Eric and Conrad
And that was that. Aurore ran the household. At the end of each month she gave her stepmother some money, saying: "This is what I managed to save this month for you." And because of this the countess never questioned how she organised things. She never realised that Aurore had arranged for hired help to do as much as possible. This meant she and Cindy had time left to take up their old pastimes, riding and walking.
The countess, Bernardine and Clotilde were unaware of the changes that Aurore had made to Cindy's life.
Bernardine once said, "It looks like Cinders has got a new dress." But nothing was made of it when Aurore answered, "It is just one of my cast-offs."
"Don't give that lazy creature too much," was all that the countess said.
"I thought it was better for the image of our house if the front door wasn't opened by a beggar girl, that's all," replied Aurore to this.
That satisfied the countess and she remained in blissful ignorance about the friendship of the girls.
One day when out in the woods Aurore and Cindy were observing a doe and her young grazing in a clearing. They kept quiet so the animals would not be disturbed. Then Aurore saw a little movement. The doe had noticed something too; she lifted her head. Then Aurore saw an arrow pointed at the mother. She felt a loose piece of sod and without thinking got up and hurled it towards the arrow, shouting. The two deer ran away and Aurore started running, pulling Cindy along. They heard cursing and soon the hunters were in pursuit of a new prey. The girls had a head start and ran as fast as they could, but being hindered by their dresses, they hadn't reached the entrance to their garden before they were caught.
"What did you think you were doing? You spoiled a perfect shot," said the first man.
"You shouldn't shoot females with young. Anyway, only the king is allowed to shoot in these woods."
"Don't you know who this is? This is…"
The second man interrupted, "I'm the head of the king's hunters. This is my friend and colleague Conrad. My name is Eric."
"I don't care who you are." Aurore was furious. "You have scared my sister to death chasing us. Look, she's nearly crying."
"We're sorry." Eric looked at Cindy. "We didn't mean to frighten you that much. Conrad was just sore because he hasn't had any success in weeks. And this seemed a sure shot."
"It's alright, I'm not frightened anymore," said Cindy. "I'm sure Aurore didn't want to spoil your friend's shot."
"Oh yes, I did," said Aurore and looked Conrad defiantly in the eyes. He looked at the little fury with the blazing eyes and started laughing.
"I will gladly forget it, miss, if you and your sister will spend some time with us."
The laughter had shattered any anger Aurore felt. She wished they could stay to get to know these men better. They seemed decent enough, better by far than the idiots her stepmother sometimes invited to meet her daughters. So with deep regret she said, "We cannot stay. We are expected to be back before eleven. I'm sure it's nearly that time."
"Could you come tomorrow?" asked Eric. "We can come here any time you want."
"Can we, Aurore? I would very much like to," said Cindy, blushing a little.
"Not tomorrow, but we could come the day afterwards."
And so the four young people arranged to meet again. They talked a lot about their likes and dislikes, books, music, plays but also more serious things were discussed. Strangely enough neither the men nor the girls said anything about their private lives. The girls only knew they were meeting Eric and Conrad, hunters of the king; while the men thought Cindy and Aurore were governesses or teachers because they had to be back at a certain time.
To see more of their friends Aurore decided to fulfil a dear wish of the countess. Often since the disappearance of the count, she had heard her stepmother sigh: "I feel so tired lately. I need to recover from this terrible ordeal that hit me. And Bernardine and Clotilde look so sickly these days. It will affect their marriage possibilities."
When she noticed Aurore's surprised look, she added: "You're lucky, Aurore. You don't have to worry about that sort of thing. You already know you'll be an old maid. There's nothing anybody can do to make you look more attractive."
On another occasion she had wailed: "My poor girls. They could do with a week's rest and treatment. And I'm too exhausted to help them. If I only had the money to take them to the Eastend health resort. "
Aurore knew full well these lamentations were just an act. Countess Régine wanted Aurore to feel sorry for her stepmother and stepsisters and pay for the holiday. If it hadn't been for the meeting with Eric and Conrad, Aurore wouldn't have dreamed of gratifying this expensive wish. Now she could only think of the freedom the absence of the three women would bring to Cindy and her. The timing could not be better either. The birthdays of Countess Régine, Bernardine and Clotilde all fell within the space of a week in the same month, the next month. Aurore arranged everything, the coach to take them, the overnight stay in the best inn, the rooms in the best hotel in Eastend and as many beauty treatments as they wanted or could have in one week. She told them the good news one morning at the breakfast table, a fortnight before they were due to travel.
"I know it's early but I've got your birthday present already. It's for the three of you. A week's holiday at the Excelsior hotel in Eastend with all treatments included."
Bernardine and Clotilde started screaming: "Eastend! The Excelsior!"
"Girls! Behave!" the countess said sternly. To Aurore she fake-sweetly said: "That's very nice of you, Aurore, but what treatments did you order? You should have seen me in this. I could have advised you."
"You can have anything you want, stepmother. It's a week all-in at the Excelsior. Any food, any drink, any treatment is yours for the asking."
Bernardine and Clotilde really started screeching now, and even Countess Régine seemed satisfied. Just to be difficult she said: "I don't know how we're going to do this. We can't leave Cinders in charge of the house. She'll more than likely do something stupid like burn the house down or she'll run away with all the valuables."
"I thought of that too," said Aurore. "I stay here to look after the house. You know I don't like to waste money and you yourself said I was beyond help."
Now even the countess was satisfied. She looked pityingly at Aurore and said: "Poor child. You're right. Thank you for the gift."
Two weeks later they were gone and a week of freedom lay ahead for Aurore and Cindy. They met Conrad and Eric every day. From the beginning it had been clear that Eric and Cindy had fallen in love at first sight. Now that feeling blossomed into a deep mutual love.
Conrad and Aurore had become close friends. Conrad loved to tease Aurore or make her laugh. Anything to see her eyes sparkle, with annoyance at him or joy, he didn't care. He was sure of his love for Aurore but couldn't make out if she felt the same. Aurore kept her feelings in check. The poisoned barbs of her stepmother had wounded her, even if she didn't show it. There were times she did wonder if perhaps she wasn't attractive enough. Conrad too was not as outspoken about his feelings as Eric. For the moment both were satisfied with their friendship.
Far too soon to their liking the week was over and they were back to seeing each other for a few hours now and again. The countess and her daughters brought back enough washing and mending to keep an army of workers busy for a week. Aurore secretly hired more help.
The extra bills the countess gave to Aurore without a trace of embarrassment she paid without flinching. Knowing her stepmother and stepsisters as she did, she had expected nothing less.