The Ugly Stepsister (Unfinished Fairy Tales Book 1) (14 page)

“Kat!”

Poppy waves at me, a huge grin on her face. I wave back enthusiastically. Poppy’s presence always makes me feel less lonely or awkward.

Glad of an excuse not to meet any other people (for once, I share Bianca and Claire’s opinion of guys), I head over to her.

“How are you doing, Poppy?” I say. “I haven’t seen you in a while. Are you enjoying your Season so far?”

Poppy grins and pushes her bangs away from her forehead. “Positively spiffing. So many events to attend! I like most of them except the theater. I fell asleep during one attendance. Lord Westin must have thought me an utter rustic. I was ever so ashamed.”

“Don’t be,” I say automatically. “I find the theater awfully boring as well. I wish I could bring some coffee with me. I too ended up snoring in front of everyone.”

We share a laugh, and Poppy sighs and puts a hand on her forehead. “This all could have been good simple fun, if only Mama hadn’t told me I must look for a husband. I just want to enjoy myself instead of meeting every eligible man and wondering if I’m going to spend the rest of my life with him.”

“That sounds stressful,” I say. I can’t even fathom marriage at my age.

“Don’t you feel stressed as well?” Poppy says curiously. “Sorry to rub it in, but isn’t it hard on you when everyone’s attention is on your sister?”

I catch a glimpse of Bianca, who’s wearing this large hat filled with feathers and roses. On others it might look ridiculous, but Bianca makes it look fashionable. Beneath the hat, her long, swan-like neck is revealed. She usually doesn’t go without a necklace or pendant, but today her neck is completely bare—obviously she wants to show it off. And it’s working. Some love-struck admirer gravitates toward her like she’s a human-sized magnet.

“Nah, I don’t really care,” I say. “All I want is—” I stop myself from continuing with ‘to prevent her from getting in Elle’s way’.

Poppy waits expectantly.

“—a drink of water,” I finish lamely. “Isn’t it supposed to be spring? This temperature seems like summer to me already.”

I glance in the direction of the buffet table, which is set up near the pavilion. Several ladies and gentlemen are already helping themselves to cake and sandwiches.

Poppy grins. “If you’re feeling hot now, you’ll faint when it’s time to play.”

I realize she means croquet. Already a few servants are carrying balls and other kinds of equipment onto the lawn.

My heart sinks. Great, yet another chance to show off my clumsiness. I’m already shuffling with the dress Elle made me put on. The skirt isn’t as big as the one I wore for the court presentation, but it still reaches down to my ankles and puffs out in the back. I’m baffled how to sit down without squashing the mountain of lace and bows behind my bum, not to mention moving around the lawn. I mention this to Elle, tentatively, but she assures me that all ladies can play croquet in big dresses.

“I don’t know how to play.” I sure hope Katriona didn’t, or at least was a lousy player.

Poppy doesn’t take no for an answer. “I’ll teach you, don’t worry,” she says, taking my arm. “Come, they’re already measuring the distance between the hooks.”

I look around for any sign of the prince, but no luck. Only Duke Henry is present; the sun gleams off his curly hair. He’s talking to another man who’s wearing spectacles. Several girls cast glances at his way but none are bold enough to go up to him. I consider asking him if the prince will appear, but that could easily cause a misunderstanding.

“Kat? Where’re you looking at?” Poppy follows my gaze, and her eyes widen. “Oh my goodness! Do you fancy the duke?”

I quickly turn back to her and motion her to keep her voice down. “Of course not. I’m just curious who he is conversing with.”

“Probably one of the professors at the medical college,” Poppy says. “Claire tells me Duke Henry is one of the rare royals who actually bothers pursuing a profession. If you really like him, I’m sure he’s a worthy catch.”

“You can have him,” I laugh. As if I could marry someone in Story World. To get her off the topic, I start walking toward the croquet lawn. “Didn’t you want to play? Show me the rules.”

It turns out the rules aren’t complicated. All you have to do is hit the ball through a series of wooden hoops sunken into the lawn, using a long, old-fashioned golf club they call a mallet. The first player to get seven hoops out of thirteen in total is declared the winner.

But while the rules are simple, the skill required isn’t. Or at least, not to me. The first time I try to hit the ball, it’s a lot heavier than I thought, being completely made of solid wood, and it rolls like a snail for several inches. Everyone laughs. I try to laugh as well, but when my turn comes next, I’m determined that I won’t make the same mistake.

Poppy, on the other hand, excels in croquet. She executes each shot with amazing precision and power, like a pro. In two shots, she has already passed six hoops. One more, and she will win. If she’d been born in the modern world, I could imagine her becoming a professional golfer.

“Watch out, Davenport!” someone calls. “If you’re not careful, Miss Montgomery is going to blow your reigning position out of the water!”

Several men nearby start to snicker.

“Knock it off, Georgie,” a man responds. I don’t remember Bianca introducing him to me—from the checkered material of his shirt and his well-worn boots, I guess he isn’t that high up the social ladder. He darts a glance at Poppy and gives her a wide grin. “Unfortunately, Miss Montgomery, I do not believe in holding back for the fair sex. I shall endeavor in every way possible to keep you from challenging my undisputed reputation as Athelia’s croquet champion.”

Poppy arches her eyebrows. “Quit wasting our time, Mr. Davenport. I assure you I have no compunction for my opponents either, whether they be male or female.”

When my turn comes, I swing the mallet with all my strength. The end of the mallet connects with the ball with a sickening thud, and I’m horrified to see the ball sailing through the air in a perfect arc—please don’t let it hit anyone, except for Bianca’s awful hat—and it disappears behind a clump of trees and bushes.

Oh God. This is even worse.

Bianca, who is sitting in the pavilion with Claire, rolls her eyes heavenward. Claire’s mouth curves up in amusement.

“How am I going to play?” I whisper.

“You need to retrieve the ball and resume from the starting line,” Poppy whispers back, looking concerned. “I’ll go with you.”

“Don’t worry about me,” I say. “It’ll be your turn soon and you’ve been playing brilliantly. Unlike me, you can’t afford to lose. Beat that cocky Davenport, okay?”

In fact, I am rather glad to slip away from mocking glances and piteous looks. It’s no fun making a fool of yourself in front of a bunch of fashionable ‘ladies’ and ‘gentlemen’.

The bushes—particularly the huge rhododendron shrubbery—beyond the lawn are thick and tall. I don’t feel up to searching for the ball, but it belongs to the Fremont family. I should at least make an effort. I am attempting to eye every nook and cranny when something tugs on my bun. A low, leafy branch had found its way to my hair.

“Just my luck,” I mutter.

And then Krev appears. He’s actually hovering in thin air, cross-legged like a genie just out of the magic lamp.

“Krev!” I hiss. “Finally you’re here. Do you see the river?”

“I see everything.” Krev gives me a Cheshire Cat smile. “Let me guess…you want me to make Elle fall in that river? And then have the prince show up and rescue her?”

“Yeah, that’s the plan.” I give my hair a final tug and the part where it’s caught comes loose, curling round my neck in messy locks. “But to make it work, he has to show up first!”

Krev grins and winks. “Wait and see.”

FIFTEEN

“What?” I crane my neck. “Is he already here somewhere?”

There’s a sound of rustling from the bushes.

“Looking for something?”

Prince Edward emerges from a gentle slope that’s near the bushes. He carries my ball, which is covered with dirt and grass. So that’s where it went. While I braved the bushes, the ball rolled downhill. No wonder I couldn’t find it.

“Kat,” he says, inclining his head and offering a grin. His eyes crinkle with amusement as he holds out the ball. “I assume this is yours?”

“Edward.” I manage an ungraceful curtsy. “Yes, that’s mine. Thank you.”

I take the ball, and for a second his fingers brush over mine. Electricity sizzles through me—something that feels like electricity anyway. I quickly cradle the ball and look away, my heart fluttering like a dove.

Krev is bouncing in the air, pantomiming a lovesick girl swooning. I make a face at him before turning back to Edward.

“Did you just arrive?”

“I was invited to tour the Fremont greenhouse.” He gives a wry grin. “Though I made their gardener swear to secrecy about my arrival.”

Oh. And I thought he was here for the croquet party. I don’t know why, but for a fleeting second, I feel disappointed.

Edward fishes a golden watch from his pocket and flips it open. He’s wearing a dark shirt with the first two buttonholes undone. Bits of dirt are smudged on his cuffs—evidence that he has been doing some gardening. “I should be leaving.”

No!

“Hang on—I mean, will you tarry a second? The first game is nearly over, but they’re going to play at least several rounds.” At least that is what Poppy told me. “Take my place; you can’t be worse than me.” Besides, his presence alone is enough. He can knock his ball into a tree and still be admired for it.

His lip curls. “You wish me to stay?”

Why does he have to phrase it like I’m one of his lovesick fans?

“My sister will kill me if you don’t,” I blurt out. Here’s another opportunity to badmouth Bianca so she won’t be in Elle’s way. “She’s crazy about you. She writes Queen Bianca all over her diaries. You can’t deprive her of the excellent opportunity to meet you.”

He doesn’t seem to hear me. Instead, he points at my hair. “You might want to take care of that first.”

First he catches me barefoot in the palace gardens, and now with my hair in a mess. Great.

Since there’s no way I can fix it on my own, I just tug on the ribbons until all my hair cascades down my back. I fumble for a brush, but I’ve nothing but a lacy handkerchief and a vial of perfume in my pocket. So I finger comb my hair hurriedly, smoothing out the snarls and tangles. My hair’s still wild and unruly, but at least I don’t look like an idiot with half of my hair hanging loose while the other half is perfectly coiffed.

I look up, only to find the prince staring at me. Something in his gaze makes my cheeks flame.

I grit my teeth and look away. “Just come along, okay?” Then I mouth instructions to Krev and race off toward the lawn, taking an indirect route and looking back only once to make sure that Edward is following. I don’t want it to look like I’m accompanying him, or Bianca will kill me.

A squeal rises up from the lawn, followed by a dozen more. It’s like a mega rock star has descended. If this were the modern world, I would expect most of the girls in the croquet party to surround Edward and beg for his autograph. I almost feel sorry for the prince as I return to the garden, trying to walk as slowly as possible. On a sudden idea, I unfasten my emerald brooch and slip it into my pocket. Time to carry out my nefarious plan.

When I approach the pavilion, both Claire and Bianca are absent. So are all the other women. Only a gray-haired old lady sits at the table, crocheting a dainty white baby dress. Claire had introduced her as Lady Gregory, an eccentric aunt of Lord Mansfield, who is another prominent member of the aristocracy. Lady Bradshaw once told Bianca that if she couldn’t catch the prince, Lord Mansfield’s nephew wouldn’t make a bad second choice.

“Would you like to sit down?” she says, patting the seat next to her.

“Um, no. I’ve got to find my maid, Elle.” I give her a description of Elle, and Lady Gregory nods. “That lovely young girl with honey-blonde hair? Over by the rose bushes, dearie.”

“Thanks.” I curtsy briefly and hurry off.

Before I reach Elle, I glance at the lawn. Only Poppy, Mr. Davenport, and a few others remain in the game.

“All right, Mr. Davenport,” Poppy calls, brandishing her mallet as though it’s a weapon. I hardly recognize her; she has transformed into a woman on the warpath. “Let’s see if you can beat this.” And she hits the ball in a powerful sweep, knocking Mr. Davenport’s ball into a ditch.

Wow. Not only has she advanced her own ball, but she has effectively crippled her opponent’s ball. I’m tempted to holler “Go Poppy!” and do a cheerleader dance.

But I’ve no time to dwell on the game. I find Elle and pretend to look frustrated.

“Elle, can you help me look for my emerald brooch? It seems to have fallen off while I went looking for my ball.”

“That emerald brooch Madam gave you on your birthday?”

It was a birthday present? “Um…yes.”

Elle looks as worried as though she lost the brooch. “Certainly, Miss Katriona. Where might you have misplaced it?”

I tilt my head and pretend to think. “I found my ball near the river. It could be somewhere on the bank.”

She bows her head and leaves.

I have an absurd desire to laugh—to think I am actually acting like an evil stepsister. A few minutes later, I think I hear a tiny splash.

Krev must have done his job. I head toward the river, and sure enough, there is Elle in the middle of the waters, coughing and spluttering. The river is shallow enough that it only reaches her shoulders. I mutter an apology and run back to the croquet lawn.

Edward is still surrounded by fawning women, all of them cooing or giggling or batting their eyelashes. Yeah, he is definitely the fairytale version of a rock star.

I halt in my tracks. I’ve gotten a lot bolder but I don’t have the courage to yell across the lawn. But if I don’t act fast, Elle will have hauled herself out of the river. All my painfully engineered efforts will be lost.