Chapter 18

A letter had finally come from Papa. He wrote one for the duchess and one for each of the girls. Cinderella's was the longest. It held details of the foreign court, of the foods he had tried, and some of the interesting customs he had learned. It also held a reminder of his love for her. She read it four times and then put it under her pillow. Oh how she missed him!

Before lunch, the duchess requested that all three girls stay in the dining room. "I have some exciting news," she said. "Your father has found a husband for Cinderella!"

Cinderella gasped. Papa hadn't written anything about a husband in his letter to her. "Are you sure?" she asked.

"Of course I'm sure. He's a noble from the other side of the kingdom named Floro Melville. Your father has already met with him and determined that he will make a very suitable husband for you."

"Do I have no say in the matter?" Cinderella felt anger build inside of her, followed by sadness as she thought of Charles. He wasn't a noble, but she loved him. He had hinted that he might someday ask for her hand.

"Will you really disobey your father?"

"But can't I at least meet Floro first?"

"Sir Melville is coming to visit us tomorrow afternoon. He is a good friend of Duke Zaral's family, so they will escort him."

"Tomorrow? So soon!"

"Of course. Now, in the meantime, we must get you a new dress. You can't meet him looking like a maid. The time has come for you to begin dressing your part again, Cinderella." The duchess spoke as though Cinderella dressed like a servant by choice.

"We'll go into town this afternoon."

As terrifying as the prospect of marrying a complete stranger was, Cinderella was excited to get some new clothes. She made lunch and washed dishes in a daze. She couldn't get the image of Charles out of her head. What would he say when he found out? How would she even tell him? Her heart broke at the very thought.

Soon they were on their way. Cinderella had forgotten what it felt like to be treated like one of the family. She rode in the carriage and they took her into the dress shop, where a woman began taking her measurements.

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Charles was sitting by the fountain when he saw two familiar figures approaching. He hadn't talked to Catherine and Jeanne since he went to check on Cinderella after the bandit hurt her. He and Cinderella had met in town a few times since then. He wondered what her sisters wanted with him.

"Oh Charles, have you heard the exciting news?" Catherine asked.

"What news?" Her tone made him wary.

"Cinderella is getting married!"

Charles almost fell off his seat. Instead he stumbled to his feet. "She's what? To whom? When?"

"Her father set it up. His name is Floro Melville and we've never met him, but he's coming to meet her tomorrow."

"She's getting a new dress to wear right now. We're so excited for her," Jeanne said. Charles felt like something was amiss, but he was having trouble concentrating. Of course her father didn't know about him. Even if he did, she thought Charles was a commoner, and why would her father choose him over a nobleman?

He didn't know what to do or what to think. All he did know was that he couldn't face Cinderella. Not right now. He said goodbye to the girls and ran back to the castle. The pain in his side when he arrived almost distracted him from the pain in his heart.

When he collapsed in a chair with a groan, Alex looked up from the book he was reading. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"No."

"What's wrong?"

"Cinderella is getting married."

"What? To whom? When?" Charles gave a mirthless laugh at Alex's questions. They were the same he asked.

"Floro Melville. I don't think they have a date. They're not even meeting until tomorrow. Her father arranged it."

"Her father did? For Cinderella? That seems strange."

"Why?"

"I think noblemen typically arrange marriages for the eldest daughters first. I think Cinderella is younger than Catherine, isn't she?"

"Yes."

"Strange."

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Cinderella felt so strange. She was dressed in a beautiful blue gown that had actually been made for her. It was stylish with a fitted waist and wide, sweeping skirt and white lace trim around the square neckline and elbow-length sleeves. She wore new white stockings and shiny black shoes. Catherine and Jeanne had helped pile her hair in a becoming mass of curls on her head. She wore pearls at her neck and the false pearl ring from Charles on her finger.

When Floro arrived with Isabel, she found him handsome, but not as much so as Charles. His hair was about the same shade. He was taller than Charles, and slimmer, with darker eyes and a thin face. He looked more studious.

They visited over tea for an hour, but it was a quiet conversation. Floro was withdrawn and shy.

When he left, Catherine and Jeanne rushed in. They tried to get Cinderella to talk about him, pointed out how handsome he was, but she was still thinking of Charles. Charles who made her laugh, who always had something to say. Charles who looked at her like she was beautiful even in a maid's dress.

"You're being awfully quiet, Cinderella. I think you should be more excited about meeting your soon-to-be husband!" Catherine said.

"Oh Catherine, I think she's pining. Don't tell us you're thinking of Charles. Why, he's a nobody compared to Floro," Jeanne broke in.

"Not to me."

"Well, it's too late anyway. He already knows about you and Floro." Catherine proceeded to tell her of their conversation with him the previous day.

"Oh Catherine, how could you?"

"I didn't know you two were so close. I thought you were just friends. But you should've seen the look on his face. He looked like we'd hit him over the head with something. He ran off so fast. I don't think he even wanted to see you."

Catherine's words struck at Cinderella's heart. Tears were pouring out before she could stop them. She ran up to her room, threw herself on the bed, and had a good cry.

When she was cried out, she got up, washed her face, changed back into her ragged gray dress, and began her chores. She was in the kitchen making dinner when the duchess visited her.

"Cinderella. I hear you didn't enjoy your visit with Floro?"

"He's very nice, Mother, but I don't love him."

"That could change with time. I've asked around about him. His family is very wealthy and influential. He'll give you a much better life than your friend ever could."

"I don't care! I'd rather work as a maid and be married to Charles than live as a noblewoman with Floro."

"Such ingratitude. What will your father say?"

Cinderella had forgotten about Papa. He expected her to do this. She wanted to make him proud, but she didn't want to marry Floro. What should she do?

"Can we wait to plan the wedding until Papa returns?" Cinderella asked.

"Oh no, I'm afraid not. Floro has business that he must attend to. He requested that you marry as soon as possible. I believe he liked you much more than you liked him. Would you break his heart as well?"

Cinderella had never been good at hurting people. It was too much. "Fine." That was all she could say, but it was enough.

The duchess smiled. "Excellent. Isabel has offered to host an engagement party for you and Floro to announce your intentions in two days. Duke Zaral is out of town, unfortunately, or he would attend as well. Invitations have already been sent to all our friends and nobility of note. We even sent one to the Prince."

"I want to invite my friends as well," Cinderella said. "I'll take the invitations tomorrow."

"Of course. Don't worry about cleaning up after dinner. Get a good night's rest. We have much to do tomorrow to prepare for the luncheon."

The next day, Cinderella took invitations to Nicolas and Variel, Marcel, and Yan. She also got one to Paulette. The last one was the most difficult. She wanted to give one to Charles, but he was nowhere to be found. She was worried that he was avoiding her. She knew he probably felt betrayed, and perhaps as heartbroken as she did.

She finally decided to give it to Alex for him. She walked quickly to the castle and asked for the Prince's page. When Alex met her outside the gates, he looked a little hesitant.

"Hello Alex," she said as cheerfully as she could manage. It wasn't very cheerful at all.

"Are you okay Cinderella?" he asked.

"I've been better. Perhaps you've heard that I'm to be married."

"I had. Congratulations."

"Thanks. I know Charles probably doesn't want anything to do with me, but I just wanted to ask you to give this to him. We're announcing the engagement tomorrow at a luncheon."

"You want him there?"

"I want to explain to him that I- that this isn't-" She stopped for a moment to collect her thoughts. "I just wish that things could be different."

"I'll let him know," Alex said, taking the invitation.

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When Alex delivered the invitation and account of Cinderella's visit to him, Charles felt his heart lift a little. He had stopped himself from seeing Cinderella since his conversation with Catherine and Jeanne because he didn't want to ruin her relationship with Floro. But it sounded like maybe she wasn't as happy with the engagement as he had convinced himself she would be.

"I want to help her get out of the engagement, but I don't know how," Charles said.

"It's too bad you weren't actually courting her as the Prince. No one would force her to marry a lowly nobleman if she was being courted by the Prince."

Charles blushed a little at Alex's use of the word courting. It was basically true, but he'd never admitted it to himself before. "That's it," he said, replaying Alex's words in his mind. "I'll go to the luncheon and try to get Cinderella alone. I'll tell her I'm the Prince, and if she still cares about me, and wants to marry me, I'll propose. Then we can announce our engagement!"

Alex helped him plan everything, including getting a real ring to replace the fake he'd rescued from the garden for her. Charles invited Alex to come along as well.

When they arrived at Duke Zaral's, they found Cinderella and her family already there. The luncheon was being held in the garden.

Cinderella looked better than Charles had ever seen her. With her hair up in a true noblewoman's style, a lovely necklace at her throat, and a fancy green gown that fit her perfectly, she was a vision. He was almost speechless when he first saw her, and grateful that he had dressed up in nicer clothes as well, though he made sure he still looked too rough to be mistaken for the Prince.

When she saw him, she sent him a tentative, sad smile. He returned a large, happy smile and approached her. Once he'd ensured that no one else was listening, he spoke in a whisper. "You look radiant. Will you meet me over by the willow when you can get away?"

She nodded. He left her side and moved to the shade of the willow. People streamed in until there was a good crowd gathered. Charles assumed the duchess would save the announcement for after lunch, as was tradition. While he waited for Cinderella to come to him, he watched everyone carefully. He especially kept an eye on Floro, his competition.

Floro was taller than he was, but slimmer. He looked very studious and reserved. He rarely smiled. Charles realized, as he watched, that Floro rarely looked at Cinderella. It made Charles boil with anger. She didn't deserve a man who couldn't see what a great catch she was. She deserved someone who would watch her the way he was, in between his glances at Floro.

It was one of these glances that told him something he hadn't expected. He saw Floro smile a real, big smile, and even laugh, as he talked to Isabel. In fact, as he watched more closely, he could see that Floro was looking at Isabel the way Charles looked at Cinderella.

Maybe he wouldn't have to reveal his hand after all. If he and Cinderella could convince Floro and Isabel to get together, it would solve all their problems.

When Cinderella joined him under the willow, Isabel had just invited everyone to begin eating. Floro sat by her and seemed to hang on her every word. Likewise, she was happier and more animated around Floro than Charles had ever seen before.

"What did you want to talk about, Charles?" Cinderella asked softly.

"Look at that." He pointed at Floro and Isabel.

"Oh! Why Charles, do you think that they might be. . .?"

"I do."

"What should we do?"

"Well, do you want to marry Floro?"

"No, not at all. He's very nice, but he's just- he's not-" She stopped, but he had a pretty good idea of what she was going to say. It warmed his heart and put all the broken pieces back together.

"Then what say we give them a little nudge?"

"How?"

They talked about the best way to put them together and decided that Cinderella would make the speech announcing the engagement and would gesture to Floro and Isabel and let the crowd of well-wishers do the rest.

Their plan went perfectly. As everyone surged in to congratulate the happy couple, Isabel blushed and Floro looked surprised. They looked at each other for a moment, then Floro whispered something in Isabel's ear. She laughed and nodded. They smiled and began greeting the well-wishers. When Cinderella and Charles approached them, they whispered their thanks.

"When will you get married?" Cinderella asked, hoping to give them a chance to talk about it.

"What if we elope tomorrow?" Floro asked.

"Oh, Father would be furious! Let's do it!" Isabel answered. She grabbed Cinderella's hands. "Will you both come?"

"Of course!"