It All Started With Condolences

Change Of State

Without Mr. Darcy to supervise the household, the house runs on my orders. My hands which had grown coarse due to hard labor are now soft and pink. And Ella.......ah poor little girl! One must certainly pity her. The day I showed her the booklet, she begged me not to destroy it, as she seemed to have guessed my mischievous intentions. Now all day long, I, with my two daughters, spend the time either in front of the mirror, or in taking a stroll in the meadows or attending parties. We have grown vain and I do not regret it. We are harsh on Ella but after all I am her stepmother.

I think I've been too kind to allow her keep a kitten in the house and that too, a black cat. She is such a nuisance. One evening, I awake to find my face powder had magically turned our kitten into a ginger cat. But it was Ella who scrubbed off the powder and worked extra hard to apologize for the 'accident'.

"My face-powder has finished! And you call it 'accident'! It was a pre-planned endeavor of yours to humiliate me."

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Oh! The beautiful gowns of Ella! Though they do not fit us as we are too healthy...... they are just MAGNIFICENT. A little alteration from the tailor and it would fit my darlings pretty well.

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I think circumstances have changed vividly. Us, the Carton's enjoying such luxury, while poor Ella, brought up like a princess, (a pampered child I would call her) is now suffering. She is far from being even in a poor condition. She hasn't got even a penny to spend on herself. Just the coarse bread once a day, along with water from the well, keeps her alive.
           
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I wonder why Ella sleeping by the cinders at night is still so fair. Even surprised I am at the fact that she has a huge level of patience. She hasn't complained to me a single time. Whatever be the case cinder-Ella still outstrips my daughters in beauty and grace.