Ella: A Novel

by Jessilyn Stewart Peaslee

  “I’m flattered, Mr. Wallace. I could tell from all the way across the square that the years have not been kind to you.” I was shocked by my anger and that I allowed myself to feel it and even act upon it.

  He leaned in closer and I was overcome with the stink of cigar smoke and brandy. He chuckled as he pulled out his cigar case and casually chose the perfect cigar, rolling it under his nose and inhaling deeply. He gestured to my packages, and his voice took on a cruel edge. “I hope you have a new dress in one of those boxes. You look like a peasant. A filthy, mad peasant.”

  He touched his hat once more and sauntered back to his pillar. I stared after him. I could understand the filthy part. But mad? That one stung. I could hear Jane saying good-bye to her friends, and I composed my face before I turned to her. I decided to forget that I had ever seen Roger Wallace or that what he had said bothered me. I went to help Jane look for shoes and my good humor returned.

  “Why are you looking for new shoes? I thought your feet stopped growing years ago, like mine,” I teased as we entered the last shoe shop.

  “They did. But a girl can never have too many shoes!” Jane laughed, nodding her head at my packages that she, like Roger, must have assumed were filled with new things I had bought for myself.

  I joined feebly in her laughter, suddenly aware of the large hole in the heel of my shoe and the way each pebble poked through my almost nonexistent soles. My laughter died away and was replaced by a content smile. I was suddenly reminded of—and comforted by—the memory of another pair of shoes. A pair of shoes I had owned since I was a little girl. But like my beautiful dress, no one knew about them.

  As she shopped, I tried to ask Jane if she knew what was happening in town today, but she was thoroughly preoccupied by the task at hand. I helped her pick out the perfect pair of shoes, and she bought them with a few coins from her purse. As she closed her purse, she frowned at the one coin left inside of it.

  “Oh, I would give anything to be rich,” Jane sighed with longing. I smiled and shook my head affectionately. Jane’s vanity was endearing. She didn’t mean to hurt anyone; she was just completely unaware of circumstances outside her own untroubled life, and I understood that. She was sweet and innocent and had never really known discomfort or misfortune, and I was glad. I was grateful that she would never have to tarnish her sweetness and innocence.

  The booming voice of Jane’s father from behind us made us both jump.

  “Jane, are you ready? It’s almost time for the—Ella! What a wonderful surprise! I haven’t seen you in ages. How are you, my dear? I was just thinking of you.” I desperately wanted to ask him what it was almost time for, but then he went on and I was glad I didn’t interrupt him. “It was ten years ago that we lost your dear father, wasn’t it? Oh, he was a good friend, a very good friend, indeed! I don’t think I’ve ever known a kinder, more wonderful man in all my life. Why, just the other day I was reminiscing with Mildred about the time he came over and brought us that delicious ham for Christmas. I don’t think I’ve ever had a better ham in all my …”

  I was absolutely delighted to hear that someone else had taken the time to remember Father. I was completely caught up in Mr. Emerson’s jovial story when his voice was abruptly drowned out by the startling blare of trumpets. All conversation ceased. I gasped and turned away from Mr. Emerson and to the direction of the deafening trumpets. All I could see were gold and green flags fluttering high above the heads of the vast crowd.

  The crowd parted and carriage after royal carriage rolled into the square. The crowd jostled around me to get a better view and I had to cling tightly to the packages in my arms. The carriages were a lustrous pearl color with gold trim and emerald-colored ribbons trailing behind them, and they were pulled by gleaming white horses. I wondered for a moment if it had been Will who had brushed the horses until they almost sparkled, and then I realized all these carriages must have something to do with whatever secret everyone knew about but me. I could feel my mouth hanging open in amazement at the scene in front of me and quickly shut it. But I couldn’t do anything about the wideness of my eyes.

  Abruptly the procession came to a stop. In the carriage directly across the square from me, a little man sat next to the driver. He had a pearl-white suit on with gold trim on the shoulders with an official-looking emerald hat on his head. If it weren’t for his long gray mustache that curled up at the ends, he would have blended in perfectly with the carriages. He stood up, unrolled the scroll that was in his gloved hands, cleared his throat, and began speaking in a loud, nasal voice.

  “Hear ye! Hear ye!” he cried.

  I smiled, finding it amusing that he thought he needed to call everyone’s attention to himself. Everyone was already gaping. “Announcing the arrival of Prince Kenton, who has traveled far and wide …”

  As he spoke, a man climbed out of the carriage. He wore a long white cape that flowed over his impossibly puffy sleeves and his jaunty green hat was topped off with a white feather. He hopped down onto the ground, jogged to the fountain about ten feet from where Jane and I were standing, and leapt up to stand on the exact spot where I had been sitting a few moments before.

  The mustached man had finished with his introduction, which I had barely heard any of because I had been fascinated by the man standing on the fountain, and now all was silent. He flashed a dazzling smile into the crowd and waved. A few onlookers waved back vaguely, but most just gawked.

  “Let me introduce myself to you all. I am Prince Kenton. I have spent much of the last few years away from home, traveling the world, meeting fascinating people, and seeing magnificent things. I have been in the company of princes and kings, sultans and czars, emperors and rajahs. But,” he paused dramatically, “I have come home.” His voice was tinged with unexpected tenderness at those words and his eyes swept the crowd with a look of adoration. “And now I would like to spend some time with butchers, bakers, and candlestick makers,” he said, chuckling.

  I wasn’t sure what he meant, but I glanced at the carriage the prince had emerged from and noticed that the curtains had been pulled back. I was surprised to see the queen and king sitting next to each other, exchanging a disapproving look. Whatever the prince was about to announce clearly had not been their idea.

  “And so,” he said, raising his arms out as if to embrace everyone in the crowd, “we are going to have a ball! And you are all invited!”

  The crowd cheered. Some girls nearby jumped up and down as they embraced each other and squealed with delight. At the word ball, an image flashed into my mind of Father holding a beautiful gown up to my shoulders and slipping an exquisite glass slipper on my little foot. My heart raced and I couldn’t catch my breath. I pushed the memory out of my mind quickly, almost as if someone would discover my secret if I thought about it too long.

  I looked up to see the prince smiling in satisfaction at the reaction of the crowd. I sensed that there was more he wanted to say, but he was letting everyone celebrate the news for a moment. He raised his arms and the rambunctious noise instantly hushed to absolute silence.

  “As you may know, I am almost twenty-five years old, and as is our custom—our law—I am to be married before my twenty-fifth birthday.” I could have imagined it, but I thought I sensed a little resentment in his voice. “I have seen all I want to see of the world. I have met everyone I want to meet. I am ready to settle down—to marry the girl who shall one day be our queen.”

  The crowd cheered politely. We all knew that this time was coming soon, and some in the village had even wondered why it hadn’t happened yet. It was a lovely announcement, and it was wonderful that he would be married soon and that we would know who our next queen would be. I was excited about the ball and his benevolence in inviting all of us, but I sensed there was something more significant he hadn’t said yet.

  The prince continued. “And it has also been our custom that royalty has always married royalty. But my dear father and mother and I,” he said, gesturing to
the king and queen seated in the carriage behind him, “have found that this custom is simply that—a custom. This is not a law.” It sounded like he had stated that point a hundred times, perhaps even argued that point a hundred times. “So, in conclusion … I may marry anyone I wish.” He paused. “And it may be one of you.”

  The roar of the crowd was deafening, but I hardly noticed. I didn’t move or even blink when he made the announcement, but I was vaguely aware that girls all around me were screaming, some were crying, and one had even fainted a few feet away from me. I had not taken my eyes off the prince. For when he had said the word you, he had said it while looking directly at me.

  For a moment I thought back to the conversation I’d had with Will when we had discussed my whipped hands and how I had told him that there was nothing we could do to change how difficult things were. At the moment the prince made the announcement, I felt a small glimmer of hope, like there might be something I could do to change things.

  The prince was smiling again, seeming very satisfied with the crowd’s enthusiastic reaction. His eyes swept around the cheering, crying, fainting crowd and his gaze came to rest on me again. I felt like I should look down, but my eyes wouldn’t obey. I felt a blush creep onto my cheeks as his eyes locked on mine and held them there. He smiled a dashing smile, a dimple appearing on his cheek, and winked. I simply blinked slowly in response, but it was enough to allow me to finally lower my eyes and attempt to hide my burning face.

  From my lowered lashes, I could see the prince slowly look away, his handsome smile still in place. He raised his arms again and the crowd was silenced.

  “The ball will be held one week from tonight,” the prince continued, and I hesitantly looked back at him. He looked into the faces of his subjects and came to rest once more on my face. He stared in my direction until my blush reappeared, but this time I did not look away. “Let’s all get to know each other a little better,” he said with a grin, his voice low and attractive. I couldn’t help the small smile that slowly touched the corners of my mouth.

  The prince jumped down from the fountain’s edge and walked back to his carriage as he waved at the crowd. This time, they waved back and even blew kisses without hesitation. Girls were pushing past each other to make sure they got one last look of him, or to make sure that he got one last look of them. With one last bow, he climbed into his carriage, the procession moved forward and they were gone.

  Chapter 5

  I STARED AFTER THE CARRIAGES AS THEY DISAPPEARED around the bend and into a choking cloud of dust. I didn’t know where they were headed, but they could have been driving to the moon and it wouldn’t have mattered. I was still reeling from the announcement of the ball, but mostly from the prince’s winks and smiles directed at me. I blushed furiously and shook my head and scolded myself for my vanity.

  Suddenly someone was pulling on my arm and jumping up and down. It took me a little too long to realize that it was Jane and that she was saying something to me.

  “Did you see? Did you see?” Jane was squealing.

  “I’m sorry, Jane. What did you say?” There was absolute chaos in every direction, but I felt like I was in a dream.

  “The prince! The prince winked at me! Oh, I’m in love.” Jane dropped her hands from my sleeve and began to spin around in slow circles, her eyes closed, her face tipped back toward the sun.

  At first I was baffled that she would think he had winked at her. I was so sure it had been me who the prince had winked and smiled at. We had looked into each other’s eyes. But, as I looked back on it, the sun had been in my eyes and the crowd had been chaotic all around me; I suppose I could have been mistaken. I ducked my head in embarrassment. It had actually been Jane who the prince had noticed. The glimmer of hope I had felt began to diminish.

  Why would the prince wink and smile at me, especially when I was standing next to Jane? She was elegant and well-dressed and refined and lovely. Even now, as she deliriously spun around in her yellow dress, she looked like a drop of sunshine in the middle of all the madness. I scrutinized my horrid dress and reached to touch my wild hair. I felt completely foolish and filthy.

  I slowly turned away from Jane, who was now in a completely different world, and my face smacked right into Will’s chest. I stumbled backward as I dropped my packages I had forgotten I was carrying. He grabbed my arms to steady me, but I was barely aware of his touch as a strange yet familiar numbness washed over me.

  “Sorry, Will,” I said vacantly. I looked down at the packages at my feet, knowing I should pick them up, but not being able to make myself.

  He didn’t say anything but made sure I was steady then dropped his hands. He bent over and started gathering up my dropped boxes despite my halfhearted protests. He stood up once everything was gathered, and before I could thank him, he began walking away in the opposite direction. He didn’t say anything, but I assumed I was supposed to follow him.

  As I finally started moving, my brain began to catch up with my body and I noticed how strangely Will was acting. “What’s wrong?” I asked breathlessly, practically running to keep up.

  He shook his head and dropped his eyes. “Nothing,” Will replied.

  He was a terrible liar. “Did you know about the ball?” I tried not to sound accusatory, but the question came out sharper than I’d intended. My injured ego was still healing.

  “Ella, I work in the palace stables. I know things before the king does.” He laughed without humor. Before I knew where we were going, we were at his wagon and he was loading the parcels into the back. I realized he wasn’t going to let me walk home carrying all of that. I looked around for Victoria, knowing she would probably want a ride back home. I spotted her across the square, talking to Jane, who had stopped spinning. They were clasping each other’s hands, and Mabel and Cecelia were giggling and smiling dreamily.

  I had never seen any of my stepfamily talk to Jane before and I thought it odd that they would start now. I caught Victoria’s eye and motioned to the wagon, indicating that our ride was leaving. She glared back at me with an appalled expression and shook her head curtly, then turned back to Jane who was now talking animatedly with Mabel.

  I turned toward the wagon with a resigned shrug. If they wanted to walk, I wasn’t going to force them not to. I was just grateful she didn’t forbid me from getting a ride home. Will was waiting for me at the side of the wagon and I walked to stand next to him.

  “No hay this time?” I teased.

  He only shook his head and placed his hands on my waist—no doubt remembering my hurt hands—and lifted me gently up onto the seat. My cheeks burned again when he touched me and only added to the flame from my recent humiliation. Will climbed up next to me. Before he even sat down, he clicked his tongue and Charlie started trotting forward, the dust kicked up by the wagon creating an insubstantial barrier between us and the pandemonium.

  We drove out of town in silence, but it was a pensive silence permeated with our own thoughts, not just the absence of sound.

  “Please tell me what’s wrong,” I said suddenly. “Why wouldn’t you tell me about the ball? Everyone else seemed to know. Why couldn’t I?” I knew I sounded like a whining child, but I was desperate for answers. Will never kept anything from me … well, that I knew of.

  He sighed heavily. “Not everyone knew. They knew there was going to be an announcement from the prince; they just didn’t know what it was going be.”

  It still didn’t explain his strange behavior. “This is why you wanted to know if I’d be in town today?”

  “Yes.” He wouldn’t look at me.

  “You didn’t want me to know about the ball?” I guessed, feeling confused and betrayed.

  Slowly, Will shook his head.

  I looked away from him toward the road in front of us. Anger boiled up inside of me, but almost instantly subsided. I knew this was so out of character for Will, but I also knew he would never deliberately be cruel to me. I pondered for a moment, trying to figure
out why he would keep this from me and then smiled. “Will, did you keep it from me because you’re worried I won’t have anything to wear to the ball?” I asked, my tone becoming gentler.

  His eyes met mine, but they were unreadable. He didn’t say anything for a long moment. “Yes, that’s it,” he said simply.

  “Oh, you don’t have to worry about that. You are so nice to be concerned about me.” I laughed, but tears filled my eyes.

  Will nodded and his smile returned, though it was tinged with a reluctance so subtle I thought I imagined it. His eyes returned to the road. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about the ball.” He was quiet for a moment and then looked over at me with a sudden resolve on his face. “You should have the same opportunity as anyone else to marry the prince and I won’t stand in your way of that. You deserve it, Ella. More than anyone.”

  I was touched by his sincerity and smiled at him gratefully. We reached the fork in the road where Will would drive back to the palace if he weren’t taking me home, and I told him I could walk from here. He stopped the wagon, but before I could climb down, he hopped down and walked around the wagon to meet me on my side. He held up his hands for me as he had done before and helped me out of the wagon. But unlike before, he didn’t immediately drop his hands from my waist when my feet touched the ground.

  I looked up at him questioningly but dropped my eyes when I was aware of how close he was and that he seemed to have no intention of moving. I kept my eyes on the dirt road between our feet, biting my lower lip nervously, wondering what he was thinking. A moment later he dropped his hands.

  “I can carry these for you,” he said suddenly, gathering the packages from the back of the wagon.

  “Don’t be silly. I can almost see Ashfield from here,” I said and took the packages from him.

  He nodded, an unrecognizable expression on his face, and climbed back into the wagon.