The Wronged Princess - Book I (25 page)

Cinderella looked over her shoulder where Alessandro stood proudly attending to Pricilla amid a flock of underlings as they bent over some plant
. 
P
robably discussing the benefits of botany and the mystical advantages of medicinal value or some such nonsense
. 
Of what
,
Cinderella could venture no notion
. 
She turned back in time to see a slight tightening of Essie's jaw and narrowed eyes
. 
Was Essie jealous? Of Conte de Lecco's son and…and
Pricilla
?

Hope filled her with the thought
. 
Her gaze strayed to Prince who hovered nearby charming the Lessors with a knowing smile
. 
The same smile he'd bestowed on her throughout their ballroom waltz, now, so many weeks ago
. 
It all seemed but a dream
. 

She frowned
. 
Mayhap he did not remember professing his admiration for her as their feet flew through the air hardly touching the floor, heads in the clouds
. 
Mayhap it was just
her
head in the clouds.

"What bother
s you, Cind
e
?" Essie interrupted
. 

She'd do best to suppress these silly musings
. 
On the other hand…

Cinderella studied her new friend's expression, realizing a more perfect opportunity would not present itself. The thought terrified her but…shouldn’t she embrace the courage?

Oui
, she determined
. 
It was only honorable way
. 
She straightened her spine, tugged Essie’s hand into her own
. 
"Essie,” she started
. 
“There is something I—"

“
Non
. 
You must not worry so,
Cinde
. 
We shall keep you safe from mamá.
”
The words filled Cinderella’s heart but
Essie’s preoccupation seeped through.

“Please, we must talk,” Cinderella begged softly, but she was interrupted.

"Cinderella, Essie," Pricilla called out from the path
. 
Urgency colored her tone.

The moment
whisked
away like dust in the wind
. 
Especially, royal dust.

"You go,
Cinde
. 
I'd like nothing more than to revel in the quiet for a moment."

“But, Essie…”

“
Non
.” Essie squeezed her hand
. 
“
Aller.
Go.”

Cinderella gave her a sad smile debating whether or not to give in to her fear of Essie's condemnation of her lies, or brave the courage to face them
. 
Fear won and she pressed her lips against Essie’s hand before moving away to honor her wish
. 

She was nothing but a coward she berated herself
. 
What possible good could come from it anyway
?
Essie would marry Prince, and Pricilla would, no doubt, secure an advantageous liaison due to Essie's connections…and Cinderella
?
Would
she
end up lost in servantry of the bow
e
ls of the castle
?
For surely that is where
Stepmamá
would have her
. 
She could only hope her duties did not include dumping chamber pots for the duration of her meager life
. 
Was servantry even a word, she wondered?

Talk about dramatics.

Cinderella choked out a laugh and made her way down the path toward Pricilla
. 
It was fraught with flowers of every imaginable hue, the fragrances heady and indistinguishable
. 
She felt every pebble through her thin slippers
. 
She tried
,
without success
,
to keep her gaze from Prince who leveled a penetrating focus on her
. 
It sent her heart fluttering like Essie's eyes at the height of her most apprehensive
. 
Her steps slowed to a complete halt
. 
The depth of his blue eyes drew her in, to his honor, his soul, dimming the world around her.

"Devil
take it
!
" Pricilla hissed
. 

Her shocking profanity startled Cinderella’s attention in time to avoid being run through at the last second
. 
Cinderella
spun,
her
widened gaze following Pricilla's fleeing form
from the path they’d just descended
. 
Stepmamá’s
looking none too pleased, had shifted her aim for Essie.

"Oh, no," she whispered,
following
Pricilla.

Chapter
21

"Good lord, in merciful heavens," Faustine let loose
. 
"That woman will be the very death of all our carefully laid plans.
”
She waved her magic wand sending a crash of thunder bellowing over the meadow
. 
Unfortunately, it did not deter
Hilda’s hell bent pursuit of
her daughters, nothing short of murder in her sights
. 
The woman
proved uncanny
creating havoc
between
those girls
. 
She must be stopped.

Faustine hesitated to send up a blast of wind to follow the thunder
. 
Rain was absolutely out of the question with all the hard work the servants had seen to in preparation of the picnic
. 
It would be a shame if that blasted woman succeeded in her efforts to ruin everything
. 
She needed inspiration, and soon, noting Hilda’s robust body barreling down the path to Esmeralda's innocent form sitting prettily on the ground
. 
The poor child hadn't the slightest idea of her mother’s immutable intentions
. 

A slight diversion should suffice, but what
?
More so now than ever that she’d spotted Pricilla and Cinderella’s determined gait to head her off
. 
Those particular fireworks would have every tongue in the kingdom wagging.

"Ah, I see just the thing
.
"
Faustine
smiled and flicked her wrist.

"
Signora
?
Qual
è
la vostra fretta
—how do you say—why do you hurry so?"

"
Signore
Lecce." Startled, Hilda had no choice but to stop.

Faustine covered her mouth to keep her snicker under her breath lest they hear
. 
The beastly woman would have a hard time snubbing
him
.

“I…I would have words with my daughter…” her voice faded.

“Perhaps you would care to take a turn about the lake, no?”

Well, she could
not
turn down
such an eloquent request
, now could she
?
Faustine congratulated herself
. 

"Thomasine had better appreciate this interference," she grumbled as she watched Conte de Lecce sketch a perfect bow
. 
He grasped her meaty arm and led her down a convenient path to the water.

Chapter
22

Prince stifled his shock, then relief, at Conte de Lecce’s timely interruption
. 
An intervention that could not have been more…
ah,
timely
. 
His body, straight and perfect as a lance
,
faced inward toward
his quarry, and effectively blocked
her path
. 
A small chuckle escaped
. 

T
he Conte
must be
daft
, unless he’d ascertained
what
Evigna’s
mamá
was about
. 
Prince
only wished he, himself, could decipher it
. 
The only clear purpose
he found was
her
over-
exuberant
feelings regarding his impending nuptials to her batty-eyed daughter.

A slight shudder rippled over Prince, but he was not one to kick a gift horse in the mouth
. 
He shifted his gaze to Edwerdina sitting
pretty
on
a blanketed
ground, unaware of the drama that had been averted just behind her
. 
She sat in oblivion with her bright day muslin skirt spread in a pool of orange spice surrounding her
. 
He would have thought the shade would clash like a violent storm with
the red in
her hair
,
but it somehow managed to match her coloring to perfection.

R
ooted to the path
, he watched
as Cinderella and Pricilla rushed toward her in an agile attempt of protection
. 
Apparently, t
hey’d not seen Conte de Lecce step into their mother's path as yet.

“You shouldn’t run,” Evangeline chastised
. 
He barely heard the words but for the light winds that carried them his way. “You’ll secrete unsightly moisture.”

Prince had been unable to ascertain the dynamics between the two sisters and Cinderella that only begged his curiosity more so
, amplified his interest
. 

One moment Pricilla's dour features boasted good natured humor and the next had anger flashing her eyes from gray to silver in narrowed chips of glacial ice and lips pressed in acute displeasure
. 
In this moment, however, she rolled her eyes
. 
“Secrete unsightly moisture
, Essie
?
You could not say
sweat
?”

Cinderella clapped a hand over her mouth
thus
cutting off a burst of laughter
. 
Prince
managed to stifle his
as well,
but not his grin
. 
How enlightening these sisters were
when they thought no one paid them any mind.

Just then
Prince
caught sight of Alessandro
walking up to
a
ssist
Cinderella to the ground next to Eglantine
. 
He
hissed a sharp intake of breath
snuffing out his amusement
. 

’T
was
not jealousy
, he told himself
. 

W
hen
the cur
had the unmitigated gall to shift
the picnic basket to
ward
the center of the palate
as a ruse to progress
closer to Cinderella
, something violent jarred in his chest
. 
Mon…Dieu
. 
This was all a bad dream
!

High color singed
her cheeks
. 
Prince bolted into action
. 
“
Pardonez-moi
,”
he
said,
squeezing between the two
. 
In essence pushing Alessandro nearer to
Ellaralda
, who
, curiously,
also
sported high spots
of red on her
face
. 
But, somehow, he had the notion Erwanda could take care of herself
. 
She managed
to
disguise
her discomfort
by reaching
in
the basket
to sort
through the contents.

A plate was thrust in
to
his hands with a leg of chicken, cheese and bits of fruit
. 
Prince ate slowly contemplating how to
find his mysterious princess
before this madness went any further
.