"Of course not, we're going to the seamstress," she said slyly. I looked around at Miss Claridge, who was calmly following us as if nothing was amiss. "Anne, you-" I started, but the princess had grabbed my hand again as we paused in front of a rather unremarkable wall. Anne leaned her shoulder into it and the wall popped open to reveal a set of service stairs. "You should know something about Andrew," she said, as she pulled the secret door open the rest of the way, "He always has a plan, a backup plan, and a backup to the backup plan," "So is this the plan or the backup plan?" I asked, following her as she took the stairs almost two at a time. "The plan had been to summon you down to the seamstress for a fitting while your cousin was getting dressed. Clearly Ella ignored those summons, so I was his backup plan," Anne said, leading me down a thoroughly unfamiliar corridor, "Which is fortunate since I know my way around here so much better than anyone else," She leaned against another wall and another secret door sprang open. Audra gave a little shriek, staggering backwards into her worktable as we emerged behind the changing screen in her workshop. "My word! I just lost a year off my life!" Audra exclaimed, curtseying in greeting to the princess, "His Highness said you'd be showing up, but I hadn't thought you'd use the service door!" "Sorry for the surprise, but we have our work cut out for us. Let's get started," Anne said, pushing me towards where a mirror had been set up at the edge of Audra's worktable, "Remove that dreadful dress and let's get to working on your hair," I didn't have a second to ask any questions because already Miss Claridge had started unbraiding my hair while Aura started unbuttoning my day dress. Once they'd gotten me down to my corset and bloomers, Audra started tying on petticoat after petticoat before Anne pushed me down into the chair in front of the mirror. "Before you protest, you must trust me," Anne said, as she pulled out a rather exotic container of black liquid. I bed up at her, helpless as Miss Claridge tugged my hair into braids that lay flat against my head while Audra fussed with the wig on the stand before me. "Trust you?" I repeated, looking down at the words I couldn't read on the container. "It's the latest thing from India," Anne said, "And I've been taught how to apply it properly, so please trust me," I was watching her warily as she approached my eyes with a delicate looking brush. "What is it and where exactly do you intend to put that?" I demanded, backing away as Miss Claridge clucked at my movement. "It's to darken your eyelashes, silly! You can't have fair lashes and a dark wig!" Anne said, grabbing hold of my chin, "Look up," I did as she said as she swept something that smelled like burning candles and elderberries along my eyelashes, using a little to darken my eyebrows as well. When she was finished, I turned my gaze back towards the mirror and took in how much darker and longer my lashes looked with the paint on them. "Do you like it?" Anne asked, watching for my reaction in the mirror. "It's...different," I said slowly. I already looked like a completely different person, especially with the extravagantly d brunette wig Miss Claridge had settled onto my head. She'd braided my own auburn hair into tight coils and tucked them under a lace cap so the wig would settle naturally against my head. The brown hair was already curled and pinned and I wondered how long it had taken to it. "If she's ready, we should get her into the dress. It's nearly nine!" Audra said, pacing as she waited for the princess and her governess to finish with me. Anne gave my bare shoulders a squeeze before Audra drew me away to dress me. Much as it had been the first time I'd worn it, the dress rendered me speechless again. With my wig and what Anne had done to darken my features, I looked nothing like Libby Marks-Whelan. Audra produced a spectacular mask bedecked with blue, black, and pale pink feathers - the same as the bird from the book Anne had given me earlier that day. The mask glittered with gold thread along the edges, covering my eyes and nose before swirling up into a spray of feathers that tilted back over my ears. When Audra tied the mask onto my face, I was utterly unrecognizable. The three other women stared at me as I stared at myself in the mirror. I looked regal, refined, and like everything my mother had ever hoped I'd be. My stomach was turning somersaults as reality came crashing down upon me. I was about to attend a ball and dance with a prince wearing the finest dress I'd ever laid eyes on. "Do you have your invitation?" Anne asked finally, breaking the spell of silence that had fallen over us. "Yes," I replied a little breathlessly, slipping it out from where it was still hidden in my bodice. "Then all you need is this," Anne said. She'd produced a black velvet bag from a pocket in her dress, slipping something glittering out of it. She came around behind me, draping the magnificent sapphire and pink diamond necklace around my neck. "It's too much," I said, reaching up to touch it as it sat heavily around my neck. The golden chain was studded with blue and pink stones, a diamond-encrusted sapphire pendant lying just above my décolletage. I couldn't help but think that selling that necklace alone could pay my living expenses for a year. "And my brother would very much like for you to keep it," Anne smiled next to me, "Now let's get you to the masquerade."