Rain pelted against the chateau windows as Raoul and the three girls ate their dinner in silence in the opulent dining room. Raoul looked across the table to Eve's chair and paused for a moment before continuing eating. It had been a month since Eve had lost their child and still she had refused to leave their room and come downstairs. She had consigned Raoul to a guestroom and it had been some days since he'd last spoken to her – a maid her only contact to the outside world. Anastasia and Drizella had taken to spending all day in the library – the door looked out onto the staircase and every day they surreptitiously kept watch in the hope their mother would venture downstairs. Cinderella followed her father everywhere, holding his hand and nestling on his knee when he sat down. He knew that Cinderella felt responsible for causing Eve to lose the baby and he hoped the girl would one day realise it was not her fault. The dinner finished, Raoul took the girls upstairs and put them to bed, singing Cinderella to sleep. As he closed Cinderella's door, he heard a sound up the hallway. He turned, hoping to see Eve but instead finding Anastasia watching him carefully. He walked towards her and without a word scooped her up into his arms. She cuddled into his neck and held him tight for a moment.

"When can we see mother again?" asked Anastasia.

"She will come out when she's better Ani," he replied, stroking the long auburn hair that cascaded down Anastasia's back. "I promise that won't be long."

"Will you tell her I miss her?" Anastasia shot back, looking into Raoul's face.

"Of course I will. Now let's get you to bed!" Raoul swung Anastasia upside down and she shrieked in fright before collapsing into giggles. He tucked Anastasia in, then left her room. He stared at the doorhandle for a moment, then headed for Eve's room and knocked quietly. There was no answer so he tried the handle himself, but found it locked. He knocked again, loudly this time and heard a rustling.

"Eve, I know you're awake. Open the door!" There was no reply. "Open the door!" He heard Eve approaching, her footsteps soft on the thick carpet.

"It's late Raoul, leave me alone." She started to move from the door again. Raoul decided he'd had enough.

"Open the door, or I will break it down!" he shouted. When there was no reply, he started pushing the door, trying to force the handle. The noise brought the girls from their rooms and alerted the servants, two maids arriving from the scullery. "Put the girls to bed!" he shouted at the maids. He kicked at the lock twice more, splintering the door frame and breaking the lock. He pushed open the remnants of the door and looked inside.

Eve was sitting on the hearthrug, staring into the floor. Raoul closed the door behind him as best as he could and walked over to her, kneeling behind her and resting his hands on her shoulders. She shrugged him off.

"How long is this going to continue?" asked Raoul. Eve looked up at him. "The girls miss you Eve – Anastasia asks for you every night and Drizella won't talk. Cinderella follows me everywhere, always on the verge of crying because she thinks she's to blame for..." Raoul faltered.

"She is to blame. She could have fetched the doctor."

"It was too late. By the time you felt the first pain, you had already lost the child." Raoul saw Eve stiffen and sensed she was not ready for this confrontation.

"I did nothing wrong – it was not my fault!" Eve hugged her knees to her chin. "It was not my fault!"

"I know. But it was not Cinderella's fault either." Raoul kneeled behind Eve and slipped his arms around her. "You have three girls in this house that need their mother. They miss you Eve."

"I just need some time."

"The girls need you now. I need you. At least come downstairs and eat with us – let them see that you will be a part of their lives again."

"Not yet."

"When?"

"I don't know Raoul!" Eve fought her way from Raoul's embrace until she was standing. "When I've forgotten that our child is dead – when I can look your daughter in the face and not hate her!"

"You hate me?" asked a small voice from the door. Eve and Raoul turned in horror to see Cinderella listening at the gap of the door. Raoul went to confront her, only to find Anastasia and Drizella standing behind Cinderella. Raoul decided to use the girls against Eve to force her into breaking her confinement.

"Of course not Cinderella – your stepmother is just angry at me for breaking the door. Come in you two – don't you want to wish your mother goodnight?" Raoul held the door open for the three girls to pile into the room. Drizella rushed up to Eve and slammed into her at full speed, wrapping her arms tightly around her mother's waist and burying her head in her dress. Anastasia hugged her mother around Drizella. Eve touched Drizella's hair and played with the curls with her right hand.

"You need a haircut," said Eve quietly. She turned to Anastasia, who was now sobbing into Eve's hip. "Didn't I always teach you to control your emotions? Have I been that bad a mother?" She looked down at her daughters and then kneeled, pulling both close to her and hugging them hard. "Goodnight Drizella. Goodnight Anastasia." She pecked each girl on the forehead quickly, then stood and ushered the girls out of the room. She turned to face Raoul and Cinderella.

Cinderella stepped forward and looked up at Eve.

"I'm sorry I didn't run for the doctor stepmother." Cinderella looked down at her hands again. "Please forgive me." Raoul looked at Eve, trying to gauge what her response what be.

"Of course I have to forgive you, you're only a child," said Eve quietly. Cinderella smiled and looked up at Eve, walking towards her and reaching around her waist for a hug. Eve felt a lump come to her throat and signalled for Raoul to remove the girl. "Goodnight Cinderella." Eve strode to the window and leaned against the frame, her back to Raoul and Cinderella. Confused, Cinderella made towards Eve but was pulled back by her father.

"Come Cinderella. Your stepmother is tired and needs to rest." He took Cinderella back to her room.

Eve looked out the window and down into the garden, silent tears running down her cheeks. She remembered how Cinderella had held her close while she lost Raoul's child, their baby. She could remember the promises Cinderella had made to look after her, to never leave her and do anything for her and tried not to hate the girl for failing to fetch the doctor. She tried to feel something for the perfect little angel that Raoul doted on, but found only emptiness. There had been a chance she could be a mother to Cinderella, but not now. She reminded her of the worst moments of her life – how could she ever be close to her now? Behind Eve, Raoul re-entered the room.

"I'm sorry," he started. Eve spun around.

"Sorry? I told you I was not ready to speak to them – or to you – and you parade them in here to say goodnight like everything was back to normal. What were you thinking?"

"I wanted my wife back – the girls wanted their mother. And Cinderella wanted to apologise."

"I need to be left alone Raoul – you have no idea how much this hurts," Eve realised she was crying, her voice cracking as she tried to speak. "Everything was perfect and now once again my family is torn apart and all I want is to hide inside this shell forever."

"I can't let you do that."

"Why not? Why the hell not?"

"Because I love you. And I know that hiding oneself away does not help matters." Raoul walked up to Eve and pulled her close to him, kissing her lightly on the lips. "I love you," he whispered.

"I wish I could believe you," said Eve, pulling away. "How could you love this – I can't even keep our baby alive!" she laughed hysterically as she walked backwards to the bed and lay down. "What did you think Raoul – make her cuddle the girls and give her a kiss and that will make all the bad things go away? Life doesn't work like that Raoul. You can't have your wife back, she died a long time ago, with the baby that should have been born and the dream that could have been ours. Just go away." Eve curled up on the bed, fully clothed. "I need to sleep now. Please go away." She buried her face in a pillow, her laughter subsiding into fierce sobbing. Raoul stood staring at her for a moment, then walked out.

The next morning dawned and with it another silent breakfast. Anastasia and Drizella both seemed in better moods this morning, but Cinderella looked as though she had not slept all night. Raoul looked drawn, his features distorted by a night's worrying and praying that Eve would recover.

"Good morning," came a voice from the doorway. Raoul turned to see Eve standing casually against the doorframe. "I hope I'm not too late."

"Of course not – please join us!" said Raoul. Eve took her place at the table and rather nervously looked over at him, noticing his pale complexion. The servants entered with the breakfast dishes, only slightly reacting to Eve's presence as became their training. The rest of the meal continued in an awkward silence, until Anastasia finally piped up.

"Mother, would it be alright if you listened to me play the flute later? I have been practising ever so hard and..."

"I think your mother would prefer some peace, Anastasia," cut in Raoul.

"No – I would like to listen to you Anastasia. Perhaps later this afternoon – after your lessons this morning."

"Lessons?" asked Drizella.

"Of course – I take it Justine is still educating you three in the history of our fair country?"

"But mother..." started Drizella.

"That's not fair!" said Anastasia. "I hate history!"

"Yes, she is," said Cinderella. "But we haven't been very good students recently." She looked down into her lap.

"Then you must all study harder from this point on." Eve took pains not to look at Cinderella as she answered. "Your father and I will need to talk this morning. We expect some privacy."

After the meal, Raoul and Eve sat in the library together.

"What made you change your mind?" asked Raoul.

"The fact you broke down the door to talk to me," answered Eve.

"So not the kiss?"

"No, the kiss was clichéd. Breaking down the door, while extreme, was at least unusual."

"I do love you, you do know that?"

"Yes. I do know that."

"You said last night that you didn't believe me."

"I said a lot of stupid things last night. But one thing I must ask you to do – keep Cinderella away from me. I don't blame her Raoul, but I can't stand to have her near me, constantly reminding me of what happened."

"Is that fair?"

"No, but it is necessary. Please Raoul."

"For a week. Then you must start talking to her again. Could I ask you something?"

"Yes?"

"Do you still love me?" Raoul looked across at Eve. "You haven't said so for some time."

"Do I really need to say it?" asked Eve, reaching across and stroking Raoul's face. She smiled as he shook his head and stood. "Are you coming? I thought we could help our daughters with their history work."

"Of course. Eve?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you for coming down this morning."