Banished: Book 1 of The Grimm Laws (21 page)

“That was some kiss,” Josselyn hooted.

“Oh, why don’t you just shut up? You couldn’t get a boyfriend if your life depended on it, that’s why you slink around, trying to destroy my relationships.”

Josselyn’s eyes went wide. “How dare you!” She clenched her fists to her side and wailed, “Mother! Make her stop!”

Sera looked like she could spit fire. She pointed at Elle. “As of right now, you are grounded, young lady. You are going to keep your smart butt in this room all weekend. Now what do you have to say about that?”

“I have to go to work tomorrow.” Her eyes met Sera’s in a challenge. “And you and I both know that my dad will be furious with you if you cause me to lose my job.”

Sera’s jaw started working and her eyes went wild. Elle halfway feared that she would slap her, but Sera managed to gain control of herself. “You don’t want to tangle with me,” she said, her voice menacing. “Out of respect for your father, you will go to work and nowhere else.”

“Fine.”

“Oh, and in case you’re wondering, I will have that little talk with Rush’s mother.” She shot Elle a triumphant look. “And you and I both know that’s not going to end well.”

Elle just glared at her. How she hated that horrible woman! After they left, she lay back on the bed and reached for the box of chocolate, clutching it to her chest. She pressed her eyes together tightly and let the hot tears fall. She shouldn’t have kissed Rush, she knew that. Even so, for one tiny moment everything had felt right. Her skin had burned under his touch. He’d awoken feelings within her that she didn’t know existed. And no one, not even Sera, could take that away from her.

C
inderella clutched
her gown in her fists and began pacing back and forth in front of the stable outside of Rushton’s modest home—a home that looked like a peasant’s cruck house in comparison to her own lavish home that was located a mere a stone’s throw from the castle walls. There was a time when she’d thought that Rushton and the Lady Wisteria were wealthy in comparison to her own humble circumstances, but life within the palace was quickly making her tastes more discriminating. “Why are ye being so unreasonable about this? Prince Edward chose me as his maiden to fight for during the tournament. You were there. You saw the whole thing. I did nothing to entice him.” She clenched and unclenched her fists. “To refuse him would’ve been …” she shuddered and went pale “… unthinkable.” She stopped and looked at him, a pained expression on her heart-shaped face. “Rushton, I prithee, what else could I have done?”

She looked like a vision in her pink, satin gown with the tiny flowers embroidered around the waist. He hated himself for causing her pain, but the hot poker of jealousy was wedged deep in his heart, burning him alive. After what he had seen the night before, he had to be sure that he could trust her.

Rushton shook his head and sat down on a bale of hay. “I don’t know,” he admitted, rubbing a hand across his forehead. “I saw how you looked at him during the victory dance.” He gave her an accusing look. “Thou were enjoying it too much, I think. Do not try and deny it, for I know thee too well.”

She let out an incredulous laugh. “Well, of course I enjoyed the dance. Ye know I love to dance, but that didn’t have anything to do with Edward.”

His head shot up. “Edward? So, now you’re on a first-name basis?”

She gave him a stricken look. “Rushton, this is madness! Surely, thou art not jealous.” She stopped. “You are.”

His eyes met hers. “Tell me, fair lady, do I have a reason to be jealous?” He’d managed to speak the words lightly enough, but there was no masking the dark emotions that were churning within.

She got a peculiar look on her face and then walked over to where a cluster of daisies was growing beside the stable. She bent down and plucked one and went to his side, holding it out to him. “Please accept this daisy as a token of my undying affection for thee.”

He blew out a breath and then reluctantly took it. “That’s not fair,” he muttered. He’d given her the daisy when they first met, and now it had become the symbol of their love. She clasped her hands over his. “I came to the castle for one reason—you!” Her hand went to his head, and she started twirling a dark curl around her finger. “You know me, Rushton.” She cupped her hands around his face and lifted it to hers. “I love you, Squire Rushton Porter—and only you.”

She looked so sincere. How easy it would be to take her into his arms. To believe the words that were coming out of her mouth, but his mother—curse her—had put suspicion into his heart, and try as he might, he could not root it out. He reluctantly pulled away from her touch. “But the Prince can give thee so much more than I can. You could be a princess, living in the castle …” His eyes met hers. “Is that not what you want?”

She shook her head. “Of course I like nice things, but not at the expense of us.” She gave him a look of reproof. “Dost thou know me so little?”

He put down the daisy and caught hold of her arms and shook her. “You want to know what is wrong? I’ll tell thee! Last night, I saw you strolling with Edward in the courtyard!”

She rocked back. “Y-you were spying on me?”

“I was watching out for you! There’s a difference.”

Tears filled her eyes. “Rushton, I can explain … Edward had asked me repeatedly to take a stroll with him. I had refused him twice already and dared not risk refusing him a third time. And Seraphina … ”

His eyes went hard. “What about Seraphina?”

“She insisted that I go. She thinks that if I will form an alliance with Edward then perhaps Josselyn may have a chance to win his favor. I was only paving the way for Josselyn, you see.”

“Art thou really so daft?”

Blotches of red started rising up her neck through the delicate lace of her collar. “What do you mean?”

“Josselyn has no more chance of winning Edward’s affection than a goat! Seraphina is no fool. She is not trying to capture Edward for Josselyn! She is trying to capture him for you, so that she can worm her way into the castle. She is using you, Cinderella, the way she always has.”

“Nay.” Cinderella shook her head. “Thou art mistaken, Rushton. I know Seraphina and I have had our differences, but she has changed. Things are better now. My father left us penniless and heavily in debt. She did the best that she could under the circumstances, she clothed and fed me … gave me a roof over my head.” Her voice broke. “She is the only family that I have.”

He could hardly believe his ears. Why was Cinderella defending the very woman that had treated her so abominably? He had to make her understand what was happening. “You are talking to me, remember? I was there, Cinderella. I saw how she treated you. The lowliest of servants were treated better than you. Do not insult me by trying to rewrite history!”

“Do not insult me by insulting my family!” she countered hotly.

“Would you listen to yourself? Thou canst not possibly believe that Seraphina has thy good interest at heart.” He stopped as a terrible thought struck him. It sliced through his gut, nearly leaving him breathless. Perhaps this wasn’t about Seraphina. Perhaps Cinderella was using Seraphina as an excuse. “Is this your way of rationalizing your association with Edward?”

Her face fell. “That’s not fair!” There was a panicked look in her eyes.

Anguish twisted his gut. He could see the guilt written on her face. His mother was right! She was an opportunist that had used him to better her situation, and now that she’d turned the head of the prince, she was leaving him in the dust. He stood. “I was a fool to ever trust you!” The anger welling inside him was ripping him to shreds. He had to get away from her so that he could sort this thing out. He needed to be alone to think. Besides that, there was something he needed to do—something that would permanently remove Cinderella from Edward’s reach.

Tears started flowing down her cheeks. “You don’t mean that, Rushton.”

He started walking away.

“Rushton!” she called after him. “Don’t walk away from me! Rushton!” she screamed. He kept walking until he couldn’t hear her anymore.

C
inderella let
out a sob and crumpled onto the bail of hay. Why was he being so unreasonable? Surely he could see that she loved him. Admittedly, it had been nice to have the attention of the Prince, but Rushton had her heart. A lifetime of experiences couldn’t be erased by a single dance or stroll in the courtyard. If only she could make him understand.

“There, there, it cannot be as bad as all of that.”

Cinderella’s breath caught as she looked up to see Wisteria standing over her. Embarrassed to have been caught weeping, she pulled her handkerchief from out of her bodice and began dabbing the corners of her eyes. “I’m sorry, Mi’ Lady. I’m afraid thou hast caught me unaware.”

Wisteria sat down beside her. “I’m afraid my son can be as stubborn as that old mule in the fence over there.”

Cinderella just shook her head as the tears started again. “You heard all of that?”

Wisteria nodded. She put a hand on Cinderella’s arm. “One thing you have to know about Rushton is that he’s a warrior. He’s hot-tempered and impetuous. And often says things that he does not mean.”

“Tell me something I don’t know.”

“His father died when he was a baby, and he has grown up having to fight for everything that matters. Fighting is all that he knows.”

“He thinks I don’t love him.”

Wisteria searched her face. “Do you?”

“Yes, I love him. I love him with all of my heart. I’ve loved him since I was a little girl—since that first day he rescued me from those horrid boys and offered me a daisy.” She looked at Wisteria, her eyes glistening with tears. “He is my best friend, and I don’t want to lose him. The only reason I even came to the castle was because Rushton wanted me to. I never asked for Edward’s affection. Thou must believe me … please.”

Wisteria eyed her skeptically. “Many a maiden would give anything to gain the attention of a prince. And not only is Edward a prince but he is also handsome, brave, charming … rich. It would only be natural for a beautiful young maiden like thee to be flattered by his attentions.”

Cinderella’s eyes went wide. “I—I was flattered,” she stammered, “but I do not love him! I love Rushton!” Her voice rose. “Why won’t anyone believe me when I say that I love him?”

Wisteria lifted an eyebrow. “Love can be as fleeting as the drops of dew that give way to the rising sun each morning.”

“Not my love,” Cinderella countered, her jaw tight.

Wisteria gave her a long look as if she were deciding whether or not to believe her. Finally, she pressed her lips together into a thin line. “You love my son.”

“Yea!” Cinderella’s heart lifted. If she could convince Wisteria of her feelings then perhaps she could convince Rushton as well. “Yea, I love him with all of my heart.”

They sat silently for a moment until Wisteria spoke. “Okay, here’s what we’re going to do. I’m going to make us something for the evening meal. I—
we
—will have a talk with Rushton, and we will convince him of thy devotion.”

“But Rushton left, and I don’t know where he went.”

Wisteria gave her a wise smile. “I know my son, and I have a pretty good idea where he went. I’ll find him … leave that to me.” She cocked her head and looked sideways at Cinderella. “There is something I need thee to do for me.”

“Anything.”

“I need a couple of items from the marketplace. Couldst thou get them for me while I go and find Rushton?”

“Sure, I’ll get whatever ye need,” Cinderella said eagerly.

“Great.” She pulled a folded piece of parchment from her bodice and handed it to Cinderella. “Give this to the old woman at the herb stand, and tell her that I sent thee.”

“Okay.”

Wisteria picked up the daisy that Rushton had left laying on the hay. She held it up for inspection and gave Cinderella a questioning look. “A daisy? Why not something more romantic like a rose or a lily?”

She chuckled. “I know it’s simple, but that daisy represents a thousand words—a thousand feelings—my undying love for thy stubborn son.”

“Here, allow me.” Wisteria picked the straw from Cinderella’s hair and smoothed down her blonde tresses. Then she tucked the daisy into the tight braid that was wound around the crown of her head. She stood back and admired her handiwork. “Now … you look perfect. Even Rushton will be impressed.”

Tender emotion welled in Cinderella’s breast as she looked at the mother of the man she loved. “Thank you,” she said softly, touching Wisteria’s arm. “Rushton is lucky to have thee … as am I.”

Wisteria acknowledged the compliment with a nod. “Go,” she said gruffly, “and hurry so that thou wilt make it back by the evening bell.”

E
dward pulled
his hood closer up around his neck in order to hide his face. He had replaced his royal blue tunic and surcoat with a plain-spun brown tunic and shorter jacket, more in keeping with a commoner. His nerves were wound up tightly, and his palms clammy. Even so, he forced himself to walk casually between the stands and stalls of the merchants selling their wares.

“Would the young man care to try some delicious figs?” A middle-aged woman held out her hand to him. She smiled, revealing missing teeth.

He shook his head, “Nay.”

“How about some juicy apples then? Picked them fresh today.”

He gave her a curt bow and stepped back, pulling his cloak tighter around himself. “Nay, Mi’ Lady, nothing today,” he said holding up a hand in a farewell gesture.

She scowled. “Be gone with thee, beggar.”

A burst of anger flared over him. It was astonishing how quickly the woman had turned on him. He was not accustomed to such ill treatment. For a fleeting moment, Edward thought about what the woman would do if he were to reveal his true identity, but his annoyance was a small trifle in comparison to his objective. According to the Sorceress Griselda, it was on this evening, before sunset, that he would rescue his true love—a damsel in distress—in this very marketplace. He glanced up at the afternoon sun. A trickle of perspiration rolled between his shoulder blades. He didn’t have much time before the sun set. Where was that damsel in distress? Where was his true love? He’d arrived at the marketplace a little after midday and had been aimlessly wandering ever since. What if the Sorceress had been wrong? What if she had tricked him in order to get the coins? He laughed inwardly at himself. He was a prince, bred from birth to face insurmountable foes—taught to squelch his fears and to conquer at all costs, and he was falling apart simply because he was about to meet his true love. Perhaps the Sorceress was wrong. Perhaps he’d already met her. So taken was he with Cinderella that he’d fleetingly considered not coming to the marketplace at all. Cinderella was everything he could ever want in a bride—beautiful, charming, polite. And yet there was something about her that was as reticent and skittish as a newly folded colt. Whenever he was around her, he got the feeling that she was holding something back, but what? This was not the time to be thinking about Cinderella. He must put all thoughts of her behind him, as he’d done with his past love. Today was a day for hope. Today was a day for the future. He was a prince, destined to be king, and he needed to find a bride that he could love—a bride that he could adore. Anyone would be better than the dreaded Helsin. He shuddered at the thought of the man-bride his father had selected for him—all for the sake of some treaty.

He walked past an older man and his daughter selling knives, swords, daggers, and other forms of weaponry. The old man held out a dagger, catching Edward’s attention. He reached for it. “May I?”

The man nodded. Edward took the dagger from him and held it up for inspection, the metal shimmering in the afternoon sun. It was made of the finest steel. The hilt was crafted out of strong wood that was wrapped in buckskin, and the grip fit well in his hand.