thwarted

verb

1. prevented from accomplishing something

Saturday progressed with a flurry of activity in the house. I spent most of the day looking after Jack until a maid took him to dinner, then put him to bed. I had just started getting ready for the banquet, having come out of the shower, when my mother arrives in my room, a maid or two following behind her.

"How come I knew you'd be running late, Lily. Quickly, get your under garments on, and I'll have Gretta and Anna help you with your hair and make up." Mum carefully pushes me into my walk in wardrobe. I've got a slim-lined nude coloured moon boot on my healing leg, and can get around a little without my crutches.

"Muuum. I can do it." I complain, making my voice extra whiney like I used to when I was younger.

"Quickly!" she pat me on my towel covered back and leaves me to it. I pull out underwear to put on, while she chats with the maids over my lack of make up. I come out then notice how amazing my mother looks.

"Mum, you look amazing, so beautiful!" I smile at her. She was wearing a long white satiny silk pleated jumpsuit, with a waistcoat in white on white brocade over top. The pattern was of the company logo, white embroidery on white. The whole elegant ensemble looked incredible on her tall frame. The wide split pants leg showed off her long toned legs when she walked, making me envious for the perfect pair of legs she owned. It felt weird feeling jealous of my mother's legs and I wanted to giggle.

"Is this Stella Mccartney?" I asked, surprised that I could recognise the label.

"Yes, it is. Now show me your dress. What are you wearing, my girl?" she looked back at the wardrobe to where she believed my dress was. I pointed to the dress bag hanging up on the outside of the wardrobe door, near the shelves that held my collection of blue elephants.

When my mum opened the garment bag, there was nothing inside.

"Where is your dress, Lily? Did you forget it?" She asked, worried. Once I saw the empty dress bag, I knew I wasn't going to be wearing it tonight at the event. I slumped down on the bed. At first I was angry, so angry that tears prickled my eyes, then I was frustrated, knowing that my step sister probably had a hand it it being stolen. I felt like I was being thwarted at every turn. I quickly pulled out the box it came home in with the receipt.

"Its not here, I swore I put it in the garment bag to de-crease it for a few days. Oh no, mum. What am I going to do." I let the angry surface as tears again, but refused them to fall. I pulled out the receipt form the box, waving it around.

"Do you have anything else to wear, Lily?" Mum asked me as she walked towards the bedroom door. I shook my head, no.

"Maybe I could wear my Trelise Cooper that I wore to your wedding?" I suggested. "Or I could use the dress I wore to Dad's funeral...?" I turned around when there was no response. She was on her phone in the hallway, talking to Wallace.

"No, this has gone on far enough, Wallace. She is tormenting her, both at school and at home... No, there is no other dress appropriate for this occasion. It was stolen, as I said. Yes OK. But it needs to stop. If you can't protect my daughter, I will." She hung up and walked back into the room.

"Miss Lily, are you OK?" Anna, one of the maids handed me a glass of water from the bathroom.

"I'm OK. But my mum is not." I hand the receipt to Gretta and ask her to put it on my desk next to my Versace clutch purse I was going to use this evening. I watched out of the corner of my eyes as Gretta slowly looked at the receipt, her eyes popping out, probably at the price, then she looked up at me sadly at having been harassed again.

"Let me look for something for you from my wardrobe, Lily. I'll be right back." Mum left again. I waited for a few minutes then a parade of three or four maids arrived, carrying a couple of black or white dresses each, holding them up for me. Nothing was suitable, but I picked out a black sequence dress that I know she wore to the banquet a few years back.

"I'm OK with this, Mum. I don't want to hold you up. I'm sure no one will mind if I use your old dress." I take it off the maid she gave it to and hold it up before me. It is a knee high cocktail dress, and you could see my moon boot under the hemline. I bend down, looking at the ugly scene.

"Hmmm, old dress. Hang on, I know just the dress." She clapped her hands and turned to her maid who had followed her in. "Please find a body suit or a figure hugging slip for my girl to wear. I'll be a moment." She disappeared again.

"I have a hot pants body suit in black in my second drawer down in the wardrobe. Please can you bring me this?" I asked the maid Anna as she walked into the closet. I followed her in.

By the time I was back out in my bedroom, I was wearing the bodysuit and in my white strappy shoes that I bought for mum's wedding. The maids had cleared out of the room and taken all the dresses with them.

Mum came in with a beautiful vintage dress, a sheer black number with a scattering of beautiful blooming white flowers. When I put it on, it hung to the floor and trailed behind me. The cowl neck line and elbow length sleeves were a perfect fit for the style. You could see the bodysuit underneath, but the floral pattern drew the eye, not the sheer material. Plus, I had a gorgeous figure to show off anyway.

"This is from D&C's spring summer of 1997, a vintage dress that you can be proud to wear. It might not be worth much these days, but for tonight, it is perfect. What do you think?" She asked as she turned me around to stand in front of the mirror. The length of the dress covered my sore leg perfectly, showed off my strong shoulders and arms and seemed to give me some height. It showed a soft but proud young woman whose inner strength shined through. It gave a completely different feel and look to the more sophisticated lurex jacquard I was planning to wear, but this felt a little more - me.

"Yes, this will do, perfectly. Thank you mum." I turn around and give her a great big hug.