Cinders & Ash: A Cinderella Story (Passion-Filled Fairy Tales Book 3)

by Rosetta Bloom

  “I stand by that.” Without another word she turned, went to the door and opened it. Standing at the door and poised to knock was Heinrich, who exchanged a brief greeting with Gertrude as she left.

  “Your Highness,” Heinrich said as he entered.

  “Are you here about the girl as well?” Ashton asked, regretting his snappish tone almost as soon as the words had left his mouth.

  Heinrich nodded. “Yes, I just wanted to apologize again for the mix-up. I know you said you were happy with her, but it is my job to ensure that the girls seem healthy and unblemished. I didn’t with this one. I just wanted to explain what happened.”

  Ashton didn’t really even care to hear, but knew Heinrich felt he was in trouble, and that the man would only behave normally in their next interactions if he got a chance to explain. Ashton nodded for him to continue.

  “She came recommended by another girl I’ve used for personal services, and so I trusted that she was in good health. When I saw her face, I knew you’d like her, that she was your type, but I apologize for not first checking her over.”

  “I told you when I had you fetch Gertrude that it was fine. I am very happy with Cinders. In fact, she will be back a week from today.”

  Heinrich’s eyes widened, and his lips parted just slightly. But then he nodded and said. “Did you want another girl in the interim? I’ll be sure everything is perfect with her this time.”

  Ashton thought for a moment. Did he want another girl? If Heinrich had asked him before he met Cinders, he didn’t know what he would have answered. The truth was, he had grown tired of the prostitutes, who seemed hell bent on doing nothing but pretending to be whatever they imagined he wanted. Yet, none had really ever succeeded at being anything at all like what he really wanted. Perhaps that was because he wanted someone real, someone genuine, only he hadn’t realized that until this moment. That was probably why he had tired of this game, why he’d thought tonight may be his last hurrah, leaving these types of exploits to his cousins in the future. But not now. He didn’t want another girl. He wanted the girl he’d had tonight, only he hadn’t really had the chance to have her. But he would. He offered Heinrich a nonchalant head shake. “No, I don’t need anyone else, but thank you for offering. I’ll wait for Cinders”

  Heinrich nodded, then said: “Is that her name, Cinders?”

  Ashton chuckled. “That’s the name she told me. Said it was a nickname. I sort of like it. I told her to call me Ash.”

  Heinrich didn’t say anything but stared hard at the Prince.

  “It’s OK,” he said. “I’m pretty sure she thinks I made it up. Besides, so few people call me that, and she has no reason to believe I’m anything but a lowly relative to the royal family, right?”

  Heinrich nodded. “Right. I used the same story as always, a visiting relative. Your cousins, Chandler and Leith, seek out maidens enough that the story doesn’t raise suspicions.”

  Ash smiled. “See, don’t worry. It will all work out with Cinders. She’s fine. I’m very happy with your work, Heinrich. I’d tell you if I were upset.”

  Heinrich sighed and forced a smile. “Thank you. If that will be all your Highness, I’ll head to bed now.”

  Heinrich left quickly. Ashton put on his nightclothes and climbed into bed. Cinders and Ash, he thought. For some reason, he liked the sound of it very much. Never before had he created his own little world with another human being. There was something very seductive about it, and every inch of him yearned to see her again.

  Chapter 8

  Ella’s plan had been to do her chores as gingerly as possible and then find an excuse to walk to town so she could see Faye. Turns out, she didn’t need an excuse. Faye showed up about midday while Ella was milking the cow, Hermione. Faye had come straight to the barn, which was her custom, if she came to the house at all. Lady Kenna hated “low, common folk” like Faye. In fact, the one time Faye had come to the door to ask after Ella, Lady Kenna had screamed a blue streak at her. So now she skulked around the barn until she spotted Ella inside the barn. Today, Ella was sat on a stool, hunched over and squeezing the cow’s teats.

  “Are you a’right?” Faye asked, breathing heavily as if she’d run all the way there. Though given Faye’s girth and athleticism, that seemed unlikely. She’d probably run the distance from the road to the house, which was set back a ways to give the place privacy.

  “I’m fine,” Ella said, squeezing milk into the bucket. The teats were soft and warm, and as she looked at the udder, Ella could tell the milk was almost gone. She’d be finished soon.

  Faye walked over to Ella, standing beside her as she milked. “That’s all you go’n say? That you’s fine?”

  Ella shook her head. Faye was always so direct. It was the opposite of high society politeness that Lady Kenna valued so much and tried to shove down her daughters’ throats. Maybe that’s what Ella loved about Faye, why they’d been such fast friends. She needed to see someone breaking the rules and getting away with it.

  “I’ll tell you more,” Ella said, squeezing the slowing stream from the cow. “Let me finish milking Hermione first.”

  Faye went and petted the horse, Nigel, and the calf, George, while she waited for Ella to finish with the cow. Once Ella was done, she set the milk aside and led the cow back to her stall. She grabbed Faye and the two of them went and sat in a stack of hay near the barn wall. In whispers, in case they heard Lady Kenna or one of the girls approaching, Ella told Faye everything.

  “He let you keep the money even though you ain’t done nothing?” Faye asked, her voice laced with astonishment.

  “You’re as surprised as I was,” she admitted. “But I have to go back, so I’m not getting something for nothing. I’m a person of my word, so I’ll go back. Not going back would be stealing.”

  Faye rested a plump hand on Ella’s shoulder. “Well, I’m glad it all worked out and he was so kind to you,” she said. “I rushed out as soon as the baker would let me this morning.” She shook her head as if the thoughts inside it frightened her. “I was just so worried.”

  “Why?” Ella asked. “You were the one who arranged it all.”

  “I know,” she admitted. “But this morning, I ran into this girl, J—. Well, never mind her name. You don’t know her, and well, she said she’d been with one of those visiting relatives a few nights back, and he’d been brutal with her.”

  Ella’s eyes widened. “Brutal?”

  “Yeah, made what Lady Kenna done to you look like a walk in the park,” Faye said. “I thought I’d made a huge mistake telling you to go there.”

  “I can’t imagine Ash doing anything like that,” Ella said, biting her lip, pondering if she could’ve misjudged him.

  “Well, might not’ve been him,” Faye said. “I heard the prince had been with his cousins earlier this summer and two of them is visiting. Dere’s two of ‘em, so maybe one is rotten to the core, and the other is good as gold. You just make sure you go back to Ash, not the other one.”

  Ella nodded, and brought the fingernail of her thumb to her mouth. A royal cousin who was horrible and one who was kind. She wondered if it were possible that Ash was horrible, too, sometimes. He didn’t seem it, but he’d also had a woman with a miracle salve on hand. She wondered why that was. “Do you think I should go back?” Ella asked.

  “You just said you had to, that he gave you the money already, and you’re a woman o’ your word,” she parroted back, in a voice that actually did sound like Ella’s.

  Ella chuckled and her back hurt as the skin pulled with every giggle or guffaw. “Stop making me laugh,” she said. “It hurts when I laugh.”

  Faye’s eyebrows squished together as she looked at Ella. “Wait,” she said. “Given how tore up your back was, what are you doing out here milking the cow anyway. You really should be trying to let it heal.”

  Ella smiled and turned around, so her back was to Faye. “That salve worked wonders,” she said. “Open my dress up and look.” She felt
Faye’s hands on the tie at the neck and then the cool breeze as Faye opened up the back of the dress.

  Faye whistled. “Ella, it’s amazing. The skin’s sealed over a lot. It’s still a little raised, but it looks like it’s been healing for at least four or five days, not just overnight.”

  Ella nodded. “I know. I’ll actually need your help putting on the salve today and tomorrow,” she said. “But it’s the best ever. Lady Kenna sent me out here because she’s mean, so I don’t think she’ll come out.”

  Faye nodded and stood. Ella produced the salve jar, which she’d carried with her, thinking she’d be able to go to town to sell some milk. Faye kindly put on the salve, and then stood to leave soon after. “I need to get back, since you’re al’ight. I was s’posed to help the baker longer, and he might even put me out if I don’t hurry back as I promised.”

  “Wait,” Ella said, standing, too. “Before you go, I need a huge favor from you.”

  Faye looked perplexed. “What?”

  Ella went to the cow stall, dug under the hay and pulled out the small satchel she’d been given when she met Ash. She opened the bag and showed Faye the money inside it.

  Faye’s mouth sprung wide open, and she seemed, for once, to be at a loss for words.

  “Can you take it and hide it for me?”

  Faye shook her head, and spoke with dread in her tone, “What if I lost it?”

  Ella rolled her eyes. “How? How would you lose it?”

  “I don’t know, but it’s so much money,” Faye said. “You’d mu’der me if I lost it.”

  “No, I’d believe you did your best, and move on,” Ella said. “But it would kill me if Lady Kenna found this too and took it. I’d have no explanation for how I came to it, and she’d think I’d stolen it from her somehow. No telling how badly she’d beat me if she found it. But, you, you can take it back to your place, put it somewhere safe.”

  Faye looked down at the sack, mulling it over and finally gave a curt nod. Ella twisted the bag closed and handed it to Faye, hugging her. “Thank you so much.”

  “Da ‘tings I do for you, Ella,” she said, then turned and walked out.

  Chapter 9

  It had been six days since she’d seen Ash and her back was feeling remarkably better. Faye had come by to put the salve on in those days immediately after and even her friend had been shocked at how amazingly quick Ella was healing. Faye had worked briefly for the apothecary, helping him to find and collect herbs but it hadn’t lasted and she had refused to tell Ella why. Still, Faye said the salve smelled like healing, though she couldn’t tell exactly what was in it.

  Today, Ella had come into town to sell eggs to the baker again. Lady Kenna had instructed the baker to put the coins in a satchel, along with a note of the amount and his signature. Lady Kenna had clearly told the baker Ella was dishonest. She felt a flush of embarrassment at having to do the task this way now. Still, the baker treated her with kindness and the same jovial spirit as before.

  In fact, Lady Kenna’s plan of making Ella go through the humiliation of making the baker think she was a thief backfired. He seemed to think Lady Kenna cruel and was even kinder to Ella. “I could get eggs here in the city,” he told Ella today. “But, I like yours because they are plump and round, and you only get eggs like that by loving the chickens. And you do, Ella. You bring joy to all those around you.”

  It had been a kind thing for him to say, and she thanked him. If only she could bring money along with the joy. Or if only she could actually bring joy to Lady Kenna, perhaps her stepmother wouldn’t be such a shrill, awful human being.

  Ella had some extra time, as she was walking quicker than Lady Kenna expected. She’d not let on about the healing salve, and moved slowly and ploddingly at home, so Lady Kenna thought she was healing at a normal rate and didn’t expect as much from her. She went around to Faye’s room to see if she was there, but when Ella knocked on the door and called out, she got no answer.

  She sighed. Ella had wanted to thank Faye again for all of her help, but would have to see her next time she was in town. Ella decided to walk around some of the back streets on a whim, just to go a different way. She might also see Faye as her friend sometimes took this way home, because she didn’t like the bustle of the crowded market streets.

  As she walked, Ella stumbled across a piece of chalk on the ground. It seemed a fortuitous thing, so she picked it up and decided to draw a small picture on the cobblestones. It would wash away in the next rain, but she thought perhaps it might brighten someone’s day. Ella quickly drew a lovely little flower with the sun shining on it. She smiled and then set the chalk back on the ground along the edge of a building, not far from her drawing. Perhaps someone else would add to it, or the person who dropped the chalk would come back for it and find that it had made the world brighter.

  As she stood to head home, she bumped into someone and almost fell backwards. Only, the person she bumped into wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to him. She was so startled by the whole thing, that all she could do was look up.

  “Cinders,” said Ash, who was wearing a hooded cloak. He kept his arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her tight toward him. “What are you doing here?”

  “I…,” she started, but lost her train of thought as she stared into his hazel eyes. They were so clear and focused on her that she wanted nothing more than to stand there trapped in his gaze. They were such a beautiful color, here in the sunlight, she thought as she stared trancelike into them. She realized he was waiting for an answer, so spoke. “I was walking. I didn’t see you.”

  He smiled at her. “Your eyes are bluer in the sunlight,” he said.

  She blushed and lowered her gaze to realize he was still holding her. She liked it, the way his body felt, sturdy and strong, pressed against hers. “I’m on my way home,” she said, not sure what else to say.

  “If it’s not far,” he said. “I could walk you.”

  She looked up at him. He wanted to walk her home? It was unexpected and sweet. Only, she could never explain that to Lady Kenna. Plus, the home didn’t meet his first requirement; it wasn’t near. She pulled back from him and his arms loosened their grip, allowing her to slide away. His smile waned as she did so. She shook her head. “I don’t live nearby. And my mistress,” she said and then gave a shiver. “You can’t walk me.”

  He sighed, then tipped his head toward her backside. “How are you healing?”

  Ella couldn’t help but smile. “Very well,” she said. “You’ll never understand how much it meant to me, that you helped me.”

  “Anyone would have,” he said.

  She shook her head. “No. Just someone kind. I appreciate that.”

  “Don’t give it another thought,” he said. “I’m just glad you’re better. And I’m looking forward to seeing you tomorrow. You’re still coming, right?”

  She nodded. “Yes, I’ll be there.” She took a step away from him. She needed to get back to Lady Kenna. She’d already wasted time drawing. She looked down at the picture and it made her smile. No, it hadn’t been a waste of time.

  “Did you do that?”

  She nodded again. “It’s just a trifle,” she said. “I thought it might brighten someone’s day.”

  “That’s kind of you,” he said. “I must admit it’s brightened my day. But not as much as running into you.”

  “You’re too kind.”

  He shook his head. “I’m just honest,” he said. “I’ve thought of you often.” He walked toward her again. This time, he reached out and took her free hand into his.

  She liked the way his smooth fingers gingerly grazed the top of her hand. Firm, yet gentle and reassuring. “I’ve thought of you, too,” she said. She smiled at him and was prepared to say more when she heard footsteps. Someone was coming. She couldn’t be seen here with him. Lady Kenna might find out. Her back started to ache at the thought of it and the blaze of the branch upon her returned with vivid horror. She pulled her hand from Ash
’s and started to walk away quickly. “I must go,” she said, with just a glance back.

  In that glance, he stared at her, seemingly torn as well. As if he too had heard the approaching footsteps and, like her, wanted to flee, but wanted to stay, too. She couldn’t stay to find out what he did. She just kept walking quickly, heading away from town.

  * * *

  Ashton couldn’t believe his good fortune in literally bumping into Cinders on the street. She was even prettier in the light of day, and he was going to see her tomorrow. He smiled the entire walk back to the castle.

  It had been nice to get out and about for a little bit, without anyone’s notice. He snuck back to the lower level of the castle and found a small room on the south side of the castle. It was a near identical to the one he used with Cinders, but on the opposite side of the building.

  He knocked three times and a voice bade him enter. When he walked in, he found his cousin, pulling on his boots as he sat on the edge of a bed. The sheets on the bed were rumpled, there were silk sashes tied to the bedposts, and a candle dripping a copious amount of wax onto a silver tray was burning atop a small table near the bed.

  “I trust you’ve had a good afternoon, Leith,” Ashton said.

  Leith, a tall blond man with broad shoulders and a slightly pronounced forehead, grinned. “But of course,” he said. “And you?”

  “Absolutely,” Ashton replied. “So, before we head up for dinner with my parents, what is it we’ll say we were doing all afternoon?”

  “Chess,” Leith said, with a wink, as he ran his fingers through his blond locks.

  “A draw?” Ashton asked. “I won two games, you won two.”

  Leith shook his head. “I won two, you won one.”

  Ashton rolled his eyes. “Must you always win?” Ashton asked.

  Leith nodded and laughed. “Yes.”

  Ashton glared. His cousin was older by two years and liked playing the role of the older, wiser man. On these occasions, Ashton preferred the company of his other cousin, Leith’s brother Chandler. But Leith had perks too. He was the picture of discretion and was always willing to help cover for Ashton if he wanted to sneak out. “Seems a draw is fair, and judging by the looks of this room,” Ash said, inclining his head toward the sashes hanging from the bedposts, “you’ve had much more fun on your afternoon than I did.”