The day had finally arrived. The day Augusta had been waiting for, the day she had spent weeks carefully planning. The day of the special advisory and investors meeting for the Ellington Textile Establishment. This was the meeting that would seal the fate of the company, and her own.
Augusta sat at her vanity looking at her reflection in the mirror. Two maids moved around her in her grand bedchamber. One put the finishing touches on her hairstyle, her fingers deftly tucking a stray strand of hair into place. The other knelt to smooth out the final wrinkle in the skirt of her magnificent dress.
When they were finished, they curtsied and backed out of the room, leaving Augusta alone with her own triumphant image. She looked at the woman in the mirror. Her face was a perfect, calm composure. Her eyes, cool and calculating, held a gleam of victory. She picked up a small, silver-backed brush and lightly dusted her cheeks with powder.
