C3 Chapter 03

Ida and her two stepsisters arrived home later on. Cindy wasn’t planning to greet or even speak to them. She was planning to avoid her stepmother as long as possible.

She knew Ida would eventually come to speak to her about what had happened. She still hadn’t seen her father’s medals, but she was ready to announce to Ida that she was going to keep them in her room once she received them. Cindy didn’t care, and, especially after last night, she was done remaining silent. She was going to prove to herself that she could find a respectable husband. She wasn’t exactly rushing to get married, but if she met the right man, and he treated her well, she had no objections.

In the past, when her father was still alive, she’d always been happy. She didn’t remember much of her mother—she died when Cindy was young. Her father was a good man, and he looked after her well. Several years later, after her mother’s death and when Cindy turned thirteen, her father remarried. Apparently, Ida had met her father, Ted, at the market in another kingdom while he was trying to sell her an expensive rug.

Cindy was certain that she only married him because of his wealth. Ida had prearranged the perfect plan of seduction, and after weeks of seeing him, he finally proposed. Cindy knew the truth: she had overheard Teresa and Susan (her stepsisters) talking and laughing about how her father had been so clueless. As Cindy grew older, her father had felt guilty leaving her alone while he travelled, and he wanted her to have company—that’s why he married Ida.

One day after a month of absence, a telegram arrived. Ida had told Cindy that her father had a heart attack and died on the road. It was one of the worst days of her life, and she was truly devastated. Ida then became Cindy’s guardian until such time that she was married. Both rarely agreed on anything. When Cindy had begun seeing Tom, her stepmother didn’t interfere. It was clear that she was hoping Cindy would get herself into trouble with the law.

Cindy thought about Lieutenant Stanton. She was comparing this odd instant attraction to the way she felt with Tom. Even now, she became flustered as a wave of heat rushed through her core. She wanted to see him again and learn more about him.

After a horrendous night in the cell, she was exhausted. She changed into her night clothes, then took out a palette of colors. She wanted to paint tonight. She hadn’t done so for a long time, but she suddenly felt struck with inspiration. Many said she had a real and raw talent.

Her father had sold several of her paintings to other wealthy tradesman outside Farrington. However, after he died, Cindy stopped believing in herself. Ida had discouraged her—she kept saying that she could never make any real money from art, but Cindy had a creative soul.

She had never stop dreaming that, one day, she could make her love of creating works of art something to be proud of and make a living from it, too. She brought water to the table near the blank canvas and dipped a thin paintbrush into red paint. She closed her eyes, trying to picture the face of the mysterious Lieutenant Stanton.

She was suddenly interrupted by the sound of horses outside. Cindy set the paintbrush aside, feeling that these days, she could never focus, then went to the window to see who was paying her stepmother a visit so late in the night. No one had visited her since her father died, but she was generally curious to know what was going on in Ida’s life.

She frowned when she saw a royal carriage with snow-white horses. Shortly after, the coachman stepped out and greeted her stepmother in front of the house. He was dressed in a crisp white uniform, and Cindy instantly recalled several women at the market, speaking of Prince Eric’s father, King Caspian, and how he was planning to organise a ball for his son. Apparently, he was fed up that the prince wasn’t even considering settling down, and he wanted him to find a wife. Cindy had never really been interested in the royals, and surely, she wasn’t planning to attend a ball.

The coachman smiled politely toward her stepmother and handed her something that looked like an invitation. The envelope was thick, and Ida kept giving the messenger her usual sweet smile. It seemed King Caspian had finally made up his mind and decided to go ahead with the ball. Cindy’s eyes sparkled with curiosity as she watched how the coachman handed her stepmother four envelopes. Yes, she couldn’t have been wrong—she saw four letters, which meant that one was for her, too.

For a long time, her father had said she should have been born as a boy, because she never liked wearing dresses or attending parties. Even nowadays, she preferred spending her time hunting in the forest. Cindy didn’t really want to go to the ball, but then another thought struck her.

King Caspian II was looking for a wife for his son. Cindy didn’t understand why she hadn’t thought of this before.

Prince Eric was from the royal family, and if she married him, she could fulfil her father’s clause, start selling art, and therefore, gain control of her father’s estate.

At the same time, she wasn’t certain if this was such a good idea after all. She had seen the prince before, and he didn’t appeal to her in any way. He was handsome, but she wanted to marry for love, not out of obligation.

***

“I haven’t been this excited since the butcher told me he would make me one of the happiest girls in the village,” Susan said, giggling as if she was about to have a fit. “And you know what I mean by that; he would fulfil my deepest fantasies.”

Cindy was behind the house, collecting feed for the chickens when she overheard Susan talking, yet again, about her sexual adventures with various men she used to meet in town. Today, everyone was talking about the ball. Apparently, the young prince was ruining the king’s reputation, and the ball was King Caspian’s last chance to set him back on the right path.

Neither of Cindy’s stepsisters knew she was standing around the corner. It had been a long day and Cindy was hidden in the old part of the house, hoping to rest for a bit, but it seemed that Susan and Teresa had a similar idea.

Earlier in the morning, Cindy’s stepmother had caught up with her in the kitchen during breakfast. Cindy knew they couldn’t avoid each other forever. Ida had handed her a list of menial chores that she needed to complete by dusk and threatened to kick her out of the house if she didn’t finish on time. Cindy was used to her stepmother’s intimidation tactics, but she suspected that things were only going to get worse because she now had a counsellor of her own who was helping her fight Ida’s claims.

Cindy shook her head, not quite believing what she was hearing. She knew her stepsisters weren’t afraid of their mother. They also didn’t seem to care what people thought about them. She knew Susan and Teresa slept around with random men, while her stepmother thought they were perfectly well-mannered ladies who would preserve their virtue until marriage—if she only knew half of what they did, she’d be scandalised.

“I know, attending a royal ball is so exciting,” Teresa squeaked. “I bet we’ll see many handsome bachelors there.”

“Pffft, forget about all the other gentlemen. Prince Eric is the most handsome of them all. I need to find a way to talk to him, and once we get past that, then I can show him how experienced I am in the bedroom,” Susan said, already planning her usual seduction game.

Cindy rolled her eyes, trying not to burst out laughing. Did Susan really think the prince would just leave with her during the ball? There would be a hundred-plus ladies standing by for introduction, and he would be obligated to make time for everyone.

Ida most likely wasn’t even planning to tell her that she had received an invitation, but Cindy wasn’t particularly worried.

She needed to tell her stepmother that she wanted to go, despite her displeasure of dressing up and pretending to be well mannered. Earlier on in the day, her stepsisters were trying their best to ruin her good mood, calling her a thief and a whore. They probably heard that she was caught with the medals by the king’s guards, and that she spent the night in a cell. Cindy hated her stepsisters. In the beginning, she’d tried to connect with them, but they seemed to take a dislike to her instantly.

Her time was running out, and no one in town was ever going to be interested in her enough to ask for her hand in marriage. She knew her stepmother was all too happy to wait, but she had to fight for her father’s good name.

“I’m going to be there, too, you know, so don’t jump the hoop just yet. I can pleasure a man much better than you,” Teresa said confidently, and her sister snorted automatically as if to disagree. “Besides, only yesterday, I spent the night with the squire who’s been flirting with me for weeks now. He was all right, but he had a bit of trouble with his erection, you know. And Mommy is so uptight these days. She really needs to find herself a new husband.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Mum won’t remarry. Ted was her last husband, and he was so naïve. Shame he had to have a daughter. Cindy isn’t going to give up so easily. Apparently, she punched Lord Gerard last night and was arrested. Can you believe it?”

Cindy tried to stay calm, but it wasn’t easy. Of course her stepsisters knew about the lord, and she was certain most of Farrington did as well.

She filled a bucket of water and turned around, heading back to her chickens. She had to get to that ball, and at least try her luck with the prince. Perhaps he would be interested enough in her, but she’d always told herself that she wouldn’t get married because she had to. However, it seemed as though she didn’t really have any other option.

Susan and Teresa could sleep with whomever they wanted. Cindy didn’t care, she just wanted them gone from her father’s estate for good.

After she was left under her stepmother’s care, Ida had changed. Every day, along with the maid, she had a list of chores to do. Ida had told her that from then on, she needed to earn her keep. Cindy was trapped—she had avoided prison, but then she became a prisoner in her own home.

After her failed relationship with Tom, her reputation was ruined. People in town looked down their noses at her, and she was on her own. She knew it was all her fault, and she was willing to do whatever it took to change it.

Every day she had to work hard to prove to everyone that she was worthy of keeping her father’s estate and taking over in the future. Her stepsisters were making her life difficult, too.

Most of the time, they tried to break her spirit in order to get some kind of reaction out of her. One day, she was polishing the floor in the kitchen, and as soon as she was done, Teresa and Susan purposely walked inside to get a drink, wearing muddy shoes. Then her stepmother noticed her standing around and looking miserable, so she started shouting at her while her stepsisters stood by laughing. Cindy remembered many similar incidents, and others, much worse.

Almost four years had passed since she’d cut ties with Tom. She had changed, grown up, but she still wasn’t married and didn’t have a steady income. And this was the crux of it all.

Cindy finally had an opportunity to gain control, but for that, she needed to find a suitable candidate for a husband. Determined, she knew she had to attend the ball, come what may, even if it went against her stepmother’s wishes.