“And what will happen when the prince learns what you’ve done to me?” she asked, her voice trying to sound confident despite the panic she felt over her situation.
“Oh, but the prince won’t learn of it,” Lady Kenna said. “Tomorrow, you will be getting your wish. You get to leave me. I’ve sold you as a servant to a couple going across the sea. You will never see him again. Your enemy tells me he plans to cut out your tongue, so get used to saying your final words now.”
Ella’s eyes bulged at this news, her tongue feeling heavy in her mouth. If her hands had been free, she might have even reached up and felt for it. Now, she swiped her tongue from side to side and looked up at her stepmother. “Please,” she said. “Don’t do this. If you take me to the prince, he will forgive all. He will, I swear it.”
Lady Kenna sneered. “Your swears mean nothing, Ella,” she said. “You mean nothing. Do you know why?”
Ella’s eyebrows squished together as she looked at her stepmother. She shook her head.
“Because you are a woman, Ella. I have tried to get you to understand the import of that. That our power lies in the men we ally ourselves with, and that alone. Perhaps you will keep your word. Perhaps you will ask for forgiveness. You’re like your father, you know.” She looked at Ella sympathetically for the first time in perhaps, ever. “Edward was an honest man. And you share that quality, but you underestimate men of power. The prince will not forgive. Even if you were to remain hush, there are others who know what I’ve done tonight, how I’ve treated you in the past. The prince will not forgive all. The King won’t either. They will ensure that I pay for my wrongs to you, which they perceive as strongly as wrongs against themselves. My choices are limited, Ella. So, I will make the best of my circumstances. I have no intentions of letting you ruin me.”
“I wouldn’t ruin you,” Ella interjected, trying to sound convincing. “The prince loves me. You underestimate the power of love. I swear to you, if you take me to the prince, nothing bad will happen.”
“Oh, Ella,” she said, a cackle escaping her lips. “I don’t know. Perhaps if it were just me, or if I were still young and foolish like you, I might believe. But, I have my senses and I have more than just me to think about. I must do this to cover my tracks and ensure Bathilda’s marriage. You will be gone soon, and the prince will never know what became of you or that I was involved.”
Ella stared, unsure of what to say. Lady Kenna had figured it all out, and had no faith in anyone. She had no faith in anything but treachery and secrecy. Ella racked her brain thinking of something, anything else to say. The only thing she could conjure up seemed too meager.
“If you ever loved my father, please don’t do this,” Ella said. “He loved you, and he wanted nothing more than for you to take care of me. Please. If you just let me go, let me leave this place. I won’t tell the prince that you had anything to do with this. I won’t mention any of this. I will help find a suitor for Bathilda. I will do it because I know that you loved my father, and you honored his wish to protect me. I wish you no harm, stepmother. I only wish to go to my love.”
Lady Kenna curled her lip in a hateful snarl. “I love my daughters. I love them enough to sacrifice Edward’s daughter for their welfare. I’m sorry for you, Ella. But you brought this on yourself. I can’t help you.” With this, Lady Kenna stood, turned and walked away.
Chapter 35
Ashton stared at Gertrude, still feeling uncertain at what Gertrude suggested. “And the shoe will really lead me to her?”
Gertrude nodded. “Yes,” she said, her voice resolute. “I swear to you.”
He rubbed his temples, not sure if any of what she said was possible.
“Here,” said Gertrude. “We’ll go over the plan once more. You’ll need to get rid of the guard, all except Heinrich. You’ll send him tonight with the real shoe.” She tipped her head toward the glass-covered shoe sitting on the floor in front of them.
Ashton wondered briefly how she could tell them apart. Sitting on his bed was a shoe that looked exactly like Cinderella’s, only Gertrude had created it. She’d taken one of his shoes, pressed it, and it had somehow turned into a replica of Cinderella’s. He’d been amazed by the feat, but Gertrude had called it, “Simple fairy magic. A babe could do that.”
Gertrude tipped her head toward the fake slipper. “This is the one you’re to send out with your royal guard. They are to scour the kingdom for the maiden you danced with and try this slipper on every maiden in the land, until they find one it fits.”
This was the part of Gertrude’s plan that worried him the most. “And you say the magic you put on it will make it fit no one.”
“No one’s foot will fit in that slipper,” she assured him, adding a curt nod of her head. “Already, it’s daintier than Cinderella’s, but even still, if a dainty-footed lass slips her foot in there, it will shrink even more or expand, depending on how close in size she actually is to the shoe. The key is, the magic that I’ve used means this fake shoe will not fit anyone else’s foot except Cinderella’s.”
“But, won’t my father want to know why I don’t just send out people to search for her by name and her acquaintances?”
Gertrude gave him a brooding glare, as if he was silly to ask such a question. “Tell him you didn’t get her name,” she said.
“But we were together for hours, dancing and touring the palace,” he said. “How could I not get her name?”
“You’re thinking too much about this,” Gertrude said. “Tell your father you were too besotted by her beauty and charm to think properly. The townspeople will believe it. While they like the royals, they’re very accepting of you having strange customs. You’ve been hidden so long, they’ll chalk it up to you not knowing social things, like to get a girl’s name first. The key is that everyone goes out with this shoe to find your maiden.”
Ashton nodded. “Then, we wait for the note, to learn where I must go to pay the ransom for Cinderella.”
“Yes, but first we must wait for Heinrich,” she said. “He will take a page with him and find Cinderella. Upon finding her, he will send the page back with her location. If it is different from that in the note, we’ll know it’s a trap.”
“If it’s a trap, then I don’t go. I send the page and my mother’s personal guard to the location to confront the kidnappers, while I join Heinrich and rescue Cinderella,” Ashton said. “If the location is real, then I deliver the gold and make good on my promise.”
Gertrude let out a grunt. “Sire, I don’t know why you feel the need to be honorable with people who have no honor,” she said. “You don’t need to play fair with them, as I don’t believe they mean to play fair with you.”
He nodded. “Understood,” he said. “But, I worry that someone who asks for such a small sum actually needs it. If they did something bad because they were misguided, I wouldn’t want to harm them. When I met Cinderella, she was in a bad place, and she did something she wouldn’t normally do. What if that’s the reason they took her? Because they knew what she did, and they were in a rough spot too?”
“Even so,” Gertrude started.
“Not even so,” he said. “I don’t want to punish someone harshly if it’s not necessary. If Cinderella is unharmed, then we’ll forget all this.”
“You shouldn’t,” she said. “Whoever did this, it feels personal rather than desperate.”
He sighed. “I don’t care who did this,” he said. “I just want to find her and bring her back safely.”
Chapter 36
Ashton had managed to get a couple hours of sleep, but now he was awake. The sun had risen, so it was well into morning. The page had returned with a note from Heinrich. Its contents were confusing. It said Cinderella was at her stepmother’s home. But that didn’t make any sense. There also appeared to be no sign of trouble or bandits.
Why would the kidnappers take her home? Was it some type of trick? Was it something Cinderella had willingly participated in? Would she rea
lly use him in this fashion? Would she conspire with others to trick him for a ransom, even after she’d promised him her heart?
He shook his head. She would never do that to him. But why was she with her stepmother? It didn’t make sense. He was about to call for Gertrude when there was a knock at his door. “Come,” he called out.
The door opened and it was Leith, walking quickly toward him with a note in his outstretched hand.
“Is it from the kidnappers?” Ashton asked.
Leith nodded his head, and handed the note to his cousin.
Ashton took the paper and read it to himself. He smiled. Then he laughed. It had been insane to think Cinderella had conspired with these supposed kidnappers to defraud him. It still didn’t explain why she was at home. But it did indicate that these people were liars. He crumpled the note and dropped it on the floor.
Leith stared at him, wide-eyed and confused. “Cousin,” he said. “Have you gone mad? That note is the only way to find your beloved.”
Ashton shook his head. “No, it’s not,” he said. “It’s a lie.”
Leith reached out and grabbed his cousin’s shoulder. “What do you mean?”
Ashton stared at his cousin and bit his lower lip, wondering if he should tell him the truth. He shrugged and decided Leith could be trusted. They were friends from the time they were children, and Leith had always kept his secrets before. Plus, Leith wasn’t Chandler. He wasn’t prone to giving into emotions or his immediate desires for pleasure. He had a calmer, more measured personality, something Ashton could use at this moment.
“I know where she is,” Ashton said. “Heinrich confirmed it. He took a page with him this morning and the two of them located her. He sent the page back with her location, which is her home, where she lives with her stepmother. This note suggests I meet the kidnappers in the forest in the country. This location is not where she is. It is a trick. I do not understand it, yet I’m going to go and talk to her. These kidnappers — well — I’ll send a few trusted men from mother’s guard to deal with them.”
Leith shook his head vigorously and said with concern, “I’m still confused, cousin. How do you know where she is and how do you know the kidnappers are lying?”
Ashton started toward the door. “I can’t explain how Heinrich found her and, frankly, you wouldn’t believe me if I did,” he said. “Regardless, I know where she is, and it’s not where the kidnappers have asked me to meet them.”
“Why is she at home?” Leith asked. “Why would she leave and not speak to you, if she were alright?”
“That is what I intend to find out. I’d gone so mad with worry this night that I thought for a moment that she had conspired with them, but I don’t think that is the case now,” Ashton said, pulling open the door.
Leith pushed the door shut before his cousin could exit. “Wait,” he said. “How do you know she isn’t conspiring with them, that this isn’t a trap? How far is the meeting location from her home?”
Ashton pursed his lips, thinking about the question. He tried to configure the location the kidnappers demanded he meet them in relation to Ella’s home that Heinrich had described. In retrospect, it wasn’t actually that far from it. He walked back toward the main part of the room, and then over to his desk, where a map of the kingdom lay. Looking at the map, Ashton realized the drop location wasn’t far from the Crystal Pond. In fact, it was right smack in between the Crystal Pond and Ella’s house.
“She could be working with them,” Leith said, standing next to Ashton and looking down at the map.
“You don’t know where she lives in relation to the drop-off location,” Ashton said. “You don’t know that they’re close.”
“I know you,” Leith said, raising an eyebrow and cocking a half-smile. “And your expression says they’re close.”
Ashton shook his head and took a step back. “I’m going to go see her.”
“Are you taking your guard?”
Ashton harrumphed, and almost laughed. “To see her?” he asked, and then shook his head. “No. It’s not necessary.”
Leith opened his mouth, as if he planned to speak, but then closed it again. Ashton was glad for it, because he hadn’t wanted to hear his cousin’s objections. He crossed the room and this time headed out without Leith trying to stop him. His steps were more lively and purposeful as he traversed the hallways leading to the lower levels, where he hoped to slip out unnoticed. He’d need to draw his horse from the stable, but he hoped to run into as few people as possible.
After a minute or so, he was pulled from his thoughts about the best way to leave the castle undetected, when he realized that Leith was following him. He stopped and looked around. No one was about, except for himself and his cousin. “What are you doing?” Ashton asked softly.
“I’m coming with you,” Leith said in a tone matching Ashton’s.
“I don’t need you to come.”
“You think you know that girl because you’ve bedded her, but you don’t,” Leith said. “Girls like that are after only one thing, and I’m coming with you. You’ve sent your royal guard out on an errand to find your,” Leith paused and rolled his eyes, “true love who will fit that stupid slipper.”
Ashton frowned. He hoped this shoe ruse didn’t seem as ridiculous to everyone else as it did to Leith. “You know why I had to get rid of the guard; there is no need for mockery.”
Leith dipped his head in apology. “Regardless, you should have someone escort you. Speak to her by yourself, but let me ride with you, in case you’re accosted along the way.”
It was easier to have Leith ride along than to further their argument. Ashton nodded his assent, turned and continued on his path. His cousin followed silently as they walked through the castle’s back corridors, meeting almost no one. They slipped into the lower tunnels and past the door to the room he and Ella had shared on so many nights.
Ashton’s heart longed for her right now. Longed for her to be safe. They found a passage out to the stables, where they saddled their horses and prepared to exit. This was tricky business. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to exit through the main gate or the rear exit that was used by servants and deliveries. The rear exit meant they would be seen by the servants, but it was unlikely they would be seen by others. It would also mean they’d have to ride the perimeter of the battlements to get to the right road. Using the front gate meant they’d be seen and the gateman would expect some explanation to offer his father as to why he had opened the gate for the prince to leave. However, they’d be on the right path. He was in a hurry. He cantered toward the front gate, and as he arrived, saw a familiar woman standing there, pleading to be let in.
“I have to see the prince,” she told the gateman. “Please, it’s about the girl he’s looking for. The one he danced with.”
“Miss,” said the gateman. “If you’ll be wanting to try on that shoe, it’s not here. The royal guard has been out since before sunrise knocking on doors, trying it on ladies’ foots. If you’re wanting your chance, you need to go back home and —”
“No,” she protested. “I don’t want to try on the shoe. I want to speak to the prince. I know where the girl is. Her name is Ella.”
“Marigold,” Ashton called out, finally placing her. She looked plain without her ball gown, but she was also somewhat prettier this way, without the forced smile of last night.
Marigold bowed her head and without looking up, “Your Highness,” she said. “I need to speak with you.”
Ashton dismounted his horse and bade the gateman to raise the gate. He started walking toward Marigold and noticed Leith about to dismount. He turned to his cousin and shook his head, motioning for him to stay. He wanted to speak to Marigold alone. Leith appeared disgruntled, but stayed put. Ashton walked over to Marigold, took her arm and pulled her several feet away from the gate and prying ears.
“It’s very early,” he said to her in a whisper. “Why are you here?”
She followed his lead with the soft
ness of her voice, though it was still laced with panic when she spoke. “My mother has done something awful,” she said. “Last night, when we left the ball, Ella was stuffed in our carriage and she was sound asleep. Someone had given her something, a sleeping draught, perhaps.”
Ashton’s eyes widened and it was perhaps starting to make sense now why Ella would be at home. “Your mother took Ella from the party. That’s why she left?”
Marigold shook her head. “No, mother didn’t bring Ella to us. She was already there. Mother said she was doing a favor for someone in the castle. We were to take Ella home and keep her there until this afternoon, when the person would come collect her. My mother was promised a proper suitor for Bathilda.”
Ashton nodded his head. Of course. God. Why had Ella ever felt a single obligation toward that wicked woman? A woman who had conspired against Ella, and now him. “You said she was working with someone in the castle. Who?”
Marigold shook her head. “I don’t know,” she said. Then she started crying, big tears rolling down her cheeks and loud sobs. “Your Highness,” she said through the steady stream of tears, “please. I beg your forgiveness for not coming sooner. I was frightened. My mother said that she would tell everyone I was involved, that no one would believe me. I was scared last night, but I gathered my resolve and came. I swear to you, I had nothing to do with this. Ella has always been kind to me, and I admit that I have not always returned her kindness, but I have come to appreciate, in recent months, just how privileged I have been to be on the receiving end of it. Please. Please go and rescue her.”
He patted Marigold on the back. “It will be alright, Marigold,” he said. “I’ll figure this out. But I need your help. You have to stop crying.”
She wiped her eyes and sucked up some snot, making a horrible gurgling noise. “I’m alright now, your Highness.”
Cinders & Ash: A Cinderella Story (Passion-Filled Fairy Tales Book 3) Page 19