The Wronged Princess - Book I (26 page)

Glancing round the circle of the company
in which he now found himself, decided him
. 
H
e had three young maidens to protect from one over-zealous Conte
’
s son who clearly thought himself the king of seduction.
Mayhap he would teach them a few defense tactics
. 
One never knew when such a weapon would be required.

And Cinderella
?
A fierce sense of protectiveness
stole over him
. 
She needed him more than most
, he decided
. 
He blew out a pursed breath
. 

“Are you well, sir?
”
The object of his thoughts startled him to the present
. 
Cinderella
looked lovely in her bright yellow day gown with her olive complexion and rich dark locks
. 
When he looked at her he could almost imagine…
no
n
!

A sliver of cheese caught in his throat
. 
H
eat
rose
up
his neck as he started to cough
. 
He reached for
a
glass Cinderella held out, when he felt a
heavy
pounding on his back
. 
He turned to
see who wielded the strong arm
—
to meet the
mischievous eyes of Pricilla
. 

Things were complicated enough with no idea in mind how to halt the mudslide of entanglements threatening to suffocate him
. 
Could the ground just not swallow him up?

“Do not pound so hard, Pricilla,” Cinderella snapped
. 

Surprise lit the features of both sisters, the undercurrent unmistakable.

Oui,
’t
was
past time to locate his mysterious princess
. 
Once he found
her
m
amá
would have to
cease
these infernal wedding plans
. 
It quite appalled him
to realize
he’d quite given up on the search since the invasion of their current houseguests
. 
He felt almost dizzy with the simplicity of it all
. 
The air around him seemed suddenly vibrant with scintillating sparkles
. 

“I’m…I’m fine,” he
assured them once more in control
. 

Prince smiled his most charming smile, resolve making him suddenly itchy to
jump on his horse
. 
He knew
now
what he had to do
,
and he was most anxious to proceed
. 

Chapter
23

One Week Later

"How do I find her, Arnald
?
Was she just a dream
?
Just one lovely night in the moonlight?
”
Prince found himself drawn by some inexplicable pull, standing before
the statue of
Eros
. 
How was it that a piece of marble could issue such
a smug
and
irritating smirk?

He was
at a total loss as to where to navigate from here
. 
For a week past, h
e
’d
trod dusty roads, endured cold rain
and brisk
winds as he
traveled through the countryside led only by
the strings of
his heart
. 

When his horse paused before the cottage where the slipper had slid so effortlessly onto Efterpi's foot, with no further substantiation for his mysterious prince
ss
, he knew it was time to head home.

"Mayhap she's hidden right beneath your nose, cousin."

Of course,
that
made no sense
,
and he shot Arnald a disgusted look that told him so
. 
“Perhaps,” Prince said slowly, “we should find
you
a bride, my friend?”

“Oh, no, cousin
. 
I require no such effort,” he shot back, palm
s
crossing confirming his abject denial
, backing away.

The panic in
Arnald’s
voice drew a quick smile from Prince, satisfying his jab
. 
"Leave me be, Arnald
. 
I will meet you in time to change for supper."

"As you wish.
”
As if
unmarried debutants were fast on his heels
, Arnald almost tripped in his haste to get away
.
If
Prince
had not felt
so despondent,
he
might have laughed at his retreating figure.

Instead, he
pushed tired fingers through his hair and studied the statue before him, the curls, almost feminine, etched in the marble sculpted hair
. 
His mouth tipped in memory of his last visit before this very spot
. 

Surprisingly, it was
Cinderella's deep brown eyes
, and not his mysterious princess,
that pulled at him
.
He
shift
ed
with unease
. 
This whole bizarre situation with Ermaline
,
and the fast coming wedding were playing havoc with his normal sense of balance
. 
He gave up all pretense of trying to recall her name, even in his own head.

Prince
lifted his eyes to puffy white clouds filling the sky
. 
A cool gentle breeze nipped the air
. 
He tried to revel in its crispness but found it impossible
. 
He wandered to the stoned-garden bench and sat heavily.

He had not yet seen his mother, father, his betrothed or the three women who so quickly embodied the future of his life
. 
In fact, one would find difficulty convincing him he'd been missed this week past.
Drawn to
this pond by some unspoken message
, he searched for comfort
. 
But the impending sense of doom pressed a profound burden against his chest.

Prince leaned forward, elbows on thighs and dropped his face in his hands
. 
What was it
she'd
quoted that day
?
That Eros was
described as "bittersweet" and "cruel" to his victims
. 
Oui
, that was it
. 
The irony of it punched him deep in the torso
. 
Also known as unscrupulous...He let out a groan
. 
Now, he was a victim, or worse, unscrupulous?

Could anything be worse
?

"Your highness?
”
Ah, well…apparently, it could.

Yet, t
he serene velvet
Cinderella’s soft
voice offered seeped through to his weary bones
.
It dawned on him
how desperately in need of a bath he was
. 
A
fter a
week’s
disappointing journey he could not help
finding
a
hint of
welcome warmth
. He
wanted nothing more than to sink into the bliss
. 

In the blink of an eye he felt the shift in the wind.

And then there was the other matter
. 
He sighed before lifting his head and stood.

*****

“Your highness? May we assist you somehow?
”
The sight of her beloved’s bedraggled demeanor had Cinderella ready to abandon all propriety
in
smothering him with attention or tear off screaming in the opposite direction
. 
His hair was in desperate needed of a comb, his chin a shave
. 
“Are you ill, sir?
”
She marveled at how calm she sounded.

“Ill?” he choked out.

“Essie, my arm,” Cinderella whispered trying to pry Essie’s whitened knuckles from her person
. 
But Essie held tight.

Cinderella glanced at her face and realized at once Essie’s shocked and confused expression teetered on seeing the very thing Cinderella desperately wanted to hide
. 
That she loved Prince
. 
Once her batting lashes slowed to a normal pace, Cinderella had no illusions that that was exactly what she would see.

She turned back quickly
to Prince
. 
Stilled the tremor in her voice
. 
“You…look…” The words stuck in her throat. “
Je suis désolé
.
I am sorry.” She was appalled by her forthrightness.

“Ill? Fatigued? Frustrated?” he muttered.

He was jesting, of course, though, he looked extremely fatigued
. 
Not at all princely
. 
The edge to his voice sounded raspy, desolate, hopeless
. 
Her heart reached out to him.

“
Cinde
!
We must go,” Essie hissed in her ear.

She struggled to jerk her arm away, ignoring Essie’s alarm
. 
Her gaze flitted back to Prince.

“Do not worry for me, ladies,” he said, with a formal bow
. 
“Shall I see you at supper?”

“
Oui, oui
,” Essie stuttered.

Cinderella’s only opportunity to further her acquaintance with Prince had now slipped fro
m
her grasp
. 
He mounted his horse before she could utter another word.

They watched him set off in a cantor.

“Are you
mad
?” Essie scolded her.

“Obviously,” Cinderella muttered
. 
One must gather one’s wits when one adopts a new sister, she sighed.

*****

Prince started for his chambers but preparations for the betrothal ball were in full
bloom
forcing fancy footwork maneuvering through servants everywhere
. 
Rolled up rugs were taken out and beaten, saturating the air with dust moats. He failed to walk anywhere without running into the frenzy of readying
. 
He’d never seen the like
. 

Mayhap he should consult a physician for the ailments plaguing him
. 
This near fainting was not natural for a man of his healthy aptitude
. 
It was ludicrous, he smirked
. 
He should be bled.

On the one hand,
if he perished
’
t
would save him an appearance
at a life
sentence
of his own making
. 
The shoe
. 
’T
was
a terrible idea he’d had, trying it on any maiden in the kingdom
. 
Bah,
it was getting late for such regrets
, however
. 
There
must be
other alternatives
—
he just had yet to find them
. 
’T
was
past time to speak with
Mamán
, he decided, and the urgency of it choked him.

He lifted his eyes in just that moment
, and who should appear but the object of his thoughts
. 
T
he fates were with him
. 
It was a charmed life he led, indeed
. 
The swoosh of her skirts
indicated
she’d disappeared round the bend
. 
And, in an awful hurry.

Prince hurried to the corner
,
and once he had
Mamán
in sight, picked up his pace
. 
He fell back when she angled toward a less inhabited passage of the castle
.