Page 100 of A Single Thread of Moonlight

“Only Tookes could keep an unlocked box full of secrets for seven years and not open it,” I said.

“Are you going to open it?” Nick asked.

I nodded. “I can’t be afraid of the truth any more.”

I took a deep breath and opened the box. Inside were lots of small sheets of folded paper. I pulled the top one out and opened it.

Papa,

I loved going to the casil with you and playing at being a nite. Espeshully when we slayed the dragin! I hid all my sweets from Mrs Chambers in my pilow case. Don’t tell her, it’s a secrit!

Love from

Iris

“Oh!” I exclaimed softly. “They’re notes. Silly notes I used to write him.” I shuffled through the papers, dozens of little scraps of nothing. “I can’t believe he kept all of these.”

“There’s something else in there,” Nick said.

He was right. Underneath the notes was a thick sheaf of paper, carefully folded. I knew what it would be before I opened it.

“His will,” I said. “Written in his own hand.”

“He would have written it out to send it to the solicitor to prepare properly,” Nick murmured.

I unfolded it, smoothing the sheets out. Nick leaned towards me, my eyes rapidly scanned the words written there.

“Well,” I said finally. “That certainly clears a few things up.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

The next day was the day of the ball.

There was palpable excitement about the place. The whole house was a hive of activity, new staff had been brought in, and there was an endless stream of tradesmen arriving, hammering away behind closed doors. There were flowers everywhere, and I knew that the cook had been working for days to prepare all the food.

I had been hard at work too. It had taken every moment I could snatch, but I had finally finished my dress. It was exactly as I had imagined it, and I felt a thrill as Matilda helped to slip it over my head, and the heavy silk glided down my body.

The pearly cream silk was overlaid with tulle to form a full skirt. A low-cut square neckline, fitted bodice and small cap sleeves created a pleasingly simple shape, but the rows of glass beads that hung from the sleeves caught the light, like tiny stars. The gown itself was embroidered in silver thread, a pattern of silver stars, that only revealed itself when the light played across it. It gave the dress an ethereal quality. I knew I had done my job when Matilda’s breath caught.

“Oh, miss,” she said, her eyes wide. “I’ve never seen anything like it. It looks like magic. Like it was stitched by fairies!”

It was the best thing I had ever made. I thought with a smile about how furious Madame would be if she knew she had let it go.

Matilda piled my hair on top of my head, and I wore my mother’s crescent moon hair pin, the one Cassie had kept for me. It was as if it had been made just for this occasion. I draped her silver shawl around my shoulders. I wore no other jewellery. I didn’t need to trick anyone tonight. Tonight I would simply be myself, and everything I wore spoke to that. I left Serena Fox’s wardrobe behind in her room.

By the time I had finished getting ready I could hear an enormous amount of noise coming from downstairs. The dowager countess had told me that she would come and collect me from my room, but that we would be making a fashionable entrance this time – there was to be no invitation for drinks. Helena wanted her guests to have the full experience of a grand ball, with all the ceremony it entailed.

She had no idea of the experience they were going to get.

I looked in the mirror. Cinderella, off to the third and final ball. Tonight Nick and I would play our hand. The diamond pin gleamed in my hair.

“Do you need anything else, miss?” Matilda asked.

“No.” I smiled. “Thank you, Matilda, you’ve been wonderful these past two weeks. I don’t know what I would have done without you.”

Matilda flushed, pleased. “Thank you, miss.” She twisted her hands in her skirts. “If you find yourself looking for a lady’s maid again, I hope you know I’d be very interested in the position.”

I held her eye in the mirror for a long moment. “I may well take you up on that,” I murmured. “Now, go and have a good time, I know there’s a party below stairs as well tonight.”