Roses and Black Glass: A Dark Cinderella Tale
Chapter Fifteen
1
Down by the lake, Christian smoked while he waited. The rain had passed on, but droplets still dripped from the trees. He was here for only one reason, and it was not because of the pretty young woman standing beside him. He had lured Isabella here because he wanted to give Charlotte plenty of time to destroy herself with that glass shoe – however it was that she would do so.
“What is it you wished to speak with me about that you had to drag me all the way out to this bank,” asked Isabella’s pleasant, laughing voice. “Advice about your dearly beloved? Or perhaps you’ve had a sudden change of heart?”
“I have been thinking about you,” he admitted a bit smugly. “It seems that even in my engagement I cannot escape you.”
Though he sounded somewhat disgusted by the notion, Isabella felt pleased to hear it. He had finally realized it then? He could not be without her. A few falling drops from a tree branch hit against the parasol over her head.
“I lied to you before,” he went on. “I lied when I said I could never love anything. I realized just recently that there’s something that I’ve been in love with ever since I saw it. I knew I wanted it more than anything else, and even though I had given up on attaining it, I know I could never be happy to settle for anything else. That something was, surprisingly, a girl. I never thought I’d find one I liked, but I did. I only just opened my eyes enough to realize it.”
Isabella had never imagined such sweet words could come from his lips! But it was alright. She forgave him for being so blind as to not realize this thing until now. Now that she knew he loved her, all was well.
“Christian, I– ” she began, but was swiftly cut off.
“The girl’s name is Cindy. Or a servant named Ivy, if you prefer.”
Isabella’s look of soft happiness fell to harsh anger and jealousy. Christian turned to her then, dropping his smoke and leaning close to her – just as she had once done to him in this very spot.
“She was gone last night,” he said lowly, but not as in a secret. “Perhaps you didn’t notice? She was with me – in my bed. That must make you angry, having strived so long just to be surpassed in the race by the one you hate most. And it was so easy for her. She had to do nothing but be herself.
“I only did the same!”
Isabella had become hateful toward him for the first time, her voice coming to a low growl of insistence. Christian moved further into her face. If he’d aimed to get closer, the only thing left to do would have been to bite her.
“Well I suppose then that yourself wasn’t good enough.”
It was raining now. The pitter-patter of tiny drops was hitting atop the parasol, hitting the leaves, and adding themselves to the lake.
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Roses and Black Glass: a dark Cinderella tale (novel preview)
Romance(Now available as an ebook and in print!) A dark retelling of Cinderella in early America. In an age when cutting up dead bodies is considered taboo, Cindy’s father is a mortician. She is happy with their fascinating life, though controversial, unti...
