Free The Moon Master's Ball by Clara Diane Thompson

sweet-smelling ointment into her hair then rinsed
it out. Tilly’s scalp tingled delightfully.
    “Caroline,” Tilly began drowsily, the smell
of apples lulling her to sleep. “How did things go so terribly
wrong with Aminia and Jasper?”
    Conjuring a white lace robe from mid-air,
Caroline handed it to Tilly and returned to the gown, admiring her
own handiwork. “Amina was teaching Jasper the ways of magic in a
land far beyond Winslow.” She recounted the tale with a frown.
“During their travels, they met another fairy godmother, Mrs.
Carlisle, and her goddaughter.”
    Tilly listened intently, not wishing to
interrupt her godmother’s story.
    “Jasper never was a handsome sort of fellow,
but he always has possessed a certain charm that makes him
appealing.” She glanced towards Tilly. “Drosselyn found him very much to her liking, the spoiled little milksop. Jasper,
in turn, liked her very little.”
    Caroline paused to pull a stray thread off
the dress. “You can imagine how this angered Mrs. Carlisle. Her
magic was so powerful that Jasper and Aminia fled, taking refuge
here in this obscure little village and . . . Mrs. Carlisle
pursued. You know the rest. He’s been cursed these past ten years.
When Mrs. Carlisle and her goddaughter returned to Winslow, we knew
the time had come.”
    Tilly suddenly realized that she didn’t feel
anymore as though Caroline and Lord Hollingberry were forcing her
into helping them. She truly wanted to help them, not because of
Lord Hollingberry’s kindness, but because it was simply the right
thing to do. Jasper had suffered and so had she. They were the same
in many ways, she thought.
    But there was one question still lingering
in the back of Tilly’s mind. “Why did Lord Hollingberry invite Mrs.
Carlisle into Winslow Manor?”
    Caroline grinned triumphantly. “Ah! We
tricked Mrs. Carlisle quite well, Hollingberry and I. She never
knew that Aminia was married. And she never suspected any
connection between Lord Hollingberry and Jasper. We’ve been able to
keep a close eye on that Carlisle woman since she came back!” The
fairy godmother sniffed, quite delighted with her own cleverness.
“Come now,” she said. “We’ve got to get you ready for the
ball.”
    Minutes later, Tilly was wearing a gown more
beautiful than she could ever have imagined. She couldn’t help but
twirl, watching the silken folds of cream and lavender fan out like
the petals of a rimed tulip.
    “Slow down, girl!” Caroline sounded annoyed,
but the smile on her lips said otherwise. Tilly’s godmother pinned
up her hair in soft curls, adding sprigs of dried lilac throughout.
When the girl, who in recent years had worn only a maid’s uniform,
looked at herself in the mirror, her heart thrilled with
delight.
    “You look stunning, my love,” said Caroline.
For the first time, Tilly saw tears shining in her fairy
godmother’s eyes. “But we’re not done yet!” Caroline wiped the
tears away quickly and told Tilly to sit on the settee. “Where are
those ribbons?” she looked around the room.
    Tilly held them out to her, and the old
woman snatched them away. “We’d best get you to that ball quickly!
Midnight will come before too long.” She draped the shining ribbons
across her goddaughter’s feet.
    “What happens at midnight?” Tilly asked,
once again confused.
    “Hush, I’m thinking.” Caroline tapped her
chin with one finger. “Oh, how does that old rhyme go? Ah, yes.”
Rubbing her hands together, she cleared her throat and closed her
eyes.
    “ Light, show yourself pure and
strong,
    Save a man from evil’s throng.
    Take a form, small and white,
    Give this girl the strength to fight.”
    When Caroline had uttered the last word,
something happened to Tilly’s feet. She felt a coldness slide
across each foot up to her ankle, but it wasn’t an unpleasant
feeling. It reminded Tilly of slipping her feet into a cool set of
sheets before bedtime. She looked down to see what exactly