and put them on. She smiled at herself in the looking glass.