"Hurry along, Cinde," Essie prodded. "There's carriage waiting."
"I trying, but all my slippers have vanished."
"What! What did you do with your shoes?"
Essie's exasperation was as annoying as the fact that all of her shoes had, in fact, disappeared. Weren't the three of them just the day before using her shoes as a diversion for Stepmama?
Cinderella backed from the inside of the armoire. Essie paced the chamber on the far side of the large bed then dropped to peer beneath. Pricilla stood before the door, arms folded across her chest, leather shod-foot tapping impatiently. Neither struck her as the guilty party.
"Well, I…I cannot go without my slippers," Cinderella said, hands fisted at her hips. A small bile of panic rose in her throat.
"You can borrow a pair of mine," Pricilla said.
Oh, now that was rich, Cinderella wanted to shout. Pricilla's foot was too large to fit Cinderella's glass shoe, but raising that little fact might land her with a knot on her head.
Unfortunately, Essie could, and shot Pricilla a look of pure disdain. "You have forgotten how large your feet are, Cill." Sparks lit Pricilla's eyes and Cinderella suddenly feared repercussions with dread. Recollections of the past turning present.
"Merci, Pricilla. We…we could try," Cinderella squeaked. Anything to dispel the sudden tension.
Pricilla turned on her heel and strode from the room. Cinderella darted after her, careful not to engage in the unladylike act of running, leaving Essie to follow. How utterly appalling to scurry along in the wide halls in her stocking feet.
Praying they encountered no one, she glanced over her shoulder. Essie had less care for decorum, racing forward to catch them.
"You cannot possibly wear her shoes, Cinde. They will be much too large for you," she hissed.
"Perhaps, but it was quite ungracious for you to point out the fact in that manner," Cinderella retorted. "Now she is furious and one of us will surely pay."
"Don't be ridiculous, I shall handle the matter."
"Like you just did? Sorry to disappoint you, but if I must flop round in shoes too large, I shall do so." She took a deep breath. "It's just that we've come so far. I will do nothing to upset that."
Essie's expression softened. "You must learn to trust us, ma chére." She turned to Pricilla. "Where is Maman, Cill? We best not let her discover the three of us interacting so graciously."
Her statement brought Pricilla up so abruptly, Cinderella plowed into her backside. Pricilla seemed not to notice. "Oui. Oui, of course."
"What do you propose we do now?" Essie said, bumping into Cinderella.