Catherine was sitting at the piano, diligently following her teacher's instructions. She had improved significantly since her first attempt and was quite proud of herself for coming such a long way in such a short period.
Most of that could be accredited to her new teacher, Miss Edith Morris. She was young, but it was hard to tell. She gave off an aura of maturity beyond her years and took her work very seriously.
That prim and proper image had slipped somewhat when she had first met Catherine Blackwood. Being forced to correct the mistakes of someone with rumors of a famously bad temper, made her extremely nervous.
However, after Catherine inevitably made a myriad of mistakes, subsequent corrections went off without any relation. Miss. Morris subsequently relaxed, becoming steadfast in teaching her new pupil.
Catherine didn't know this but her reputation was slowly but surely changing. It was a foregone conclusion that the rumor mill would increase tenfold when the young Blackwood started popping up around the city. After all, she was practically a recluse up until a few weeks ago.
Catherine Blackwood's image for the first time in years was in flux. Well to some anyway.
In noble circles not much had changed. The incident at the French restaurant was in line with her former behavior. Some of the finer details like her partner for the evening being a commoner were lost in translation.
On the other hand, among the general public, her infamy was decreasing. This was owed to the fact that every time she had any kind of interaction with the working class, she was always polite and grateful for their services.
Ground zero for rumors of Catherine's kindness was Dr. Taylor's busybody secretary, but it had only increased from there. Bookstore attendants, Waiters at restaurants, and now a piano teacher could only conclude that all the rumors were wrong.
Thoughts such as these went through Edith's mind as she watched the young Blackwood practice.
How cruel people can be, Miss Morris thought to herself.
When faced with a studious, well learned, and polite young woman the only explanation was that scoundrels among the nobility who felt they were scorned (No doubt in their own mind), or who were simply jealous, conspired to ruin the young noblewoman's reputation.
A divide was beginning, and depending if you were a nobility or a commoner Catherine Blackwood appeared to be two different people.
However, the isolation of these separate ideas wasn't going to last forever, and it had already started to change.
The two trashy nobles who had been bullied by Catherine had kept their mouths shut out of fear, but a few of the sharper patrons didn't lapse on Elizabeth's presence at the restaurant.
Catherine was soon going to become known as a lover of commoners and a hater of nobles. As a nobel herself this was a somewhat precarious position to be in. It was mostly under wraps for now…hopefully.
To Catherine, none of this mattered either way because for the time being she was completely ignorant. Unaware that no matter what she did was going to have lasting consequences in the future.
After all, she was flipping the script on what were essentially preordained events, even if in her mind she was keeping a low profile.
Catherine reached the end of the song, and she removed her hand from the keyboard.
"Very good Miss Blackwood, your playing on this piece has improved substantially!" Said Edith.
"Well it's only because I have such a good teacher," Catherine replied playfully.
"Flattery will get you nowhere young lady," Edith picked up the sheet music from the stand. "It seems you're still having a little trouble with this section here, I'll mark it for you. So make sure to pay extra attention to it."
Edith looked at the clock, the hour had flown by and the lesson was over.
"It seems our time's up for today so we'll have to pick it back up tomorrow."
Edith began picking up her things. Continuing to talk as she did so.
"Now I do understand you're starting school tomorrow so you'll undoubtedly have less time to practice. But it's important to keep up with it so your skills don't deteriorate"
"I understand Miss.Morris, don't worry my schoolwork shouldn't interfere too much."
"Well, I'm glad to hear it. You're proving to be very exceptional at the piano so I appreciate your willingness to stay diligent."
The two said their goodbyes, before Edith left to attend to her other Students for the day.
***
An hour had passed since her lesson had ended, and Catherine was passing the time by reading in the garden. Books and Piano were what filled Catherine's days now, not that she minded of course.
On the contrary, she didn't feel as if she was going out of her mind anymore with the lack of things to do at the Blackwood estate.
I don't know how the other Catherine managed to do it, I mean this place doesn't even have a single board game for Christ's sake! Not even chess! What snooty Victorian mansion is complete without chess? Catherine shrugged to herself at the thought.
Not that she particularly liked chess, but it was yet more evidence that the Blackwoods were a truly miserable bunch.
Speaking of misery it was time for dinner, and if there was one thing she was getting fed up with around here it was supper time.
Stifling silence dotted with utterly benign conversations of various business acquisitions, gains, and losses. All while her father and her brother pretended like she wasn't there.
She much preferred the company of Elizabeth, but the dinner dates were confined to once a week. This wasn't a request of the duke, but Catherine figured it was best to err on the side of caution lest she lose the privilege.
Or even worse put Elizabeth's job at stake for some sort of perceived "slight" against the household, in the form of taking advantage of her mistress's kindness.
Catherine sighed, she got up from the cozy bench in the beautiful garden to make her way to the dreadful, oppressing, and downright vexing dining room.
Well it's not the room's fault, it's the company. Catherine thought as she made her way inside.
***
Catherine slowly ate her food. She wasn't that hungry in the first place, and the oppressive atmosphere wasn't improving her appetite.
Still, she knew better than to pick at her food. That behavior is not befitting of a regular person, let alone a noble.
The atmosphere in the room seemed even worse than normal. Even the sparse talks of business were not present.
This was on account of her brother. He was usually the one to start such conversations, however on this occasion he was silent.
Not only that, dour energy was emanating from him. He wasn't exactly a cheery person, but he kept up a persona of stoicism. So this wasn't exactly a good sign.
Suddenly the silence was broken by Arthur the III.
"Dearest sister," he said with a patronizing tone. "Tomorrow is your first day at the academy is it not?"
Catherine was caught off guard, and for good reason. Firstly the sudden break in the deathly silence would jar anyone. Secondly, during the entire tenure of her life as Catherine, her brother had regarded her presence with minimal interest. Never bothering to speak to her in a direct manner.
Finally, it was common knowledge that she started school tomorrow, and there was no conceivable way that he wouldn't know that, leaving Catherine to come to the correct conclusion that her brother was playing at something.
"Why yes of course I start school tomorrow," She said, barely hiding her contempt. "But shouldn't you already know that? I guess sticking your nose in ledgers all day has dulled your memory. Or perhaps you're just truly unobservant?"
Catherine wasn't going to play his little game. She'd always hated it when her superiors beat around the bush before sticking a knife in her. Now that she could, she would much rather choose to engage in a direct confrontation.
Her brother wasn't expecting that response, and telling by the look on his face it had deeply angered him.
"This is exactly what I needed to bring up tonight! You've been acting out as of late, and it needs to be corrected now!."
Catherine was utterly taken aback at this.
"I've been on my best behavior in years, and now is the time you want to start complaining about it!?."
Her brother seemed puzzled at this statement, leaving Catherine utterly astonished.
What the hell is this idiot thinking? How could he not have noticed that I haven't thrown a fit in the house since I got here?
His puzzled look ceased, he apparently finally figured out what Catherine had meant by what she said.
"While it's true your little 'outbursts' have ceased, you've replaced them with even more embarrassing behavior. Since you'll be representing the Blackwoods at the academy, it would be best if you changed your attitude lest you bring more shame to the family."
It was Catherine's turn to be utterly perplexed.
"Brother, may I ask what the hell you could possibly be talking about?"
He winced slightly at the expletive, even something as benign hell was considered to be a faux pas for a noble, especially if it was a lady.
"You know right well what I'm talking about!"
"No brother, I haven't the slightest clue."
"Well allow me to lay out your insolence plainly then." He said as he stood up.
"Your continued fraternization with commoners is deeply troubling. Frankly, it's a bad look for us!"
That was it? All this whining was over something as simple as that.
"You really are an idiot aren't you?" Catherine replied
This angered her brother even further.
"What did you say!"
"I said you're an idiot because you clearly are one!" It was Catherine's turn to stand up.
"You're about as idiotic as the rest of the nobles who'd swear on their life Elizabeth is one of them, only because she has a pretty dress and makeup!"
She waved her hand flippantly.
"So you needn't worry no one can actually tell the difference!"
Arthur looked as if he had been smacked in the face.
"You may have fooled them for now, but if it gets out that you're bringing nothing but a maid to dinner with you, what do you think people will say?"
Catherine rolled her eyes, "Who cares what people say? Besides, my reputation was already at rock bottom before now, and that only ever reflected poorly on me!
She pointed at her brother, "Why do you think it would affect your reputation now when it never has before?"
"Your reputation before…well, it was easy to dismiss. Divas aren't exactly unheard of, and most of your ire was directed at unimportant people anyway."
He paused for a moment, "Now it seems to be the opposite, Besides, it's not just Elizabeth you've interacted with. I've heard rumors of you treating commoners in a way that far outreaches their station."
"Unimportant people" really struck a nerve with Catherine. They were by far the most outgoing and helpful to her since arriving in this world. On top of that, it was a put down of not only her life as Claire but her mother Andrea as well.
Cahtreine's rage was boiling over and now she was practically screaming at her brother.
"Oh, what would you know? Those 'unimportant people' that you consider to be so lowly have had to work to get where they are in life. What have you done? What have you accomplished without our father spoon-feeding it to you?"
Catherine was fired up. She didn't miss a beat and her put down of Arthur's entire existence continued uninterrupted.
"You've had your entire life laid out for you, and you haven't had to lift so much as a finger! Even the lowest commoner would thrive in your position, and they'd probably do a better job too. No...I'd say you're about on par with that of an ape!"
Arthur was so red with anger his head could've been mistaken for a giant tomato, but he remained silent. He appeared to have no comeback to the verbal destruction of his character.
Catherine as far as she was concerned was through with dinner. Her brother's insolence had ruined her already small appetite. She turned to leave, but Arthur piped up once more, desperate to get one final dig in.
"Even if you refuse the rest of my advice, at the very least resume dyeing your hair! Your natural color is nothing but an unsightly blight."
Catherine's next movement was automatic. In one moment she had gripped her plate, and in the next, it was hurling towards her brother's head. Unfortunately, he dodged it at the last second and it crashed with a bang on the floor.
"You insolent filth! If you wanted to make an enemy of me, congratulations!" Catherine shouted.
Her brother stood like a statue, still in his semi-crouched "dodge position." It was clear to her he would make no reply.
Catherine turned to her father who had been completely silent up until this point. Too unsure of himself to butt into the affairs of his children.
"Father, I will be taking my dinner in my quarters with Elizabeth from here on out. Please inform the staff."
She turned and quickly exited the room. The dining room was once again completely silent.