by Jenna Brandt
Preparations for the ball consumed Margaret’s day while Henry consumed her nights. She never thought she could feel so much so deeply for anyone; sometimes it frightened her. She did not like being dependent upon anyone, and the way he made her feel, she knew she was fast falling helplessly in love with Henry. She knew she would never be the same again.
The two weeks passed by swiftly, and before she knew it, the evening of the ball had arrived.
“Are you sure this is the best idea? I mean, not telling Henry about our plans for tonight?”
“Well, I had planned on telling him beforehand, but there never seemed to be the right opportunity.” Margaret tucked one of the folds on Catherine’s dress.
It was quite possible the loveliest dress that any dressmaker had ever made. The satin dress was in a soft hue of yellow with tiny flowers embroidered all over. It had pieces of gold woven in that shimmered when Catherine moved. It flared out and cascaded down in gentle folds and layers.
Margaret was wearing a less extravagant dress. She had purposely picked one that was subdued and keep Catherine as the focus of the night. She wanted Catherine to be in the spotlight, so she specifically chose not to have a dress made for the evening. She just picked one of the new pale pink ones Henry had given her for a wedding present.
“I hope he does not get angry at us for not saying anything to him. I hate it when Henry gets angry with me.”
Margaret laughed as she asked, “Has Henry ever gotten angry with you, Catherine?”
Catherine squeezed her lips together, as she had finally stopped her habit of biting her lip, then replied, “Well no, but there is always a first time for everything. Besides, I have seen him mad at other people, and I would hate to feel his anger directed at me.”
“If anyone is going to feel Henry’s wrath, it is going to be me. Now, stand still so I can get the final touches finished to your hair.”
The young girl’s hair was full of ringlets, half piled up and the rest cascading down her slender back. In addition, artfully pinned throughout her hair were tiny flowers that perfectly matched the ones on her dress. She also wore Margaret’s yellow topaz set of drop earrings and necklace, giving Catherine the finishing touches to her ensemble.
“I still do not understand why you insist on getting me ready and would not let any of the servants.”
Margaret moved a ringlet and pinned it into place. “I have already told you it is because the servants gossip, and I do not want anyone finding out about you, especially Henry.”
“Oh, I understand that, but—”
She was cut off when Margaret put her finger over her mouth and beckoned for Catherine to be quiet.
She whispered to her, “I hear someone coming. I want you to go to my other room and shut the door. Do not make a sound.” She shoved her lightly. “Go, now.”
Catherine ran quickly to the door and went through it, pulling it quietly shut behind her.
Margaret watched to make sure she was hidden and then made her way to her vanity. She sat down and pretended to be prepping herself for the evening.
When the door opened, she glanced in her mirror. It was Henry. She stood up and turned around to greet him.
He looked her up and down and smiled. “I know that dress. I picked it out myself. It looks lovely on you, but is it not a little plain for the hostess of the ball? Why did you not have a seamstress make you a dress?”
She shrugged, not mentioning the fact that the dressmaker had thought he had made a dress for her, but Henry’s sister was currently wearing it. Instead, she replied, “I decided to wear this one because I thought you would love it since you picked it out.”
“I have to agree. Though it is very simple, it does make you even more beautiful, if that is possible. But then, perhaps, I am biased.”
Margaret smiled at him, replying, “You had better get ready yourself.”
“You are right. I just wanted to come by and check on you to see how things were going. You have been so nervous these past two weeks, even more nervous than when you turned sixteen and went to your first ball.”
“That is because this is the first ball I have planned as Viscountess Rolantry. If anything goes wrong, it is I who looks bad.”
He kissed her lightly on the forehead. “Nothing will go wrong. You always have everything under control.”
With that he turned and left the room.
She sighed after she heard the click of the door and then rushed over to where Catherine was hiding. She opened the door, saying, “It is clear now. You can come out.”
Catherine cautiously came out of the other room. “That was close, Margaret.”
“It does not matter now. In an hour, you will be on a road from which you cannot turn back. Are you sure you are ready?”
Raising her head, Catherine squared her shoulders. “I am.”
“Good. Now I must leave to greet the guests. In an hour, I will come to get you. Then we will present you to the whole world as our sister.”
Margaret made her way downstairs to the receiving line for their guests, and of course, Baron and Baroness Wollingleer were first to arrive.
“Good eve, Lady Helen and Lord Marcus. I am glad that you could make it.”
“So are we, Lady Margaret.”
Next to arrive was Margaret’s father, who gave her a kiss on the cheek and said, “I am glad that you and Henry decided to have this ball tonight. It makes an old man happy to see his only child doing so well.”
“I am so glad you could make it, Father. I have missed not being with you every day.”
“Well, you know you would see me more often if you came to church once in a while.”
Margaret sighed and chose to ignore her father’s admonishing comment, instead saying, “We have been so busy, Father.”
“Promise me that, once things have settled down around here, you will make an effort to start coming back to church.”
“I will do my best.”
“That is all I ask. Now I will get out of your way and let you greet the rest of your guests.”
As the rest of the ton arrived, Margaret found herself unable to give her undivided attention, as she was focused on Catherine and what was to come next. Margaret made her greetings like a robot with a perfect smile permanently plastered on her face. Meanwhile, her mind was on Catherine and how she was going to pull this whole thing off.
It had seemed so easy in theory when she first began her quest to introduce Catherine. But now, fear that it was not going to go as smoothly as she had thought began to creep into her thoughts.
Once the receiving line was through, Margaret excused herself from the room and went upstairs to find Catherine.
When Margaret got there, Catherine was not where she had left her. She went into the next room and found her there taking off her ball gown.
“What are you doing?”
“I cannot do this, Margaret. I feel like I am lying, and I do not think I can succeed in this plan.”
“You are not lying. You are Henry’s sister.” She touched the girl’s arm lightly. “And now you are mine as well.”
Catherine looked at Margaret and asked, “Why is this so important to you?”
“It is important to me because you are a good person, Catherine, and I think it is something you need to do. I had a brother once, so I know how important it is to be able to claim your connection to Henry. My brother is lost to me, but yours is right out those doors and downstairs. All you have to do is walk out there and accept what we are offering you.”
“You are offering me this. My brother has no idea what we have planned for tonight. He may not even want to claim me.”
“How many times must I reiterate that at least of this I am certain—Henry loves you and would claim you as his legitimate sister if he thought it at all possible.”
They stood there for several seconds without saying anything. Then Catherine said softly, “Perhaps you are right.”
Margaret smiled. “He
re… let me help you put your gown back on.”
Once Catherine was dressed again, Margaret took her by the arm and guided her out into the upstairs hall and around the corner from the main staircase. Margaret had just asked one of the servants to go find Albert, the family butler who had followed her to Brookehaven per her father’s instructions. She trusted him with her life and knew that, if she had him announce Catherine to all their assembled guests, he would do it discreetly for her with a little prodding.
“It is about time, Catherine. I will explain everything to Albert. Then I will go find Henry and make sure we are at the bottom of the stairs. It will seem as if both of us planned this, and he will not be able to do anything about it until after the ball. Are you ready?”
Catherine nodded.
“Good, because Albert is coming just now.”
Margaret turned to face the elderly butler. He stopped dead just a few feet away, taking in Catherine’s appearance.
“My lady, I hope you do not mind me asking, but why is the girl dressed like that?”
Giving Albert one of her most charming looks, she replied, “I was just about to tell you. You are aware that Lady Catherine, Henry’s sister, was away at boarding school and has only recently returned to Brookehaven so that she can find a fiancé?”
“Pardon my ignorance, my lady, but I was unaware that Henry had a sister. I thought he was an only child. We were told that she was a distant relative.”
“My husband kept her identity quiet because he wanted to let Lady Catherine get reacquainted without any pressure. The late viscount and viscountess wanted everyone to believe Lord Henry was their only child as they did not want to be bombarded with suitors. They wanted to let Lady Catherine grow up free from family obligations.”
Skeptical but not wanting to argue with her, Alfred stated instead, “Lady Margaret, your explanation still does not explain why she is dressed in a ball gown.”
“I planned tonight as her introduction into society. I want you to introduce her to our guests.”
Albert frowned. “The master will not like this at all.”
“But Catherine is his sister and she is already sixteen. She needs to be introduced into society so that she can find a suitable husband. Time is of the essence when it comes to that. Being away from here all these years has already set her at a disadvantage, but this evening will help rectify the situation. If Henry is angry about it, I will take full blame. I will tell him that I ordered you to do this.”
“Is it an order, my lady?”
She paused for a moment and then answered, “Yes.”
He raised his shoulders in acceptance. “Then I will do your bidding. When do you want me to make this announcement?”
“Thank you. I will go down to find Henry and position us. Give me ten minutes.”
“As you wish, my lady.”
Turning, she went down the staircase and weaved her way through the crowds, making acknowledgments along the way as she looked for Henry. She found him near the front doors, talking to several guests.
She came up to him and put her hand on his arm.
Henry smiled down at his wife, saying, “So there you are. I had wondered where you had gotten off to.”
Smiling politely, she asked, “May I have a word with you for a moment?”
He turned to the guests he was entertaining and excused himself.
Once they were alone, he asked, “What is it, my love?”
“I have a surprise for you, Henry! I do hope you like it.”
“What is it?”
“You have to come with me to find out.”
“Is this not a little bit of an inconvenient time? What about our guests?”
“They are going to see it too, but you have to come with me.”
He laughed and said, “All right, you win. Lead the way.”
Taking his hand, she guided him over to the bottom of the staircase. After a few seconds ticked by, Albert appeared at the top of the spiral set.
Henry looked at her and whispered, “This is my surprise? I have seen Albert a hundred times.”
She pinched him playfully and replied, “No, this is.”
Albert cleared his throat. “Ladies and gentlemen, assembled guests of the house of Rolantry, it is my pleasure to introduce the daughter of the late Viscount and Viscountess Rolantry, sister to the current Viscount and Viscountess Rolantry. May I present Lady Catherine.”
With that, Catherine walked from around the corner and stood at the top of the stairs. There were several gasps, and then everyone began to whisper.
Henry kept his composure. He did not even turn to look at Margaret in surprise, but she felt his grip on her hand tighten to an almost unbearable amount.
Catherine made her way down the stairs and stopped just short of her brother.
She smiled and asked, “What do you think, my lord?”
He looked at her without showing any emotion and replied evenly, “You look lovely.”
“Thank you, my lord.”
All of a sudden, a flock of people surrounded them, and it was not until an hour later that everyone had met the newest Rolantry member.
Once in the ballroom, Catherine made her way over to Margaret and whispered to her sister-in-law, “My whole dance card is filled up and men are still asking me to dance.”
“See, I told you that you would be a success.”
“Thank you so much! This means the world to me, and it is more than I could have ever imagined or hoped for.”
“I am glad that I could do this for you.”
A young nobleman came to claim his dance with Catherine as Henry approached them.
As she watched the couple make their way onto the dance floor, she held her breath as the orchestra started the first dance, then sighed as Catherine fell into perfect step with the young man.
She then turned to face Henry, who had also been watching his sister with the young nobleman.
Grabbing her by the arm, he pulled her out onto the dance floor while saying, “I thought we might dance as well.”
He gripped her firmly around the waist, as if anticipating that she might try to flee, thinking he was angry.
Trying to explain quickly, worried that he would erupt at any moment, Margaret began. “I know that you must be terribly upset, Henry. But I did it for both of you. She deserves this and so do you. Look at her. She is so happy.”
He scowled at her for several moments without saying anything. Then, giving in to his wife, he chuckled and replied, “I was really angry when I found out that you had done this all behind my back. But once I thought about it, I realized that if you had asked me, I would have said no. You may have not been perfectly within your rights to do this, but you did have the right motives.” He smiled at her. “And I concede your point—she does deserve this. I have never seen her happier.”
As they danced the rest of the cotillion, Margaret informed Henry of what she told Albert to convince him to announce Catherine. When the song ended, he led her off the dance floor.
Baron and Baroness Wollingleer rushed up to them. Barely taking a breath, the baroness asked, “Why did you never tell us about her, Henry, and why are we not her godparents?”
“My parents kept her a secret because they did not want to bother with unwanted people asking for betrothal contracts. They had me taken care of, and they wanted her to be able to choose a love match. It was my father’s idea to send her away for school because he wanted her to have a broad learning experience. My parents decided that they were going to let her decide, when she was of age, who she wanted to marry. She only came home a few weeks ago because she was turning sixteen and it was time for her to make that choice.”
“Still, over all these years, I thought that one of you would have mentioned her.”
He grinned. “She was our best-kept secret. We planned to reveal her at just the right time. Unfortunately, my father died before he saw his plan fulfilled.”
Pulling Margaret agai
nst his side, he grabbed her hand. “Margaret actually planned everything and decided to introduce her into society this way. Do you approve?”
They could not say no, so instead the baron said, “It was a grand way to introduce her. Of course, we support you in whatever you decide to do.”
Once they were gone, Margaret turned to Henry and said, “You did a superb job of telling Catherine’s story, and now it will circulate without you having to retell it over and over. Lady Helen will see to that.”
They both laughed. Then Henry bowed and said, “I think I will go claim a dance with my little sister. Thank you, Margaret. You are a wonderful wife.”
She watched as her husband went up to Catherine and bowed before her. She curtsied in return. He said something and she laughed lightly. Then he took her hand and led her onto the dance floor.
They made a beautiful pair, the two of them. Margaret sighed and turned around to get a fresh breath of air before anyone tried to claim a dance. She walked over to the glass doors that led to the veranda and went through them.
Margaret decided to go for a walk in the garden. She wanted to sit and relax for a while before she went back inside, having been tense from planning Catherine’s big night.
She was glad everything turned out for the better. Of course, the night was not over, but she was not going to think about that. She was satisfied in knowing that both Henry and Catherine were happy.
Finding a deserted bench towards the back of the garden, she decided to sit down for a bit. She leaned against a tree that was directly behind it and sighed as the tension left her body.
“It seems I have great luck finding you alone, little one.”
Sitting up straight, she turned her head to the left. Richard was standing a few feet away. He appeared to look somewhat pulled together compared to the last time she had encountered him in the woods, but she could tell by the way he was staring at her that he was still obsessed with winning her back.
“It seems that way.”
Coming to sit down next to her, he took her hand into his own. “I came because I had to see you. It has been over a month since I last saw you, and yet you make no attempts to contact me.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Why would I? I am married now, my lord.”
