“That’sMadameto you,” Irmina snapped. “Rules are rules. She will have to go. There’s absolutely no room. And as for you, Louisa, it’s high time I had a word with you. If it weren’t for your mother—”
Before she could finish, a bell clanged behind Madame Irmina and she stiffened. Cinderella glanced behind her, noticing once again the wall mounted with dozens of bells, all coded with different stripes of color. The one ringing was in the top row, labeled with a stripe of blue paint.
All the servants immediately scrambled to form a long straight line in the reception room. Booted footsteps echoed down the hall, and a tall figure approached.
“What is this din?” entered a new voice. Aristocratic and exasperated.
Louisa nudged Cinderella to take a place beside her at the end of the line. Cinderella straightened and bent her head, copying everyone’s posture. But she peeked up at the last moment, curious what was going on and who this visitor might be.
As soon as the door into the servants’ quarters opened, she let out a quiet gasp.
It was the Grand Duke.
She had only caught a glimpse of him during the ball, and again when he’d visited the chateau. His black hair was smoothly combed, a monocle hung on a golden chain from his coat pocket, and his blue epaulets bounced slightly as he walked.
He looked tired. His eyes were bloodshot, mustache flat and uncombed.
“That’s the Grand Duke,” Louisa whispered, assuming Cinderella didn’t know. “He’s the king’s closest confidant and adviser. Some say he’s become the most powerful man in Aurelais.”
“Besides the king, of course?” Cinderella whispered back, but Louisa didn’t get a chance to reply.
“Your Grace,” blustered Madame Irmina, “I was not expecting you.”
The Grand Duke surveyed the line of female servants with a curled lip. “Disorder is the precursor of disgrace,” he said. “I expected more of you, Madame Irmina. Your girls seem to have forgotten their manners.”
At once, all the young women in the room curtsied. The move did not seem to mollify the Grand Duke, however, for he simply sniffed in disdain.
“He’s been in a foul mood ever since that mysterious princess vanished from the ball,” Louisa whispered.
At the mention of the mysterious “princess,” Cinderella’s knees stiffened. “Why?”
“The princess left a shoe at the ball. A glass slipper, so I hear. It’s all the prince has of her, so he sent the Grand Duke all over Aurelais to find her.” Louisa let out a quiet sigh. “It’s so terribly romantic. They say the prince will go to the ends of the earth to find her. All day and night the duke’s been searching, but no luck so far. Can’t be long now, though itisodd she hasn’t come forth herself. I knowIwould if I had a chance to marry the prince. I’ll bet the duke’s going to start the search again today.”
“What happens if he doesn’t find her?” murmured Cinderella.
“The king’s fickle.” Louisa leaned closer, lowering her voice. “On a good day, the duke might get away with a rap on his knuckles. But His Majesty’s been extra irritable lately, and he’s very keen on the prince finding a bride right away—says it’s a matter of national importance. So who knows?”
That was news to Cinderella, though she supposed she shouldn’t have been surprised. A ball that invited every eligible maiden to attend could only be intended for one purpose: to find the prince a wife. Was that the only reason he had danced with her—to please his father? She wondered what he had thought of it all.
“Ahem,” said the Grand Duke loudly, the rebuke aimed at Louisa and Cinderella.
Louisa’s cheeks burned, and she curtsied lower. Cinderella did the same.
“I don’t recognize you,” said the duke, pausing in front of Cinderella.
“She’s a trainee, Your Grace,” offered Louisa.
“A trainee?” He inclined his chin at Madame Irmina. “Is this the new attendant you hired for the duchess?”
“Oh,” Madame Irmina said, startled. “She dismissed the one I sent this morning already?”
“Never try to comprehend Genevieve’s actions,” replied the Grand Duke. “The woman is all madness and no reason, just like her husband. A pity she, too, wasn’t banished from court.” He turned to Cinderella. “Come along now, you should already be upstairs.”
“But I haven’t even—”
“Ah!” The Grand Duke’s eyes widened, as if he were seeing her for the first time. He wrinkled his nose at her appearance. “Have we run out of gold? Someone see to it that she gets some proper clothes. I’ll never hear the end of it if I send a servant in rags to Genevieve.”
“Louisa, come with me,” shouted Madame Irmina, pulling Cinderella into a private room. Inside was a wall of identical dressers. “It must be your lucky day, girl.”
