C4 Chapter 04

A week had passed since Cindy had been arrested by the guards. She went to town hoping to see Lieutenant Stanton, the man who made her heart flutter and filled her dreams, but no one seemed to know who he was.

As Cindy was walking through the market, swivelling her head to the side because she thought she’d caught a glimpse of the lieutenant, she bumped right into an extremely rigid chest. “Ooof. I do apologize…” She trailed off and glanced up. Charles, the forest ranger, was smiling. “Why, hello, Charles.”

“Cindy, how have you been?” he asked, trailing his fingers down her arm with lust in his eyes. Cindy felt she could punch him. He was so obviously flirting with her, and out in the open in broad daylight.

Pulling her arm from his touch, she took a step back. “Good to see you, Charles. How’s Red? Please, do give her my best when you see her.” She grinned devilishly. “Tell her I’ll be over for a spot of tea soon.” Without waiting for a response, Cindy turned on her heel, leaving Charles bumbling after her. She could hear, “I” and “but” and tuned him out after that.

Cindy found him quite disrespectful, considering he was involved with her friend Red, even if they didn’t speak often, she still wasn’t the sort of person who interfered with other people’s personal affairs.

On top of everything, her stepmother still hadn’t given her an invitation to the ball. Every day, she added more and more tasks to her list of chores. She was exhausted and rather fed up, too. Sometimes Cindy wanted to stand up for herself, tell Ida that she was no one, and she was still the rightful owner of her father’s estate, but then she knew this wasn’t entirely true. Not until she fulfilled the clause in her father’s will.

For now, Cindy had to keep her stepmother happy until she had an advantage. She believed that her new attorney could help her with the necessary paperwork when it came to her father’s wealth.

Susan and Teresa had been telling her that Ida wasn’t going to allow her to attend the ball, but Cindy wasn’t deterred by their negative comments.

She knew about the invitation, but she had yet to hold it in her hands and was afraid her stepmother had torn it to pieces out of spite.

Cindy hadn’t talked to her stepmother about the ball, but she knew she needed to do it eventually. She was planning to simply state that she was going. She wouldn’t ask for permission.

The other problem was, she didn’t have a dress, and she hadn’t had a moment to look for one with her assigned day-to-day duties.

She wasn’t a good seamstress and most of her dresses were dark. She didn’t like bright colours. A few days before the ball, late in the night when she could barely keep her eyes open, she attempted to create something from a few of her old dresses. Piece by piece, she tried to sew an elaborate gown from what she had, but the more she stared at the dress, the more she thought it was a waste of time. Her fingers were bleeding from the many times she’d pricked herself with the needle. The dress was falling apart, and most of the material was threadbare. Truly, she needed to hire a proper dressmaker from town, but she didn’t have the money. She simply couldn’t attend the ball looking like a maid or a servant.

On Thursday, she was carrying two buckets of water to the kitchen, knowing she had to go through her stepsisters’ clothing.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a noise outside. She heard someone arriving, so she went out to the porch, wondering if her stepmother was expecting anyone. Moments later, the horses stopped abruptly, and Cindy saw an older-looking carriage that had seen better days.

She could see a man struggling to squeeze through the door of the carriage. His coachman was staring at him, looking amused, and stroking the whip in his hand. The man had short legs, and a huge stomach. Eventually he slammed on the ground, ending up in a pile of mud, and cursing loudly. Cindy burst out laughing, but then hid behind the house when he glanced in her direction. The man swore a few more times, finally pulling himself back to his feet.

The guest looked to be the sort of person who didn’t have much money, but Cindy knew he wasn’t a peasant, either. He was clumsy and carrying a few extra pounds around his stomach. He picked a large black hat up from the ground and placed it back on his head.

“Hello, welcome to our home. How can I help you?” Teresa asked, suddenly appearing by Cindy as she moved to the front of the house.

She wore a very short skirt that her mother wouldn’t approve of, and was smiling at the stranger, batting her eyelashes.

Teresa had long ginger hair and a wide jaw. Cindy noticed she had put quite a bit of makeup on to cover all of her freckles. Teresa must have realised she wasn’t one of the most beautiful of girls, but she wasn’t lacking in the chest area. She always wore revealing dresses that showcased her assets.

The man jumped and nearly fell into the mud again, but somehow, he managed to keep his balance this time around. Teresa giggled to herself, lifted her breasts with both hands, and walked confidently toward the stranger. Cindy noted that her stepsister truly didn’t care if the man she was about to flirt with was good looking or not. She would try to seduce him either way.

The large stranger’s eyes immediately travelled to her chest, and he smiled as a child would on Christmas morning. Cindy noticed he was missing one front tooth. He was almost comical looking, but she thought she should give him a chance. Perhaps he had a nice personality.

“Yes, I need to see Miss Ida. The milkman in town informed me that she lives here,” he replied, trying to make himself look decent, but failing. His clothes were filthy, covered in mud.

“Teresa, don’t just stand there. Invite our guest into the drawing room!” Cindy’s stepmother shouted from the entryway, startling her.

“Please, please come in. My mother will be right with you,” Teresa quickly said, smiling.

Cindy shook her head and carried on with her work. Then she went to the kitchen. She still needed to help the cook prepare dinner. She had no idea who the newcomer was and honestly didn’t care.

Her head was filled with thoughts of Sir Roger, and her encounter with Lieutenant Stanton. Lately she’d begun to think more and more about her paintings, too.

She had several hidden in the attic, and she wanted to talk to Sir Roger about them. The ball was only a few days away, and she wondered if it would be possible to borrow enough money for a proper dress from her friend Red.

Sometime later, while she was peeling potatoes and painting a new portrait in her head, Susan barged in, looking flustered.

“Mother is asking for you. She told me to tell you to make yourself look presentable and not to keep her waiting too long.” She tossed her black hair over her shoulder and vanished before Cindy could ask her what Ida wanted.

Since that incident with the guards and her arrest, Ida had barely exchanged more than a few words with Cindy.

She quickly washed her hands and headed to the drawing room, smoothing her silver-blond hair. She’d never paid much attention to her looks. She had a slim figure she’d inherited from her mother, pale complexion, and wide, azure eyes. In the past, her friend, Red, had told her she needed to leave this dreadful town and pursue her dream of becoming an artist. But Cindy knew she couldn’t just let Ida win.

Pamela (Cindy’s best friend, also known as Red) believed women shouldn’t be dominated by men in any way and Cindy liked the idea. At the same time, she wasn’t sure if she could be like Red. She wanted a partner, someone who would be there for her when she needed him the most.

Her purple dress was covered with stains, but she didn’t have time to change. Her stepmother was already waiting for her. Cindy used to have nice clothes, amazing dresses that her father had brought home from his travels. However, after she’d gotten involved with Tom and wasn’t staying at home much, Teresa and Susan had stolen almost everything in her wardrobe. They’d mostly left her with rags: worn-out dresses for housework. She’d never been materialistic, but now most of the beautiful garments they’d taken were ruined. Her stepsisters hadn’t taken proper care of them.

Five minutes later, she entered the drawing room. Her stepmother was sitting on the settee with a cup of tea in hand. The male guest was opposite her, looking bored. Cindy thought he was even more unattractive from where she was standing and wondered what kind of business her stepmother had going on with him. The man had a large egg-shaped head, was mostly bald, and looked to be around Cindy’s age, or perhaps a few years older. The added years haven’t been kind to him, she thought to herself and winced.

“You called me, Stepmother?” Cindy said with sarcasm lacing her tone.

Ida narrowed her eyes and sipped her tea through pursed lips. Her brown hair was styled in a tight bun at the base of her neck, and she wore a long black dress. In any other circumstance, Cindy would have said that her stepmother was an attractive woman, but the sour expression on her face made her unappealing.

“Sit down, Cindy,” she ordered. “There is something I have to discuss with you.”

Cindy forced herself not to roll her eyes and sat down opposite her. The man stared at her with a silly grin on his face, like he’d just won a prize.

“So, is this the girl? Very pretty and young. She should adapt well to my farm. Although, she doesn’t seem very strong, my lady. It’s hard work, you know,” the man said, and her stepmother sighed.

Cindy had no idea what he was talking about, and for some reason, she wasn’t eager to find out. This conversation was already boring her.

“Cindy, this is Mr. Londis, and he’s looking to find a suitable wife,” her stepmother stated. “We met in town, and I suggested that the two of you should meet to discuss further details of marriage. I believe you will be perfectly suited for him.”

For a split second, Cindy thought perhaps she was having trouble with her hearing, so she started laughing.

This entire conversation was ridiculous.

A wife?

The man wanted a wife, and Ida thought of Cindy?

She began to laugh so loud and lost control of herself. Her stepmother was staring at her, frozen, and Mr. Landis looked uncomfortable.

This continued for several long moments. Cindy was so amused, thinking that Ida must have lost her mind.

She heard a giggle coming from the door behind her and noticed her stepmother exhaling sharply.

“Cindy, for heaven’s sake, gain control of your fit of hysteria,” Ida said, raising her voice. “I do apologise, Mr. Londis, she doesn’t normally behave like this.”

Cindy was laughing uncontrollably now.

“Really, Stepmother? You want me to marry him?” she finally managed to ask, suddenly growing serious. She finally understood what Ida was planning. Obviously Londis wasn’t a suitable man according to the clause in her father’s will.

Her stepmother shot her an annoyed glare and pursed her lips further, if that was even possible. She looked like she was just about to explode, but Cindy didn’t really care. She was horrified that Ida had planned something so dreadful and outrageous behind her back.

“Cindy Rutherford, watch the way you speak to me, young lady. Your father expected you to be married by the age of twenty-five. This is how you’re thanking me for going out of my way and finding a perfectly suitable man for you? Mr. Londis is available. He has a certain reputation in the neighbouring town, and it’s a miracle he even agreed to meet you. I mean, with your reputation,” Ida said, almost shaking with anger.

“Yes…uhm…there’s so much that needs to be done on the farm I inherited from my father. And I’ve been looking for the right woman for so long. Perhaps if your stepmother will allow it, I could take you away with me, show you around. My home is very nice, but requires a woman’s touch, a good homemaker,” Mr. Londis said, smiling and revealing some of his missing teeth.

Cindy knew she had to get out of there; otherwise she was going to lose her temper.