Page 91 of Charmless
I braced myself as I opened my front door, expecting to be confronted by my stepmother in a high state of distress, demanding to know where I had been and did I have any ideahow worried she had been. I could hear voices emanating from the back of the house. Good. That would give me a moment to slip up to my room and hide the parcel Delphine had given me.
You need some sensible clothing to wear tonight,the witch had insisted. Given Delphine’s eccentric notions, who knew what that might mean. I had not yet taken the time to look, but the mere sight of the bag would be enough to rouse my family’s curiosity, eliciting too many questions I was not prepared to answer. For that same reason, I hid my fake engagement ring as well.
But I had no sooner stepped inside the front hall when I was pounced upon by my two stepsisters. They both seized me in such exuberant hugs that I dropped the package.
“Girls! Can’t breathe,” I gasped. As I pried free of their strangling embraces, I used the toe of my boot to nudge the parcel beneath the hall table. I dreaded that my more observant sister Netta would notice, but she was too preoccupied with staring at me reproachfully.
“Ella! You have come home at last. Where have you been all day? We were so afraid that something terrible might have happened to you like being run over by a carriage or falling into a ditch or being arrested.”
“Oh, don’t be so silly,” Amy said. “Far more likely she would be caught in that awful storm and struck by lightning, but there is no reason Ella should be arrested.”
I grimaced. Not unless one counted robbing the king’s treasure vault or plotting to help a prisoner escape the royal dungeons.
“There was no good reason the Hansons and Baftons should have been arrested and driven out of their homes either.” Tears filled Netta’s eyes. “Ella, you said everything would be all right. That Commander Crushington would save them.”
“I am sorry, my dear.” I brushed a stray tear from Netta’s cheek. “Horatio tried his best, but there was nothing he could do.”
“Of course, there wasn’t,” Amy said. “I am sorry for what happened to those families too, but they brought it upon themselves for behaving so badly at the royal ball.”
“Amy!” Netta cried. “The Hanson girls and Ivy Bafton were our friends and Fortescue was your favorite beau until you got all those foolish ideas about marrying a prince. You should be ashamed for saying such a thing.”
Amy reddened but muttered, “It is what everyone in Midtown is saying.”
Of course, they were, I thought. It was what I warned Mal about when he hoped this latest instance of the king’s tyranny would rouse the good citizens of Midtown to join his rebellion. But my neighbors had far too much to lose. It saddened me but I wasn’t surprised to learn that they were trying to distance themselves from the exiled families.
“I can’t believe anyone could be so callous as to blame our neighbors for their own misfortune.” Netta scowled at her sister. “The people of Midtown are mean and cruel, the same as you, Amy.”
Amy bridled like a hen that had its feathers ruffled. Before my sisters could fall into a serious quarrel, I hastened to intervene.
“I don’t think anyone means to be cruel, Netta,” I said, trying to soothe my sister. “If people can convince themselves that the Hansons and Baftons were in the wrong, it makes folks feel more secure, less worried that such a terrible fate could ever befall their own families.”
“How can anyone ever be sure of that?” Netta asked, mopping her eyes.
“Wecan. We will never lose our home,” Amy insisted. “Not now because of the betrothal.”
“B-betrothal?” I faltered in dismay. Had Florian already managed to trumpet to the entire kingdom he had won me for his bride?
Amy beamed. “If Netta hadn’t gotten all weepy over the Hansons, I could have told you our wonderful news.”
“It is not up to you to tell.” Netta sniffed. “You should wait for Mama.”
Amy ignored her sister. “You will never guess what has happened, Ella. Lord Redmond called upon Mama this afternoon and—” She paused for dramatic effect. “He proposed and Mama has accepted him!”
My jaw dropped. I had advised my stepmother to mend her quarrel with Chuffy, hoping that perhaps in time, Lord Redmond and Em could rekindle their youthful courtship. I had never expected Chuffy to act so quickly.
Before I could respond to what Amy had blurted out, my stepmother appeared. Shooing her daughters off to the kitchen, she tugged me into the parlor to share the good tidings herself. Em blushed like a young girl as she related how during afternoon tea, Chuffy had suddenly dropped to one knee before her.
“I was so startled I dropped a buttered muffin on his head. He nearly lost his balance and fell over. His knee creaked when I was helping him up.” Em giggled. “It was not quite as romantic as when we were young, but, oh, when he kissed me, it was as though all these years we have been apart melted away and now we are to be married at last.”
Em faltered, giving me an anxious look. “I hope you do not mind, Ella.”
“Dearest, Em, why should I mind?”
“I feared this sudden betrothal might seem disloyal to your father’s memory.”
“Papa has been gone these five years and more,” I reminded her. “He would not have expected you to mourn him forever.”
“I know but I always told you such stories about the great love we shared.” Em’s face fell. “Part of me knew I was fooling myself. I was certainly infatuated with your Papa, but—” My stepmother’s eyes grew wistful as she asked, “Do you think he ever loved me at all?”
