Genevieve harrumphed. “And why should you? I do not make a habit of having my comings and goings announced.”
“To what do we owe the pleasure of your visit, Duchess?” asked Irmina, wisely changing the subject.
“I was wondering what was taking so long with my book. Imagine my displeasure when the guards informed me they spotted my attendant here instead in of the Royal Library.”
A smug sniffle escaped from Madame Irmina’s direction, and Cinderella tried not to panic.
“I apologize, Your Highness—”
“I’ll see to it that the girl’s dismissed,” cut in Madame Irmina, starting to shoo Cinderella away. “Come with me, youandyour mutt, before you embarrass us—”
“No, please!” Cinderella twisted away, untangling her arm from Madame Irmina’s grip. She freed Bruno from the pantry, and as he spun toward the door, the duchess stepped on his leash.
“Halt!” she commanded, and to Cinderella’s surprise, Bruno stopped. “Now, explain yourself.”
Flustered, Cinderella saw she had no choice but to tell the truth. “I wanted to check on Bruno, my dog. You see, we’re both new here, and he had nowhere to go, so—”
“Animals are not permitted in the palace,” Madame Irmina interrupted, reaching for Cinderella’s arm again. “I must apologize for disturbing you, Your Highness. I’ll see to it that she leaves the palace straighta—”
“I’ll take him,” interrupted the duchess.
Stunned, Madame Irmina blinked. “Pardon, Duchess?”
“I said, I will take him. The mutt, the dog—Boris, whatever it is his name is.” Genevieve glared at the maids eavesdropping on the scene, and everyone hastily returned to work. “Untie that ridiculous cord from his neck.”
“Y-y-yes, Your Highness.”
“Thank you for reminding me why I prefer the company of animals to the lot of you. Servants, lords, kings—you’re all the same. Squabbling ninnies. Come, Bruno.” Genevieve gestured at the bloodhound, then fluttered a beringed hand at Cinderella. “And you, girl, get to the library and bring me my book. Chop-chop.”
“Yes, Your Highness,” Cinderella breathed. “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me yet. It’s only out of boredom that I decided to save your mutt. My brother and nephew are hardly good company when all they’ve been doing is moping about.”
Cinderella hoped the duchess didn’t see her flinch.Moping about?
“Now why are you still standing there? While you’re at it, I want a fresh cup of tea. Remember, two lumps of sugar and a splash of milk.” Genevieve turned to Bruno. “And you—you’re the skinniest dog I’ve ever seen.” She clapped her hands and next directed her severe tone at Madame Irmina. “You, see to it that Bruno has a bountiful meal. I want to see some meat on his bones.”
Madame Irmina hurried to fulfill the request.
“I’ll fatten you up, you scraggly beast,” the duchess murmured to Bruno. She wrinkled her nose, picking a chicken feather out of his coat. “And I’ll see to it you’re bathed, too.”
Hiding a smile, Cinderella turned for the library to procure a book as the duchess had requested. If Genevieve had a soft spot for dogs, she couldn’t be as irredeemable as everyone said.
A half hour later, Cinderella returned to Duchess Genevieve’s chambers, out of breath but with an armful of novels that the librarian had eagerly recommended.
Her mind was reeling. While walking back, she’d secretly flipped through the top book, unable to help herself. It was titledThe Pirates of Ild-Widy and the Enchanted Forest.
The wordenchantedhad caught her eye. Before she’d met her fairy godmother, she’d thought magic and spells and curses were long gone, now only existent in tales meant for small children—or novels such as these. But it seemed there was more to it than that. As she absently glanced through the pages, she noticed one that was dog-eared.
It wouldn’t do for the duchess to read a book with bent pages. Cinderella turned to it, only to be confronted with a handwritten message:
We must bring magic back. Maybe 36 ships and 47 pirates can help. —Art
The rest of the message had been smudged. It made no sense at all.
Cinderella stopped. What could it mean, and who had written it there? There was no other message in the book, nor in any of the others Cinderella had borrowed.
Before she had a chance to investigate further, Genevieve appeared.
