Fourteen years
after Prince Charming and Cinderella are crowned as Chalmers King and
Queen, Cinderella, Pricilla and Esmeralda gather at their mother’s
deathbed.
Lady Hildegard
Roche has nothing but resentment and scorn for the stepchild who culminates all
that was stolen from her.
In a story of enlightenment
and shock, the sisters learn how tragedy shaped their mother into the woman she
became. The question is: Can the sisters forgive her?
Buy
Links
Amazon: http://amzn.to/1PzMQll
Amazon UK:
http://amzn.to/1EY5ygB
Goodreads: http://bit.ly/1JmPuJt
Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/1UetsLU
Kobo: http://bit.ly/1U7GLTP
Excerpts
(3)
#1
“Why are you telling me this now?” Papa
roared so loudly the paintings on the wall seemed to tremble. But Hilda knew it
was she who was trembling. On stealthy feet, she hugged the wall and crept
closer. There was no other way to gain her freedom save leaping from her
balcony.
Even Juliet had not jumped to her death in
that particular fashion. That line of thought sent a chilled pricks over her
skin. We are not lovers destined to death, she reassured herself.
All she need do was make it to the pond.
Off Papa’s property. Then out of Alsace to the safety of Grenoble, all within
the arms of Pierre. ’Twill be over soon...’twill be over soon...soon. If she
kept repeating the words, they would come true. Wouldn’t they?
The duc must have departed. Papa would
never dare speak to Maman so plainly with a guest in residence. Relief filled
her along with a twinge of guilt. There was no choice in leaving Maman to her
fate. She’d made her decision in no uncertain terms, her place was with Papa.
She shuddered. If Papa had any inkling
Hilda had given her most precious commodity to Pierre Tasse, he would kill her
lover without remorse, and beat her to a bloody pulp. She moved quietly along
the carpeted hall.
She slipped by the clock—a monstrosity—though
she rather loved the overbearing piece of wood at the moment.
“You,” Papa spat.
Hilda froze, squeezing her eyes shut.
#2
“SO, WE’RE TO HAVE a new papa?” Pricilla
stood on her tiptoes, surveying the array of items laid on out Hilda’s vanity.
To a curious child it must resemble a market full of sweet meats for the
taking.
Her glance moved from a sleeping Esmeralda
on a pallet before the hearth to Pricilla. Hilda took a small jeweled box from
Pricilla’s hands and set it back on the vanity out of reach.
“Where did on earth did you hear such a
thing, ma chère?”
“From Cousin Dirk.” Her tiny fingers
clasped a necklace laced with emeralds.
Hilda frowned at Pricilla’s reflection in
the mirror. “What exactly did Cousin Dirk say?”
Her nose wrinkled as she studied the
clasp. “That if you married him, he would be more a papa than Gustaf ever had
been.” She gave up on the necklace, dropping it back on the vanity before
latching onto the matching bracelet and slipping it onto her wrist.
“That’s certainly true enough,” Hilda
muttered under her breath. Gustaf had been a menace. But instincts warned Dirk
would be just as awful, in perhaps a different way. “But as things stand, I
plan on marrying no one.”
Pricilla paused and turned large, worried
blues eyes on her. “But where shall we live?”
“Here, of course,” Hilda told her. She
lifted Pricilla’s wrist and surveyed the gap that would fit an additional wrist
or two. “Very nice.”
“But I heard him say if you didn’t marry
him, we should have to leave.” Tears shimmered into luminescent pools. “That we
should have to live in the woods—in the dark.” Her tears spilled over. “I don’t
wish to live in the woods, Maman. I-I don’t like the dark. Maman, you must
marry him. S’il vous plaît, you must.”
Each panic-trilled word rose in hysteria,
until Pricilla threw her arms about Hilda’s neck, sobs racking her small form.
Hilda squeezed her tightly, furious at
Dirk’s nerve in saying such things to a child. Her child.
#3
Hilda squinted in the afternoon sun over
the array of blooms that normally calmed her. “Lord Roche,” she began. “I
cannot—” The words were more difficult to say than she’d envisioned. Her knees
shook beneath her skirts and she forced herself to move, lest she collapse. At
the low terrace wall, she laid her hands atop.
“Please, your grace. I must apologize for
placing you in such a precarious position.”
She glanced at him, his earnest expression
tugging at her.
He began to pace. “’Tis true. As I said, I
am looking for a wife. But, I feel there is something truly special about you.”
Her short laugh erupted at the irony. “Me,
special? Lord Ro—”
“I have not explained to anyone why I need
a wife.”
Hilda paused.
He stopped before her, captured her gaze.
“Anyone can see how much you love your children. Your face lights up the dark
just saying Lady Pricilla’s name.”
Something inside melted a little. “Oui,
Lord Roche. That is so. She—they—are my world,” she said softly. Steeling
herself against long dead dreams, she straightened and her tone sharpened.
“That changes nothing, sir.”
“Do you fear for your children?”
“Every day,” she bit out, feeling as if
Gustaf still had his hand gripped about her throat, squeezing.
“They’ve nothing to fear from me.”
She looked away from his gaze back over
the garden. She almost believed him. But a woman was always under a man’s
control.
About
the Author
Kathy L Wheeler (writing as Kae Elle
Wheeler) graduated from the University of Central Oklahoma with a BA in
Management Information Systems that includes a Vocal Minor. She is an avid
theater buff (holds season tickets to Broadway Series in OKC), loves the NFL
and NBA (also holds season tickets to Thunder Basketball in OKC), loves travel,
people and karaoke.
She is a member of several RWA chapters,
including OKRWA, DARA, and The Beau Monde. She writes both Contemporary and
Historical romance.
Kathy/Kae lives with her musically
talented husband in Edmond, Oklahoma, has one grown daughter who recently had a
baby, and one bossy cat!
For more about Kathy / Kae Elle please
visit:
Tweets
and Facebook messages to share on social media
Fairy tales do not always end happily. THE
PRICE OF SCORN: CINDERELLA'S EVIL STEPMOTHER @Amazon http://amzn.to/1U7Hft9
#NewRelease #99cents #FairyTale THE PRICE
OF SCORN: CINDERELLA’S EVIL STEPMOTHER @Amazon @kathylwheeler
http://amzn.to/1U7Hft9
"Price of Scorn is immensely
compelling." - Award Winning @Alicia_Dean_
Now available @Amazon #99cents #NewRelease http://amzn.to/1PzO7IZ
The story behind the evil stepmother THE
PRICE OF SCORN @kathylwheeler http://amzn.to/1U7Hft9 #fairytale
Welcome to Lindsay's Romantics, where we post on all kinds of romance topics.
No comments:
Post a Comment