Cruella My Darling

The Scheming Continues

As soon as our food arrived at our table I wasted no time. I whipped my knife and fork up devoured the pasta as fast as I could. I was ravenous.

"Steady on, don't inhale it, chew," Cruella leant over the table mocking me.

I stopped eating out of embarrassment and took a sip of wine instead.

"So I actually think I've worked out a way of exposing the baroness," I started.

Cruella's eyes fluttered up to meet my own and the movement of her head insisted I go on.

"So she has her winter ball coming up. Correct?"

"Yes, during the second week of December," Cruella answered.

"And after that, you're free of her contract," I went on, "so if we plan to expose her via an article, with help from Anita Darling, right after the collection has been released, the baroness cannot harm you legally."

"I understand, so how exactly do you propose we actually go about the evidence," her eyes narrowed.

"It's simple, we get you to design your bloody arse off, and procure every single piece for the new line yourself. That way, it will look worse for the baroness and better for you when the public learn it has been your single handed genius. However, the designs must be drawn up over the next 2 weeks and posted to Anita."

The woman regarded me with mild confusion.

"The date displayed on the post will be the evidence. The date will prove you designed it months prior. Anita will be the one in possession of these letters, and she can claim they were sent to her, by you, for an article that was written, but was not published because it 'got lost'. When the winter ball rolls around and your designs are debuted, Anita will release an article about the baroness's designs and reveal them to be your originals, thus launching an investigation, where they will find the backlogged article that Anita wrote months prior with your designs."

I watched as her face twitched with excitement and she grabbed my hands from across the other side of the table.

I furrowed my brow as I went back over all that I had said and questioned the clarity of my lengthy explanation.

"Did that make any sense or was I going too fast?" I asked her, genuinely concerned I had confused my poor girlfriend with my many words.

"No not at all my dear, I understood the whole thing," she grinned, the white of her teeth glinted in contrast to the vibrancy of her crimson lipstick.

I sighed in relief that I wasn't going to have to repeat myself. My brain was working awfully hard as I spewed my plan as fast as I could. I was afraid that if I didn't get it out of me quickly I might forget it.

"You are utterly brilliant Y/N I really mean it, I'm learning to adore you more and more," she said softly.

My heart melted inside my chest hearing her feelings like this.

"It's my pleasure, you know I'd do anything for you," I said, squeezing her hands more tightly.

Our legs made contact under the table and we brushed them lightly together, enjoying the connection that we felt in that moment. Hearts and minds aligned.

"Here is the pinot you ordered ma'am" a voice at the edge of the table pierced our ears.

Our hands flew back to our respective laps and Cruella looked at the waiter expectantly.

He placed the bottle on the table before scurrying away to the kitchen, a cloth untouched by dirt of any kind dangling over his shoulder.

We giggled together and returned to our meals, having barely touched them up until this point.

I regarded my surroundings as I ate in silence, averting my gaze from Cruella to glance around the walls that were decorated with the most impeccable gold details. Tiny patterns flowing up the otherwise bare surfaces, reaching up towards the ceiling which was busy with huge chandeliers. This place was by far the fanciest I'd ever set foot in.

"That was divine," Cruella set her cutlery upon her plate and removed the fabric napkin from her lap.

"It truly was a nice choice," I smiled, finished with my meal also.

I watched Cruella wave her hand in the hand for the waiter to bring over the bill, her bulky silver and black rings glinting in the light shining down from the chandelier above us.

As we waited, we covertly discussed preparations for our plan to de authenticate the baroness, wisely keeping our voices low.

It was becoming clear that this plan would take a lot of work over the next few weeks. All of us would have to get involved and spend day and night working on designs in order for them to finished and sent to Anita long before the Winter ball.

My poor Estella would also have to continue working for the baroness in the meantime acting as if nothing were awry, and eventually having to design the exact same pieces from pitch to execution for Liberty.

It would all be worth it in the end.

"Darling are you ready to go?" She said leaning over the table a little, breaking through my thoughts as her kind eyes asked me.

"Yes, yes, let's go home," I replied, "lots to do my love."

She sighed dramatically,"Ohhh, yes there really is."