Glass Slippers [1st Draft]

18. Suspicions

Chapter Eighteen:

Suspicions

——-

Unlike the day before, Clara did not have the luxury of sleeping in late the morning after the second ball. She had been asleep for all of three hours when she felt herself being shaken awake. Sitting up quickly, she blinked her eyes to try and get rid of the blur, but she had hardly enough time to register the fact she was awake when a hand was pulling her to her feet and out the door of the kitchen.

However, Clara's tired mind was snapped to attention when she realized who was dragging her up the stairs. It was Estella. Clara didn't even bother struggling as she was pushed into her step-sister's room, and all traces of her fatigue disappeared with the importance of the situation. Yet, Estella didn't look all that upset, if anything she looked excited.

"I have been waiting all night to see you!" Estella gushed as she lead Clara to the bed, though not sitting down herself. Estella's dark hair was wild with flyaways and she was still in her light pink gown from the ball, but she didn't seem to notice as she stood in front of Clara, a large grin on her face. "I had to wait for Mother and Edina to go to bed, but it was worth it!"

Estella settled herself onto the stool in front of the mirror, waiting expectantly for Clara to say something, but Clara was still trying to wrap her head around the fact that Estella seemed to be . . . happy?

"Well? What was it like? Where did you get the dress? How did you get to the ball? Who were you dancing with? Why didn't you tell me?" Estella asked throwing out questions in a rapid-fire. Clara sat back a little startled and put up her hand to stop the flow of questions.

"How about I answer them one at a time? Which one do you want to know first?" Clara asked Estella, who seemed to be pondering which question to ask first very seriously.

"How did you get to the ball?" Clara sighed at the question. At least the conversation would be interesting.

"I came in a carriage given to me by a friend," Clara said, "She has been helping me get ready and offered her assistance with everything that has to do with getting to the ball."

"Is that where you got the dresses?"

"Yes." Estella stared at her in wonder.

"But they're so beautiful! The first one was gorgeous and the second one looked like it was made of actual starlight, how did she even get the dresses in the first place?"

"She made them," Clara answered carefully, not knowing how Gardenia would react if Clara told Estella about the magic. "She's very talented."

"Well, I should say so! That man you were dancing with could barely take his eyes off of you!" Estella's eyes then practically sparkled with mischief. "Who were you dancing with, anyway? He seemed very taken with you."

Clara did her best to look nonchalant, but then again, how could she be? She didn't even know anything about him other than the fact that his name was Augustus or Gus, and he had siblings.

"His name is Augustus."

"Augustus?" Estella asked, both of her thin eyebrows arching. "What, is there nothing else? Is he titled? Does he have a last name?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know? You danced with him both nights! What did you two do the whole time? Gaze into each other's eyes? You must've talked a little bit."

"Well we did talk, but it never came up."

"So you danced with him two nights in a row, had conversations with him, and yet you never once asked for a last name?" Estella sounded incredulous. "I thought you were supposed to be the sociable one of the two of us." Clara shrugged in response, however, that clearly wasn't enough of an answer for Estella because a second later she whacked Clara on the arm. "At least tell me you are going to see him again."