Cinderella

By P. L KURUP

When ten-year-old Ella's parents are killed in a car crash, Mrs. Miller and daughter Lucy take over her house and Mrs. Miller now becomes Ella's guardian. Mrs. Miller makes Ella sleep in the kitchen, cook, clean and tend to her and her daughter's every whim. Seven years pass and Ella grows to be a beautiful and highly intelligent 17-year-old. One day she meets Tom Logan, the sixth richest man in the country. She starts to fall in love with the charismatic 19-year-old. The only question is, can she win his heart before her evil stepsister does?

• Language: English
• Publisher: L Books
• Release date: Jan 29, 2019
• ISBN: 9781386367260

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

The Duke School for Girls. Steven Duke, Headmaster and Proprietor, read the sign. It was the first thing anyone would see when they went down the lonely road leading to the small village. 

The Duke School for Girls was a grand nineteenth-century building which sprawled over its grounds and sported numerous towers. The school and its surroundings resembled an ancient castle from medieval times. Vines hung from its walls, every door and window was fashioned from classic Windsor Oak, and its wraithlike iron gate swung to and fro in the breeze with an annoying creaking sound. 

The owner, Steven Duke, was speaking to someone in his office. Books of every description covered all four walls of the room, and a mahogany desk with pictures of Steven’s wife, Katherine, and his daughter, Ella, took pride of place in the corner. 

Steven Duke had dark blue eyes and a small cleft in his chin. He was smartly dressed in a three-piece suit and polished black shoes. His swept-back hair was long enough to cover his shirt collar, and he stood at a towering six feet three inches. 

Mrs. Meredith Eyres, a woman of average height, with grey eyes and a rail- thin figure, stood opposite him with her hands clasped. Her weathered face made her look older than she was, and her short bob made her resemble a man. 

So? Steven asked. 

So... Mrs. Eyres replied. 

Can you explain it? Steven demanded. 

Mrs. Eyres’s eyes welled with tears as she told him, I’m afraid I can’t. All I can say is that it was a miscalculation, possibly a clerical error. 

It was no clerical error! Steven barked, dropping a thick, royal blue file on the desk. You’ve been stealing from me, Meredith. No question about it. And God knows how long it’s been going on. 

Steven, I— 

Mr. Duke will suffice. I’m not going to report you to the authorities because whatever you’ve done, you don’t deserve that humiliation. However, it would be prudent to collect your belongings and leave the premises as soon as possible. 

What about my daughter? she asked softly. 

Since she had nothing to do with the incident, she may stay. But frankly, I would’ve thought you’d want to take her as far away as possible from this place. 

Mrs. Eyres nodded and walked out of the office. Her eyes widened at the sight of Katherine Duke, a beautiful woman with long brown hair, standing at the top of an unremarkable wooden staircase. 

I suppose you heard your husband dismiss me, Mrs. Eyres said. 

You stole thousands of pounds from us. How could he keep employing you? Katherine argued. 

All I wanted was a better life for my daughter. I never meant to harm anyone, said a choked-up Mrs. Eyres. 

We all want what’s best for our children, but not everyone resorts to stealing to accomplish it, Katherine replied. 

Mrs. Eyres could say nothing to the truth and fled the mansion. The second she was away, she got into her car and drove off down the narrow road at manic speed. As the car rounded the corner, she lost control and the vehicle ended up in a ditch. 

Her eyes fixed on a small bridge that crossed the middle of a river. She had passed it numerous times on less turbulent days and hadn’t given it a second glance, but today she stared at it as though it was the solution to everything. Mrs. Eyres stepped out of the car and walked onto the bridge. The swirling water below looked treacherous, and a sane person would stay clear, but to Mrs. Eyres, it was a way out. She climbed on top of the wall and moved her feet to the edge. 

Just before she lurched forward, her mobile phone rang and she was distracted from the task at hand. Scoffing at the interruption, she snatched the device from her handbag to see it was her daughter calling. 

Mum, where are you? It’s nearly midnight, Lucy asked worriedly. 

Mrs. Eyres fought back tears and told her, I’ll be home soon and I want you to be in bed before I get back. 

Yes, Mum, Lucy replied. 

The phone call eliminated a fraction of her misery, and she found she was no longer overwhelmed with grief. Dropping the phone in her bag, she jumped down onto the road and marched back to the car. 

Mrs. Eyres drove down the road again and muttered, If only his snooping wife hadn’t checked the accounts. 

Once again, she vented her fury by putting the car into a higher gear and the car hurtled down the path. 

When the contemptible school came back into view, she screeched to a stop opposite its gate and peered through the railings. Her mind flooded with scenes of Duke family bliss; a presumption that was alien to her, since both her childhood and marriage had been unhappy. The school elevated her unhappiness to such an extent that she drove off, wondering how to tell her daughter they were now destitute. 

CHAPTER 2

It was Monday morning, and four hundred schoolgirls trudged through the courtyard of The Duke School and into the main entrance. All that could be heard was the sound of young female voices. The incessant chatter echoed from behind the walls, and not even the school bell could silence them. 

By 9.05 a.m. the English lesson had begun, and a class of schoolgirls slumped in their chairs. While the majority texted on phones, ten-year-old Lucy Eyres looked pensively ahead. The blonde, blue-eyed girl wore a navy-coloured uniform, and tapped her pencil on her desk as she recalled the night before. 

Her mother walked into the house with tears streaming down her cheeks and said, Mr. Duke sacked me for no reason, and I don’t know what to do.  

Lucy wrapped her arms around her mother, trying to understand why her mum’s boss was so cruel.   

While pondering the events, she fixed her eyes on Ella Duke, Steven’s precious daughter—a girl who continued to enjoy an enviable life while she and her mother suffered. Ella had long brown hair, blue-grey eyes, and was much prettier than the rest of her class. At present, she stood in front of her friends and read a prepared essay that was far too advanced for her age. 

Of course, the prince ends up marrying her, and they live in a beautiful palace with servants tending to their every whim and so on, Ella described. But is that really how you’d like to see her end up? Miss Carpenter, the English teacher, a diminutive woman with pale skin and pencilled-in eyebrows, leaned against the window and sighed as Ella continued. Wouldn’t you rather have her climb Mount Everest, or write a bestselling novel? Or maybe even find the cure for some incurable disease? Ella hurled her notebook and it landed on her desk with a thud, making the girl next to her jump. So, I ask you, is it not time that we all try to aspire to be a new kind of Cinderella? A Cinderella who not only marries the prince, but also does much more with her life. The end. 

The girls watched with stunned expressions as Miss Carpenter cleared her throat and walked to the front. 

Well, Ella, that was a very thorough account of an age-old fairy tale. Lucy’s hand shot up and Miss Carpenter asked, Yes, Lucy? 

Actually, I thought it was complete nonsense, Lucy remarked. 

The girls giggled and Miss Carpenter questioned, And why do you say that, dear? 

Because Cinderella is a pathetic individual. The whole point of her existence is for her to be trampled on by others. I believe she doesn’t deserve to achieve anything in life. She reminds me of an injured bird...the kind you crush under the sole of your boot to stop it from suffering. 

If Cinderella were a real person, Ella interrupted. I’m sure she’d have the good sense not to listen to the likes of you. Because the last thing anyone wants is for a smart aleck, prudish, bad-tempered girl to remind them of how awful life can be. 

Miss Carpenter stepped in quickly. Thank you, girls. Thank you. 

The school bell pealed, signalling the end of the lesson and the pupils and Miss Carpenter exited the room. Ella and Lucy remained behind; their youthful faces saturated with scorn. 

Your stuck-up parents couldn’t run a school even if their lives depended on it, Lucy stated. 

Take it back or I’ll do something I’ll regret, Ella warned. 

I’m not taking back the truth. 

Ella charged at Lucy and pushed her to the floor. Lucy responded by pulling Ella’s hair and scratching her arm. Some of the girls ran back into the room and gawped at the sight of Ella and Lucy grappling on the floor. 

I hate you. I can’t stand you and I hope you die! Lucy yelled, striking Ella repeatedly on the face. 

Ella closed her eyes, scrunched her fist into a ball, and punched Lucy on the jaw. The schoolgirl lurched back and fell into the arms of Miss Carpenter, who had hurried back in. Ella scrambled to her feet and gave her teacher a pleasant smile. 

xxx

––––––––

By the time school ended, Ella had a black eye and a swollen cheek, which she covered with her curtain of hair. She walked to her parents’ bedroom on the other side of the school, and saw her mother’s powder-blue robe draped over a chair and one of her father’s suits hanging on the wardrobe door. She raised a brow at her parents’ absence and crossed the landing to her own bedroom. 

Hers was a pretty chamber decorated with a white carpet and pink curtains. Stacks of schoolbooks lay next to her bed, and lying open on her table was a worn-out copy of ‘Jane Eyre’. Catching her reflection in the mirror, she impassively inspected her bruises. It was nothing unusual as scraps with Lucy occurred all too often. 

As night descended, she lay in bed staring out the window at a large manor house on the hill. The mansion had dozens of towers and acres of land, and undoubtedly belonged to someone wealthy. Her overactive imagination created a family with links to the nobility who would one day invite her to tea. Her daydreaming halted when the door creaked open and her parents walked in. 

Still awake? Katherine asked. 

I can’t sleep, Ella replied. 

Katherine sat on the edge of Ella’s bed, glowering at her young daughter. 

I’m sorry, but she started it, Ella complained. 

But you have to learn to control your temper, Katherine advised. Nothing will be gained by violence. 

But she’s so awful. Everything she does annoys me. 

She annoys me, too, Steven added. 

Katherine glanced over at Steven and then told Ella, Sometimes it’s better to get along with people than to trample them down. Do you understand? 

Ella nodded and pointed to the manor. Who lives in that house? 

A rich man and his family, Katherine answered. 

Are they richer than us?

Much richer. They’re a very private family. Nobody seems to know much about them...although I do know they have a son. I believe he may be a year or two older than you. 

A son. I’d like to meet him some day, Ella said with conviction. 

It’s time you were asleep, Steven told her. 

Your trip’s much too long, Ella groaned. 

We will be back in six days, Katherine answered. 

Six days is too long and you won’t be back for my birthday, Ella persisted. 

Once we return, we’ll throw a really big party and you can invite all your friends, Katherine said to placate her daughter.

Can I invite the boy from the house? Ella asked. 

Well...yes, but I don’t think— Katherine stuttered. 

So, that’s a yes? 

Perhaps, Katherine said. 

Steven brought out a tiny box wrapped in silver paper from behind his back.

In the meantime, your mother and I thought you could do with a small present. 

Ella snatched the box from him, tore off the wrapping, and opened it. Encased was a gold locket with the letter E engraved on it, and her eyes lit up. 

Daddy, it’s beautiful. 

Open it, Steven encouraged. 

Doing so, she found a picture of Katherine and Steven nestled inside. 

At least now you can keep us close all the time, Katherine said. 

Ella hugged her deeply and uttered, Thank you, Mummy. She then hugged Steven. Thank you so much, Daddy. 

You’re welcome, Princess, Steven replied. 

After her parents left, she examined the locket as it twinkled in the light. It felt cold against her skin and had an engraving of a pretty flower below the initial. She was so captivated with the ornament that