A Lady's Fate

Chapter Seven - Mary

How hard could it be?

Those very words had crossed Mary's mind several times over the years, as she heard tales of Margaret's mornings spent delicately sipping tea, or evenings gliding across the ballroom in yet another beautiful gown. Though she held no bitter feelings towards Margaret for the lifestyle she had been born into, Mary felt certain her closest friend had never faced a day of hard work her entire life.

Oh, how wrong Mary had been! Who could have imagined the amount of care and effort required to maintain Margaret's impossibly regimented lifestyle? The constant stream of social engagements and polite pleasantries were far more exhausting than any work Mary had ever done before. Who could have imagined that Margaret's world involved such complex social structures which must be adhered to at all costs, for the sake of preserving what Mary had now come to realise was an extremely fragile lady's reputation.

One wrong move – or one unfortunate stumble into the path of a countess, as was Mary's case – could dramatically affect an entire family's social standing, perhaps forever. How ironic, when Mary had been trying to escape the ballroom for the sole purpose of avoiding causing the Rowley family mortification, having discovered that to dance required knowledge of several dozen intricate, exact steps, none of which Mary had learnt in her life. She'd considered it rather a joke when Margaret had disappeared off for lessons with her dancing master each week – how she wished she'd taken greater notice when Margaret relayed the various country dances she'd learnt!

There was no use lamenting over such thoughts now, though - the damage had now been done, and Mary would surely be found out by Lady Helena very soon. The shrewd woman had long been suspicious, and after the dreadful spectacle at the Christmas ball Mary knew the earl's daughter would not rest until she extracted the truth from Mary once and for all.

Christmas Day had now been and gone; Mary was running short on time. And though she hated the thought of going against Margaret's wishes, it seemed the only option remaining was to sneak away once again in the dead of the night to seek out Margaret in London.

Lady Helena and Sir Edmund were both attending a performance in Chester this evening – Lady Helena's first appearance in public since Mary had disgraced her almost a week ago. To his credit, Sir Edmund had secured Mary an invite, although she intended to politely decline, as she had no desire to attend another social function ever again.

And if she remained at Alverton Hall while Lady Helena and Sir Edmund were out, she would be offered the perfect opportunity to slip away quietly...

Mind whirring, Mary leapt up from her desk and tore open her elaborate armoire – continuing to masquerade as a lady just a little longer would allow her safer and swifter passage to London. She would select one or two of the travelling gowns, and the thickest, warmest cloak, but little else – it was imperative that her departure be as inconspicuous as possible...

There came a sudden knock at the door, causing Mary to drop the sleeve of a velvet gown as if scolded.

"Are you ready? Lady Helena is becoming rather anxious that we shall be late unless we depart promptly."

It was Sir Edmund.

Struck at once with an idea of brilliance, Mary dragged a shawl about her shoulders, sprinkling a few drops from the washbowl along her hairline to give the appearance of a fever. Shuffling slowly over to the door, she prised it open with the pretence of lethargy.

"Oh, Sir Edmund," she croaked, attempting to sound as feeble as possible. "I am terribly sorry, but I do not think I shall be able to attend the performance this evening. I have suffered a nuisance of a headache this afternoon, and so I feel it best to remain indoors."