The return of Rose. Spoilers ahead for Rose.
She has resigned herself to learning magic but refuses to give up being the second housemaid and getting paid. Meanwhile, it snows. In October. And keeps on snowing. And doesn't melt, and the river freezes.
The events of Rose have people saying nasty things about what magicians are capable of and how they should be registered. And spite and vandalism abounds.
And Isabella has to go to the castle to visit the two youngest princesses, though she doesn't like it. For one thing, they have just bread and butter, not cake or anything fancy, because Princess Jane doesn't like. Though she's going to bring Freddie and Rose her next visit, since they can do magic. Except when they visit, things go oddly. When Freddie observes they've lost the princess, the guards react strongly: not true at all, and treasonable to boot.
And when Mr. Fountain has to stay at the palace, things really pick up to get them involved. It involves snow globes, reading The Frog Princess, playing with a dollhouse, trying to make eyes blue and hair long and blond with glamours, a Frost Fair with an elephant at it, and much more.