I acted every bit the obedient lady-in-waiting, if a despondent one, as Ella, Emily, and Rosanna prepared for the ball. I didn't miss the arch comments Emily kept tossing my way, hoping for another reaction, but I didn't dare retaliate until they had all safely left for the night. I had other things planned, something I reminded myself every time I was forced to bite my tongue while I helped them dress.

"It's for the best, really," Rosanna said, as I adjusted one of the pins in her hair while she pulled on a pair of satin evening gloves, "The other ladies are starting to talk about you,"

"I don't see how banning me from the ball will get them to stop," I snapped, unable to hold my tongue any longer after hours of listening to them prattle enthusiastically about the evening ahead.

"There are some terrible rumours going around about you sabotaging Ella," Rosanna said, turning to face me, a stern expression on her face reminiscent of Miss Halpern.

"I'm not sabotaging her, I'm helping her!" I fired back, crossing my arms, "The only reason she sat next to Andrew at the opera was because of me,"

"Be that as it may, you should stay away from him," Rosanna said, resting a placating hand on my shoulder. I fought the urge to shake her off in annoyance, twisting my mouth into a frown instead.

"Rosanna are you ready?" Ella called from the sitting room. Rosanna gathered her skirts and I shuffled my feet along the carpet as I followed her.

It was hard to see Ella in my dress. For one, it was too long on her thanks to our difference in height, so it had taken the seamstress the better part of an hour to pin and sew up the hem. But the worst part was that the deep emerald green brought out her eyes and her golden hair, flattering her complexion much more than it would have mine. I couldn't help the scowl on my face as I surveyed my pretty, perfect cousin as she twirled in my dress, a radiant smile lighting up her face.

"Doesn't Ella look resplendent?" Emily gushed, shooting me a devious little smile.

"Yes, she looks wonderful," I muttered, "If I may, I'll call down for dinner,"

"Yes, yes," Ella said dismissively, "Come ladies, let's go to a ball!"

They left the room in a flurry of titters and giggles, composing themselves as they joined the other debutantes and their ladies-in-waiting in the hallway on their way down to be announced.

"Shall I bring you up something to eat?" Ella's ladies maid asked quietly.

"Yes, I suppose that would be a good idea," I sighed, turning to her, "Which apprentice was it?"

"Beg pardon, miss?" the maid said, already halfway out the door.

"At the seamstress, which apprentice released the dresses to you?" I repeated. She flushed red.

"I didn't rip it, if that's why you're asking," she said, her chin wobbling as she looked on the edge of tears. I forced my face into a gentle smile.

"I'm only wondering because a friend is one of the seamstresses. She may have an idea of who did it," I said. The maid visibly relaxed.

"It was Evelyn, but I'm certain she didn't do it either," the maid said, "I'll go fetch you some dinner,"

"Thank you..." I said, pausing for her to insert her name. She flushed again, but this time not because she was upset.

"Louisa," she said, her voice barely above a squeak.

"Thank you Louisa. I'm sorry for the things the other girls said to you today," I said, dropping down onto the loveseat to stretch myself out. Louisa said nothing, her chin set to wobbling again as she ducked out the service door. I stared up at the ceiling, lazily unbraiding my hair and swinging my legs over the armrest. The grandfather clock chimed eight and my stomach grumbled, eager for dinner so I could get on with my plans for the evening.

****

When Louisa had cleared my dinner dishes, I'd made sure that I was already in a nightdress and robe, my hair tied back in curling ribbons as if I was going to bed. I asked her to leave a candle on for the other girls while I slipped into the bedchamber, my ear pressed up against the door to make sure she'd left. I waited a few minutes before lighting the rest of the room's candles and untying my hair from the ribbons I'd "borrowed" from Emily. I made sure not to return them to their rightful place, instead stowing them at the bottom of her over-filled trunk.

I pulled my hair back into a bun as I slipped out of my nightdress, pulling on one of my uniform dresses. I wished I'd thought to ask Audra for an apron if only to complete my maid disguise, but hopefully if I kept my eyes down and out of people's way they wouldn't realize who I was.

I didn't look back as I snuck through the service door, carrying a candle to light the way through the dim corridors. I navigated my way back towards the main service corridor, leaving my snuffed candle tucked in a dark corner to retrieve it on my way back.

The main hallway was frightfully busy with the ball going on upstairs, the music muted but still audible from above. Footmen rushed past with platters, bottles, glasses, and plates while maids scurried back and forth with a mix of clean and dirty linens and dishes. To keep up the disguise, I grabbed a stack of plates from a crate near a closet, hurrying along with them, only to leave them on a counter just inside the kitchen.

I ducked out of the kitchen's hellish mayhem before I could be ordered to do something, finding my way to the seamstress' quarters. I tried Audra's door, hoping she'd still be up this late, but there was no answer. I cast a quick look around and tried the knob, only to have it swing open. I didn't hesitate before I entered, closing the door behind me.

The workroom was dark, as was the door that led to the main seamstress' quarters. I contemplated snooping around, tentatively sticking my head into the room. Piles of silk, satin, taffeta, and organdy lined the tables, but a noise from one of the other adjoining workrooms had me ducking back into Audra's. I looked around one last time, wishing the apprentice had been there so I could ask her about whoever Evelyn was and how she'd mangled Ella's dress, only for my eyes to land on a pile of livery in the corner. A grin quirked the corners of my mouth as I hurried over to dig through it, biting back my cry of triumph when I found a maid's apron and cap. The apron had a tear in one of the lower corners while the cap had lost one of the fastening ribbons. Deciding I could make do with an apron alone, I tied it on and left the cap, slipping out the way I'd come.

Thankfully, my pile of plates hadn't been moved, so I snatched it up again, dodging and ducking my way back to the crate where I'd found them. I crept back towards where I'd stowed my candle, lighting it on a wall sconce before returning towards the debutantes' wing.

The sounds of the ball grew fainter and fainter as I climbed to the second floor. I paused just outside Ashley Mayfair's room, snuffing my candle and straining my ears. I tried the door when I was satisfied that there was no one in the room, throwing it open to cast a look around the suite bathed in moonlight.

It was an absolute mess of feminine objects. Fans, shawls, gloves, and petticoats were strewn everywhere, no doubt as a part of the preparation process. I pursed my lips, cursing my luck. Such a mess would likely mean that Ashley's ladies' maid would be back to set it right sometime before the ball ended, so I had to be hasty.

Deciding to minimize my risk of being caught, I dashed into the room with one bed, deducing it was Ashley's from the way that same faint musky rose odor I associated with her perfume hung over everything. I wished I'd thought to bring my candle as I entered her closet, instead using my hands to feel out which dresses felt the most expensive. I cursed softly when I'd already counted nearly thirty dresses and still hadn't gotten all the way through her wardrobe. Ella had brought a mere twenty with her, the rest being shipped later from the fancy Parisian couturier her mother had insisted upon.

When I'd settled on a trio of silk and satin dresses, all cut low enough in the bust to suggest that they were ball gowns and not day dresses, I yanked them off their racks, delighting in the rips I was already hearing. I ducked back into the service corridor, hurrying back towards my room. Once again, I listened before entering, but I was fairly certain none of the girls would return before the end of the ball, especially since they'd left me behind.

Dumping the dresses on the floor, I lit the candles and looked them over. I laughed, unable to believe my luck. The three dresses I'd picked were ones I had yet to see her wear. They were incredibly fine, with intricate detailing on the hems and neckline, one of them with gauzy off-the-shoulder sleeves. It felt almost a shame to ruin them.

Almost.

I set on the dresses with gusto, yanking at seams and hemlines with all my strength. When they didn't rip well enough, I dug out a pair of nail scissors from my toiletries kit, hacking and sawing jagged cuts through the smooth panels of the bodices. I couldn't help but laugh again as I stepped back to admire my work.

Ella might have ruined my night, but that was only because someone had attempted to ruin hers. Thanks to Georgina's warning, I was sure it had been Ashley or someone she'd bribed to do it, so I felt absolutely no remorse for my actions. And if her closet was any indication, she wouldn't be caught as ill-prepared wardrobe-wise as Ella.

I waited outside Ashley's room again before entering and dashing to the closet. I found the empty racks and did my best to hang the dresses in the order I'd taken them. I didn't dare linger, dashing back out the service door, only to see the faint glow of a candle coming down the hallway from the direction of my room.

I froze, my only escape cut off. Deciding it was better to get lost than to be caught outside the room of a debutante who had very recently had a trio of dresses desecrated, I gathered my skirts and padded as quietly as my shoes would allow down the hallway, whipping around the corner to the stairs. I paused there to catch my breath, risking a look back around, only to realize with a jolt that the candle had stopped just outside Ashley's room, illuminating a yawning ladies' maid before she opened the door and entered.

I prayed that I'd remembered to close the closet door.