Cinderella (Faerie Tale Collection) by Jenni James Read Free Book Online Page B

There was nothing she wanted more than Lord Gavenston to become aware of her and possibly ask her to dance. If only she could figure a way to not do such silly things in front of him. Lacey grimaced as she snipped another length of ribbon. The poor man was more than likely terrified of her. “I will never be able to get him to see me as a person—as someone to possibly court—though, will I?”
    Ella mumbled something Lacey could not understand and then asked, “How was your meeting with him the other day? Did it go well? Did he seem interested in you?”
    She groaned and set the scissors down. It would be impossible to concentrate on cutting ribbon if she had to answer such questions. Bringing her knees up, she wrapped her arms around her legs and rested her head on top. “It was a disaster. Just an awful disaster.”
    “What do you mean? What happened?” Ella found the last spot of lace that still needed to be attached and began stitching. “I thought everything went well, at least I had not heard anything amiss.”
    Lacey groaned again. “Oh, joy! It is nice to know the servants speak of such things to you normally.”
    “Well, it is hard to ignore when the whole house is attempting to clean up some mess or other,” she said as she added a few more fine stitches into place.
    “Stop, please, stop.” Lacey was going to cry. It rarely happened, but she had never wanted anything more in her life than the charming duke, and now it would seem it will never transpire. Ever. More than likely she was the mockery of the whole village.
    “Lacey, do not worry. I am sure it is not as bad as it seems.”
    “No. I am sure it is much worse after what happened on Wednesday.”
    “Well, would you prefer to tell me what took place with Lord Gavenston?”
    “No.”
    “Very well, you do not need to speak of it.” She slipped in the needle into the lace and gave it one final tug before reaching for the scissors and clipping the thread. She shook the petticoat out in front of her. “That came together much quicker than I thought. Now to begin attaching the ribbons.”
    Lacey watched her stepsister deftly cut several strips of ribbon within moments. It was as the quiet of the room came upon her, while she watched Ella work, that Lacey suddenly burst out, “I pushed him over and kissed him.”
    Ella dropped the ribbon and nearly lost the scissors as well. “You did what?”
    She took a deep breath and looked straight ahead. “I was attempting to pour the tea. It was not as if I truly meant to crash upon him and all those tea things land upon us both and upset the sofa cushions in the process. No. I had simply gone to pour Lord Gavenston a cup, and as I leaned over to do so, somehow managed to get my foot caught up under my dress, which caused me to stumble just that little bit. But it was enough to cause me to have to catch my balance upon the tea tray. And it was the tea tray that was not properly positioned correctly to support my weight, so it rolled right out from underneath me as the platter tumbled to the floor. I could not think of where to land, my hands were flying about every which way trying to maintain some balance or dignity.
    “Well, I was already pitching forward, so it would perfect sense as to why I would lunge upon the duke. It happened so fast. One moment I was standing, serene and happily eager to pour him a cup of tea, the next instant I was sprawled upon him on the settee. But I still could not gain my balance as I wished, with my foot tucked up inside my gown. So when Lord Gavenston began to slip off the couch with the added weight and angle of my person, I tried all I could to scramble up to guarantee I would not cause him to crash upon the ground. It was all in vain, however, for I did manage to land us both in a pile of arms and legs and cushions and tea things. And then when I did look up and I found him staring at me with this complete shaken look upon his features, I did the only thing I could