The Wronged Princess - Book I (4 page)

“
Oui
.”

“Then she is whom I must marry
. 
Mamán
is determined after all.
”
J
ustification
served to save face and Prince leaped on the excuse, knowing he lied to Arnald.

Oui,
determined,” Arnald repeated,
chuckling
. 

“Enough,” Prince barked out
. 
He
needed
to think
. 

By
the time
Prince had
realized her intentions and dashed after her…it was too late
. 
All he’
d
caught was the tail of her golden coach
drawn
with six white horses darting away at breakneck speed
. 
He put his arm up in an effort to halt her flight, but could only watch in helpless despair her wave of farewell from the
small
rear
window
. 
He swore he saw anguish in those exquisite eyes.

He’d dropped his head in desolation, and
gasped
. 

T
here
—
in plain sight
—
on the stoop descending the ballroom, lay proof that this night of heaven had not been just a dream
o
f his bride-to-be vanishing into thin air…

A single glass slipper.

Chapter
2

Queen Thomasine almost rue the day she’d had a son
. 

No
n
, that was not quite right, for she loved her son dearly
. 
But she’d be hard pressed to refrain from admitting that
the
comfort of a daughter would
have
serve
d
quite pleasant
. 
Someone with whom she could embroider
,
or titter on about the failings of men
. 
She sighed
. 
It would have made for excellent bonding experiences
. 

Regrettably, that had not been her destiny
. 

She shook away the fantasies and turned to the misfortune at hand
. 
For days
now
,
seven to be precise,
Prince
had moped
about the palace, hoping against hope
,
his lovely young woman would somehow reappear
. 
Drop into his life the same way she’d dropped out
. 

Thomasine
had deliberately
let a
full sennight of his nonsense
persist before
finally
summoning
him
to set forth she and her twin’s underhanded scheme
. 
’T
was
not without some guilt, however.

She quashed the feelings ruthlessly.

“Have you decided what it is you are to do now,
mon fils
?
You have spent this week past doing
naught
but brooding and sulking about.
”

His gaping shock was most telling
. 

“
Mamán
,
” he said sharply
—deeply offended
.

She bit back a searing retort, irritated
that young men
dared
think
a mother
could not possibly understand
such a
dilemma.
Bah, w
hat was it with today’s children
?
Did they
believe
their parents had sprung from the womb grown
?
Not experienced love and infatuations
in
their
youth
?
That they had
had
a youth?

Thomasine pinched the bridge of her nose praying for patience. Tried to remember this
was
the future king. “
My dear
,
’t
is
time to move past this fixation
,” she said gently
. 
She frowned
. 
“
Frankly, I find myself amazed that this…this
woman-
child had the nerve to run from the ball in
such a
manner
. 
To
run
, at all, in fact
. 
Most unladylike.
”
She sniffed with
disdain
. 
“But, alas, not being in her shoes—well, so to speak, I suppose
,
I shall withhold my judgment for the present time.
”

Prince
lowered himself into an opposing chair so utter in his devastation her heart could not help but soften in sympathy
. 
Squaring her shoulders
, stiffening her resolve
, she vowed
to see this through
, no matter
the
difficult
y
. 
Then,
proceeded to shock him further
. 
“The question is, dear, what are your plans to remedy the situation?”
She spoke briskly
. 
’
Twould not do to let him
surface any
cracks
. 
She had great faith in his intellect, it just needed
uncovering
.

His expression made her wonder if she’d grown horns
. 

Thomasine shook her head in self-deprecation
. 
“I vow I bear full responsibility for this predicament, of course
. 
Well,” she amended
frowning
, “except for the portion your father is responsible for.
”
She almost choked over this sentiment, but shook it abruptly away
and continued her
most regal-tone-to-the-masses she could manage
. 
“As the guiding parent, however, I have come to the conclusion that I have failed miserably in teaching
you (again, a small choke)
to act responsibly and timely for yourself in a crisis situation.
”
She paced the
length of the chamber
. 
Thinking was always best when she had the versatility of movement.

She stole a glimpse in Prince’s direction
. 
He
looked
as if he were trying to comprehend her efforts of explanation
. 
Mayhap there was hope
. 
But just as sure as she was he was listening, she was just as sure he had no possible idea of her importune
. 
His glazed, blank expression revealed just how very clueless he remained with every uttered word
. 

Thomasine had to shake off her irritation once more, knowing instinctively a daughter would have been much sharper on the uptake
. 
It was as if he were from a different
celestial orbit
. 

She
eyed
him carefully
. 

Hope
sparked within her as his gaze
narrowed
. 
When his eyes seemed to focus on some divine light above her head she somehow resisted an urge to lift her head for a peek
. 

“Ah!
”
His inspirational gasp startled her, excitement palpable
, giving her cautious hope
. 
“I have her slipper
. 
I shall take it to every maiden in the Kingdom
. 
Whom it fits, is where I shall find my bride.”

“Oh, my,”
Thomasine
murmured, fighting an
impulse to
enlighten
him just how impractical
his proposal
was
; the
consequences such an outcome could
prompt
. 
She dropped into a chair considering him with a prudent gaze
. 
This was not quite the direction she and her sister had envisioned
. 
B
ut mayhap
’t
was
something
they could work with it.

She let out a slow breath trying to focus on the positive aspects
. 

T
here at least appeared to be some kind of idea brewing around in that round appenda
ge sitting atop his shoulders. She
had to struggle
to mask her frustration
. 
Honestly, he needed to be married
. 
Then he could utilize
his
intended’s
acumen
. 
Of course, were he ma
rried there would be no use for
…she tapped a finger on her chin
. 
She swallowed her sigh, disappointed
. 
It appeared she and her twin’s lesson would indeed
be required
. 
M
uch needed lesson
. 
If he were to someday lead their kingdom, however, small.

She let a slow smile curve
her lips
. 
“
’Tis
a wonderful idea, darling.”

He blinked as if surprised.

And
sent him
off—with her blessing.

Word spread quickly throughout Chalmers Kingdom
. 
Prince Charming was on the hunt for his mysterious princess
. 

His future queen.

She only hope
d the young woman proved worthy of their efforts.

Chapter
3

News of Prince Charming’s outrageous plan reached the cottage within days
. 
Hours possibly
, and Cinderella was outraged
. 
The
competency
of communication through word of mouth was quite amazing when one evaluated its efficiency to any minute degree
. 

The
range of emotions
roaring through her
started with that
of stunned horror to a
morbid yet
hidden amusement as
Stepmamá
and her stepsisters danced round
their small abode
with glee
. 
T
he likely prospect that
her
glass slipper could ever fit one of her evil stepsisters
was…laughable
. 
But she wasn’t laughing
. 
Well, i
t
was
vile enough to make her want to cast up her accounts
that somehow warred
with
an
effort to hide
an unexpected yet hysterical
giggle
.

“Do you think he sha
ll be here soon?
”
Pricilla spouted, turning cool gray eyes on
Stepmamá
. 
Her blond
,
almost white hair
,
bounced bobbing curls
. 
Ever t
he ultimate image of
Stepmamá
, were it not for
Stepmamá’s
rotund figure
. 
With an inward sigh, Cinderella had to admit both Pricilla and Esmeralda had lovely hair.

Stepmamá
considered Pricilla with a glance of calculated amusement
. 
Cinderella
fought
to keep the shiver of trepidation from snaking up her spine
. 
It didn’t work
. 
W
hat
tactic
Stepmamá
was now hatching
in her malevolent mind
?
Cinderella made a show of dusting the buffet while
waiting
for some insight
to surge forth
with bated breath
.