Read Grace: a Cinderella Story :: Chapter Two Part Two

“What?” “A statue of bloody Will Anderken.” “The Civil War guy?” Jack laughed lowly, an unfamiliar sound coming from him. “He was much more than that. Before the Civil War, he was a thief. He trafficked stolen horses and robbed and pillaged towns. Then, for whatever reason, he became a captain on the pro-slavery side, where he regularly tortured anti-slavery soldiers and slaves who he captured. He would literally cut off the heads of his enemies and put them with other people’s bodies.” “Why in the world would he do that? Wouldn’t that just be a weird waste of time during the war?” “I would imagine he didn’t want the grieving families of the dead to be able to retrieve the full bodies of their sons and brothers, being he was an evil piece of crap. He rode around on his horse with the scalps of his kills dangling from the stirrups. Finally, someone shot him in the head and he died instantly, which was way too clean and easy a death for Old Will, and they of course put together a beautiful, eight-foot-tall stone statue of him down the road, to commemorate how great he was.” “Well, why doesn’t the government just take the statue down? I mean, that was 150 years ago.” “Because,” Jack answered, leaning back in his seat and closing his eyes, “if we were to tear down that statue, we would be erasing history.” Jack swept his hands dramatically, emphasizing the point. Ella rolled her eyes. “Nothing is going to erase what that man did,” she said sternly. “But I’m sorry that’s what people think.” “I walk past that statue on my way to practice every day, and I walk past it on my way home. And when I look into its stony eyes, I see the same level of humanity he had in life. I see everything he did that was evil and heinous, and I see the screams of black and white men and women he tortured and killed. And I walk past it, and I hope that one day, I won’t have to walk past it anymore, and that no one will have to walk past that man as long as he burns in Hell.” Ella nodded slowly, at a loss for words. Jack smiled sadly, then launched into an unrelated, passionate explanation of the 1986 World Series, which Ella could not and did not care to follow. Ella had stopped by Lon’s house to pick up his car in order to drive it to Dave’s house to have it fixed. She was entirely underwhelmed by the prospect, not wanting to sit in his driveway for hours while they fixed it, but Lon had refused to come with her so she could have a means of escape while the car was being worked on. Ella parked her car and went to the door to collect the keys. Isabella answered, a can of hairspray in one hand. She ran her salon out of her basement, and was evidently in the middle of something. “I just came for the keys,” Ella explained. Isabella gestured for her to grab them off the hook and returned to a rather loud group of ladies in the basement. The ride took over two hours, which added to Ella’s stress. She already had to complete a series of chores at home, and she didn’t want this endeavor to take up too much of her time. Finally, after an excruciatingly long drive, she arrived at the gates of what Ella assumed was some kind of rich, gated community, and hit the buzzer. “Name?” a voice asked from the speaker. “Ella Tremaine,” she responded. “Come in, make your way to the car port,” the voice told her shortly, as the gates opened. Ella drove through, not knowing where the car port could possibly be. As soon as Ella entered through the gates, it was immediately clear to her that this was not a gated community, as she had initially thought. This was, in fact, a gated mansion, with assorted side houses and elaborate, artistic gardens and structures. Ella was amazed. She knew that Dave guy and his friends had to be from wealth, but she had no idea they were from so much wealth. Ella wondered briefly if she had even gone to the right address, but realized that she wouldn’t have been allowed entrance otherwise. She slowly pulled into a gravel road, with flowering oaks lining the path on either side. Ella couldn’t help but stare at the mansion in awe; it was beyond grand, even from the outside. It was built of stone, with a beautiful front garden. She watched as gardeners planted winter foliage to replace the summer flowers that had died. The whole thing was massive, and she realized the property must be several acres. She wondered what Dave’s parents did for a living to have so much in such grandiose abundance. Luckily, the car port wasn’t too far down the path. Ella spotted it and drove toward it slowly. It was an open, roofed space with several luxury cars inside, with more than one mechanic milling about, tools in their hands. Ella parked inside warily, then quickly exited the car as a mechanic neared her. “Uh, hello,” Ella greeted him. “I’m here to get my boss’s car fixed. Dave slammed into it from the back, so he invited me to come here to get it fixed…” The mechanic nodded. “Yeah, I remember. He told me.” The mechanic looked over the damage. “My name’s Frank,” he informed Ella. “Ella,” she told him. Frank continued to inspect the damage from different angles. “When’s the last time you had an oil change?” Frank asked gruffly. “Uh, I don’t really know. It’s my boss’s car, so you’d have to ask him.” “Yeah? What about you, do you need your oil changed?” Ella laughed lightly. “Probably, but my car is at home. I’m not even sure it would make the trip.” Frank smiled. “Well, this’ll probably take a few hours. Maybe four, maybe five. Do you have a ride out of here?” “Uh, no,” Ella said, shifting on her feet. “But I brought a book. I’m sure I can just sit to the side, out of the way. I won’t bother you,” she added quickly. Suddenly, Ella heard a voice behind her. “Little cold for that,” it stated. Ella turned around to see Dave standing there, sunglasses once again shielding his eyes. “You can come inside.” “I mean, if it’s not any trouble,” Ella said, suddenly feeling self-conscious. “I’m sure I can warm you up,” Dave said, a smirk adorning his lips. “Just fix the car,” Ella deadpanned. “If you’d rather sit outside…” “I’d rather sit outside if you’re going to be a dick inside,” Ella told him. Frank looked back and forth between the pair, eyes wide, as though he’d never heard anyone talk to Dave in such a way before. “I promise not to be a dick,” Dave said, making a sign over his chest. “Scout’s honor.” “I find it very hard to believe you were ever a boy scout.” “I certainly was,” Dave said, already walking away. Ella had to hurry to catch up to him, which only aggravated her further. It was a silent walk to the mansion. Ella had to admit it to herself, she was definitely curious as to what was behind the double doors that marked the front of the building. She glanced back at the car port, where Frank was looking over Lon’s car. Her eyes skimmed over all the expensive, luxury cars. There were almost too many to count. I bet his dad’s an oil tycoon, Ella thought as Dave swung open the doors. The interior of the mansion was even more luxurious than the exterior. The tall ceiling was adorned with expensive chandeliers, which glittered in the light from the tall, stained glass windows. A winding staircase led to who knows where, and the hallway in front of them was so long Ella could hardly make out an ending. Dave unceremoniously led her down the hall, ultimately stopping so abruptly that Ella, who was distracted by the regality of her surroundings, walked directly into him. Ella bounced back, rubbing her head. “Sorry,” she muttered. “I’m sure you’ve seen a house before,” Dave said. “You’re literally wearing sunglasses indoors, I’m amazed you’ve seen your house before,” Ella said accusingly. “I will remove my sunglasses,” Dave told her, “if you promise not to freak out.” Ella nodded, watching Dave apprehensively. She imagined he must have some sort of facial deformity which led him to always wear dark shades to avoid judgment from passersby. Dave slowly removed his sunglasses, hooking them in his pocket. Ella studied his face intently. He had light brown eyes, thick eyebrows and a defined jawline. Ella found him attractive physically, but she wasn’t so convinced about his inner beauty. “Where is it?” she asked him. “Where is what?” “The reason you didn’t want me to see your face. I thought you’d be missing an eye or something.” Dave quickly flashed a smile, almost laughing. “No, nothing is wrong with my face,” he told her, amused. “Okay then,” Ella muttered, turning away from him. “Kind of weird you feel like you need to hide it, but okay…” Dave opened a door and Ella followed him into an open room with a TV and bar with stools in one half, and a series of book shelves with recliners in the other half. “I’m sure you can read here,” Dave said. “Try not to steal anything.” Ella rolled her eyes. “What kind of a girl do you take me for?” “You almost hit me,” Dave reminded her. Ella rolled her eyes. “I promise not to hit you, unless you really, really deserve it.” “That’s practically a threat.” “Take it however you want,” Ella said stiffly, and seated herself in a recliner, opening her book and not looking back up at Dave. Dave shook his head, out of Ella’s view, and exited the room, leaving the door open behind him. Ella spent the next few hours reading, pausing occasionally to marvel at her surroundings. She rather wished to explore the mansion, but figured it wasn’t worth the risk. She wasn’t sure where the inhabitants of this mansion would be, and didn’t want to awkwardly run into any of them while snooping, whoever they were. Finally, Dave re-entered the room, sweaty and breathing heavily. “You good man?” Ella questioned, looking up from the book in front of her. “Fucking fantastic,” Dave responded in between breaths. “I always feel great when I go for a simple run and wind up getting chased by German shepherds. It’s the highlight of my day.” Ella rolled her eyes. Too bad they didn’t catch you, she thought to herself. “I take it Lon’s car is fixed?” she asked. Before Dave could answer, a short, heavy man with white hair and a thick, bushy white mustache entered the room. He clapped a heavy hand on Dave’s shoulder, which was above him, and boomed, “Now, who is this?” “Uh…” Ella began, taken aback, before Dave interrupted. “I might have accidentally hit her car,” he explained. “And I had Frank fix it.” “Oh, well, that’s very good.” The man nodded. “Glad to fix it for you! Now, what do you do, my dear? Are you a student at the university?” “Well, no,” Ella answered. “I’m a private investigator.” “A private investigator!” the man remarked, clapping his hands together loudly. “Perfect! I need a private investigator!” “You do?” Dave questioned, eyes darkening. “Why, I absolutely do, my boy!” The man clapped Dave on the back, hard enough to cause him to stumble forward a little. “I’m afraid there is a thief among us! Stealing our gardening supplies!” “I’m sure we can buy some more,” Dave said hastily. “Nonsense, my boy! One cannot merely buy common decency! I want the thief punished! It’s a matter of principle! Now, you--what’s your name again?” “Ella.” “Ella! You are exactly what I need! You can track down the thief for me! What do you charge?”

Ella spouted out the first number she thought of, which was more than twice Lon’s usual rate. “What a steal!” the man exclaimed. “Certainly! I’ll pay you that for working for me up front, plus three times that if you manage to catch the thief! Which, by the way, I’m sure you will do.” The man stroked his mustache and eyed Ella. Ella stood up from her seat and stood in front of the man. She looked him in the eyes. “Sir,” she told him, grasping his hands seriously, “There is no one on this earth who will work harder to find this thief than me and my boss, Lon Accardi.” “Perfect!” The man clapped his hands once again. “I shall expect you here again at your soonest availability! My boy shall show you around! Cheerio!” With that, the man briskly exited the room, leaving a triumphant Ella alone with Dave. “Why,” Dave began, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “Just why.” Ella rolled her eyes. “I’m sorry, not everyone can just live off their rich parents,” she said, pointing a finger at him accusingly. “Some of us have to work for a living.” “Have you ever even tracked down a thief?” Ella wavered. “Uh, sort of,” she told him. If you consider stealing someone’s heart, that is. “Uh-huh,” Dave commented, unconvinced. “I’m sure it’s just the gardener, anyway,” Ella said hastily. “Which one?” “Which… one?” “We have a whole team of gardeners, sweetheart.” “Don’t call me that!” Ella snapped. “I’m a serious professional.” Dave laughed mockingly. “How old are you, twelve? Not much time to become a ‘serious professional’.” “I’m twenty!” Ella screeched. “Oh yeah, much better.” “I will capture the thief,” Ella said confidently. “Or at least figure out who he is.” “Well, you better not take forever to do it,” Dave said shallowly. “I’m the one who has to babysit you.” “I don’t need you to babysit me,” Ella said stiffly. “I’ll figure it out just fine on my own.” “Oh, really?” “Damn straight.” Dave bent down to be eye-level with Ella, who was clearly annoyed with him. “You know,” he remarked huskily, “you’d look a lot cuter if you smiled.” Dave’s face was red from the sting of Ella’s smack when she stormed out of the room. Dave still stepped into the doorway to watch her stomp away down the hall, looking over her figure from the back. He cupped his red cheek with one hand and shook his head before heading down the hall in the opposite direction. ⧫ “It was great,” Ella enthused. “He said he’d pay us that up front, plus triple if we can identify the thief!” “Spectacular,” Lon agreed. Ella was seated at his kitchen table, Isabella and Lon at opposite ends. “I have taught you well, I see. Now, tell me about this young man, Dave.” Ella rolled her eyes. “Oh, he’s an asshole,” she said, then looked at Isabella and added, “sorry.” “Is he handsome?” Lon asked. “I don’t know, I guess--what is this, an inquisition? I’m making us a lot of money here.” “Yes,” Lon agreed. “And that’s why I think you should handle this one alone.” “Really?” Ella asked, surprised. “Why?” “Well, so you can have some quality time with this young man, of course.” “What?!” “He probably likes you,” Isabella agreed. “You know how boys are.” “No, not really,” Ella said. “If Dave likes you, that means his father will give you even more menial, overpriced tasks to complete! You’re the ticket to fortune, my dear.” “I am certainly not!” “Ella, dear, please. You could do a lot worse than hang out with a rich kid whose father is showering you with money,” Isabella commented. “That’s not even--where are you two getting this from?”