The Wronged Princess - Book I (27 page)

Why on earth would she come to this deserted area
?
It was quite curious
. 

The longer he followed the more confused he became
. 
This portion of the castle had
been uninhabited for years
. 
Eyes adjusting to the dimness, he could see where the dust had been disturbed by the brush of her skirts
. 
Though not the cobwebs, he grimaced
. 
And from the looks of it, this wasn’t her first venture into this forgotten territory
. 
Why, she was a danger to herself.

His mother’s step seemed almost fervent
. 
This ought to be good
. 
He slowed further lest she heard the echo of his footsteps
. 
He swore he could hear the shuffling of tiny vermin scattering
. 

It did not take long before he heard the scrape of a door creaking
. 
He made haste, quietly, of course
. 
Once he rounded the corner, he jumped back for the door stood ajar and the shadow of a candle flickered wildly.

Mamán’s
voice rang clear
. 
“—ended where?” she asked
. 
He had no idea whom she met, but should prove interesting, nonetheless.

“The cottage
. 
Poor thing is quite beside himself,” the other voice interjected.

“I must declare, Faustine, you are a genius
. 
This little plan of yours seems to be working, gloriously.”

Plan
?
What the devil was going on
?

“
Oui
, it was quite clever,
non
?
I had no desire to ruin the picnic
. 
All that effort and work…” He heard the cluck of her tongue followed by a husky chuckle
. 
“He stepped in quite nicely too.”

Who stepped in
?
Ruining the picnic
?
What was his noble
mamán
up to
?
And
… Faustine
—Aunt Faustine,
Mamán’s
dead sister
?
The temptation to step forward and demand answers near killed him
b
ut patience was a virtue, he remind
ed
himself.

“What have you next for the social agenda, dear?
”
The
genius
Faustine asked.

“Well, there is still the matter of the remaining ponds and statues, of course,”
Mamán
said
. 
“Tedious, but it affords time and opportunities
. 
Alas, we’ve only ten days outstanding, you know.”

Ten days
?
For his farce of a wedding
?
That must be their ultimate goal
. 
Oh, how he’d love nothing more than to expose the two connivers little scheme whatever it proved to be
. 
He should call the whole thing off.

That is what
he would do, and put his dear
m
amán
right in her place, right where she deserved
. 
Let
her
explain why her stratagem did not happen to work as planned
. 
Let
her
explain to that harridan
of his betrothed’s maniacal
mamá
…

The instant the thought started to form, he knew he could
not
place Egeria in a situation as such
. 
Non
.
There had to be another way
. 
And what of Cinderella’s good graces, to see him turn into such a rakehell rotter
?
There was just something about her
that drew him
. 
For he knew
,
she
was
surely
the one who paid for such folly
. 
Shocking him further was the thought that even
Lady
Pricilla’s opinion mattered to a degree.

Non
, he needed a scheme of his own
. 

“
—
oui
, well the weather should not concern our
—”

Once their talk turned to the weather,
Prince did not wait to hear more
. 
He had his own designs to administer, and time appeared more critical than he’d anticipated.

*****

“Is there not
something
I can do to slow this stampede of wild horses threatening to trounce my very living
breath?
”
Essie’s bemoan was worthy of the most theatrical dramatics
. 
Cinderella would have been tempted to grin at such overacted display but for the fact her future happiness was too entwined in the outcome.

All three girls had managed to avoid
Stepmamá’s
overbearing presence
by
hiding in Cinderella’s more out of the way chamber
. 
’Twas not completely secure, but
Mamá
had no reason to suspect Essie and Pricilla’s forged friendship
. 
Cinderella
sat cross-legged on the bed while Essie lay stretched on her stomach, chin resting on her fists
. 

Pricilla
,
primly in the overstuffed chair
, tapped
a thoughtful finger against her cheek, eyes narrowed in thought
. 
They had strategically maneuvered the chair before the door in the unlikely event someone, and by someone, meaning
Stepmamá
, might enter unannounced, providing them sufficient time to react
. 
A precautionary plan Cinderella was more than happy to accommodate.

“It appears to me we need a preparation of drastic measure,” Pricilla contended.

“
’
Twill
to be too late
. 
W
ait and see.”

Th
at
dire prediction had Cinderella’s head spinning
—
and their constant bantering
. 
Another hazard of the sister-ship, she decided. A sudden smile
swelled
in her chest so
aring
through her.

Pricilla’s exasperation was palpable
. 
“Oh, for heaven’s sake, Essie
. 
Your constant whining does not facilitate the progress of pre-planning stages.
”

Cinderella wholeheartedly agreed though she chose not to vocalize the sentiment
. 
The
relationship with
her
sisters was just too fragile to risk at this juncture.

“They are already in full preparation as we speak,” Cinderella imparted
. 
The dejection seeped all the way to the bone
. 
“Just yesterday I saw footmen dispatch
ing
satchels burdened with invitations.”

“Burdened is an interesting choice of words,
Cinde
,” Pricilla said
. 
Her head shot up quickly to find Pricilla’s eyes boring into her
. 
“What have you against Essie marrying Prince?
”

Cinderella cast a quick glance to
ward
Essie who had flipped to her back
,
gaze
studying
the ornate ceiling.

“Oh, why should she care?” Essie wailed
. 
“I just know
I
am not ready for marriage
. 
I know we are considered of an appropriate marriageable age, but I do not want anyone
. 
I do not wish to be queen
. 
I do not which to live in a gilded cage.
”
She gave a delicate shudder. “I prefer the study of meteorology.
”

“Of course, you do
. 
And it is surely an appropriate subject matter for your natural curiosity and affliction,” Pricilla smirked
. 

Essie shot her a lethal glance
. 

Then under her breath, Pricilla added, “And, I can certainly understand your sentiment on marriage.”

“What medieval marauder decided women should be attached before their twentieth year, pray tell?” Essie demanded.

“Hah, sister dear, we should count ourselves blessed lest we’d have been sold off at three and ten.”

Cinderella
considered that little tidbit.
She let out a sigh
. 
She
should confide in the two of them, and n
ow seemed as good a time as any
.
Summoning up her courage, she said,
“There is some—”

The door boun
d
ed against the back of the chair
,
jarring the three of them
.

“Quick, Cinderella! Under the bed,” Pricilla hissed.

“
Non
. I cannot go under the bed,” Cinderella gasped, horrified. “The window?”

“No time,
Cinde
, just do it,” Essie snapped
. 
“
Pressé
.”

Cinderella dropped to her knees and scooted, praying she would not encounter any creepy-crawlers
. 
Wait,
’t
was the Royal Palace, dirt was not allowed
. 
She clung to the thought
. 
Funny how they’d been at the palace for such a short time and already she’d grown accustomed to
such
luxury
. 
Already distanced
from her old life just weeks past
. 
She tuned her ear to the sounds about the chamber
. 
The door thrashed against the chair impatiently
. 

“Children?
”
Stepmamá’s
shrill hysterics.

Cinderella heard the door to the armoire creak open
. 
That was Essie’s part—and held her breath, waiting.

The shadow of the chair edged closer to the bed
. 
Pricilla’s rustling skirts gave way her location near the door
. 
Cinderella knew the door to the chamber opened by Pricilla’s well-timed gasp
. 
Mayhap the three of them should consider an affixation to an acting troupe once they were banished from the castle grounds.

“
Mamá
! What are you doing here
?
You will have us caught.
”
More rustling sounds
. 
The door closed softly, once more part of their contrivance.

“What the devil are the two of you up to?”
Stepmamá
demanded.

“
Mamá
, your language
!
Keep your voice down.
”
Cinderella grinned at Essie’s superb inflection of conspiracy.

“Where is Cinderella, I…I need her to press my…my gloves?”
Stepmamá’s
tone was accusatory but, as expected, she’d bought into the dramatics and lowered her voice
. 
Now, if they could keep her from peering beneath the bed.

More whooshing of skirts, then Pricilla. “She is in the gardens—we believe
. 
She is enamored by those silly statues.”

Cinderella frowned at that
. 
Silly?

“This is what comes from too much unhealthy exposure to books, my lovelies
. 
Mind what I tell you.
”
She pointed a finger to drive home her point
. 
“Intelligence in a woman is an undesirable trait.”

“
Oui, Mamá
. 
I was admiring her shoes,” Essie said
. 
“Look.
”
Shuffling sounded
. 
“Why can I not have shoes like these…” she wailed
. 
“Why should
she
have so many?”