She did so and just stood there, looking so forlorn it broke my heart. We'd never been close, and in that moment, I regretted it.
Neither of us said a word as I stepped towards her and unlaced the back of her gown. She moved as I directed her but didn't say anything else. I didn't know what had happened, but she clearly needed help and no one else was offering.
I offered her an oversized t-shirt and she took it, slipping it over her head. "Thank you." Her voice cracked over the words and I drew her towards my bed, sitting her down and pulling her into my arms.
There was only a tiny amount of awkwardness between us.
"What happened?" I asked, smoothing her long dark hair.
When she wasn't crying, Rita was a very striking woman. Or she would be in a couple of years when she'd lost her teenage looks. No one had grown into their features by eighteen.
"Mum's angry with me."
"Why?"
"Because I came away from the wedding without a Prince," she spat. I couldn't tell if she was disappointed or annoyed.
"Was there even one there?"
"Yes, the Crown Prince of Belgium was. Prince Albert's brother." I nodded. That would make sense. At least someone from his family would be in attendance. Given he'd married a Queen, his eldest brother was the most appropriate.
"Do you want to marry a Prince?" I asked.
She shook her head violently. "I wouldn't say no if the right one asked, but I don't need him to be a Prince."
Pride welled up within me for a reason I couldn't fathom. We didn't really mean anything to one another, but in the wake of her mother's insistence, her view reassured me.
"Did you tell your Mum that?"
"Of course. She told me I'm eighteen and should shut up and do as I'm told."
"But it didn't work?"
"Of course not." She looked at me, the tears having left her eyes red rimmed, but despite that, there was a determined glint in her eye. "Why would I want someone I'd never met before?"
Why indeed. I pushed thoughts of Leo to the side. I didn't need that distraction right now.
"You shouldn't," I responded. "Following your heart is the main thing."
She laughed bitterly. "That's easy for you to say. I wish I was more like you."
It was my turn for bitterness to seep into a laugh. "You don't want to be me, Rita. I'm dependent on someone who loathes my very existence."
"Loathing is better than just being a tool for her."
I didn't know what to say to that, so stayed silent.
"Besides, I do want what you have. You still have a talent. A future. Hopes and dreams."
"You have those too," I pointed out. She was only five years younger than me, I didn't want her giving up on her dreams quite yet.
"No, Sadie, I don't. Mum's spent it all. I have nothing. We get by on favours and credit."
Cold dread flowed through my veins.
"What do you mean?"
"Exactly that. We have no money, as a household."
"Shit."
"Yes. She's hoping you forfeit your trust fund and..."
"Wait, forfeit my trust fund?"
"Yes. If you behave badly and bring dishonour or something. I'm not sure, I overheard her talking to a lawyer about it. Personally, I don't see how you could short of being caught with an unsuitable man..."
Like at a wedding? Shit. I could be in big trouble.
Neither of us said anything, both of us completely lost in our own thoughts.
"Did you have fun tonight?" she blurted.
"Yes. Thank you for not telling anyone I was there."
"Of course. I've never wanted to be your enemy, Sadie. No matter what Mum wants." There was something lurking beneath her words. An intelligence I hadn't ever appreciated her having. Which was cruel of me. I'd never made the effort to get to know her. Making a fair judgement wasn't something I was capable of doing.
"I don't want to be yours either."
"Friends?" She held out her hand and I took it, giving it a firm shake. An odd gesture, perhaps, but somehow it seemed suitable.
"Friends," I confirmed.
A sad smile spread over her face. "Thank you, Sadie. I know that couldn't have been easy for you."
"Easier than you'd think. I don't have many friends."
"Me neither. Or not friends Mum would approve of anyway."
I laughed. "I doubt she'd approve of me, either."
"Maybe not. But I doubt she'll have a say for much longer." There was almost a threat in her words, but I ignored it, there was no way I wanted to go there anytime soon.
She got up from my bed and made her way over to the door, scooping up her dress in the process.
"It's been nice talking to you," I said awkwardly. We might have agreed to be friends, but that didn't mean I felt normal around her yet.
"You too. Thank you, Sadie. I really mean it."
I watched as she slipped away, a weight lifting from my shoulders. At the same time, I was glad I hadn't revealed any of my secrets to her. I was sure she was trustworthy, but I didn't want to take the chance she'd betray me. Not yet, anyway.
Chapter Eight
Guilt wasn't something I often felt, but the way I'd left my dress scrunched up overnight was causing some. Enrique would be horrified if he learned about the state of his creations. I was going to have to tell him too. At least I was on my way to his studio and wasn't going to be able to chicken out.
The whole place was dead, and I didn't know why. Maybe everyone was hung over from the multitude of royal wedding drinking games that had no doubt been played the previous day. I'd taken part in one myself during my university days, when one of the cousins got married. It had been fun, but I'd suffered the next day.
"Sadie! There's my little Cinderella," Enrique called, hooking an arm around my waist and drawing me into the building further.
"Please don't call me that," I mumbled, pouting a little. I might be complaining but the similarities to that story weren't lost on me. Though I'd gotten lucky with my stepmother. She might hate me, but she'd never used me as a slave.
"But then I can't call myself the Fairy Gay-Mother," he protested, moving away from me to put the kettle on in his tiny kitchenette.
"You shouldn't be calling yourself that anyway."
"Party pooper." He danced about to a tune all his own as he made tea and I took the opportunity to grab my dress out of my bag, smoothing it out. "What have you brought that for?"
"To give back to you?" I didn't mean it to sound like a question, but the doubt crept into my words.
"I didn't lend it to you, Sadie. I gave it to you," he pointed out. "You weren't meant to give it back."
"I can't accept this as a gift..."
"You can, and you will. I can never see it on anyone else now, not having seen it on you."
I leaned down, ignoring him, and pulled out the two pairs of shoes. Except...
"I'm missing a shoe," I whispered.
"A shoe? Are you telling me you really are Cinderella?" He laughed and handed me a steaming cup of coffee.
"Don't laugh," I insisted.
"It's hard not to," he replied. "It is a little ridiculous."
"I can't believe I didn't..."
"Didn't what?" He raised an eyebrow and perched himself on the chair opposite me. "Did you not leave with both your shoes, Sadie?"
"I don't know," I admitted quietly.
"Interesting. So, what happened?" He looked at me like I was about to give him the juiciest gossip he'd ever heard. Maybe I was. It wasn't often someone snuck into a party just to see a man and get that man.
"I found him," I admitted, concentrating on sipping my drink instead of looking at him.
"And from the look on your face, you got it good."
"Enrique!"
"There's no denying it. So, how was he? As good as he looks?"
"Better," I admitted. "He was everything I wanted and more."
"So?"
"So?" I parroted.
"When are you seeing him again?"
"I'm not." I set my mug down and gave him a stern look. "This was never about something long term."
"Sadie Parker, have you lost your mind?"
"No. I just don't want to waste my future running after a man."
Enrique sighed and rose to his feet. "And what if he's the one doing the running?"
"What are you on about? I'm pretty sure I left him."
He ignored me and went over to his desk, riffling through the various papers strewn there. For someone with such a meticulous eye for detail, his desk was a real state. I didn't know how he coped.
"Here." He slapped a newspaper down on our table.
My eyes widened as I took in the headline and the photo attached, right next to a review of the hottest new band, Fifth Element. "No." I shook my head, not wanting to believe what I was seeing. "No."
"Yes, Sadie." He sat down and turned the paper so he could see it. He cleared his throat, reminding me somewhat of a newscaster. "A real-life Cinderella story happened at Queen Amara's wedding last night when a lone shoe was left as the only sign of a woman there. Leopold Bodart has requested any information about the woman who left the shoe pictured to come forward."
"What is everyone's obsession with Cinderella?" I muttered.
"Everyone loves a good pleb to royal story."
"I'm not a pleb. And neither was Cinderella. She was a Duke's daughter," I pointed out, not mentioning that technically, she came higher up the pecking order than I did. It was a moot point.
"It's the romance and mystery of it. The drama surrounding life at court. Surely you can see why we're all obsessed with fairy tales still?" Enrique was so excited about it. Probably because one of his designs was now blazoned across the front of a national paper. It was probably on the rest of them too.
"I don't want to be in a fairy tale. I just want to live the best life I can."
Enrique sighed. "Really, Sadie? You're not seeing this as the opportunity it is. Someone with enough sway to be able to set the press on it, wants you."
"Probably because I was easy to get into bed. Well onto the floor. What man doesn't want it that easy."
He frowned at me. "Most of us, Sades. We don't want someone who just gives it up, we want someone who matches us and what we want. And I'd hardly call publicly trying to find out who you are wanting easy sex."
I chewed on my lip, not wanting to think about what he was saying and certainly not wanting to admit there might be some truth in it. I understood where he was coming from and a part of me was almost desperate to reach out and answer his call. But that didn't fit with my life plans. I didn't want to be the centre of some kind of public love story. I just wanted to be me.
"I can see your head whirling a mile a minute, Sadie. Please don't say no to this. You've lived too long in the shadows, let yourself step into the light."
"That has to be the gayest thing you've ever said."
"And don't I know it." He beamed with pride and I shook my head in bemusement.
"I don't think it's a good idea. I want to make my own way in life, not be supported by a man."
"Sadie..."
"No. And don't you dare tell them anything about me. I don't want to be a news story, Enrique. You can claim the shoe. Tell everyone, everywhere that you created it, but don't mention my name."
I pushed my chair back, scraping it along the floor and only just managing not to wince.
"If that's what you wish." He gave me puppy dog eyes and it was all I could do not to give in to him. But I was right not doing, I was sure of that.
"It is what I wish," I said softly. "But thank you. For the dress, the support, for making my dreams come true."
"You're welcome, I just wish I could do more."
I smiled, trying not to let my sadness and disappointment seep into it. A big part of me wanted to give in like Enrique was suggesting. It would be nice to have someone by my side through it all.
Gathering my things together, I paused for a moment on the single shoe I still had. What was the man like who had the other one?
I didn't let myself linger on the thought. I just said my goodbyes and went to continue with my day. I knew Enrique wouldn't break my trust but that didn't mean there wasn't a part of me hoping he would.
Chapter Nine
I avoided the TV like the plague after the first day. The magazines and papers too. All of them were full of the hunt for Leo's Cinderella. I was just glad he'd kept my name out of it. He probably thought I'd used a fake one.
Nerves fluttered in my stomach, as they had been doing for the past few days. There were a lot of things that could go wrong. If Vincent recalled my name and that I'd danced with Leo after him and the two of them talked. One of Enrique's employees might spill the beans too. Suddenly I realised that far too many people knew my secret for comfort and there was nothing I could do about it. I chided myself. Next time I wanted to do something stupid and reckless for a man, I'd make sure I thought twice about it.
I looked back over the paper I was writing. It was better for me if I focused on Mozart's influence on modern music rather than the worry over being outed. I could kiss goodbye to my dreams if I was. And from what Rita had been telling me, there's a chance I could lose my future trust fund too. Losing one or the other wasn't so much of a big deal. But both.... that would ensure I had no future at all. I'd be the first member of my family to ever fall from grace and given the history of England, that said something.
Frustrated with myself, I abandoned my seat and stalked over to my wardrobe, pulling out my shoe. I stared at it, tracing the lines of the pattern. How could one object cause so much trouble?
Before I could stop it, my mind strayed to the person in possession of its twin.
No. I couldn't keep doing this to myself. Leo was now firmly a part of my past, just like I'd intended him to be when I set out to find him at the wedding. He wasn't my Prince Charming, even if at every turn it did seem like I was living in a stupid fairy tale.
Rita walked into my room without knocking. Which wasn't surprising, I was just standing here with the door open.
"You're needed downstairs." Her voice shook, as if she wasn't too sure of herself.
"Okay." I furrowed my brow, wondering what could be so important that I was needed. My stepmother never needed me. I was certain she preferred just to pretend I didn't exist. I could understand that in some ways. I was just a reminder of the man she'd married. A man who’d still been in mourning for his dead wife. I partly blamed my Dad for that. But he'd wanted a mother for me. He'd just picked badly.
"I'd bring that, if I were you," Rita said when I'd gone to put my shoe away.
"What?" I asked, my eyes widening. No way was she suggesting what I thought she was.
"The shoe. I'd bring it."
"Why?"
"I... you... just please?" She begged me with her eyes and it was all I could do to give in. She was clearly concerned about something if she wanted me to bring it with me. And so was I now. How could anyone have known it was me who owned the other one?
Slowly, I made my way downstairs, the shoe clasped tightly in my grip. I didn't want to do this. I didn't want to face what I'd done.
I certainly didn't want my face all over the news. I wasn't that kind of woman.
And yet, I'd done that kind of thing. The papers were always filled with scandals and I certainly was one of those. Was it treason to have sex while at a royal function? I hoped not. Unless I'd slept with the Queen's husband. I knew what Prince Albert looked like though, and Leo certainly hadn't been him in disguise.
I entered the sitting room and was greeted with deathly silence. I looked around the people there, not at all surprised to see the sour look gracing my stepmother's face. Whatever she'd been told, she didn't like it.
There was a royal guard stood in the corner, not saying a word and looking as straight faced as they always did. It was well known that even if someone pulled faces at them,
they wouldn't crack a smile.
A royal guard though...that wasn't a good sign. If he was here, then who else was.
My gaze strayed to the man on the opposite side of the room, staring out of the window so I couldn't see his face.
Rita squeezed past me and took a seat by her mother, picking up a tea cup in a way which had me thinking she was doing it just to look busy rather than because she wanted a drink. I pitied her. This couldn't be a fun situation for her to find herself in.
"Lady Parker," the man said, turning and dipping into a bow.
A small gasp escaped from me, but I recovered quickly and curtsied in return. Technically unnecessary, but he'd offered me the respect, so I believed it due to him too. "Lord Vincent. To what do I owe this pleasure?"
His eyes met mine and a knowing look passed through them. I tried to ignore it. He couldn't have any idea what had happened between Leo and me. Though he did have that air of being a man who knew everything and everyone's business.
"I think you're well aware of that, Lady Parker."
"Please call me Sadie," I responded. Everyone else did. I couldn't actually name one person who called me Lady on a regular basis. Not even Enrique used it to tease me. I was fairly sure that most people forgot I had a title. Something to do with how little cash I flashed and the fact I didn't wear designer clothing all the time.
"In which case, you must call me Vincent. You'll have more call than most to."
I frowned, not understanding his meaning. "How so?"
"All in due time, Sadie."
"Vincent, can we get you anything? More tea? A scone?" my stepmother burst in.
The look Vincent gave her could have turned Medusa to stone. Suddenly I was very glad he wanted to first-name me.
"I'm afraid you might need to explain yourself, Vincent. I'm not sure what the purpose of your visit is."
I moved the hand holding my shoe, so it was shielded from his gaze by my body. I wasn't about to make this any easier for him, even if he did appear to be on my side. For the moment at least.
"Did you enjoy the reception?" He glanced back out of the window, ignoring the other people in the room.
If The Shoe Fits Page 4