Cinderella and the Lady Page 6

  “You’re shocked to see me again,” the lady said, not seeming miffed at all.

  “Aren’t you worried your horse might wander off?” Ellie blurted out, pointing to the horse standing a short distance away.

  The lady shook her head and pressed her palms down over her skirt. “I told Champion to stay put. He’ll obey.”

  She has such long fingers and perfect-looking nails. She sighed, wishing her hands weren’t calloused with ragged nails.

  “You don’t believe me?” the lady asked, looking troubled.

  “It’s a nice day for a ride.” She ignored the question and scratched August behind his ear.

  “A near perfect day. I’m glad to see you’re taking advantage of it.”

  “Why would you be glad for me?” she asked carefully.

  “You must work very hard,” the lady announced and shifted until she set her legs out in front of her, coming within touching distance of Ellie’s foot.

  She crossed her legs under her skirt, hiding her bare feet. Her stockings were inside her old, scuffed clogs she had set behind her earlier.

  “You have the right idea. I think I’ll do the same.” The lady proceeded to lift up the hem of her skirt and untied her boots.

  Ellie should have turned away for propriety’s sake, but couldn’t. The woman plucked off her boots and stockings, showing off her naked ankles and feet. She wiggled her toes and stretched her arms above her head.

  When the lady’s chest pressed out underneath her jacket, she did look away then, concentrating on a seagull waddling by.

  “Hello there, little chap. It’s nice to make your acquaintance.”

  Ellie looked back and her jaw dropped. August had crawled into the woman’s lap and allowed her to pet him. He didn’t let anyone pet him but Ellie.

  “What’s your cat’s name?”

  August meowed and butted the woman’s hand. Traitor. She wanted to snatch her cat back.

  The woman’s hand stilled over August. “If you’re not comfortable telling me—”

  “It’s August,” she whispered.

  “August.” The woman nodded in approval. “A dignified name.”

  “He was born in August,” she replied, as if it made perfect sense why the cat had been given his name.

  The woman petted August again. She circled her fingers across his back and he arched into her hand. Ellie felt the urge to do the same. Lucky cat.

  “Would August’s mistress like to volunteer her name?”

  Ellie snapped out of her daze. The phantom touch on her back disappeared. Suddenly realizing she still had her apple, she tossed it away. “Why do you want to know my name? I’m nobody.”

  “Everyone is somebody.” The woman gave her a kind smile. “What if I told you mine?”

  Ellie lifted up a handful of sand and let it fall through her fingers. She continued sifting her fingers through the sand, forming a small pile next to her.

  “You can call me…Elle,” she said, not forthcoming, but just enough where she wouldn’t be caught in a lie.

  “You mean like the letter L?” the woman asked, looking delightfully confused.

  She smiled. “Exactly.”

  “All right…Elle. Since you’ve been nice enough to give me your name, you may call me Diana.”

  She mouthed the woman’s name. She liked it, but certainly wouldn’t call her that in her presence. When Diana held out her hand, she didn’t take it.

  “Aren’t you going to shake my hand?” Diana asked.

  She shook her head. “It wouldn’t be right for someone in my position, miss.”

  “I’m giving you permission to shake my hand.” A glower spanned Diana’s face. “And please, stop with the ‘miss’.”

  Ellie didn’t take the hand offered but nodded in acceptance. “I’ll keep that in mind for the next time, Lady Diana.”

  The glower turned into a scowl. Instead of another reprimand, she snatched Ellie’s hand right off her lap and gave it a hearty pump. “If anyone asks, you can say I touched you first. And seeing as you’re into respecting your betters, you will obey me and call me Diana, not Lady Diana or Miss Diana. Understand?”

  Diana gave her hand a squeeze. Ellie kept her hand slack when all she wanted to do was link their fingers together. Diana’s skin was as soft as she had imagined it would be. When Diana didn’t release her, Ellie returned the shake.

  “I understand perfectly. Just Diana.”

  Diana’s lips lifted into a semblance of a grin. “Touche, Elle.”

  She had no idea what that word meant but gave no indication she didn’t know. With a tugged on her hand, Diana let go.

  “Your name is pretty,” she admitted. She couldn’t think of one Diana she knew of or ever met.

  Diana’s lips quirked. “The majority of the women in my family are named after the goddess Diana. Most of the time it’s a middle name so not to confuse, although my two great aunts were both Dianas. And they both happened to be twins!”

  Ellie laughed in response and decided to take a chance and not censor herself as she usually did when she was curious about something. “What is a goddess exactly?”

  Diana didn’t seem to mind the question and leaned forward as if she was going to share a secret.

  Ellie listened carefully as Diana explained.

  * * * *

  Her lack of guilt over giving a false name should have worried her. But it didn’t. She was honest in a way. Her middle name was Diana. It was well worth it to keep her identity a secret from the engaging woman sitting across from her.

  Elle was captivated while she explained the history of the goddess Diana and why she was a much-beloved character from Greek mythology. Elle only interrupted when she had a question. She was a curious sort, and it made her all the more endearing. Her forehead would wrinkle and the tip of her tongue would swipe along her bottom lip as she concentrated.

  Her fingers twitched with the urge to caress Elle’s mouth or cheek. If she was more forward, she would have stolen a kiss, but this wasn’t like Leena, who welcomed her touch, or the bored Finnish wives and widows who liked experimenting in the bedroom.

  By the time Kristina finished her story, Elle wrapped her arms around her legs and rested her chin on top of her knees, her attention never waning, watching her the entire time. Earlier, she had taken off her jacket and unbuttoned the top of her blouse to cool off. She wanted to lie on her side and ask Elle to join her, but every time she moved in closer, Elle became wary and tense. She didn’t want to frighten the poor girl, but wanted to ease the tension between them.

  The next step was arranging another meeting to see if they were as compatible as she thought they were. If so, she would then announce who she was really was and offer Elle employment in her parents’ house.

  Her throat had become dry from her talking and she bemoaned the fact she didn’t have anything to quench her thirst.

  “Forgive me, I need a moment to rest my voice,” she stated and cleared her throat.

  Elle dug into her basket and produced an apple. She held it out in an offering. “Here, take this. It should soothe your parched throat.”

  She smiled in thanks and took the fruit, deliberately gliding her fingers over the ridges of Elle’s knuckles. She then took a big bite and moaned from the sweet juices filling her mouth.

  “This is wonderful.” She saluted with the half-eaten apple and spread out her legs, rotating her ankles back and forth to alleviate the stiffness there.

  “Apples are my favorite fruit,” Elle smiled down at August, who dozed in her lap. She scratched between his ears and he yawned. “The best kind of pie to make is apple. The smell of cinnamon fills the kitchen and it sticks in your hair and in your skin. My mother loved to…um.” She shut her mouth and turned away to look off to the side.

  She stopped chewing, waiting for Elle to tell her about her mother. She didn’t, and that made her all the more intrigued.

  “Forgive me for prying, but you don’t see your moth
er often or is she…?” She waved her hand around for Elle to carry on.

  Elle stared out at the ocean. “My mother was killed in an accident when I was a child. Things weren’t the same at home after she died.”

  A pang of sympathy came over Kristina as Elle’s voice grew childlike while she spoke about her mother gone too soon. She took Elle’s hand, brushing her thumb across the inside of her wrist. Elle didn’t flinch or pull away.

  The sound of the crashing waves and chirps of the seagulls filled the lull between them. It wasn’t until August climbed off her lap and sniffed around did Elle take back her hand and fiddle with the basket, examining it as if something special was hidden inside.

  Kristina threw her half-eaten apple away and rubbed her hands together to erase the stickiness coating her fingers. A square wooden board near the corner of the blanket caught her eye. She picked it up, trying to read the strange lettering drawn on the board.

  Something like a grunt came from Elle. She glanced up. Elle’s face had lost her color.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked and reached out for Elle’s arm.

  Elle motioned with her chin at the slate in Kristina’s hand. “That’s my slate.”

  “I can see it’s a slate. What are you using it for?”

  “To…practice my penmanship and to read better.”

  Aha! That’s why she reacted the way she did. She must be ashamed by her lack of schooling.

  “Oh? That’s admirable. Not many women in your situation would further their education.” She held out the slate for Elle to take. “But why do it alone? Isn’t there a tutor nearby you can go to for lessons?”

  Elle grabbed the slate and set the book on top of it. Kristina tried to catch the name of the book, but it was dropped in the basket and covered.

  “I can’t afford no money for a teacher,” Elle said in a tight voice and tugged on the frayed hem of her dress.

  “It’s better if you leave out the word, ‘no’, as in, I can’t afford to pay for a teacher,” Kristina corrected.

  “Either way I say it doesn’t matter. I do the best with what I have.” Elle stuck out her chin.

  That’s the spirit, my darling girl. Speak your mind! She wanted to cheer.

  Elle suddenly dropped her head down and her shoulders sagged.

  “Are you all right?” Kristina set her hand on Elle’s shoulder, keeping it there for a moment, then sliding down her arm.

  Elle nibbled on her bottom lip. “I apologize, my lady. I shouldn’t have spoken so rudely. I should know better than to show my temper in such a way.”

  She tilted Elle’s chin up. Her eyes showed bleak remorse. Kristina’s chest stung. This poor girl needed some coddling. She wanted to be the one to give that to her.

  “Now, listen to me. You have nothing to be ashamed of. You’re hardworking, like most of the people in this town not born into privilege. Many can’t read or don’t care to learn. But you, my precious girl, have taken the step in the right direction.” She tugged on one of Elle’s curls.

  Elle wiped her cheek and laughed softly when August lifted up and swiped his paw against her chin. She pulled him into an embrace and kissed his nose.

  “Even your kitty thinks the same way I do,” she joked and Elle laughed again.

  “Thank you,” Elle said and dropped August back down. “You’re a nice lady.”

  “I should like to think so.” Her stomach did a little flip over Elle’s compliment.

  Elle gave her a small smile and rose to leave.

  “You’re leaving?” Moving to her feet, she wanted to keep talking to her new friend.

  “It’s getting late and I have to make dinner.” Elle moved the basket off to the side and lifted up the blanket.

  The sun wasn’t as high as it had been before and the ocean had grown calm. Kristina hugged her arms around her waist, feeling a slight chill in the air. She had enjoyed her conversation with Elle and wished she could prolong it. The odds of them spending more time together was small. She could only imagine how that would go over with the townspeople. The gossip about the duke’s daughter befriending a lowly servant girl would be unrelentless.

  She kicked a pebble away and tapped her fingers against her hip. There had to be a way—aha!

  Lifting her hands to her mouth, her joy mounted over her amazing idea that would allow her and Elle to remain in contact.

  “Are you feeling well, miss? Your eyes have gone all glassy like,” Elle asked.

  Kristina stepped forward and smiled down into Elle’s face. “I have a marvelous idea. I can tutor you in your studies.”

  Elle stared at her disbelief. “Why would you want to do such a thing? Don’t you have better things to do, like shop?”

  She laughed. Elle’s question didn’t come out as defensive, but the opposite, with an open and innocent tone to it. She could understand why Elle thought the way she did. Most women of quality who had a fortune at their disposal spent most of their days in leisure.

  “You’re very intuitive. I do enjoy shopping just like any woman, but every so often I shake things up and do something out of the ordinary.” She beamed, delighted with her reasoning.

  Elle didn’t seem to agree. Her forehead burrowed and strain lines appeared around her mouth. “I don’t know what in-tu-itive means, but I won’t be a charity case to make you feel good about yourself.” She turned away and lifted August, who chewed on a broken piece of shell.

  Kristina twisted her hands, feeling rotten for making Elle upset. I must fix this before she rushes away.

  Elle lifted August in her arms. “I spoke badly just now and shouldn’t have. I keep forgetting my position and how you’re a peer of the realm.”

  She wanted to correct Elle but that would be just another lie. “That might be the case but I’m not going to obsess about it like you are. Can’t we pretend we’re equals?”

  Elle bent down, placing August in her basket as her answer.

  Kristina nibbled her bottom lip. Think! She stalled Elle by bending down and crooning to the cat. He responded by licking her fingers.

  “At least your cat likes me.” Her lips slipped into a small pout.

  A blush colored Elle’s cheeks. “I like you also,” she whispered and ran her palm down August’s back.

  Her hand landed over Elle’s and she halted her movements. “Before you say no, please hear me out. I want to tutor you not because you’re a charity case but because I want to be your friend. I know of a place where we can be alone and uninterrupted. I’m allowed access to the duke’s land as his guest. There’s a vacant gamekeeper’s cottage on the edge of his property near the river. We can use it as a schoolroom.”

  “What about the Lady Kristina or Lord Simon? Won’t they question why you’re spending time with a servant?”

  “They don’t have to know. They’re fine with me going off by myself. As long as I’m back in time for dinner, no one will find it odd. We can meet for an hour or two each day.”

  “I can’t. My duties take up a lot of my time.” Elle took August back.

  She crossed her arms, annoyed. “Really? I guess your duties today weren’t too pressing.”

  Elle gave her a sheepish smile and brushed back a piece of her hair that had fallen over her eye. “Sometimes my mistress can be generous when it suits her.”

  Not to be undaunted, Kristina wouldn’t budge without getting what she wanted. “I’ll work around your schedule. When are you free next?”

  Elle stared up at the sky and her cheeks bulged out as she blew out air. “In three days, on Sunday. After morning Mass, my mistress visits with friends, then takes a long nap before supper. I guess I can get away for a few hours.”

  “Shall we say around three o’clock on Sunday afternoon, then?”

  “Are you certain I won’t get in trouble being on the duke’s property?”

  The nervous look Elle shot her way had Kristina longing to comfort her. Now was not the time, but soon enough she would. Instead, she smiled b
rightly. “Trust me. There’s no reason to worry. I’ll handle everything.”

  “I’ll try.”

  For now Elle’s begrudging acceptance was good enough for her. She conceded, ecstatic she had gotten her way.

  “Now I really must go before I get in trouble. Thank you for keeping me company.” Elle curtsied and grabbed her clogs.

  What ghastly shoes. Kristina eyed the footwear with disdain. They were unsightly and the color of mud, with unidentifiable stains.

  “They might be ugly but don’t pinch my feet and are very serviceable.” Elle came to her footwear’s defense as she lifted a clog in the air.

  Kristina wouldn’t tease the woman about her hideous shoes. She didn’t want to say or do anything else that could offend. “I imagine they are. I actually prefer my riding boots.” She waved in the general direction were they lay. “Slippers are not the most effective for walking long distances. Dancing can be a trial. Some gentleman always ends up treading on my poor toes.”

  “I’ve never been dancing before.”

  “Never? How can that be?” she asked, taken aback.

  Elle shrugged. “No time, really.”

  “I must teach you to dance then. A woman cannot go through life not knowing how dance.” She lifted a finger in the air to push her point home.

  Elle’s lips twitched. “I’ll keep that in mind.” She gathered the rest of her things and climbed up the short incline to the top.

  “Don’t forget, three o’clock Sunday near the river where it runs across Perrault’s property. You won’t be able to miss the small white building in need of a new coat of paint.”

  Elle stared down at her from above. “I’ll be able to find it. Goodbye.” With a wave, she disappeared from view.

  Kristina didn’t follow Elle. There was no way she could be sneaky about it with her horse. For now she’d allow Elle her secrets, but soon enough she would learn all of them and introduce her skittish friend to a whole new world that had been denied her.

  Chapter Six

  Ellie kept an ear out for Geraldine and Mina while she packed a basket with fruit, cheese, and bread for her study lesson with Diana. When August brushed against her leg, she lifted him up to her face. He licked her cheek and meowed.