While trudging back to the house, Lady Tremaine reflects on her past life. She grew up in a village many miles from Bramley Hall. Her father “was a brewer—a respectable trade that was still far from gentility” but afforded Lady Tremaine some luxuries (12). When she was 12, her father hired her a tutor, Agatha. Agatha schooled Lady Tremaine in how to become a lady. Her lessons still play in Lady Tremaine’s mind. She learned early that women are born to marry and have children. Because her own mother died early, Lady Tremaine had little idea what motherhood entailed and knew little of her parents’ marriage.

Lady Tremaine returns to the house, recalling her first visit there as a young girl. She was stunned by the beautiful manor but hid her shock, having learned from Agatha to keep her reduced circumstances secret. Now, she sends Lucy up to a tree so that she can wake the girls and greet the carriage on the road.

Lady Tremaine learns that the royal family is hosting a ball in search of a wife for Prince Simeon. She races inside to wake her daughters so that they might also greet the carriage. While she is unable to clean herself up, she is proud of her daughters’ appearances. At the door, the royal messenger reads a ball invitation aloud. Lady Tremaine is stunned that it only includes Elin and herself, or a chaperone. She insists that there must be a mistake, but the messenger insists otherwise. When he leaves, Lady Tremaine notices Elin on the stairs, delighted by the invitation. Meanwhile, her daughters demand to know why they aren’t included in the invitation. Lady Tremaine privately blames Henry.

Lady Tremaine reflects on her relationship with Henry, her first husband. She knew him when she was a girl. His family would spend hunting seasons at their lodge in the village where Lady Tremaine grew up. Over the wall, Lady Tremaine would often watch Henry and his brothers train their hawks and falcons. She developed an interest in the birds and in Henry. They started spending time together, and he taught her about birds of prey. Henry soon began calling her “Ethel,” and they spent more and more time together. Because their families wouldn’t have approved of them spending time alone together, they hid their friendship. She recalls some of their secret interactions and all the fun they had together. One day, they snuck around together and spotted two falconers showing each other affection. Back then, Lady Tremaine didn’t understand that everyone has secrets.

Back in the present, Lady Tremaine talks to her daughters about the upcoming ball. They each make suggestions for how to get invitations. Lady Tremaine announces that she will go and visit Sigrid, the queen. The girls are surprised she knows her.

Outside, Lady Tremaine runs into Alice while retrieving Lucy. She instructs the woman to pick the apples; the grounds are filled “with hundreds of apples” that often overwhelm the family (41). Then, they discuss the ball. Lady Tremaine is unsure of how to deal with the predicament and frustrated with Elin, whom she sees as useless. While Rosamund and Mathilde have learned to help keep house over the years, Elin spends her time reading her late mother’s etiquette book or practicing the fine arts. Lady Tremaine resents her stepdaughter for receiving an invitation. While ruminating, she convinces herself that her history with Sigrid is related to her daughters’ exclusion from the ball.

Lady Tremaine continues to reflect on her relationship with Henry. After the two got close, Lady Tremaine spent the winter waiting for Henry to return to the village. When he finally did, he was with a young girl, Miss Sigrid Camelia White. Henry invited Lady Tremaine to spend time with them, but she resented Sigrid for intruding. She was delicate and disparaged Lady Tremaine, particularly her interest in falconry. As the summer waned on, Lady Tremaine became increasingly irritated by Sigrid’s presence. While out horseback riding with her and Henry one day, Lady Tremaine intentionally led them down a rocky path. Sigrid’s horse walked into a wasp’s nest and got spooked. Sigrid badly injured her hand in the incident. After Lady Tremaine and Henry delivered her to the house, Lady Tremaine tearfully admitted that she and Sigrid had been going head-to-head over him.

Back in the present, Lady Tremaine converses with Alice and their other housekeeper, Wenthelen, about the prospect of Elin marrying the prince. However, Wenthelen is worried that she isn’t eating enough. Lady Tremaine heads up to the tower where Elin sleeps to talk to her. The two discuss the ball. Elin is thrilled to hear that Lady Tremaine will escort her if she can make her own dress.

The narrative shifts back into the past. While Sigrid was healing from her hand injury, Lady Tremaine and Henry rekindled their relationship, even kissing several times. Sigrid immediately recognized their intimacy when the two visited her. Not long later, Sigrid returned home, insisting that she had countless better marriage offers. Soon, Lady Tremaine and Henry were engaged, and her father prepared her trousseau, or dowry. She relocated to Bramley Hall.

Not long after her marriage to Henry, Lady Tremaine gave birth to Mathilde. Rosamund was born just a year later. She reflects on her daughters’ births and early temperaments. She also remembers what it was like to become a mother. Just a few years later—when the girls were six and seven—Henry died while away on a trade trip. His death left Lady Tremaine and her daughters dependent on the Tremaines. For a time, she devoted herself to falconry, having inherited Lucy, a young bird that Henry had planned to train before his death. Meanwhile, Henry’s father became disgusted with supporting her and her daughters, having never liked Lady Tremaine. He insisted on marrying the girls off. Terrified of losing her daughters so young, Lady Tremaine resolved to remarry.