Cinderella and the Lady (4 page)

“Do you think I’m pretty enough for Simon? I think so. He has complimented my face in the past.”

Ellie didn’t respond to Mina’s question while she fixed her hair. After two hours of styling, Mina’s hair was perfect and Ellie felt a pang of jealousy over it.

“Ellie! Pay attention. I’m asking you a question.”

“Sorry, I was too involved making you look prettier than you are.”

Mina beamed at her through the mirror. She was just as attractive as her mother, with luscious raven locks and ample curves both men and women appreciated. At least Mina’s character wasn’t as severe as her mother’s. At one time she thought they could have been good friends, but Geraldine put a stop to that right after she married her papa.

“Mama says Simon will only want to dance with me the whole night. Do you agree?” Mina gave her a sly look and brushed more powder on her face.

Ellie knew this game too well. Mina always fished for compliments and she always gave in. She took the brush from Mina to stop her from overdoing the application and added just enough to accentuate her glowing face. “His grace won’t be able to keep his eyes off you.” She circled the bristles of the brush in her palm. “All the other ladies there will be jealous. You must take care —”

“I know!” Mina jumped up from her seat and swished back her satin layered skirt. Ellie fixed the pleats of Mina’s skirt, giving her an excuse to touch the beautiful lemon-colored fabric.

“Elizabeth Crane will try her best to embarrass me.” The smile Mina gave her was cold. “But I have a plan to keep her away from Simon. I wish you could be there…oh.”

The crestfallen look on Mina’s face made Ellie’s chest sting, but in a good way this time. She had never been invited to a party, and although being around such a large group of people unnerved her, she wouldn’t have minded sitting in a corner watching the dancing and listening to the music.

“Perhaps next time. I didn’t have time to find something appropriate to wear,” Ellie said lightly and plucked the skirt of her oldest dress she had put on later in the afternoon.

“Next time for what?”

She winced and turned to face her stepmother. Geraldine looked incredible in her forest green evening gown with her hair arranged into a tight chignon that brought out her refined bone structure.

Mina met her mother and curtsied. “Hasn’t Ellie done a fine job with my hair and makeup?” She batted her eyes and twisted her head from side to side, allowing the white ribbons in her ringlets to dangle over her shoulders.

Geraldine patted Mina’s cheek. “You look ravishing. You will be the belle of the party. Don’t be surprised if Simon can’t keep his hands off of you.”

“Mother.” Mina ducked her chin down.

Ellie smiled at Mina’s reaction, and as she opened her mouth to speak, her stomach grumbled.

Geraldine’s eyes snapped to her and her smile faded. She sauntered over to where she stood and stared down at her. She had to tip her head up since Geraldine wore high-heeled slippers that gave at least four inches to her height.

“I expect you to tidy up our bedrooms and clear away the remnants of our supper. We will be back after midnight. You will stay awake and greet us when we return. Understand?”

Ellie nodded and studied the floor. She wouldn’t mind cleaning the kitchen. Then she would finally have something to eat. As for staying up late, she would be exhausted tomorrow—

Geraldine snapped her fingers, causing Ellie to jerk. Instead of asking what was wrong, she lifted her head and gave Geraldine her attention.

“Eleanor, you try my patience. When I talk, I expect you to listen.” Geraldine’s lip curled. “You’re just like your mother. Angelica would ignore everyone around her and daydream. I don’t understand how your father could stand her half the time.”

Ellie bit the inside of her cheek to stop from saying something that would lead to her being punished. She would think of the insult as a backhanded compliment since she wanted to be compared to her mother in every way.

“Sorry, ma’am. I was just thinking how all the party guests will be in awe of Mina. It would be something wonderful to see,” she said in longing and examined Mina’s dress shining in the candlelight.

Geraldine pursed her lips and her eyes roamed across her dated dress. “You weren’t invited, and even if you were, I wouldn’t let you come with us. That dress should be burned and your hair looks like a rat’s nest. Everyone in town assumes you’re my servant anyway, so why would you attend?”

I’m not a servant! I’m the daughter of a baron!
Ellie wanted to shout but held her tongue. She never spoke up before, so what would be the use now? She’d end up locked in the basement or in a closet.

The clock in the hall rang. Mina went over to the window. “Our carriage is here.”

Geraldine gave Ellie another firm look and turned away. The tension in her back disappeared and she went over to Mina’s bed to pick up the dresses lying there.

“Have a nice night,” she called out, staring down at a ribbon in her hand. Her thumb brushed across the silk. The last time she had worn a ribbon was the day of her mother’s funeral.

Mina rushed from the room while Geraldine remained in the doorway. “I expect this house to be in perfect order when we return. I don’t appreciate your pouting.”

She turned and gave Geraldine a sunny smile even though it pained her to do so. “I’m sorry, stepmama. I will try harder to be a better daughter to you.”

Geraldine’s nostrils flared and an unpleasant look crossed her face. “I have only one daughter. You mean nothing to me,” she said and left the room.

Ellie sniffed, blinking away the sting in her eyes. When the front door opened and closed, she went over to the window to watch Mina and Geraldine climb into their carriage and drive off. She continued standing there until the carriage disappeared from view. Geraldine’s callous taunts should no longer hurt her, but they did.

She wandered over to Mina’s desk and sat down, staring at her reflection in the mirror. Lifting one of Mina’s brushes, she slid it through her knotted hair until it was smooth. She tied a ribbon into a bow and pinned it on the side of her head. The small decoration didn’t improve her hair or her face. Again her stomach growled, but she ignored it, taking some blush and stroking it across her cheeks.

Even with a bit of artificial color on her face, she was the same on the outside—plain and homely. But on the inside she felt bold and inspired for once. She planned on doing something dangerous that if Geraldine found out, would garnish her a beating or worse. After she finished her chores, she would sneak out into the night and spy on the Crane party.

* * * *

“Should we save your brother or let him figure out a way to save himself?” the duchess asked, hiding a smile behind the rim of her glass.

Kristina viewed her brother with pity. He was surrounded by at least ten women, mostly single daughters of Aulnory’s most respected citizens who were all vying for his attention. He glanced their way and mouthed,
“Help.”

She and her mother giggled. Finally, the duke saved his son. He spoke to the ladies, then directed Simon safely to a corner of the room near their host and his wife.

“Father has taken care of everything,” Kristina said, and brushed aside a piece of her hair sticking to her neck. The room was stifling even with the windows open. She hoped to escape the heat soon and catch some fresh air outside.

Her mother cooled her face with her fan. “You forgot your fan at home?”

She nodded and took a sip of her watered-down punch. She hid her peevishness as she drank, preferring a glass of red wine, which she got into the habit of drinking with her grandmother after dinner.

“Less than a few days ago it felt more like winter than spring. The weather has been so strange of late,” the duchess commented and fanned her face faster. “Tonight is unseasonably warm, especially with so many people in one room.”

Her family’s ballroom was triple the size of this one and there was enough room to breathe without gagging on the sweat and body odors of others. People kept to the edges of the room in groups, chatting and drinking. Most of the mothers and their daughters watched Simon covertly while the rest stared at her and her mother. A few people had come up to speak to them, mostly acquaintances of her parents who didn’t bother to hide their curiosity over their errant daughter who had returned home after such a long time.

A group of musicians set up their instruments at the front of the room, a sign the dancing would soon commence. It had been some time since Kristina had danced and hoped some brave gentlemen would ask her to.

“From your sigh and the coveted way you’re staring at the musicians, you must want to dance,” the duchess said.

“Am I that obvious?” she smiled when the sounds of violin filled the room.

The duchess’s arm came around her daughter’s waist. “Your dance card will be filled soon enough. Most of the gentlemen here have been admiring you and your beautiful rose-colored taffeta gown.”

“Mama, perhaps the gentlemen are admiring you, not me,” she teased back.

A flag of red appeared on the duchess’s cheeks and she patted the back of her hair. “Nonsense. I’m too old for such things. The only man’s name on my dance card is your father’s.” A dreamy look came over her face. “I remember the first time your father held me in his arms. He was such a skilled dance partner. That was when I started falling in love with him.”

“Started to? You didn’t fall in love right away?”

The duchess lifted her fan to cover the bottom part of her face and batted her eyes in her husband’s direction. Even though the duke’s attention was on the man next to him, he lifted his head and focused on his wife with a penetrating stare.

“Mama, people are staring,” she whispered and fanned her face with her gloved hands. It was one thing for her parents to look at each other with such love and devotion in private, but in public it was embarrassing.

The duchess waved her fan back and forth in a deliberate move. When the duke tugged on his cravat and coughed, she lowered it, looking pleased. “As I was saying before, I didn’t fall in love with your father then. He was too staid and stiff. But he made me feel special with his compliments, as if I was the only woman in the room worthy of his admiration. It wasn’t until at the next ball where we talked in earnest that I decided he was the man I wanted to marry.” She turned toward Kristina, her eyes bright. “I wish the same for Simon in his search for a bride and the same for you and your future husband, whoever he might be.”

Kristina didn’t want to ruin her mother’s dream. She would marry eventually, but it wouldn’t be for the type of love her mother and father shared. It would be a marriage based on respect and friendship rather than passion.

The duchess gave her a soft pat. “Darling, you look peaked. Perhaps it’s best if you take a walk outside—”

“Hello, your grace. You and your daughter look quite the engaging picture. Why, if I didn’t know, I would think you were sisters.”

Kristina cut off laugh at the debonair and refined man before them. He bowed with his leg out, then rose, taking the duchess’s hand and placing a kiss on her knuckles.

“Always a pleasure, Lord Robert. Has the Countess Tremaine come also?” the duchess asked.

“Wherever Yvonne goes, I follow.” Lord Robert moved to Kristina’s side and indicated where a tall, buxom, elegantly dressed woman stood. She chatted with an austere, shapely looking woman. A younger, petite woman in a bright gown and very stylish hair lingered by their side, staring at Simon with unguarded possession.

Simon is going to have a handful with that one.
Kristina turned her attention back to their new companion after her mother nudged her with her hip.

“Excuse me for my rudeness. We haven’t been introduced.” Lord Robert bowed.

“Kristina, this is Lord Robert Ranson. He and his sister, the Countess Tremaine, are our closest neighbors,” the duchess said.

She held out her hand and Lord Robert gave her an almost identical kiss to the one he gave her mother.

“A pleasure,” she greeted him and quickly jerked her hand back when she felt something damp. She didn’t appreciate his tongue on her hand, even gloved.

He acted as if nothing was wrong and gave her a jovial smile. A dimple appeared on the left side of his cheek. His eyes sparkled in mischief and he dipped his head as if he was aware of what inappropriate thing he had done.

“Will you be in London for the summer or is it Bath this year?” the duchess inquired, oblivious to her daughter’s discomfort.

“A trip to London is in order soon. I do miss the city life there. But Yvonne doesn’t want to leave. She’s here to support her good friend, the Baroness de Saltin, the woman she’s talking with.” Lord Robert motioned in the direction of his sister.” The baroness became a widow a few days ago and is all alone with only her daughter for company. Yvonne doesn’t want to leave the two women in their time of need,” he said mournfully.

“Oh, I hadn’t heard of the baron’s passing.” The duchess shook her head. “Such sad tidings.”

The countess and her party made their way over to Simon and her father. “Didn’t the baron have a first wife who died from in sort of riding accident?” Kristina inquired.

“Kristina, this is not the most delicate conversation to have now,” the duchess reprimanded with a disgruntled whisper.

Lord Robert stepped in closer. “It’s old gossip and not talked about, but yes, the baron’s first wife had an unfortunate riding accident over a decade ago. When the baron’s first wife didn’t come home from her morning ride, a search party was formed and they found her body in the river with a broken neck. Her horse must have thrown her. A sad state of affairs.” He gave his chest a light pat. “The baron gave up so much for his wife. He was disowned by his father for marrying her. She was a servant in his parents’ house. I don’t think he ever got over her death, even after he married Geraldine a year later.”

“The baron and his first wife never had children?” Kristina asked, moved by the tale.