The last thing I thought Robin should do with a garment of the exquisite make and style was were it. This was mainly because none of us knew where it had come from. A gift of that quality would not be without strings attached and it worried me to think of what this person might want.

Yet Robin was determined to wear the dress. All four of us went through the day with apprehension floating in the pits of our stomachs. Sunday dinner was the one time we were allowed to dress in our own clothing instead of the normal blue school frocks and white pinafores. It brought on a small amount of rivalry between the girls, showing off new frocks and shoes, which was possibly the drive behind Robin's determination to wear her new gown.

Morning Mass and Lunch went by in a overwhelming blur in my own opinion, the trepidation I was feeling towards that night having built up such a great deal. It arrived so quickly it left me with a feeling of quite loathing.

Beatrice borrowed a straight seam corset from an older girl, smuggling it to our room before Dinner. It took all of us to figure out just how to fit it on Robin's frame. It was an odd job, as only Mary Elizabeth knew how to properly wear a corset of that style. She ordered us about silently, motioning to what she wished us to do. Robin's body was more mature than the rest of us except perhaps Mary Elizabeth's and it fit her well enough. Stella, who was in her last year here, had provided us with the correct petticoat needed for a gown such as this as well as the hard, mesh bustle.

I slipped the red velvet garb over Robin's head, helping her fix the sleeves and neckline properly. She looked elegant, captivating and a great deal older than should have. It quickly became a game, one the Stella joined in on. She gave Robin a small cup of vinegar to help her appear more pale, showed her how to pinch her cheeks to make them appear more rosy and doll like, and painted faint blue lines on her skin giving it the appearance of delicate translucence.

Everyone of us were mentally taking notes, memorizing the information Stella was feeding us for a time when we too would want to show ourselves like dolls. It's almost a disgusting thought now, thinking of the things we used to put ourselves through to be thought beautiful. Yet, that was the way of the world at that time. I pulled her hair back into a simple bun, woven through with a braided strand.

Robin stood in front of the vanity mirror, admiring herself for no more than a minute.

"I look like I'm thirty and trying to look sixteen...rather than the other way around..." She remarked, touching her face tentatively.

Stella arched an eyebrow, leaning back and surveying her work. She pleased enough and began chattering with Beatrice, Mary Elizabeth listening to them both intently.

I pulled Robin aside, "I don't think you should do this.", I hissed in a low whisper. She looked at me with a vacuous expression as if she did not understand the words coming out of my mouth.

"You know it's foolish! For more reasons than one." I started in again, thoughts spinning around my mind so fast I could barely speak fast enough, "For one, the dress was a gift! What if the giver wants something in return? Have you thought of that? No, you haven't."

Robin started to interrupt, back I kept talking, cutting her off. "Further more, Divitt is going bust a seam when she sees you like this! I can hear her yelling now about 'how improper' and 'distasteful' for a lady of such a young age to be dressed like you are!"

Robin stared me down and when she spoke her words were particularly vehement, "It is none of your damned business what I do."

I was taken aback by the calm spite in her voice, the way she pushed past me and slammed the door on her way out.

The three girls had fallen silent as I has spoken, in hindsight I realize my voice had risen greatly in pitch and volume. Beatrice gawked at me while Mary Elizabeth seemed to simply be in shock. Stella excused herself from the room hastily, mumbling an excuse of needing to fix her hair.

I didn't feel like being berated, I changed quickly, choosing a plain pink dress for myself. Beatrice dressed herself in blue, taking extra time in front of the mirror trying to pinch her cheeks without Mary Elizabeth and I seeing. Mary Elizabeth, wore her white dress, the same one she wore every week to Sunday Dinner.

We made our way downstairs together, finding Robin waiting with several other girls in the corridor. She ignored me, looking at me as if she were looking through me and I did not feel any want of trying to appease her. Robin, Beatrice, Mary Elizabeth and I all stood in a small spot of silence amidst a sea of babbling.

The severe ringing of Headmistress Divitt's whistle echoed down the hallway signaling us to enter the Dinning Room. What had once been a tangle of droning girls became a well organized line of young ladies who filed into the room two by two.

I had no want of sitting next to Robin then, but as my seat was assigned I did as I had to. I smoothed out my skirt as I sat, watching from the corner of my eye as Robin perch precariously on the seat. She seemed unsure of quite how to sit with such a large bustle. Normally this would be something we would laugh about in the dark of our room after the other girls had fallen asleep. That would not be the case tonight and I relished a minuscule moment of bitter satisfaction.

I had bowed my head out of instinct when I sat down, but now I looked up as Divitt was bizarrely quite. I searched the faces of the girls opposite me, receiving no clues there I then turned my attention to the Headmistress.

Mrs. Divitt was staring fixedly at Robin and I felt my stomach drop to my feet.