Cinderella Did Not Leave Her Shoe Chapter 16-18

Fredericka…

Today Mother and I are chatting and doing things well born young ladies do; embroidery. Surprisingly, it is something I can immerse myself in.

However, today Mother was fis.h.i.+ng.

‘So do you like General Brennan, Fredericka?’

Eh?!!

Wait. What is with this sudden question? (Zuben: You did tell your father, remember?) I haven’t heard that one had to suffer mental attacks during embroidery. My hands lost their rythym.

‘Well, do you like him or not?’ Mother pressed on.

I concentrate on the embroidery pattern, in order not to make a mistake, trying to diligently thread the underpainting. But, I feel like I will make a mistake, but I answered as diplomatically as I could, ‘Well I like him as a person…’

‘What about as a man?’

Ouch. I p.r.i.c.ked my finger.

There is blood.

I pick up a handkerchief to dab the blood. Hmm, blood on the handkerchief…would you like to see red flowers blooming on the spot of blood? I could add some tangled ivy…

Chicken.

‘Fredericka.’

My mother pointed her embroidery needle at me.

Stop it, don’t point the sharp end of the needle at a person. I was scared if would not end with just a stabbing.

‘I…I don’t suit the General.’

I was just a child. Father told me that the General was thirty five years old. To him, I must seem like a suckling child, I bet.

‘Who do you think would suit him?’ Mother asked probing deeper. Because I am afraid of her needle, I answered honestly,

‘A mature woman; one who is beautiful, educated, with the strength to support him, and is conservative and generous.’ Not someone cheeky like me.

I feel like crying now.

I heard an incredulous, ‘Huh?!’ from my Mother.

Mother, mother, sometimes you don’t act like a Countess.

‘There is no such perfect woman.’ My mother replied.

I was embarra.s.sed and tossed my embroidery at the table. Marie makes a scolding noise and searches for the needle.

‘Even if such a person would suit the General…’

‘What sort of man would suit you?’

I groaned. I could not deny the image of the general that appeared in my head.

‘Anyone would be fine. Although, someone like me who was jilted doesn’t have the option to marry whomever. If you would like me to be married, maybe I can marry an ero-ero old man?’

I only had a few options.

Option 1: Not marry. Because Ernest is Father’s successor, I would be in his way. So I would have to live alone as a single woman. Even if I worked in the business, my presence would be result in a bad evaluation of my family; that is not good. I could enter a nunnery, finish my whole life as a virgin.

Oh that’s not it.

Start a business for the monastery to make money for the orphanage. Maybe.

Option 2: Succeed the Family Business. I guess that is alright. But I guess I might need to find a stud after all.

Option 3: The common pattern of a young lady who has pa.s.sed marriageable age; settle down as a second wife.

Well, I’m still young and unusual in this industry. Haha!

So what do you say?

Thinking of the three options I nod to myself and take a sip of tea.

‘Well, General Brennan could be the ero-ero old man?’

Let’s see…what?!

Hey, what are you saying, mother?!

How could you think that?!

‘Mother, General Brennan is not an ero-ero old man.’ I argued, with tears filling my eyes. I imagined the general looking at me with lewd eyes like those men and I shuddered.

Marie nodded while patting my back, ‘General Brennan is a gentleman.’ She said supporting me.

‘Why are you guys thinking about erotic things? The General is not impossible. He hasn’t ever been married. So you would be his first wife, isn’t that a good thing?’

I do not want to hear how his flew away okay.

Also, are you ignoring logic, the general’s taste and circ.u.mstances?

I took a deep breath to calm down and sipped my tea.

‘It would be annoying to the General.’ I said coldly trying to keep calm.

I don’t understand what my Mother is thinking.

‘Try and act cute for now so he can have a distinct impression of you. Just put aside your shame. And if it doesn’t work out, I will be here to comfort you.’

Oh that is amazing.

‘So for now, if you like him, why don’t you try tempting him?

‘Whu! What?’

‘Don’t be too hasty and get f.u.c.ked up. I mean, talk honestly, maybe hold hands?’

Uh Oh

That hurdle is high. I’ve never had to do such a thing. I didn’t do such a thing with Eugene…I-I couldn’t do it.

‘You like the General, don’t you?’

I didn’t reply.

Mother pestered me, ‘Do you like him or not?’

Do I really like the general that way?

‘I like him…’

As soon as I said the words, my eyes grew hot and tears threatened to fall. But Mother hugged me to her abundant bosom; she was soft and she smelled nice.

‘Do your best alright, and if you have any trouble, just push your chest against him.’

I burst out laughing, Mother laughed too.

That’s right, the b.r.e.a.s.t.s are a weapon. It didn’t work on Eugene, maybe it would work on General Brennan.

‘If it’s lady’s b.r.e.a.s.t.s, it will be alright.’ Marie said, encouraging the madness.

I don’t think this is alright though. I remember a similar conversation…

When the sky began to show the colours of twilight, General Brennan came to take me to the theatre. Unlike the armour he had been wearing when we met in the training fields, he was wearing a gentlemanly blue coat, with beautifully ornate embroidery. Under Oliver’s watch, he bowed over my hand, and escorted me out to the carriage.

It felt like a dream as I said, ‘Thank you,’

His hand was warm.

As the maids and footmen watched us, from beside Oliver, we made our way to the carriage.

It was as though we were walking on fluffy clouds.

♢

The evening before yesterday, my father casually proclaimed,

‘The general is coming to take you to see a play the day after tomorrow.’

At that point in time, I had decided to eat my chiffon cake with my hand rather than the fork. Oliver gently chastised my unladylike behaviour. But amongst family, it was okay.

Why would Father tell me such a thing at this moment?! 

My mouth hung open and the cake fell out.

Father folded his arms.

‘The general was forward and bought the tickets before he even asked me. He wanted to go see the play with you that much.’

Oh good heavens!

General Brennan wanted to go out with me?!

I looked at Mother, who gave me two thumbs up from across the table.

I’m so happy I don’t know what to do with myself.

Was it safe to say the General did not dislike me?

Father smirked, and held my face in his hands,

‘Fredericka, when are you going to change?’ he asked.

Mother elbowed him in the ribs. It didn’t look painful, but father collapsed in his chair like he fainted.

‘You must behave like a lady. Be a good girl and don’t cause any problems for the General. Do your best so that it can’t be said that you are uncouth because you are rich.’ Mother said.

Father recovered quickly and grasped my hands in his, ‘No, the direction you need to work hard in is different.’ He said a little mournfully.

‘You both have only met three times. You do not know each other well; don’t make a mistake here, alright?’

That’s true.

Our first meeting wasn’t really a meeting, since I pretended to faint, when I lost my underwear. Really, it could be said, it was only a shallow acquaintance; we have only properly met twice.

It is surprisingly dark content. I pretended to faint because I lost my undies in front of him. Then we circled around, and then our third meeting, I fell and dropped the sandwiches.

It will forever be etched in my memory, aside from his likes and dislikes.

‘Oh what are you on about? You kissed me when we first met!’ Mother said with a chuckle before she sipped her tea.

It seems that father is not only fast in business, he was the same in love as well.

Yet, Father is concerned about things going in that direction. (Zuben: He doesn’t want to lose his baby that quickly) It is makes me feel embarra.s.sed that Father is worrying about such a thing.

But I don’t think he needs to have such worries; to the General, I am just an unusual creature or his friend’s daughter.  I want him to recognise me as an individual named Fredericka if I can!

Okay, I will do my best with this goal in mind!

I quickly ate my cake, and excused myself from the table. (Zuben: Priorities)

I pulled Marie along and rushed to my room. We have to think of my clothes and accessory combination that would make me look cute!

And this time, I could try a low cut dress, couldn’t I? With the necklace I just bought from Kalome!

‘Milady,’ Marie called, ‘what style do you want to go for? Fairy? Princess? Or…’ was she going to say something exciting and dreamlike?

‘Or you can be an ordinary Lady?’

Send that thought back to where it came from!

The answer is…fairy.

I thought a fairy had come from the fairy lands.

Lady Fredericka was wearing a soft blue dress of silk, lace and chiffon. She looked like she was floating with delicate wings as she walked. My heart beat painfully in my chest. (Zuben: Abeg marry this guy quickly before he expires)

Her dress was low cut, but it wasn’t vulgar. Never vulgar. It emphasised her delicate beauty, as well as the beautiful workmans.h.i.+p of the necklace she was wearing. It made a “sharshara” sound as she moved.

I held her hand while suppressing the strange desire to have my teeth on her clavicle. She was like cotton candy. Ephemeral. She looked like she would melt away and disappear if I didn’t hold her and confirm her existence. Yet I was afraid that she would want to touch a warbler like me. Yet, I was escorting her.

As we rode in the carriage together, the night looked more beautiful than usual.

 ‘Your dress is very beautiful. It suits you.’ I tell her.

She smiled and lowered her gaze shyly as she replied, ‘Thank you.’

She more dressed more beautifully that she was at the training grounds the other day.

I was beginning to be impatient.

Her golden hair was put up, and held with elegant hair ornaments. Her neck was exposed, but tendrils of hair hung stylishly around her face and neck, attracting my attention.

On the battlefield, the battle flag blowing in the wind attracts the eyes of the soldiers more than anything else. People’s gazes were attracted to moving objects. Certainly, Lady Fredericka will attract attention at the theatre like a flag in the battlefield.

Fortunately, she was still unknown now because of the bad rumours surrounding her. Her fairy like beauty and her kind heart were still not known well. But as she became acquainted with more people, she would soon be approached by men. Soon, she would find a man more suited to her than I am.

I scramble around in my brain in frustration looking for a topic that might interest Lady Fredericka

‘…Lady Fredericka likes to go to the jewellery store often?’ I asked. (Zuben: Foot meet mouth)

I realised my blunder as soon as I spoke. This was one of the offences that the Duke’s messenger had worded against her. I feel all the blood drain from my face. I felt terrible and I could not meet her eyes. I haven’t had this feeling since I was a new soldier before my superior officers at recruitment. I wondered how I could rectify this blunder, but nothing came to mind. I am filled with despair. (Zuben: zetsubou s.h.i.+ta!)

I hallucinated a mocking sniff, as though Xavier was here mocking me.

‘Yes.’ She replied, ‘I really like going to Kalome.’

I looked at her. She had no appearance of being hurt by my words. Xavier had told me of Kalome; it was an up and coming jewellery shop that was attracting customers from all works with ingenious designs and ideas. It was at the top of the list of places to buy gifts for Fredericka that Xavier had drawn up for me.

‘Actually, I am making and designing new accessories with the designer of Kalome. This is a prototype.’ She said shaking her necklace.

‘New accessories…?’

‘Yes. Proper jewels are expensive, and getting new ones like new clothes isn’t just going to happen like that, except if one’s family has heirlooms. So we are trying to design more stylish and wearable accessories that would match girls’ attire.’

I think that accessories are fine if they match the wearer or their attire. She spoke she put her fore-finger to her chin which attracted my eyes to her full rose coloured lips. There were inviting like freshly ripe and juicy fruit. (Zuben: ero-ero oyaji)

‘What about being able to add or remove strands and stones, so the necklace looks different each time.’ I said thoughtfully.

She smiled, ‘Exactly! The necklace I am wearing is just like that.’ Fredericka raised the necklace and leaned forward to show me that strands and links could be removed. Her unprotected chest came closer to me.

The moral part of me was disgusted that I was staring at a lady’s bosom. But another part of me wanted her closer so I could see it properly. My not-so-moral side won. (Zuben: Yay!)

At this time, the carriage well went over a large stone, that there was a great b.u.mp. Lady Fredericka exclaimed…

It's a sunny long weekend where I am, except I'm working booooo!
Hope you all have a nice one. 

♢