She had to run to save herself, but will she be able to slip away from him with her heart unscathed?
The Charming Fairy Tales, Book 2
Now officially titled Duke von Gruenewald, Penn finds himself master of a province on the brink of poverty, and he has no idea how he could possibly resurrect the once strong land. Turning to the one person who has never failed him, Penn asks his mother to come help him restore order.
When his mother arrives with a new, amber-eyed maid in tow, at first, Penn wonders if his mother is trying to liven up his new life at Gruenewald, tempting him with such a lovely lady.
But in truth, he doesn’t need such drama. Life remains dramatic enough with blackmail, secrets and treachery left behind by his cousin.
So why is Penn so distracted by the new maid?
Ana Dutetre is running away from her horrible step-mother, and her plan should get her out of her family’s snarling reach. Yet winding up at Gruenewald Castle shoves her in the worst possible predicament--people appreciate her.
Even the flirtatious young duke is pleased with her. Of course, he is handsome—there is no denying that.
But there’s more between them. Glances that last a moment longer than proper. A secret smile, shared only between them. And he speaks to her like her opinion is of value.
Her heart grows fonder by the day, but she knows better than to dally with nobility. Yet she entertains those very thoughts every time the duke glances her way.
Perhaps it is time for Ana to slip away, once again, so she’s not ensnared by something far worse than fear—love.
But this time, Penn is determined to catch her.
Read an excerpt
“Cinder-Girl! Where is that lazy, good for nothing—” Edda’s loud, screechy voice bellowed down the stairs.
I ran up to see what my two stepsisters wanted, attempting to brush off some of the dirt from my dress.
“Cinder-Girl!” Galianna called out.
“I’m here,” I said as I reached the double doors to the girl’s suite. They shared a large sitting room—once my nursery—and each had bedrooms off either side of it. All the childhood decorations I once had in the room had long since been swept away and replaced with lovely pastels and bold floral prints.
I always adored the room. It truly was a beautiful room for two lovely girls—
“About time! Do you carry rocks in your pockets?” Edda fired at me.
Unfortunately, I didn’t live with lovely girls. I lived with demanding stepsisters. I blinked. “I am sorry, I can only move as fast as I can.”
“Well move faster. We have company coming,” Edda snapped. She whipped a dress—far nicer than anything I owned—around like it was a rag, throwing in on the floor as though it was worth nothing.
Inside I cringed, because I only had two dresses—the one I wore now, and the one I’d hung outside my window this morning to freshen up. To have so many dresses to disregard them as she did boggled my mind.
To have enough to wonder what to wear? I couldn’t imagine such luxury.
And from the way they bustled around their suite, debating what to wear, the company coming must be important.
“Cinder-Girl, help me.” Galianna gestured to her dress. “This is what I’m wearing for the introduction to the suitors.” She twisted around so that I could straighten the rippled fabrics over the panniers. The bracing underneath the dress made the sides stick out so wide, I doubted she would be able to get in and out of a doorway without turning sideways.
Suitors were coming here? The house had been in a frenzy all morning, attempting to make everything as perfect as possible, but no one mentioned that suitors were the reason.
Suitors only came if there was a negotiation of marriage on the table, and I wondered who Father had struck a bargain for.
“Fix the hem,” Galianna jutted her hip toward me and jarred me from my thoughts. The bottom edge of her dress drug the ground just a bit more than it should.
Onto my knees I went, pulling the tiny sewing kit out of my pocket and began to stitch it up.
“And don’t make the stitches show, like the last time.” Galianna huffed. “Nearly everyone commented on what a horrible patch job it was.”
I did the best I could. Rather, I did the best a dim-witted maid could do. I certainly didn’t do the best I could do.
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