"Good afternoon ladies, come in," Cinderella greeted the two elegant ladies. "I'm afraid I mistook the time for your arrival. Stepmother will be down shortly."

"So you're still living here, child?" Lady Charlton said and gave her a curious look. "No husband, no marriage in sight?"

Cinderella felt a blush creep up her cheeks.

"No ma'am."

"I see," she said and the corners of her mouth twitched slightly. Cinderella didn't know what to make of it, but thankfully, Eleanor choose that moment to come down the stairs, saving Cinderella from coming up with a response.

"My apologies ladies," Eleanor said, brushing past Cinderella without so much as a glance.

"It's perfectly fine. I honestly didn't think we would make it on time, the wind is picking up and they say there might be another snow storm on the way. Too bad, since the weather was so nice earlier today."

"I agree."

They left the hallway and Cinderella looked after them, hoping Eleanor would turn around and at least look at her, but she didn't.

Eleanor wasn't in the mood for this charade at all, but it could turn out to be rather fruitful. As they sat down and waited for Cinderella to serve the tea, she said:

"Now that my daughters are well married…"

"I can't imagine how you succeeded in that," Lady Gingham chimed in. "My daughter didn't do half as well, and she's a talented and pretty girl."

Eleanor offered her a fake smile. Lady Gingham wasn't exactly famous for her ability to choose her words well, and the two women had been not-so-secretly archenemies for decades.

"Skills, my dear. Some mothers have them, others don't," she snapped in response and went on before the other woman had time to find her bearings. "What I was saying, is that I have decided to teach my stepdaughter how to be a lady. She will take over the chateau when I'm gone."

"The maid?" Lady Gingham blurted out as Lady Charlton nodded;

"We go back a long time, Eleanor, and I never wanted to say anything, but I always found the way you treated that girl to be quite unfair."

"Yes, yes," Eleanor waved it off, hoping she wouldn't give her emotions away by blushing. "The point is," she went on just as Cinderella put down the tea and served them,

"… that I need a new maid as soon as possible. I was hoping either of you could help me with that matter."

Cinderella flinched and nearly spilled the tea. A new maid? But where would she go? Was she just the fool here, a toy that would soon be thrown away? Oh, she couldn't bear it. She had been so sure it was for real. It felt real.

She tried to make eye contact with Eleanor, but the older woman stubbornly avoided to look at her at all. The look upon her face was aloof and dismissive. There was not a sign of gentleness or kindness, let alone love.

"I might," Lady Charlton said musingly.

Cinderella felt tears sting in her eyes as she left the room. Had she believed it was mutual? How could she have been so blind, after all these years of cruelty from her stepmother? This was just another, much worse, betrayal, and it would probably not be beyond Eleanor Tremaine to be so cunning and mean as to take the only thing Cinderella had left; her heart. And her body.

"So I should leave before she tells me to."

It suddenly felt like not only the right, but the only thing to do. To face the humiliation simply wasn't an option, when she had poured her entire heart out, had done things she never expected to do, and had believed all along that the love she felt was mirrored in Eleanor's heart… nearly choking on tears, Cinderella grabbed a coat and ran to the stable.

"So I take it you plan on getting the girl married off as soon as possible?" Lady Gingham asked.

"In fact quite the opposite," Eleanor replied and sipped her tea. "I plan on educating her well enough to take over the chateau, like I said before. She has only been a scullery maid so it will take a lot of time to make her presentable as a lady."

"She's certainly pretty enough," Lady Charlton said, still in a musing tone.

"I suppose she is," Eleanor replied carefully, trying to sound as though she had never noticed. "But pretty can only get you so far."

"Hmm," Lady Charlton replied.

Eleanor ached to be rid of these women and spend her time with Cinderella. Preferably in bed. She had found herself unable to even look at Cinderella when she was at the table, for fear of losing her self-control. She had only been able to contain herself by melting back into her old, cold and condescending self, the evil stepmother persona. She had hardly even thought about it as it was so common for her to retreat into this behaviour whenever she felt troubled. She was completely unaware of the impact her coldness had had on the woman she loved.

Cinderella was hit by the cold winds as she stepped outside, but she didn't care. She had been hit by worse coldness. She entered the stable and called out Major's name. The horse raised his head and looked at her, his brown eyes concerned.

"Let's get out of here."

She quickly saddled and mounted. Dark clouds gathered in the skies and the snowfall picked up, as did the winds. She rode nearly blinded. There was an abandoned barn some distance away, she could stay the night there. The hay should be warm enough to sleep in, but to be honest, she didn't really care where she went, as long as she got away.

Time seemed to drag on forever, and it was getting dark when the Duchess and Countess finally got up to leave. Eleanor followed them to the door, and Lady Charlton grabbed her arm.

"May I have a word with you alone before I leave?"

"I can't see why…"

"Good." She lowered her voice. "I saw the two of you earlier today."

"I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Yes, you do. Love is a wonderful thing when it comes, and far too precious to deny. Don't waste it, Eleanor. Once, as a young girl, I knew that kind of love as well. It didn't last, which I regret. And which is why I'm telling you this. Don't run away from it. Be careful, very careful, but don't run away. As for a new maid, I know of someone who is very discreet and trustworthy in matters like these. Shall I speak to her?"

Eleanor was overwhelmed by conflicting emotions; anger and worry that they had been seen, gratitude that it had been by someone who'd rather protect them than spreading the rumour, and a strong, desperate urge to wrap her arms around her lover and never let go.

"Yes, please do. And… thank you, Sophie."

"Thank me by taking good care of her heart. Both your hearts."

"I will."

"You really want me to leave now so you can go to her, don't you?"

Eleanor nodded with a smile.

"Frankly, yes, I do."

Lady Charlton laughed heartily as she opened the door.

"Good luck. Oh my, look, it seems the snow storm the other day was just the beginning."

"I'm glad we'll stay inside for the evening," Eleanor said, still, for a couple of minutes, blissfully unaware that Cinderella was already outside in this ungodly weather.

A/N

So, I finally got the update ready. Yes, I know there is angst and misunderstandings here… but I promised you a happy ending and I intend to keep my promises. Hold out!

Thank you everyone for following this, reading and reviewing. It makes me really happy, thank you! :D