The Wronged Princess - Book I (30 page)

Prince had had his own reasons, of course
. 
One included making certain
the
Italian Conte’s
blasted
son had impeded access to the attractive young women wandering the castle grounds these days of late.

He scanned the lawns
. 
Servants were busy arranging targets for the upcoming archery bout and guests were starting to meander their way forth
. 
To his annoying relief, Alessandro
emerged
from the west doors followed by
a
manservant and younger brother Nicc
ò
l
o
. 

Set in the mirrored image of Alessandro,
Niccòlo
’s
tall frame, dark hair and eyes
would prove sound competition for his brother not so far in the future
. 
Prince found himself
very happy
Niccòlo
was much too young to provide any real competition at this stage of his years of ten and seven
. 
He grimaced, pushing away the thought that Alessandro could possibly pose a threat to the Prince of Chalmers
. 
An absurd notion.

Another ten minutes crept past before he spotted his quarries
. 
All t
hree of them, in fact
. 
He set off down the path to meet the slowing conveyance
. 
A quick smile touched his lips at the sight before him
. 
Gray skies parted teasing the party with a sliver of blue sky for the first time in several days
. 

Prince hesitated to think the heavens parting might be the vision of Cinderella in a frock of soft cream trimmed with shimmering bronze ribbons
. 
He vowed, if she were to ever grace his arm in union, he’d never allow her
to wear
brown
. 
No matter how rich the hue
. 
She deserved rainbows
,
with
the pot of gold at the base.

He hauled himself up the path
. 
These were dangerous—traitorous thoughts that brandished him inside out
. 
He
spun for a quick
leave
. 
Truly, an act of cowardice
. 
And attempt
to withdraw
,
but
fate stepped in
. 
H
e was too close to the carriage to retreat
benevolently
. 
Still, though his steps moved forward, they did so more slowly.

He
searched out the warmth he knew he’d find in Cinderella
. 
Her
graceful
presence
struck a subtle, yet elusive, chord
. 
His heart thumped wildly against his chest when her lips tilted at the sight of him
. 
She would not be a hardship to marry…i
f he
had
to marry without finding his mysterious princess
perhaps
…

"Sir?" Pricilla shook him out of his reverie.

"Lady Pricilla, may I
be of
assistance?
”
Prince offered his arm
aiding
her descent
. 
"Lady Esper—Esmeralda.
”
He gave her a low bow
. 
Over compensating, he realized, but what could he do?

"
Mercí,
" Essie demurred
, with a narrowed gaze
.

The heat surged up his neck and he turned quickly
. 
"
Lady
Cinderella.
”
His voice dropped a fraction in a husky resonance
. 
T
he air came alive with
an
unexplained brilliance
. 
His fingers tingled with sensations he had difficulty identifying
,
not unsimilar to the ones he’d experienced
the day they’d arrived
. 
The day he lay flattened on the flagstone
. 
He prayed his wince was
inward
. 

Turning
back to Pricilla
, he cleared
his throat
. 
“I trust you found your ride pleasant.
”
Prince did not think he’d ever struggled with maintaining such a façade before
. 
’
Twas decidedly awkward
. 

Hands clasped at his lower back he escorted the trio toward the west lawn
. 
From the corner of his eye he spied Alessandro’s determined gait
bearing
down on them,
Niccòlo
fast on his heels
. 
Prince suppressed a sudden urge to grin at the picture of a not-so-far-in-the-future more mature
Niccòlo
giving Alessandro a legitimate run for his money when it came to paying attendance to the ladies.

“Very much so,” Pricilla answered
. 
She cast a glance over her sisters
. 
“It was very enlightening.
”
She was quite a picture when she held her head like that
. 
Finding her an advantageous match should not be so difficult, he thought graciously.

He sensed a change in the three
, s
ome secret they seemed to share
. 
Yet, he did not sense an urge for unrestrained laughter
. 
More
likening to
a
n affable
affection
. 
No trace of the prior hostility
lingered
. 
Prince found himself charmed by the
ir
unexpected
amiability
. 
“How do you ladies fare at archery?”

“Fair, sir,” Pricilla answered
. 
Her tonality
was
much less harsh
, almost warm
.

T
he distinct sound of a snort resonate
d
from one of the other two
. 
And since he was
most positive Cinderella would never resort to such
inarticulate
sonority
,
it stood to reason the sound bounded
from Esmeralda
. 
He took a moment to savor the thrill in getting her name right, even if
’twas
only in his thoughts.

“
Buon pomeriggio, onorevoli
.
May I present my
fratello
,
Niccòlo
?” Alessandro offered with a tilt of his head, slightly out of breath
. 

Prince held back a burst of laughter as
Niccòlo
clicked his heels together loudly when he bowed
. 
Oh, the very young.

“Charmed,” Esperalda responded, and beamed him a bright smile and short curtsey.

Please
, Prince wanted to shout but managed to restrain
. 
Nor did he roll his eyes to the heavens
. 
It took effort.

Cinderella and Pricilla offered their short curtsies as well
. 
Prince narrowed his eyes on Alessandro when he grasped Cinderella’s hand and placed it on his arm
. 
Niccòlo
followed suit with Pricilla leaving Prince no other option
. 
Biting back a sigh, he offered his arm to Emalia
. 
Now his mind could not even conjure up names remotely close
. 
A less than gentle breeze kicked up the air
. 

Perfect.

Chapter
25

“Faustine, what the devil are you about?” Thomasine hissed
. 
“And what is with this wind, dear sister
?
I do not remember an agreement to such.”

“Such language, dear,” she sniffed
. 
“The wind is
not
my doing.”

“Of course, it is
. 
Who else could it be?”

Thomasine cast about a glance making sure all curious ears were out of range
. 
She sat in an elevated chair
observing
the festivities before
she swung
her gaze back to Faustine
. 

Faustine stood postured through a break in the trees tapping her foot impatiently, one hand fisted at her hip, the other waving in a precarious position
. 
Her face skewed in abject affront at the accusation, giving Thomasine pause
. 
“Well, then…who…?
”
The question trailed as Thomasine searched out the source and light dawned
. 
“Ah, my apologies, sister dear
. 
I see the problem
. 
It appears Alessandro has dominated Cinderella’s hand yet again
. 
Hm
. 
You don’t suppose Esmeralda harbors a
secret
desire for the Conte’s elder son, do you?
”

“Humph.”
Faustine’s
grunt
sounded through the branches
. 
“Where is the hag, dear?”

Thomasine’s gaze swept the grounds once more until she located Hilda cornered by
the
Conte near a tent set up for refreshments
. 
“She is being nicely detained at the moment
. 
Your handiwork?”

“Well, I had my doubts it would work a second time,
ma chére
. 
After all, I can only offer the suggestion by way of…” she waggled her hand
. 
“I cannot make him fall in love
. 
Somehow, I’ve misplaced by wand.”

“Hmmm, a shame that
. 
He could sweep her away, out of Chalmers.
”
A rousing cheer drew her attention
. 

“What is it, Thomasine?”

Thomasine cocked her head toward the archery targets
. 
“Esmeralda
just hit
a bulls-eye on the archery target.”

“Esmeralda?
”
Faustine asked, clearly stunned
. 
“I thought Pricilla the expert
with a deadly weapon
.”

Chapter
26

The pressure bearing down on Prince’s chest equivocated to an African elephant crushing his breast bone
. 
The betrothal ball was but a mere sennight away and he found he was no closer to a solution than the moment the glass slipper slipped on Elma’s
dainty
foot
. 
That name was just wrong.

He moved to the open window and
placed a
palm over his face, frustration miring panic
. 
What if he could not find a way out and he really wound up married to a human advection motion detector
?
He lifted his head
and
stare
d
out at what promised to be a beautiful day with the peek of the sun rising over the horizon
. 
His breakfast remained on a tray, cold and untouched
. 
Not unlike his mood, he thought glumly.

Mayhap a day of mending walls and tending tenant matters would help in deciding how best to divert the dilemma of an impending wedding doomed for disaster
. 
The only solution that seared his mind was that under normal circumstances, the female of the union could cry off
. 
The one to break the bounds of the betrothal
. 

Hmm
. 
But,
non
, Prince was not fool enough to believe Hilda would allow either daughter any such thing
. 
And
,
what of Cinderella? Was she her daughter also
?
Mayhap he could
ask
M
amán
, if
s
he could s
pare
an audience
, he declared in silent sarcasm
. 
’T
was
looking less
and less of a possibility
. 
Still, if
it saved
a wedding
with the wrong woman
…