Cruella by Elizabeth Rudnick

Author:Elizabeth Rudnick [Rudnick, Elizabeth]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Disney Book Group
Published: 2021-05-28T00:00:00+00:00

“Who are you?” the Baroness asked Estella as she glided away from the stairs and toward a small alcove. “You look vaguely familiar.”

“I look stunning,” Estella said, relieved. The Baroness hadn’t recognized her—yet. Quickly, she fell into the role of mysterious fashionista that she had perfected during her long hours of prep. “I don’t know about familiar, darling.”

The Baroness looked almost impressed by the response. Almost. Narrowing her eyes, she nodded at Estella’s head. “Your hair, is it real?”

“Black and White Ball,” Estella replied, not giving a definitive answer. “I like to make an impact.”

“Right,” the Baroness said, unconvinced. “What was your name?”

Estella felt her heart begin to pound faster. She hadn’t thought of that. She couldn’t just come out and say her name. But she couldn’t just stand there gasping like a fish on dry land. Her brain whirred as she tried to come up with an alias. Her eyes stayed locked on the Baroness’s cold ones. There was something so mean and vindictive in them. It reminded her of the ginger boy who had made her life horrible in grade school. And just like that, she knew exactly the name she would give the Baroness.

“Cruella,” Estella answered boldly.

For the first time since Estella had known the Baroness, she saw what looked like approval cross over the woman’s face. “That’s quite fabulous,” the Baroness said. “And you designed this?” She pointed toward the red gown.

“You did. In your 1965 collection,” Estella replied. She paused for a beat, letting the words sink in. Then she added, “I fixed it.”

The Baroness leveled her gaze at Estella. For a long moment, the two women stood in a silent face-off. Then the Baroness nodded. “No wonder I love it. It’s mine,” she said, ignoring Estella’s comment. “I don’t recall inviting you.”

“Neither do I,” Estella said. Her earlier tension was fading as she slipped further and further into her new role. “And yet, here I am.”

The Baroness walked over and took a seat in the larger of two large chairs placed in the alcove. It had a high back and stiff padding. A throne, Estella thought, for an ice queen. Pointing to the smaller chair beside hers, the Baroness told her to sit. “I insist,” she said. “I’m intrigued, and that never happens.”

As Estella moved toward the chair, the Baroness’s three Dalmatians approached. Instantly, Estella’s blood ran cold. The dogs were huge, each one bigger than the last. She tried to slow her breath as she remembered, in a terrible flash, a blur of black and white coming at her as she hid behind a hedge. These couldn’t be the same dogs that had attacked her mother, could they? Did the Baroness just replace one dog with the next, like a handbag?

Mistaking Estella’s look of fear for admiration, the Baroness called one of the dogs over and placed her long, thin fingers atop its head. “Aren’t they gorgeous?” the Baroness said. “And vicious. It’s my favorite combination.”

Gulping, Estella inched by the dogs and slid into the seat.

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