You must give everything to make your life as beautiful as the dreams that dance in your imagination ~ Roman Payne 

Chapter 7.

Preparing Cinderella.

Teaching Catrin to be Beatrice proved to be harder than anticipated. This was especially true as the stepsisters had different ideas of what was most important to learn.

Catrin was determined to get the accent right, while Beatrice was more concerned in Catrin's behavior.

"Everyone knows you spend most of your time in London," Catrin argued with Beatrice as they sat together in Beatrice's room. "It will appear strange if you show up at the ball and speak like the natives."

"You have a way with words, Catie," Beatrice laughed. "You must remember that this is a masquerade. As long as you keep that mask on no one will really know who you are. The most important thing is for you to behave in such a way that will make the rest of guests think you lead an active social life. If you are innocent and naïve, they will guess right away that you are new to society and will start trying to guess who you are. That is why it is imperative for you to learn to act as a young lady who has been to many balls. Now, I shall call Amy and you will practice the dances again."

Catrin sighed. There was so much for her to learn in just four weeks. She was almost beginning to regret the decision. It would have been so much easier for her to go as herself instead of trying to be Beatrice. But that was not an option, so she pulled herself together and tried to focus on all the information Beatrice was giving her.

***

A week before the ball Mrs. Elinor Fairfax arrived at Derwen Goch Manor. She was a widow in her forty and second year. Her husband had passed away some thirteen years ago, and while she bore the sorrow of losing the one she loved, Mrs. Fairfax still pertained an air of elegance and grace about her. It would be hard to call Mrs. Fairfax exceptionally pretty, she had never been thought a beauty even as a young lady, but her smile was kind and her gentle eyes easily won friends. The late Mr. Fairfax had left her enough money for her to live quite comfortably, though not extravagantly. Mrs. Fairfax was a prudent woman who knew how to live within her means, and so wanted for nothing. What was more, it always seemed had something to spare and give away.

Beatrice was very fond of Mrs. Fairfax, and though she knew it to be wicked Beatrice often wished that Mrs. Fairfax was her real mother instead of just her godmother.

The morning after Mrs. Fairfax's arrival Mrs. Llewelyn called her to the drawing room.

"Elinor," she stated. "Since you will be taking Beatrice to the ball instead of me, it is my duty to inform you how you must make sure my daughter dances with Lord Woodworth. I tell you, Elinor, I have made my mind up to have Beatrice will marry the Denster heir. Not only is the man wealthy, but he is also very handsome, or so I am told, and the two of them will make a very good pair. To think my daughter could one day be the Duchess of Denster. Not to mention I will live in Denster Hall and not have to bother with this silly manor. It brings in money, but so much work goes into it."

"What if Beatrice does not wish to marry Lord Woodworth," Mrs. Fairfax politely argued. "Do you not think it would be fair if your daughter decides whether she will marry his Lordship or not?"

"Beatrice is twenty years of age. She has been in society for fives whole years, I have taken her to countless events, both in London and in Bath, and I have introduced her to as many good suitors as I could find. Despite all this she still remains unmarried. I This is all extremely vexing. The plan was for her to marry at eighteen to a Lord or Duke of some sort. Her Uncle, the Earl of Worthington, wants her to marry to the aristocracy and I support him with this. She is running out of time and if she will not marry of her own accord, than I have no choice but to intervene. I have waited five years and I am tired of waiting."

"Mariah, think of what you are going to do," Mrs. Fairfax tried to reason with her dear friend, but Mrs. Llewelyn held up her hand.

"I am Beatrice's mother and I know what is best for her, do not lecture me on these matters, Elinor, I know what I am doing. Beatrice will thank me one day that I stepped in and intervened. All I ask of you is you help encourage her to flirt with Lord Woodworth so he will be attracted to her."

"This is exactly what you said when you first presented her to the world. Mariah, she was but a tender child of fifteen years and you thrust her into the very heart of society. You said she would thank you, but look at her now. Beatrice has no desire to do anything at all. She will not thank you if you push her into a marriage she does not want. Give her time, let her marry for love."

"Time? The girl is half a year short of twenty one; we have run out of time. No, Beatrice will marry Lord Woodworth before her twenty first birthday, or my name is not Mariah Ellsworth Morton Llewelyn."

Mrs. Fairfax shook her head and departed from the room. There was no point in arguing with her friend. She was stubborn as a brick wall.

Mrs. Llewelyn watched Mrs. Fairfax leave then turned her head to the window. "You won't end up like I did, Beatrice," she whispered. "I'll make sure your life will be a dream. You will bask in riches and glory and live your whole life in ease and comfort. When you are as old as I am, you will understand why I put you through all this, and you will do the same for your daughter." Mrs. Llewelyn leaned back in her chair and smiled. "Lady Beatrice Errol," she whispered to herself. "The future Duchess of Denster."

***

Now that Mrs. Fairfax was free from the desperate mother she went over to Beatrice's room, where the girls were waiting for her.

"If your mother catches us, Beatrice, it will put me in a terrible light," Mrs. Fairfax warned.

"Oh, she won't catch us, I promise," Beatrice reassured. "Now, have you brought a dress for Catie?"

"I have indeed," Mrs. Fairfax smiled. "And I think it will go very beautifully with Catie's completion." Mrs. Fairfax exited the room and returned soon with two beautiful ball gowns draped over her arm.

"Two?" Beatrice wrinkled her nose.

"Of course. Your mamma will want to see you before she leaves so we must dress you up as well."

"Mrs. Fairfax, you are a prudent woman," Beatrice explained. "Never mind the dress for me, I shall bother with it later. We must see what Catie looks like in her first ball gown.

With Beatrice's help Catie changed into the gown. The dress was a white silk, with little pink rosebuds on the puffed sleeves and a pale pink belt with a large bow.

"There," Mrs. Fairfax smiled in approval. "I think the pale pink suits our little Catie."

Beatrice nodded her head. "You are right, Mrs. Fairfax, the colors do look very good on her. Have you brought her dancing shoes as well?"

"Dear me," Catie blushed. "I do not want to be such an expense to poor Mrs. Fairfax."

"Oh you are not," Beatrice reassured. "I wouldn't rob my godmother of her funds just because I do not wish to go to a ball. The clothes have been purchased from my own personal means."

"Bea!" Catie shook her head. "You must not spend money on me."

"But I have no one else to spend it on. Here are the shoes, try them on."

The shoes were a perfect fit. Catrin gazed at herself in the mirror. She had to admit the dress did make her look pretty, if only she could have a little more weight.

"I am shorter than you, Bea," she quietly stated. "Someone will be bound to notice."

"Like I said, I rarely come to balls in our little community, so no one will have anything to compare you too." Beatrice was far too busy planning on how to make Catrin the prettiest girl at the ball to think about any setbacks that her scheme could bring about. "Mrs. Fairfax, what shall we do with her hair?"

Mrs. Fairfax evaluated Catrin. "I would someone entwine some ribbon into it, and perhaps add some star flowers, that way we could draw attention away from her light hair."

Beatrice nodded her head. "Yes, I like the idea of star flowers. They will go well with the gown. Goodness me, who would have thought I could get so excited about a ball?"

"That is only because you are not going," Catrin pointed out with a laugh.

***

That hard part of this whole scheme was preparing Catrin and keeping Mrs. Llewelyn in the blue at the same time. That evening Beatrice came down in her new gown and stood with a bored look on her face as her mother gushed over her in delight.

"He will fall in love with you for sure, my dearest Beatrice," she gushed. "You will be Duchess. Oh how you uncle will approve of the match."

"Uncle Gordon can stay out of this," Beatrice snapped. She hated it when her mother brought her uncle into Beatrice's matrimonial affairs.

"I cannot leave him out of it. He also has a say in your marriage, for he is the one supplying you with the dowry. I have already written to him and I know he will be pleased."

Beatrice let out a sigh and walked away.

"Beatrice, come back, I have not finished admiring you."

"You do not need to admire me, Mamma," Beatrice called over her shoulder. "There are plenty of men in this wretched world of ours who do that for you." Beatrice slowly climbed the stairs and went to her room. There she slipped out of the dress and standing in her chemise, stared at her reflection in the mirror. "Am I a thing to them?" She mumbled. "A doll they can play with? An investment they can make? Do they hope that by offering me to those men with thirty thousand pounds attached they can make a profit? Beatrice Morton, the belle of society, a slave to her mother's will and her uncle's money." In a moment of rage Beatrice grabbed the nearest thing to her, and this proved to be the ink bottle, and threw it at her reflection. It shattered with a loud smash, spraying the dark ink all over Beatrice.

Loud voices could be heard downstairs and Beatrice hastily locked the door so no one would see the mess she had made. She sat glumly down on the bed, ignoring the knocks on her door. Argos hopped up on the bed and placed his head on the lap of his ink stained mistress.

Beatrice put her arms around her dog and hugged him close. It was at moments like these she wished she could just vanish from existence. And she was also so glad Catrin was going to the ball instead of her.

***

The day of the ball proved to be quite tense. Amy had her work cut out for her preparing Catrin and trying to make it look like she was really preparing Beatrice. Mrs. Llewelyn tried to get involved but was shooed off.

"You prepare for your dinner party, Mamma," Beatrice told her mother. "Leave the hard work to Mrs. Fairfax and Amy.

Catrin was bathed and washed from head to toe, after which she spent an arduous three hours sitting in a chair while Amy and Beatrice worked with the curling irons. Amy then put Catrin's hair up, entwining flowers in it, and a light dust of powder was applied in the end. This was all done in an attempt to try and distract from Catrin's light hair.

The dress was then fitted and the sash tied. The shoes were put on. When it was all finished Beatrice sighed with satisfaction. "Oh, Catie, Catie, just look at yourself," she gushed. "I can hardly recognize you."

Catrin gazed at her reflection in disbelief. It was as though the shy, lonely, abandoned Catrin was not more. A young lady now stood in her place.

"I feel exactly how Cinderella must have felt," Catrin giggled as she stared in disbelief at her reflection. "Oh Bea, to think I shall be at a ball," Catrin lifted Her Majesty into her arms and spun around the room. "Just think, at last I have my chance to find true love!"

"Catrin Llewelyn," Beatrice shook her head. "That is not how it is going to be and you know it."

Catrin didn't listen to her stepsister and continued dancing around with her cat, who did not appreciate this sudden breaking of the usual schedule. She would have scratched her human subject if Beatrice had not come to the rescue.

"Put that creature down before she ruins your dress," she commanded, taking the cat away from Catrin. Her Majesty was returned to the chair, and she glared at Beatrice. How dare the insolent girl call her 'a creature'?

Beatrice didn't notice the look of murder in Her Majesty's eyes, she had turned and grabbed Catrin by the shoulders. "Settle down, Catie, or you shall cause Mamma to come in here. Speaking of Mamma, she will be leaving soon and I should go see her off."

"Bea, what of your hair?" Catrin gasped when she noticed that Beatrice's hair was not done properly. "Mamma is leaving and we don't have time to make you a hairstyle that will suit her taste."

"We don't have too," Beatrice laughed. "I've got this." She pulled out a wig. "I bought it in London, I used it to play a trick on the beastly Mr. Monrow. The other day Amy and I fixed it to make it seem like this shall be the hairstyle for the ball. It is a quick way to fool Mamma and not give us all extra work." Beatrice fitted the wig on her head. "There!" She stated triumphantly.

"Oh Bea," Catrin laughed. "The things you come up with."

"Now you wait quietly here and I shall tell you when the coast is clear."

So saying Beatrice departed from the room and went off to the hall, where Mamma was putting her coat on.

"My dear Beatrice," she gasped. "You are s pretty. Be sure to find Lord Woodworth and dance with him. Your future depends him. Enchant him, make him fall desperately in love with you."

"Have a good time, Mamma," Beatrice ignored her mother's words. "What time do you think to get back?"

"Oh, I don't know. The Jones always like to drag it out till the wee hours of the morning with their games of whist, but I don't think I shall stay there that long. If all goes the way I plan it to, I shall return at half past midnight."

Beatrice nodded, gave her mother a quick kiss and sent her off. She stood waiting by the window until Mrs. Llewelyn's carriage drove off then ran back to Catrin's room.

"The coast is clear!" She stated.

Catrin jumped up. "Fetch me my shawl then, for we must be off."

Beatrice laughed. "Haven't you forgotten the most important part, Catie?"

Catrin blinked in bewilderment. Beatrice departed from the room and returned with a small white box. Opening it she pulled out a delicate white butterfly mask with pale pink designs painted on it.

"This whole scheme is only possible because of the masquerade. Remember, Catie, don't let anyone even guess that it is not Beatrice Morton behind the mask. This will be your ultimate game of pretence. If you let it slip the whole thing will drown. Don't be too excited, to give away the fact that this is your first ball, don't be too kind or friendly for I am known to be quiet and reserved. Have a good time, but stay within the bounds I have set out for you."

"I'll try to remember that," Catrin giggled.

"And one last thing," Beatrice caught Catrin just as she was about to start spinning again. "You have to return to Derwen Goch before twelve thirty and with Denster Hall a good ten miles from here you must leave the ball at half past eleven if you want to make it back before Mamma

"Why so early?" Catrin pouted. "The night is young and so am I?"

"But Mamma is not so young," Beatrice pointed out. "And she said intends to be home by half past twelve. It will take her about an hour to get home, which is why you have to be back here before then. If she finds out you are not home she will wait to ask how it went and the whole plan will come out. If she finds out you went to the ball and danced with Lord Woodworth instead of me, we might as well write our own death sentences."

"Oh very well," Catrin frowned, upset that she was only going to spend a few hours at a ball that would probably last the entire night. But she soon brightened up. "Never mind, even a few hours at a ball is better than none at all. Oh thank you, Bea, thank you for everything."

"Thank Mrs. Fairfax," Beatrice laughed. "If she hadn't agreed to our scheme it would have never worked. Speaking of Mrs. Fairfax, we should go and check if she is ready; it is high time you departed for the ball."

"I'll go and see," Amy suggested, and scampered off. She soon returned and said that Mrs. Fairfax was ready and waiting downstairs. Beatrice put Catrin's shawl around her and kissed her cheek."You be a good girl Catie, and have a wonderful time."

"Thank you so much, Bea," Catrin kissed her stepsister. "Thank you for making my one dream come true." With those words Catrin hurried off.

Beatrice watched from the window as the carriage rode away, "I hope you will like the dream, Catie," she whispered. "And I pray it will not turn into your worst nightmare, like it did with me."