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“Guests,” the princess repeated. “Not to be used by the one person who grew up in this house, prior to the others’ arrival.”
“I get by, by trying very hard not to think about that,” Cynthia said softly. “And by pretending I don’t care how I’m treated.”
“You should never have to pretend not to care,” the princess replied. “I care how you are treated.”
And now Cynthia would have to pretend that her insides weren’t turned upside-down because of that. Her heart fluttered.
Before she could return the conversation to safer topics, such as which of the warped crates would be most suitable to dust off for a princess, a ruckus sounded at the foot of the stairs. Cynthia rushed to the open doorway to see what had caused the commotion.
Chapter Six
There on the landing below were Dorothea and Stasia, red-faced and sweating, as they tried semi-successfully to lug Lady Tremaine’s fancy bathtub up the stairs, rather than the shallow wooden tub left in the scullery for Cynthia. Their mother hovered right behind, candle in hand..
Cynthia hurried toward the stairs to help them, but Princess Ammalia caught her elbow before Cynthia could take more than a single step.
“They made it this far,” the princess said quietly. “Allow them to complete their task—and allow yourself to enjoy it.”
Cynthia might have enjoyed seeing her stepmother and stepsisters pitch in for once, if it signified anything other than what was about to come next. A tub meant a bath, and a bath meant disrobing—in front of Princess Ammalia, who had already experienced an unexpectedly close encounter with Cynthia’s bosom.
The thought of being fully naked in front of the princess was almost too much to bear. And, if Cynthia was being honest, the effort was wholly unnecessary. She had bathed earlier, and was already perfectly clean.
She could not quite bring herself to voice this tidbit of information, however. Cynthia liked baths. And the sight of Princess Ammalia taking charge and ordering the others about was simply too delicious to pass up.
In relatively short order, the pallet and a few crates were moved, and room made for the pretty tub. Dorothea and Lady Tremaine hurried out of the attic and back down the stairs to help Stasia bring up the first buckets of hot water.
“This would go faster if I helped,” Cynthia said to Princess Ammalia. “At this rate, we’ll be late for the ball.”
The princess cocked an eyebrow. “Does anyone help you bring the water up the stairs when it is time for their baths?”
Cynthia shook her head.
“Then let them appreciate your efforts.” Princess Ammalia leaned her shoulders against the wall next to the open window as though they had all the time in the world.
“And if we’re late to arrive?” Cynthia ventured.
“Are you in a hurry to see my brother?”
“No,” Cynthia admitted. “What I really… Who…” She cleared her throat. “I mostly wanted to see you.”
“And here we are, in arm’s reach of each other.” Satisfaction flitted at the corner of the princess’s lips. “Two wishes granted.”
Cynthia frowned. Although it was undeniably true, she hadn’t said she wanted to be in arm’s reach of the princess. Was the princess simply assuming closer proximity was Cynthia’s second wish? Or was Ammalia saying she, too, had been looking forward to a second meeting?
“Water,” gasped a voice from the doorway.
Cynthia hurried aside as Lady Tremaine and her daughters staggered into the attic with the first round of brimming buckets. They dumped the steaming water into the tub, filling it halfway, then slumped back down the stairs for more.
“They’re not used to physical labor,” Cynthia explained. “Their muscles will be sore tomorrow.”
“Good,” said the princess. “Mayhap tomorrow they will appreciate you even more.”
The truth was, Cynthia didn’t want to think about tomorrow. Today was the magical day. Tomorrow things would be back to normal. Worse than normal. If Cynthia had to guess, appreciative was not the word anyone would use to describe her step-family on the morrow when there was no princess in the room to command acts of kindness.
“I presume you have footmen at home who deal with such tasks?”
The princess snorted. “We have footmen everywhere. I could have snapped my fingers outside this window and summoned a full retinue of royal footmen to bring up enough water to form a waist-high thermal spring right here in your attic.”
“Bathing in a natural thermal spring must be magical,” Cynthia said wistfully.
