The Wronged Princess - Book I (18 page)

“Ple…please,
Stepmamá
,” Cinderella stammered
. 
“Es..Es…Esmeralda meant no…no…
harm…
”
her voice trailed in a begged whisper.

“Enough
. 
Cinderella,
” she
hissed
, her furious gaze still on Esmeralda
. 
“
There will be plenty of
time to deal with you later,”
she spat
. 
“At the moment, we’ve
no choice.
”
Her voice took on the cold vicious tone
with which Cinderella
was more familiar
. 
Hands fisted at her large hips, foot tapping the heavy carpet, she demanded of Esmeralda,
“What do you propose we do for clothes for her,
my daughter
?”

“
I
shall find
something suitable,
M
amá
,” she stammered.

“
Oui
, darling,” she snarled
. 
“You will be sharing your wardrobe
, since you are the one who saw fit to arrange this idiocy!
” She turned on her heel and stormed away, muttering
. 
“
Is it not enough that I have to contend your other afflictions
?
Now this?
”
Her tirade ended on a shriek
. 

Cinderella met Esmeralda’s fast blinking eyes and knew at once something important and quite remarkable had just occurred between them
. 

Esmeralda snatched Cinderella’s hand and led a wide birth round
S
tepmamá
and a shocked Pricilla whose dropped jaw had not yet closed
. 

They were careful not to run.

*****

Cinderella gazed around in awe as Queen Thomasine guided their small assembly down a corridor much wider than even the one where her bedchamber
was located
. 
Luxurious Oriental rugs in deep rich reds and greens topped shiny waxed wood floors
. 
Heavy velvet draperies lined large beveled windows arching to the ceiling, reaching the very sky
. 

The walk to the Royal Portrait Gallery took them through the most eastern wing of the castle by entry of the Grand Hall
. 
Cinderella was hard pressed to keep up as curiosity had her entranced by brilliant landscapes and still life paintings that lined the halls between the spaced windows
. 

Detail in the shapes of angelic cherubs with wings hovering above the tallest trees and over sheer and realistic waterfalls, made her fingers itch to hold a pencil
. 
She did not even possess a talent for sketching
. 
It was not long before they entered a vast room adorned with life sized portraits
. 
Natural light filled the chamber where the windows bore no coverings and yet remained free of dust
. 

Queen Thomasine entertained them with spectacular tales of
the k
ing’s rise to power in their tiny
k
ingdom of Chalmers hidden in the depths of the Pyrenees Mountains
. 
She spoke of a proud heritage and the tragedy in which
His Majesty
had been in line for his own small dominion within the Portuguese borders
. 

Cinderella, unable to help herself, whispered, “What happened?”

“It is a sad tale, indeed,” she said softly.

“Cinderella,”
Stepmamá
snapped
. 
“How dare you address the queen with such a question.”

“
’Tis
quite alright, madam.
”
The queen spoke in that calm resolve Cinderella was learning to recognize
. 
She turned stark vivid blue eyes on Cinderella
. 
Eyes that still reflected long ago pain
. 
“War had broken out and the entire empire was seized by the Spaniards.”

Esmeralda and Pricilla’s gasps united with Cinderella’s.

The queen cleared her throat delicately
. 
“We prevailed, of course.
”
Then, continued
. 
“
He was s
uch a young child he was when it all took place.
”
She shook her head, obvious in her memorable sorrow
. 
“Close family friends hid him away in France at the age of two.”

“Two!
”
All three girls sounded together.

“
Oui
. 
Until his sixth year when his
grandmamá
was safely able to reclaim him
. 
Unfortunately, his parents had perished in the Siege.”

Enthralled, Cinderella could not imagine the fear of such a young child being stripped from the bosom of his family, too young to understand the dynamics surrounding him. She
dashed a tear from her cheek, embarrassed by her show of emotion
. 

At once aware of
Stepmamá’s
piercing
scowl
,
and fell back a step
. 
She carefully pasted on her
usual
blank expression.

“It was at that time our marriage was contracted.”

“Contracted?” Esmeralda
exclaimed weakly
.

“
Oui.
A condition not so uncommon,” she smiled
. 
“As you can see, it has not been an unhappy life
. 
Ours was the family who sequestered him, you see.”

Despite
Stepmamá’s
impending presence, Cinderella found herself
captivated
as Queen Thomasine moved from the king’s poignant past to describing in detail who was whom and how each member related to the royal family tree
. 

Cinderella made a wide skirt round Esmeralda careful to maintain a reasonable distance.
’
Twould not do to raise suspicion of their newfound, albeit, tentative
relationship
. 
She was encouraged, however, by their managed occasional eye contact
. 
Cinderella caught an amused enlightenment in the twitch of
Esmeralda
’s lips
. 
Her eyes
never
flutter
ed
, even once.

Stepmamá
’s suspicious glare in
Esmeralda
’s direction was disturbing
. 
Having included Cinderella as a sister did not serve in
Stepmamá’s
grand scheme of things, and she was afraid
Esmeralda
would pay dearly for these efforts on her behalf.

Cinderella paused before the last picture to admire her beloved prince
. 
The artist had portrayed him somewhere in the vicinity of his fourteenth year
. 
He had cleverly captured the mischievous glint about the mouth and eyes
. 
Not unlike what she’d witnessed this very morn
. 
She smiled at the unruly black hair hanging over his brow in its familiar fashion
. 

Unlike the other portraits in the gallery where the subjects were featured in straight-backed chairs and dark background, this picture presented
her
prince posing in the outdoors with a dog at his feet
. 
His grace and nobility were quite evident, even at such a young age.

Her hand drifted over her chest
. 
She felt he could see right into her heart
. 
From the corner of her eye she registered Esmeralda’s puzzled gaze
. 
She looked about and started at
Stepmamá’s
suspicious study
. 
Cinderella’s hand dropped abruptly and she made of show of meandering among the other portraits
. 
She could feel the ice cold ire of Pricilla’s gaze on her back.

Queen Thomasine continued as if nothing were amiss
. 
Cinderella watched her smile fondly at the portrait as she explained. “When my son marries, a new p
ortrait will be commissioned, of course, to hang in this gallery
. 
One
with his new bride.
”
Her gaze fell on Esmeralda, whose eyes started to flicker wildly under the unexpected scrutiny
. 
The small updraft in the high-ceilinged chamber was unmistakable.

Just as quickly Queen Thomasine maneuvered her attention to Cinderella, and said, “I am overjoyed to see you feeling better, my dear
. 
You shall join us for supper tonight then.
”
It was not a request.

There was no need to guess at
Stepmamá’s
sudden anger
. 
A wonder the mythical gods did not erupt in a violent blast of red heat fueled by the brisk gust of
Esmeralda
’s eyes
. 
An anger that filled the chamber evidenced in her direction to Cinderella, “If you are certain you are amiable,
darling
?
”
The menace poured
from her, frightening
. 

Completely intimidated, Cinderella opened her mouth to reply but Queen Thomasine stepped forward stifling her response.

“Of course you are, dear
. 
We shall hear no more about it.
”
She pat
ted
her shoulder with undue fortitude and continued with the tour.

Cinderella closed her mouth feeling oddly protected by Queen Thomasine’s reassuring manner
. 
Cinderella would remain forever grateful for the kindness she’d shown
. 

No matter what the future held.

Chapter
13

Merciful heavens, Thomasine had no idea what had possessed her to invite Hilda to her private sitting room
. 
The sacrifices one made for one’s children
. 
Well, it was
magnanimous, to be sure
. 

Through lowered lashes she observed the beastly woman
. 
How she took
in the rich comforting opulence
. 
H
ow she must itch to take her rightful place in the household once her hopes of Esmeralda snagg
ing
Prince came to fruition
. 
Hah
.
Not bloody likely
.

But, of course, Thomasine sat quietly, courteously sipping her tea
. 
Smiling in polite repose in all the appropriate places as Hilda prattled on incessantly
over
Esmeralda’s unfortunate red locks and Pricilla’s beautiful pale blond
. 
Good lord, did the woman never take a breath?

“
Oui,
M
adam
, they are beautiful young women,” Thomasine agreed
. 
Or could be with a slight attitude adjustment, she amended.
Though, in retrospect, the child Esmeralda had stepped up in her estimation
. 
If Prince had not fallen so for his mysterious princess, Thomasine would actually have to admit a preference for batty-eyed Esmeralda.

“My beloved girls have many, many accomplishments
. 
Why, dear Esmeralda is a supreme embroiderer, has a wonderful singing voice, plays the pianoforte with
astounding
accomplishment
. 
And, my beautiful Pricilla is, well…ah hem,” she coughed, her face turned an unbecoming blotchy red.

“
Oui,
Pricilla?” Thomasine prompted.

“Pricilla
. 
Well, she…
she is the very image of me.
”

An unconscionable thought
. 
Thomasine reveled only a moment in Hilda’s discomfort as she scrambled to avoid discussion on the intellectual aspects of her daughters natures
. 
Somehow Thomasine managed to not shake her head in disgust at how society looked ill on the brilliance in women
. 
Apparently, their mother resided in that same medieval process of thinking
. 
She finally took pity and let Hilda off the hook
. 
“What of their father?”