Chapter 5 - Preparation To Go

The day of the ball finally arrived, and many young girls, women and men couldn't help but look forward to the night that was approaching closer with every tick of time and second that moved without waiting for anyone.

As written in the invitation, the ball would start at eight at night. It was also added that everyone would be eating in the castle. The thought of tasting something unusual with the mouth-watering delicacies that most had only dreamt, people could hardly wait.

The journey to the castle would take nearly an hour and none of them wanted to be late to the ball. After all, it was once in a lifetime.

"Are you going to be alright?" asked Madeline who was pulling the laces of the corset that her sister Beth wore right now. Beth held her breath and nodded her head while she held one of the bedposts.

"Make it tighter," Beth said and Madeline pulled the lace further so that Beth could have a more accentuated bodice of the figure once she would put the gown that was borrowed from Mr. Heathcliff's shop, "Okay, this looks good," the older girl went to stand in front of the mirror. Turning herself back and front to make sure it looked as she wanted and it did.

"Will you be able to breathe?" Madeline asked at the tightness of her sister's corset that was making her worried just by looking at it.

"Absolutely," Beth smiled with an assuring smile, "Come, let me help you with yours," Madeline looked at her sister apprehensively.

"I will have Mama do my laces. I wouldn't want to die out of suffocation," said Madeline whose arm was pulled by Beth.

"Don't be a child. If you don't tie the corset with bodice the right, the gown is not going to sit well. I want to make sure my sister looks pretty," Beth tugged her sister to come forward and stand near the bedpost, "Hold your breath," and when Madeline did as asked by Beth as her sister pulled the laces from the back.

Madeline let go of her breath, holding the post too so that she wouldn't be pulled back with the force that Beth used to keep the laces tight together. Beth was a good sister to Madeline and personally, she didn't mean any wrong unless there was a need for competition. She was a good person if things went her way. She liked to be first in everything and it was something she had inherited since she was a young girl.

Beth was the first one to get ready as she had finished completed doing her hair by tying most of her hair up while leaving two pieces of her hair curled in the back to rest on her shoulder. She wore the striking red dress that fit her perfectly that had a zip in the back. It was a half-sleeved gown with stone works around her chest and at the bottom of her skirt that had several layers.

The elder daughter of the Harris looked nothing less to a high standing woman of the society.

"Do you need any help?" asked Beth who was yet to wear her dress.

"No, I am fine," Madeline responded back who was looking at her shoe and then she turned around to look at her beautiful sister. She could see the excitement in Beth's eyes and she said, "I am sure we will have a line of men waiting for you tomorrow once we come back from the ball."

Beth waved her hand before asking, "Do you think it looks fine?"

"I think it looks fantastic," Madeline chuckled to hear her sister say.

"Are you sure you don't need any help? You haven't got your hair done yet either," Beth pursed her lips looking at her sister. To Madeline, her sister's words were of concern shown towards her.

"Yes. I will be done soon. Why don't you see if mama and papa are ready?" Madeline asked her sister to check on their parents and Beth gave her a nod.

"Alright," said Beth leaving Madeline in the room.

Madeline finally wore the gown that was somewhat pale beige in colour. Unlike her sister's dress that was made in silk, the texture of this gown was different and something she had never stumbled upon in past. It showed her shoulders with a little extra work at the top that emphasized her figure as the dress travelled down her body to touch the floor.

The dress wasn't eye-catching but it was simple yet beautiful in its own way. There were no stones but a lot of delicate thread work which Madeline had to remind herself to bring back the dress to Mr. Heathcliff in the same condition she had borrowed from the shop.

She then worked on her hair by taking many pieces of her hair at the front of her hair to tie and leaving out the rest of it that stopped just above her waist. She used pins to secure her hair while pulling small pieces of her hair from the sides of her temple.

When everyone was finally ready, they could hear many carriages passing by their house as a lot of the guests had started to head to the castle to make sure they weren't going to miss anything today.

"Look at both of you, you look so beautiful," Mrs. Harris, raised her hands to have both the girls hug her back. When they pulled back, Mrs. Harris asked Beth, "Why didn't you help Madeline with her hair? It looks very simple. There should still be time to fix it up," it was because Beth's hairstyle suited her attire and the place they would be going while Madeline appeared to have tied her hair by letting it down by simple clips.

"I did ask her," Beth said looking at Madeline's hair that did look simple and she pursed her lips. She looked at the dress that her sister wore for the fifth time since Madeline had worn it, "I asked her if she needed help," this was precisely why she had asked if Madeline needed help so that they wouldn't be late.

"That's alright, mama," Madeline held her mother's hand, "Didn't you just say we look beautiful? It should be fine," she smiled at her mother, a smile that had her mother smiling too, "Doesn't Beth look beautiful with the red dress? It suits her well," Madeline deviated the topic where her mother gave her a knowing look before she said,

"Beautiful as always," hearing the sound of the carriage and horses again, they looked at the road to finally see the carriage stop at the front of their house.