The Wronged Princess - Book I (17 page)

“
Oui
, he does,” Faustine agreed
. 
“I caught a quick glimpse of two of them in the gardens this morning
. 
He did not recognize her.
”
She shot her sister a smug grin
. 
“My little atmosphere ehancing spells are working admirably.”

“My goodness,” Thomasine gasped, startled
. 
“This morning?”

“Well, with a little help,” she chuckled
. 
“Ironically, they were standing in front of that ridiculous statue of Eros
discussing…” She dropped into
a
dramatic
mimicry of Prince, “…
the personification of love in all its manifestations’ or some such dribble.
”

Thomasine’s eyebrows lifted at that.

“It occurs to me,” Thomasine murmured, “
our efforts are veering in the right direction
. 
Now
. 
W
e
must
maneuver the situation
further
where ‘our mysterious princess’ is included in these farce of activities
. 
But in a way that does not give way our
scheme
to the ambitious Hilda.
”
She frowned adding, “Not to mention the poor child who is expecting to actually
marry
my son.”

“That does appear to be a dilemma,” Faustine conceded.

Chapter
12

Breathless and acutely aware that young ladies did not go dashing about the countryside in such an unladylike manner, Cinderella halted at Esmeralda’s
tug
on her arm
,
slowing the two to a
fast
walk.

“
I believe the
prince
may have a tender for you
, Cinderella?”
Esmeralda
blurted
.

“W-what?
”
Cinderella
waited for her stepsister to pinch her arm, berate her in fury, gouge her eyes out…

“Was that not a kiss he touched upon your lips?” she
asked
, softly.

Cinderella stopped and faced he
r
, d
etermined to
brave
the consequences of her unladylike comportment
. 
“
Oui,
” she confessed, closing her eyes ready for the sting upon her cheek.

“Was it so very nice?”

Cinderella opened her eyes and met Esmeralda’s gaze, stunned by what she saw: genuine curiosity
. 
Cinderella nodded
. 
“
Oui,”
she whispered.

“I’m somewhat terrified of the circumstance in which I find myself.
”
Esmeralda’s
admission surprised her
. 

Guilt clogged her throat
. 
“
Je suis desole,
Esmeralda
. 
I took liberties—”

A lengthy silence ensued before Esmeralda professed, “You took no liberties that I witnessed
. 
He
kissed you.
”
Esmeralda grabbed her hand
. 
“Come
. 
We must
make haste
.
”
They slipped into the castle by way
of
Cinderella’s previous escape route
. 

The door closed as quietly as expected
. 
Just as they lifted their skirts for a quick dash to Cinderella’s chamber, she froze in her steps.

Stepmamá
barged into the hallway clearly having just alighting from Cinderella’s bedchamber, followed by her miniature replica
. 
Pricilla
. 

The same scowls marred their mouths
. 
Lips pressed, brows drawn, and eyes flashing
. 
It was quite remarkable
. 
Comical
,
in fact
. 
Had Cinderella not been at the mercy of their wrath for so many years she would have laughed at the picture before her
. 
She wanted to draw herself up in bold defiance
. 
She’d almost told Prince who she was, but for Esmeralda’s untimely interruption
. 

She dare not take the chance right now
,
Stepmamá
could be quite cruel
. 
True, her cruelty mostly consisted of words
. 
But early on, Cinderella quickly
learned
Stepmamá
would not hesitate to drive her point home with physical action
. 
Warranted or not.

Fear rooted her in
to
place
. 

Esmeralda’s
shrew
d
glance
fed her courage
. 
Taking a deep breath, Cinderella moved forward with an unnatural and determined resolve
. 
“
Stepmamá
, you were looking for me?” She fought against the tremble but was unable to mask all of the fear in her voice
. 
A stir in the air indicated Esmeralda’s eyes had picked up their pace
. 

Tension emanated throughout the wide corridor.

“Oh,
oui
,
ma chére
,”
Stepmamá
began.

Cinderella was taken aback by her pleasant tone, but she’d already identified the evil in her expression
. 
Stepmamá
advanced toward her like a large cat bent on attack
. 
She was here to thrash her, but good
. 
The ‘why’ would not matter.

But, by the grace of God, and miracle of all miracles, colossal relief assaulted her in a commotion commencing just beyond
Stepmamá
’s
broad shoulders
. 
Both
Stepmamá
and her clone whipped about sharply,
dipping
into deep curtsies as Queen Thomasine made her way toward their small entourage
. 
Cinderella and Esmeralda quickly followed suit
. 

With a wave of her hand, Queen Thomasine said, “
R
ise, rise
,
sil vous plait
.
”
To Hilda, “My dear,
i
t has occurred to me you and your daughters might enjoy an informal tour of the Royal Portrait Gallery
. 
It has been some time since I myself have toured that wing of the castle and would very much enjoy conducting you through the gallery
,
as you will become family soon enough.
”

Cinderella tried to hold back her gasp
. 
Without much luck, however
. 
The queen was offering a tour to
Stepmamá
and her stepsisters,
personally
. 
Only the sight of Esmeralda’s open mouth had Cinderella snapping hers shut
. 
She shrank back
. 
This would not include her, of course. The candlelight in the sconces flickered wildly.

Stepmamá
drew herself up to an unprecedented height, the skin beneath her chin wriggling like a small animal
. 
“That…that would be lovely, your majesty
. 
Pricilla? Esmeralda?” she
g
asped
. 
Stepmamá’s
gaze swept to each
. 
They both
nodded
their
assent
s
, eyes wide, no words spilling forth
.
Her gaze raked over
Cinderella in acute displeasure
. 
An expression Cinderella knew Queen Thomasine could not see from her vantage point
. 
She flinched at the
silent assault
. 

The awkwardness of the moment became palpable
. 
She had best be prepared to pay for this infraction later
. 
An infraction inferred by her very presence
. 
Because, although
Stepmamá
had never actually admitted that Cinderella was her stepdaughter,
’
t
would be nothing but social
disaster
were they to find she had blatantly slighted one under her own care
. 
Cinderella had a feeling Queen Thomasine’s vehement approval would be for naught
. 
An unforgiveable
fau
x
pas
. 
However, one never
knew where Royalty stood o
n these smaller domestic matters.

To Cinderella’s absolute amazement, Esmeralda
stepped
forward
. 
She
rose to her graceful height, chin slightly tilted in a most…defiant manner
. 
An intense
charge simmered
. 
Cinderella felt
lightheaded
as a
twirl of stars seemed to swim above her head
. 

“This is our oth…other sister, Cinderella,” Esmeralda stuttered to
the q
ueen
. 

Oh
non
. 
No. no. no
. 
Cinderella started shaking her head back and forth in abject denial stepping back
. 
She would not be invisible with that statement and neither would Esmeralda after this brave stance
. 
Stepmamá
would
kill her
. 
If not Esmeralda, t
hen most certainly Cinderella.

“Our st-st-stepsister,” she corrected, when
Stepmamá’s
direct gaze
seared
her
. 

“Ah, excellent,” Queen Thomasine responded without surprise
. 
She bestowed
a genial smile on Esmeralda
. 

Cinderella gained her own bit of courage watching Queen Thomasine closely
. 
She noted a small tilt to her lips and slight inclination of her head. The queen turned that piercing glimpse to her
. 

“Of course, my dear
. 
You shall join us as well.
”
Cinderella felt her face flame as her gazed blazed over her patched, worn clothing
. 
“
I am certain you will want to change clothes from your walk in the gardens this morning.
”

Cinderella
swallowed with an audible gulp
. 
How had she known about
that
?
Had she seen him kiss her
?
Oh, saints
!
The prince
kissed
her
. 

Then reality gripped her insides with rising
panic
. 
She had no clothes to change into
!

But Queen Thomasine had already shifted
her attention
to
Stepmamá
with a benign smile. “Shall we meet in the Grand Hall, Madame
?
Twenty minutes, say?
”
She did not wait for an answer
. 
With a sweep of her full skirts, she made a magnificent exit
. 
The swirl of stars seemed inclined to linger in the air.

Alas, they were not out of the woods yet
. 
As Queen Thomasine veered from view and earshot,
Stepmamá
turned
on
Esmeralda
. 
Venom spewed
from her
,
accented with sprayed spital,
terrifying Cinderella for Esmeralda’s very life
. 
It was a wonder Cinderella knees did not collapse from their quaking
.