A/N:Hey! I promised a new story, didn't I? So, hear it is! It should get better in the next chapter and I apologize for the shortness. Okay,read the story! - MissMei92
"Suzette! Suzette!" My shallow-minded elder sister, Rita, stormed into my room, her thick-heeled boots stamping on the floor in a fury. I don't know why she wore those things. She claimed they were the latest fashion, though I think she was sadly mistaken.
"What is it now, Rita?" I was busy writing a letter to Lady Hawning, regarding the latter's invitation to attend her eldest son's engagement party, and I was trying to find the best possible way of saying no to it. Thomas Dayston would be there and I didn't want to get into any form of confrontation. Especially after I'd rejected his marriage proposal last month.
"Oh, Suzette! You wouldn't believe this but I've heard that the ball at Count Gristenor's might be...God forbid it...canceled! All because of some silly rain!" She gestured towards my left and lifted a finger to point at the glass-panes beside my mahogany desk.
The dark clouds which were looming outside my bedroom window signaled the start of rain. Would that affect anyone? Could bad weather possibly stop the ball being held in Count Gristenor's estate tonight? Unlikely, of course. The socialites and gossips would never allow that.
There had been recent snippets of insider information, or rather, informally passed-along gossip bits, that there would be an unknown and an unexpected guest there. Most of the speculation had concluded that the said guest was invited on impulse by Countess Gristenor, who'd always been known for making such rash decisions. However, the mysterious speculators had no leads to the identity of the guest.
"Don't worry yourself over nothing, Rita. It's impossible that the ball would be canceled on such short notice. Count and Countess Gristenor wouldn't be able to show themselves publicly for days!" I joked. Rita was so easily fooled and upsetted by the smallest of matters. Sometimes, I even wondered about who was really older and wiser in years, me or her?
"Oh, do you really think so? I'd so hoped to wear the gown I'd specially-ordered from Paris tonight!" She chirped, her voice becoming cheery and glad-sounding again, the way it always was. I smiled, showing my whites.
"Yes, I really think so. You'd better have Tabitha iron it out so it'll be freshly pressed for tonight." I dipped my pen in ink and started mulling over my words again. Penmanship and writing were my best skills...and yet I couldn't even compose this letter without fretting over each syllable. Rita looked horrified.
"Oh no, I completely forgot! I must do that at once!" She kicked up her frilly petticoat and skirt, leaving my room in the same manner that she'd entered, forgetting to close my door. I huffed angrily at this.
"Rita! Close my door, will you!" I yelled unladylikely after her. My father was in his study, all the way in the opposite wing of our mansion, and wouldn't hear my outburst. My mother, similarly, was busy making a social call with Lady Brantley, leaving Rita, Anneliese, and I to our own business.
My lady's maid, Hannah, came rushing along the corridor, her movements echoing behind her, and hastily closed the overshadowing twin-doors. I sighed. I hadn't meant to cause trouble for her. Rita and her craziness, I thought.
I kept at my letter for awhile, disregarding the time until it started nearing evening and the ball, and I heard a low double-knock on my doors, followed by someone clearing their throat, as if they hadn't a voice to say anything with.
"Miss Suzette, would you like it if I prepared your dress for you? The ball is in less than 2 hours." I heard Mrs.Richter, our housekeeper, say respectfully. She was as silent as the flowers and never spoke unless spoken to, or, as in this case, had to. I put away my stationery in the drawer beneath before I answered her.
"Yes, I suppose so, Mrs.Richter." I called, gazing out my windows at the darkening horizon of the sky, encompassing the area above my home's lawn. The trees were such a dark shade of green today, and the flowers were drooping from the harsh beating of the raindrops. But I enjoyed the stormy unpredictability of rain and thunder. It was something which you couldn't really foresee. It just happened. And being embedded in a life of constants and normalcy, the rain was the only thing I found remotely exciting in my life.
Of course, that was until the ball held at Count Gristenor's tonight. Meeting somebody whom I'd never thought nor expected to meet in my lifetime, and whom I probably never would meet again in my lifetime. But at the time, I'd been too naive to realize it's importance until it was too late.
