Chapter 1.

Chapter 1
New Neighbors.

Marry came running in the door shouting "Mama youll never guess what just happened"!

Mrs. Dawson looked up from the book she was reading and said “Calm yourself dear girl or you’ll end up giving me a heart attack”! “Now tell me because even if I do guess you will tell me anyway.”..

Marry laughed and said "New castle has been taken"!

“Really”! Said Mrs Dawson suddenly interested, “By who”?
“By a young man” !
“Really! Said her mother becoming more excited, “and tell me what his name is”?
“Mr. Jones”!
“Is he married”?
“No mama”! Said Marry even more happily “he is single”!
This got her mother off her butt.
“Call your sister Marry tell her to come see me I must go speak to your father”!
Marry ran up the stairs and burst open the door to her and her twin sisters room.

She babbled about the man and how handsome he was and the two of them giggled like little girls.

Anne came out of the door of her room just woken up by the girls giggles she had had a hard day of work yesterday and today was Saturday the day in which she had a day off she would liked to have slept through the whole thing but her two step sisters were just much too noisy.
Mary and Jane were both 18 and silly and stupid and spoiled by their mother in every way! Their father Mr. Dawson and Anne’s uncle was a merchant and very well to do he had a steady income and was fairly well off he was very unlike his wife in the way that he did not at all spoil his daughters and thought them very silly.
Anne was his favorite and he over the years had come to love her as one of his own daughters.
The two sisters felt this and were very jealous and took every opportunity to make her life miserable the mother didn’t even want her when she came and still thought her as no more than a burden that was placed upon them after her brother in law died!

She asked them what was so exciting and they looked and her and told her in there pointed noised haughty fashion about Mr. Jones and that their mother was speaking to father about meeting him !

“Of course said Mary you wouldn’t think about going to see him yourself as unrepresentable and unfashionable as you are you would likely just make a fool of yourself and embarrass us all “!

They both burst out laughing
Anne smiled “of course dear sisters I have no intention of seeing him and look forward to you leaving this house so I can sleep”!
The two girls looked at her and laughed then they went down the stairs still giggling to themselves.

Anne sighed and went back into her room for a young person of 18 she had been through enough in her life to make her more mature then her age but all she wanted to do now was sleep she had been up till 4 :30 yesterday cleaning up from Mary and Jane’s birthday party. She was very grateful to her uncle who had insisted to her Aunt that if she didn’t have a day off there would be no more her to do any work in the days to come so her Aunt had agreed that whenever there was a big party or Saturday and Sunday were to be her days off . She was glad he had made it that far he first tried to make it so she would be like her other sisters and not have to work at all but her Aunt would not go that far so he only managed days off for her she was glad her Aunt had sense enough to see that even servants need rest so she went back to her bed and would have gone to bed emediatly if she had not been disturbed by shouting it sounded like her Aunt and daughters and was loud enough to be heard upstairs,
“How can you do this to your own daughters”! Said her aunts voice, “why must you always be including her into our family circle she has nothing to do with my daughters being married into a rich family as far as I am concerned she is just another worker here and has no need to go see him.”
There was a unanimous agreement from Mary and Jane Then Mr. Dawson spoke in his very authoritative like manner “she is my niece even if you do not like it she is my relation and I will treat her with the right respect for my brothers sake I have duty and so this is my final word on the matter if Anne cannot be introduced in circles that we are in I shall not make the call to Mr. Jones that is my final word on the matter”!
“Oh very well”. said Mrs. Dawson in a resigned voice “let her come what harm can she do no one will want to go near her anyway such a small ugly thing as she is with no proper sense of fashion or manners we have nothing to fear from her let her come” !

“I am glad you have seen sense”. Said Mr. Dawson with a smile “so now my dear I will go and make the call to Newcastle”.
“Thank you my dear ”said Mrs. Dawson “I knew you would do it for your girls sake” .
Mr. Dawson harrumphed and left the room once he did the two girls looked at their mother and said “why mother”? “Why did you do that Anne can’t come she will embarrassed us all.” ”Besides she has nothing decent to wear“ .
“I know dear but that was the only way to make you Father go besides you don’t have to tell anyone she is related to you”.
“True”! said both girls then they went off snickering “I wonder when he will give his first ball I do hope it is soon mother we have to go out and get new dresses for the both of us”!
“Yes of course we shall”. Said Mrs. Dawson “I wouldn’t mind shopping myself”.

“The house will be fine and I m sure Anne doesn’t want to go she is much too tired to want to do anything but sleep“!

Both girls laughed and said very true can we go now “yes dears just give me a moment to get my parasol and tell Hensor to keep the house while we are gone”.

Soon the house was quit again and Anne was sure they had left she sighed with relief and went to bed.

That evening at Diner Mr. Dawson made an announcement
“I have went to pay a visit to Mr. Jones he is a very well bread good natured fellow he has to sisters about 19 he is 21 and is thinking of settling down in the area permanently he told me that he will go to London to pick up a friend on Monday and on Friday he is going to host a ball and that our whole family is invited that includes you Anne"!He said looking at his niece with a smile.

She smiled back and said “thank you uncle I would not want to disappoint you but I cannot go I do not do well in balls and plus I have nothing suitable to wear”!
“That s true father”. Said Marry “all she will do is embarrass us in front of those people”!

“Don’t worry about that”. said Mr. Dawson “I will make sure she has the right cloths and ask Arther to teach you to dance”!

Arther was his brother in law who was a dance master and also liked Anne Mrs. Dawson frowned “Mr. Dawson when will she have time to learn such things she will be much to tired by the end of her days of work for my brother to teach her anything”!

“That is why my dear said Mr. Dawson with a smug smile I have just taken in another helper she is Anne’s age and since she also has no friends of her own age I thought I would take her in and they could work together get things done faster and Anne would have a friend”.

Mrs. Dawson looked shocked Marry and Jane horrified and Anne although surprised herself was pleased that her uncle was being so kind to her .Mr. Dawson rang the bell “Hensor he said call Catharine please”
.
Hensor bowed and left the room he soon came back with a young brown haired girl with large doe like eyes and a frightened smile.
“Anne meat Catherine your new friend and workmate” !

“How do you do “said Catherine with a bow Anne stood up and walked over to Catherine and curtsied “it will be great to get to know you better” said Catherine “I am sure we will be great friends”!

Anne smiled and then she said “thank you uncle this is the best birthday present ever”!

“What said Mary you have a birthday how surprising I didn’t know that”!
Jane laughed Mrs. Dawson only frowned

“oh that is not all I got for you” said Mr. Dawson he clapped his hands and a maid came in carrying a box Mrs. Dawson looked horrified as Anne opened it and gasped there nestled in straw and hay was a white ball gown Anne didn’t know what to say
Mr. Dawson said “I just thought well since my two daughters always go out shopping and get such lovely dresses there seemed no need to get them one and since you will need one and have none I thought well why not get her one nice piece of clothing that she can wear to the ball”!

“Thank you uncle” said Anne “this is more than anything I could ever ask for”.

“Indeed” said her Aunt with a sour smile “your uncle has been much to generous with you but you are his niece I suppose and he feels right in doing all these little extras for you.” “Well girls”, she said turning to her daughters and ignoring her niece “how did you enjoy your trip to town just think you will get to go to a ball with a rich young man”!

They went on talking this way for the rest of the evening in the meantime Anne excused herself and she and her new friend headed of to Anne’s room to talk.

After they had settled down Anne started finding out that this girl had more in coming with her then she realized she had also come from a middle class family and had one brother who went to serve in the navy at 15 while she was 12 her father was a widower and was in poor health. Soon after his son left he died of a stroke and the house was sold and the servants left to find work elsewhere she was put into an orphanage and was taught the basics in cooking and housekeeping she had stayed in the orphanage going from estate to estate for tryouts in her work then today she was at the orphanage and Mr. Dawson came and bought her and hear she was but the thing which Mr. Dawson did not tell anyone else but her was that he had set her free from the time he bought her and now she was free and would be like another adopted niece to him Anne smiled her uncle was crafty as ever he wanted two girls who he could be proud of and had taken in two girls with similar manners and similar stories to take in as his own .She felt only a bite sorry for her step sisters! After trading to each other the story of their lives they went down to the kitchen where Anne showed her how things were done and where things were kept.

The week went by fast with Catherine’s help Anne now had much more free time Arther came every evening around five to teach the girls dancing he taught them together and Catherine to was soon a good dancer as was Anne Friday came closer and the girls became more and more excited !

The night before the dance Anne went to her uncle’s study to ask him something she knocked on the door and went in he looked up and smiled “Hello Anne what is it you want to speak to me about”?

“It is about Catherine Sir”said Anne
“Oh”? Said her uncle what about her?

“Well sir you see she and I have become close in this short time and I know that she would love to go to this ball as well and I wondered could she come. Arther said he has a dress from one of his daughters that he said would fit her well could she come”?

Mr. Dawson looked at her thoughtfully and said “well I suppose we could make room for one more she has worked hard after all to become a good dancer and I did get her for a friend for you”!

Anne smiled “oh thank you uncle you are the most kind good person I ever met in my life and I know you have just made both Cathy and me very happy”!
He smiled “I always do what I can to make you happy dear and it always succeeds”!

“Thank you uncle”!.

“You’re welcome dear now off with you I have some important matters to attend to”.

She curtsied and left the room uncle smiled after and thought “how was I ever lucky enough to find such happiness in my niece.”
Then he smiled and chuckled “what will Mrs. Dawson say when she hears that her brother has given the maid a Real French ball room dress she will be so envious and angry”!He laughed and went back to work.