The Ugly Stepsister (Unfinished Fairy Tales Book 1)

by Aya Ling

  No doubt he thinks I’m nuts. If I were him, I’d think I was nuts too.

  “Um…” I fish around for an excuse. “I left my emerald brooch at her place. And there’s this garden party I have to go to tomorrow afternoon, and I really need that brooch to set off my dress, so you see, I’ve got to fetch it today.”

  Van scrubs a hand across his face and sighs. A look that is becoming familiar. “Get on.”

  Now that Henry has told me of Mrs. Thatcher’s condition, it’s time to pay a visit.

  To tell the truth, I’m not looking forward to meeting Mrs. Thatcher again. Or rather, I dread going back to that squalid, unsanitary environment. It makes me feel guilty for the comforts I have. But I have to go.

  Half an hour later we reach Mrs. Thatcher’s rented house. I spring off the hansom without assistance (now I’ve gotten the hang of it, even with long skirts) and hurry to the entrance.

  I knock twice before the door opens a crack and a bewildered face peers out. I recognize Mrs. Thatcher, but she was like, unconscious all the time I was there, so I’m a stranger to her. She still looks kind of weak: her skin is pale and her eyes have this hollow look, but at least she has both feet planted firmly on the ground.

  “Good morning.” I nod and smile at her. “I’m Kat—Katriona Bradshaw. Elle may have mentioned my name to you?”

  Mrs. Thatcher’s eyes grow wide. “Mercy me, so you are the younger miss! She told me you brought the doctor for me.”

  “Oh, that wasn’t anything,” I say, embarrassed. “I only offered the assistance of our carriage.”

  “Gods bless you, miss, for your timely aid. Don’t care much what happens to myself, but I have two young uns besides Elle, and it’s hard enough for ‘em. Praise the Lord my Billy found work at a better place.”

  I smile, though privately I think it would be even better if Billy could go to school. “Can I come in for a second?”

  “If you don’t mind our humble quarters; they’re too poor for a lady like you.” Mrs. Thatcher appears flustered. “Elle’s all right, ain’t she?”

  Probably my serious expression has alarmed her. “Elle’s fine. I just want to ask you a few questions.”

  The inside of the hut hasn’t changed much, but it looks much neater and tidier now. Henry must have issued strict orders to clean up the environment to ensure safety for Mrs. Thatcher’s health conditions. On the mattress is a pile of clothes with a pincushion and thimble, so it looks like she is well enough to engage in work. I sit gingerly on the only chair in the middle of the room.

  “Tea, miss?” Mrs. Thatcher moves to a battered, worn-looking tin on a rickety wooden shelf.

  “Thanks, but no. Please don’t trouble yourself; I’ll be going soon.”

  Her hand drops to her side, and there’s a hint of relief in her face. I was kind of worried if I seemed rude, but honestly, for sanitary reasons I’m a bit concerned about drinking tea here. Plus, from conversing with Elle, I’ve learned it takes an awfully long time to boil water over a fire. They don’t have electric stoves in Athelia.

  “Er…” I clear my throat and settle my hands on my knees. “I just want to ask…does Elle have a godmother?”

  Mrs. Thatcher gives me the same baffled look as Martha’s. “None. None that I’ve heard of.”

  Her eyes dart aside for a second when she says it.

  “But you’re her mother. Shouldn’t you know if she has a godmother?”

  She doesn’t answer. She simply twists her fingers on her threadbare apron. I hate myself for causing her discomfort, but I have a mission to accomplish. And if it means Elle can get a happily ever after, they’ll thank me later.

  “Pardon me, Mrs. Thatcher, but is Elle really your daughter?” I lean forward and gaze at her, trying to imitate that intentness of the prince’s. His eyes are definitely unsettling. “Does she, by any chance, have parents elsewhere?”

  Clink! The tin mug she’s holding crashes to the dirt floor. I move to pick it up, but she waves me away.

  “Who told you this?” Her voice cracks and she stares at me, her eyes seeming to take up half of her thin, haggard face.

  Um…because I’ve read the story? I cross my arms and bite my lower lip, searching for an acceptable answer.

  “Because…er…” The portrait gallery in the sitting room flashes through my mind. “We have a picture of my stepfather at home and there’s a, let’s say, an uncanny resemblance between Elle and him.”

  Now she gasps. “My Elle? Daughter of an earl?”

  “You don’t know who her real father is?”

  Mrs. Thatcher shakes her head, slowly. An uncomfortable silence passes between us. I’m surprised that she isn’t aware that Elle might be Earl Bradshaw’s daughter, but then I realize if she knew, she could have tried to restore Elle’s real identity. Elle deserves better than being ordered about by Bianca and Lady Bradshaw.

  “A friend of my husband brought Elle to us when she was still a baby. We were better off at that time. My husband worked in the mines and it paid well. But after he died, it was hard work for me raising the three of them.”

  “So the friend didn’t mention where Elle came from?”

  “It was many years ago.” Mrs. Thatcher puckers her forehead. “Let’s see…his name is Adam…Adam Snyder.”

  Excitement bottles up in my chest. At least I have a clue now.

  “Where does he live?”

  “Not in the city.”

  Oh no. How am I to find him?

  Mrs. Thatcher rubs her hands together. “But I think…yes, I remember now. He has a daughter who works as a housemaid at a noble family’s. When he brought Elle, he mentioned visiting his daughter.”

  “Great. So do you know which family it is?”

  Mrs. Thatcher shakes her head sadly.

  “Sorry miss, it’s too many years ago. Besides, the daughter is likely married by now. If she married, she would have left her employer.”

  Oh great. With all the rotten luck I’ve been having lately, is this any surprise?

  I fiddle with my bonnet, with a sudden urge to tear off the pink ribbons and roses on it.

  A creaking sound comes from the door. It swings open, and a boy about ten staggers inside. He is as thin as a rod, his spindly legs are crooked, and his clothes are ragged and patched. His posture looks more fit for an old man of sixty.

  “Jimmy!” Mrs. Thatcher hurries toward the boy and puts her arm around him. “Why’re you back so early? They didn’t fire you, did they?”

  “Nah, an accident happened.” The boy shrugs. He tries to act like it’s no big deal, but I’m sure there’s a glimmer of fear in his eyes. “Mr. McVean gave us the day off while they fix the machines.” Then he spots me and a puzzled frown appears. “Who’s she?”

  “Don’t stare like that, Jimmy, it’s rude.” Mrs. Thatcher places her hands on Jimmy’s shoulders and turns him to face me. “This is Miss Katriona. one of the ladies Elle works for.”

  Jimmy’s eyes go wide. “You’re the lady who brought the doctor for Mamsie?”

  “I just offered use of the hansom,” I say, focusing on the battered window. The way Mrs. Thatcher and Jimmy look at me, it’s like I’m Spiderman or Batman. “Um, Mrs. Thatcher, I had better be going. Are you certain there’s nothing more you can tell me about Adam Snyder?”

  She shuts her eyes for a moment, her eyebrows pulled together, but finally shakes her head. “I wish I could help you, miss, but I can’t think of anything. It’s such a long time ago.”

  I sigh. Even if I could Google him, there would probably be hundreds of results, with a name like Snyder.

  On the way home, I take a glass vial of perfume from my reticule and spray myself liberally with bergamot-and-lemon oil. Last time I returned from Mrs. Thatcher’s place smelling like a sewer rat, Lady Bradshaw whipped out a handkerchief and asked where I had gone. I am never good at lying, so I only managed to say I fell in the mud. She quirked an eyebrow but luckily did not question me further. After my disast
rous court presentation, my clumsiness is no longer a novelty.

  I sniff my sleeve and make sure that the odor from the poor neighborhood has been tolerably suppressed. Then I disembark from the hansom and walk up to the house.

  Nancy, the parlor maid, opens the front door. She points at the central table in the parlor, where the silver card tray is placed. Usually if there are callers, they will leave their cards on the tray, and Nancy will carry the tray to us. Ever since Bianca was presented, the tray appears in the drawing room at least twice a day.

  “There’s a letter for you and Miss Bianca.”

  A long flat envelope rests on top of the card tray. Filled with curiosity, I break the seal and open the envelope. A piece of snowy-white paper, folded carefully, slides out.

  Miss Claire Fremont requests the pleasure of Miss Bradshaws’ company, on Thursday afternoon next, at 2 o’clock, to take part in some lawn croquet games, and would be happy to have Miss Bradshaws join the party.

  Lawn croquet? A scene in Alice in Wonderland pops up in my head. The Queen of Hearts, swinging that flamingo like a golf club, and the stupid dormouse rolling and rolling over the grass…

  I stifle a giggle. For the first time since the Season started, I’m actually looking forward to a social event.

  TWELVE

  Several exhausting days follow. Since I’m still terrible at dancing, Lady Bradshaw decided I could put off a few picnics and concerts and concentrate on my lessons. I don’t know which is worse: trying not to encourage any men while Lady Bradshaw tries hard to present me as a desirable young lady, or tripping on my feet while Pierre yells and raps his cane on my ankles.

  After two hours of pure torture—my dancing is still awful—I head to the kitchens to get a cool drink of water. When no one is around, I snatch up the jug and take a long, satisfying gulp. I’ve always been tempted to drink directly from the jug, and since there are no plastic bottles here, whenever I’m hot and thirsty, it tries my patience drinking from a tiny china cup.

  Thank God the lessons are over for now. I head back to my room and sit by the open window, letting the cool wind fan my hair, clearing my head. Still zero progress with the story. I go through my to-do list, but without any clue to the fairy godmother, I can’t figure out what else I could do. I call out for Krev, but there’s no answer. Maybe he’s still at the goblin king’s court, relating my social mishaps with lots of chortling.

  A movement on the street arrests my attention. A small dark figure is waving at me. I squint; it’s Jimmy, Elle’s younger brother who I just met last week.

  I point at myself. He nods and waves his hands even more dramatically.

  I go downstairs, wondering what on earth Jimmy would want with me. Has Mrs. Thatcher’s condition worsened?

  When I open the gate and step into the street, Jimmy shuffles to me. In broad daylight, his eyes seem even larger on his face. However, he looks less exhausted and a smile hovers by his mouth.

  “‘Lo, miss.”

  “Elle’s in the laundry room,” I say. “Do you have a message for her? I can convey it for you.”

  He shakes his head, pushing his hands deeper into his pockets. A finger pokes out from a hole in his fraying trousers.

  “I just needs to talk to you, miss. Kin we go a bit farther? This ain’t a place I’m supposed to be seen in.”

  Across the street, a man with a bowler hat and shiny buckled shoes flashes us a curious stare.

  “Sure,” I say. Now I’m curious what he has to say. We proceed around a corner to the side of the house, outside the walls, away from the main street. An elm tree shields Jimmy from view. It’s not ideal, but there are way fewer people passing by.

  Once we’re off the main street, Jimmy lets out a breath. “I’ve come to tell you, miss. Of the man you’re asking about.”

  “What man?”

  “That man called Adam something.”

  My stomach flutters. “You found him? You know where we can find him?”

  Jimmy kicks his foot on the ground. “Nah, but he helped us plant the bush outside our house. Mamsie now remembers he’s a gardener at the place he comes from. Don’t suppose that’ll help you much, but you were asking.”

  I doubt it as well. There must be hundreds of gardeners in the city (we have one at home), not to mention that Adam Snyder isn’t even from the city.

  “That’s all? Is there anything else your mother remembers?”

  Jimmy shakes his head. “Nah.” He coughs.

  I fish out a handkerchief for him, but he waves me off. “Can’t ruin somethin’ so fine.”

  Sunlight pours down at us, illuminating the pavement. I am reminded that it should be nearing noon. “Is it your day off today?”

  Jimmy shakes his head. “Lunchtime. I’d best be going soon.”

  “When do you get your day off? Sunday?”

  “Never,” he replies placidly. “Can’t afford to, miss. We’re paid by how much work we do.”

  A chill runs down my spine. Not just because he revealed that he doesn’t have any vacation, but that this boy, who can’t be more than ten, is stating his job situation in a matter-of-fact tone, as if he’s just telling me the weather’s fine today.

  “Jimmy,” I say faintly. “How many hours do you work a day?”

  He looks surprised but answers, “Twelve hours, miss. Sometimes up to fifteen, when it’s high season.”

  I stare at him, numb with shock. I effing cannot believe this.

  A shout comes from within the household.

  “Miss Katriona, where are you? Lunch is ready.”

  “You’d better go, miss,” Jimmy says, looking alarmed.

  I nod. But before I start to head back, an inexplicable urge hits me. I reach out and give him a hug. His body, as expected, is just like a bag of bones, thin and brittle.

  “Take care,” I say. “And don’t mention to Elle your coming to see me, okay? I can’t tell you at the moment, but I swear I’m doing all I can to help her.”

  Jimmy looks surprised and a little embarrassed. “You shouldn’t…your dress is dirtied, miss.”

  “Just promise me not to tell Elle,” I say.

  He nods and shuffles off. Before disappearing round the corner, Jimmy trips and almost loses his balance. I wish I could call our hansom cab for him, but I can’t. Van is reluctant to drive me unchaperoned. I can’t imagine how he would react to this request.

  “How do you find a gardener in a city of three million? Oh wait, he isn’t even in the city. Dammit! Can’t you even help me out here? Your goblin king is driving me nuts. It isn’t even fair when I don’t have magic like you do.”

  I pace up and down in my room, foaming with rage. A new flat-wicked kerosene lamp burns on my dresser. I should be practicing sewing, but who cares about a lady’s accomplishments in a time like this?

  Krev perches on the mantelpiece, his ugly knobby feet dangling before the hearth. I whirl upon him and fix him with the most intimidating glare I can manage. Maybe if I glare hard enough, he’ll come up with something other than cackling or crowing.

  “Do you know how to find this Adam Snyder?”

  Krev shrugs. “Have you ever heard of a gardener in Cinderella?”

  “No, but also it’s never mentioned that Cinderella has a mother and two brothers! Look, I’m sick and tired of playing this silly game. Can’t you do some magical equivalent of Google search?”

  Krev disappears for a second, then reappears on the window sill.

  “Well, here’s an idea,” he suggests cheerfully. “We know Adam Snyder is a gardener who doesn’t live in the city, but he has a daughter who does, and he has visited her years ago. Most likely, if their relationship has not deteriorated to the point that they’re estranged from each other, he’ll keep coming to the city.”

  “You’re not being helpful,” I say. “Are you telling me I have to look for his daughter?”

  “What I meant is that Snyder could have other acquaintances in the city. He might purchase mor
e seeds or tools, or bring in some wild species from wherever he works. Why don’t you ask at the shops and see if they have a clue?”

  “Me?”

  “‘Course, my dear. Even if I’m feeling benevolent enough—which I’m not—to do it for you, they can’t see me. And even if they could, they wouldn’t listen to me.”

  He’s wearing that infuriating grin again. The grin that likes to see me suffer.

  “I still don’t think this is a good idea,” I say, crossing my arms. “First, it’s like combing for a needle in a haystack. Second, isn’t it kind of strange for a noble lady to step inside a gardening store where they sell fertilizers and spades and rakes?”

  “Now she’s worrying about propriety!” Krev cackles. “This from a girl who drove to the poorest neighborhood unchaperoned and allowed her servant to ride in the hansom with her. And took off her shoes in the royal garden and snored in the theatre and…”

  “Oh shut up, you,” I snap. If he couldn’t fly or disappear, I’d wring his neck.

  There’s a knock on the door. “Miss Katriona?”

  Martha comes in with a load of fresh laundry. She squints at me, a suspicious glint in her eyes. “Were you talking to yourself?”

  Now, if she asked me that question when I first arrived in this world, I might have stuttered and stammered, or just played dumb, but now I am ‘much improved.’

  “Actually, Martha, I was simply rehearsing a piece of poetry I would like to perform in the next soiree,” I say, lifting my chin. “Since my piano-playing is dreadful, my singing horrible, and I dance with two left feet, I figure the only way left is to hone my elocution.”

  Out of the corner of my eye, I glimpse Krev nodding with approval.

  Martha dumps the load of cotton chemises and drawers on my bed, and starts sorting them into neat piles, folding with expert efficiency.

  “By the way, I need to go shopping today. I’d like to decorate my window sill with flowers.”

  She pauses, a sleeve dangling in her hand. “Flowers, miss?”

  “Why yes.” I give her a winning smile. “After visiting so many beautiful homes, I’d like some flowers in the room. The Ladies Domestic Journal says a little gardening will benefit our health, because of the fresh air the plants provide. Wouldn’t you like a nice, colorful flowerbed in the window?”