The next day, news of the opera outing spread like wildfire not only because it was the first of the debutantes' outings outside the palace, but because the prince flouted the seating arrangement his mother had assigned.

"He insisted that Ella sit on his one side and Mary sit on the other!" Georgina whispered, as we whacked our croquet balls across the soggy rose garden lawn. We were among the few that were braving the wet grass, the other ladies spread out on blankets and carpets brought out for our picnic luncheon.

"No wonder she seemed as happy as the cat that got the cream this morning," I mused, sending my croquet ball sailing through one of the wire arches.

"Emmie is fit to be tied that she was seated in the back row," Georgina said, lifting her sodden skirts to tread over to her ball, "She said all manner of vile things about your cousin and Mary, but that's nowhere near what Ashley was saying this morning at breakfast,"

Sarah Thornbury had asked Ella to sit with her that morning as we took our breakfast with the royals once again. Rosanna and Emily had thought it was simply out of kindness now that Ella seemed to be in the prince's favour. Hearing what Georgina had to say made it now seem, at least to me, to be because Sarah wanted a closer look at the competition that was gaining steam. As a result, Georgina and her debutante Emmie had been seated with Ashley instead.

"Well Ashley certainly has a mouth on her," I said, "I suppose Ella will have to watch her step at the ball tonight in case Ashley's planning some childish prank. It wouldn't surprise me if she tried to spill wine on Ella's dress if only to get her away from the ball!"

Georgina was silent as she smacked her ball, studiously ignoring me.

"Did she tell you she was going to do that?" I asked, incredulous. When Georgina blushed, I crossed my arms.

"Georgina! Don't lie to me, did Ashley say-" I started, my voice rising.

"Shh!" she hissed, casting a wary look around, "You didn't hear it from me, but yes, she mentioned some little joke about reducing the 'competition' at the ball tonight,"

"How?" I prodded. She shrugged.

"She treated it like a joke and laughed afterwards, but I wouldn't put anything past her," she said, shrugging again before chasing after her ball. I leaned on my mallet, throwing a glance back to where Ashley was throwing her head back in a sparkling laugh as she conversed with Sarah. The queen hadn't joined us for the luncheon, which meant that it was only the debutantes and their ladies in waiting. The conversation was effervescent, echoing across the gardens as the ladies gossiped freely, no queen Isabelle around to chide them for being so loud.

"Should I spill something on Ashley as a preventative measure?" I asked, when I'd finally caught up to where Georgina was still studiously smacking her croquet ball through the course of wire loops. She snorted a laugh.

"As much as I would eat my left shoe to see Ashley's face, I think you'd best leave it be," she said, brushing some hair from her eyes, "But I would warn your cousin if I were you."

***

I tried following Georgina's advice, only to be met with a scoff from Emily.

"Well of course they'll try to sabotage her!" the little blonde snorted as she helped Ella out of her luncheon dress when we'd all returned to our rooms to prepare for the ball that night, "She's the prince's favorite!"

I didn't miss the look Ella exchanged with Emily, the two beaming at each other as they savored my cousin's apparent triumph.

"But Libby is right, we must take care now," Rosanna said, untying the dowdy sun hat she'd worn all day for fear of darkening her complexion, "We must ensure she stays in the prince's favour at all costs!"

I bit back my reply before I could snap something about how it had all been my doing. After much deliberation, I'd decided not to tell Ella that the prince's attention was the result of the note I'd smuggled to him. He'd already told me he wanted a dance with me, so it would be easier to explain that I'd spoken to him while dancing instead of reveal my whole ruse with the secret messages, service corridors, and dressing up as a maid.

"What dress were you planning for tonight?" Emily asked Ella as her ladies maid entered via the service door, curtseying despite the load of garments she was carrying.

"Oh excellent timing!" Ella clapped, as the maid laid out the dresses she was carrying. I immediately recognized the deep green dress Audra had fit me for earlier that morning, running a hand over the silk moiré appreciatively. As I did so, Ella let out a little shriek.

"What's wrong?" Rosanna demanded as Emily clapped a horrified hand to her mouth. Ella was holding up the cobalt blue ball gown she'd had hemmed for her heeled shoes before she left for the opera last night.

"What happened?" I asked, coming around to look at it, only to gasp in horror myself.

The dress had originally fit just off Ella's shoulders, a fringe of lace highlighting her collarbones and neckline. Now, however, that fringe was tangled and torn, a gigantic gash running down the center of the bodice.

"It's ruined!" Ella shrieked, the commotion bringing her ladies' maid running back into the room.

"You ripped it!" Emily roared, rounding on the maid, who was blinking in horror at the dress.

"Did you check it before you left the seamstress?" Rosanna demanded. The maid shot a panicked look from one face to the next.

"I-I didn't, my lady," she managed, "It was in with the other dresses and th-the apprentice said they were finished!"

I blanched. I hoped to heaven it hadn't been Audra who had released the dresses to her. Whoever had sabotaged Ella's dress had known what they were doing, for there was no amount of artful stitching that would make the satin bodice lie flat without the signs of the jagged gash down the front.

Ella collapsed in a heap on the floor, sobbing as she clutched the ruined dress.

"What will I do?" she wailed, the maid mumbling something about the seamstress before darting back out through the service entrance.

"I'll find something!" Rosanna cried, running to Ella's closet. Emily was watching Ella cry, horrified.

"It's no use," Ella sniffled, "He's already seen me in the other ones and Mother said the rest of my Worth's order will only be here next week,"

"There must be something!" I said, kneeling next to her to offer her a handkerchief. Emily was looking at the other two dresses the maid had brought, lifting her own to inspect it.

"What about this?" Emily asked, "Whose is it?"

She was holding my dress up, running a delicate hand over the watered silk. Ella sniffled before rising to her feet to look at it.

"It's not mine, but it's beautiful," she agreed, looking over the lace Audra had added to act as ruffles off the shoulder sleeves.

"It's mine," I said, rising to look at them. Emily arched an eyebrow while Ella continued to inspect the dress.

"I fear the blue gown is our only option!" Rosanna puffed, emerging from the closet with the dress Ella had worn to the inaugural ball, "Unless we...what's that?"

She nearly dropped the sapphire dress in her haste to examine the one Ella and Emily were still holding.

"It's Libby's," Emily said, shooting Rosanna a look. The older girl pursed her lips, but set the sapphire gown down so she could hold my dress up against Ella.

"We'll have to tie your waist a little tighter and you'll probably fill out the top quite a bit," Rosanna said before I could realize what they were doing.

"What am I supposed to wear!" I demanded finally, only to have Ella round on me.

"You have been nothing but a nuisance this past week, the least you can do is loan me a dress when I'm in need!" she snapped. I blinked, taken aback. It seemed that the other debutantes' tempers had rubbed off on my cousin. As my own anger flared, I couldn't help the words that tumbled from my lips.

"Then I'll have you know how much of a nuisance I've been then!" I fired back, "You do realize that the only reason the prince is spending so much time with you is because I asked him to? I found him and talked to him on your behalf this week just so you wouldn't send me home!"

My words had stunned the other girls into silence, but unfortunately Emily regained her composure first. When her eyes narrowed in that devious little way of hers, I knew I was in trouble.

"You spoke to the prince?" she demanded, as Ella simply gaped at me.

"I did," I replied, and Emily's smile grew.

"You do realize that speaking with the prince outside of planned events is forbidden?" Emily asked, unable to keep the glee from her face.

"Libby that is unacceptable!" Ella gasped.

"But I won you his favor!" I protested, feeling the heat rise into my cheeks. How could my helping her be backfiring?

"I think she should be barred from the ball as punishment," Emily said. I wasn't even able to get a word out before Ella nodded.

"You'll stay here to think about what you've done," she said, "And if I hear of you sneaking around to speak with the prince again, even if it is on my behalf, I'll send you home!"

I opened and closed my mouth a few times before I gnashed my teeth together with a growl, turning on my heel to slam the door to our bedroom behind me. I leaned back against it, scrunching my face up to keep from screaming aloud once more.

Not only had she taken my dress, she'd forbidden me from going to the ball. The very same ball that the crown prince had told me he expected a dance. I scrubbed my face with my hands in frustration, knowing that Ella's success should have been more important to me than my own enjoyment. But my thoughts kept turning back to the letter Andrew had smuggled me and how I'd be letting him down that night while I sat in my room bemoaning my fate.

With a frustrated grunt, I stood and kicked the trunk at the foot of my bed. I swore as my toe throbbed, the kick doing nothing to alleviate my frustration. Instead, all it had done was cause the lid to spring open. I leaned down to close it, only to see the hastily discarded uniform dress lying on top of my pile of belongings. I blinked at it a few times before my eyes found the jammed service door in the corner.

Just like that, my evening turned around.