CHAPTER 18
Katy
K aty snuggled into the blissful softness surrounding her and smiled. She’d never had a dream that felt so much like floating on a cloud; she wasn’t sure she had ever felt so cozy and comfortable.
She gradually became aware of murmurs outside and the distant clash of metal. Her forehead wrinkled, but her eyes stayed closed. Those sounds didn’t fit. She should hear the rushing of the rapids behind her home, shouldn’t she?
No—that was right. King Steffan had sent guards to drag her to his castle. She must have fallen asleep after she finished spinning.
She jolted upright, her eyes flying open, as memories of her third night rushed back in. She’d finished spinning. She’d met the prince…and he was Gunther.
The joy and despair collided within her once again, bending her forward. She covered her face as her mouth twisted, fighting to hold in the wail that wanted to escape.
The backs of her hands brushed against something incredibly soft, and she froze. Where was she? There had been nothing this soft in her room. Even Otto’s cloak, though finer than anything she owned, had been coarser than the velvety blanket under her fingers as she explored the space around her.
Lifting her eyes, she looked around the darkened room. It wasn’t dark like her room; where that had been pitch black except for a thin line of light at the bottom of the door, here a soft glow emanated around the edges of a large rectangle set against the wall. From what she could see of the outline, it looked like...drapes?
She crawled to the edge of the bed – larger than any she’d ever been on – and swung her legs over the edge, setting her stockinged feet on the soft floor. She didn’t remember removing her boots, but then, she didn’t remember entering this room. When she stretched her thoughts back, the last thing she remembered was sitting on a stiff sofa and losing herself in the comfort of Gunther’s—no, Prince Axel’s—arms.
Heat spread across her cheeks at the memory. What had she been thinking, throwing herself at him that way? What must he think of her?
What would Fritz think when he heard?
Not that Fritz’s thoughts mattered unless the prince could talk his father out of the betrothal.
Slowly pushing to her feet, she padded over to the light. She wondered if he had spoken with his father yet and what the outcome had been. From what she knew of the king, she doubted he had been successful.
As she pulled back the drapes, she absently noted that the texture was rougher than the blanket. She squinted in the daylight behind them. As her eyes adjusted, she could make out a grassy courtyard with several dozen men, some paired off in sword fights and others shaking their fists in encouragement as they cheered for their friends. Farther from the walls, extensive gardens stretched out toward a large copse of trees. She knew that somewhere behind it was the surrounding wall, but she couldn’t see it.
She abandoned the drapes and turned to examine the interior of the room. The floor was stone, but the center of the room was covered by a thick, dark blue rug. The bed off of which she had climbed had a delicate gauzy canopy of matching blue above it, and the crumpled bedclothes were similarly colored. A pale wardrobe and matching dressing table under a tall, wide mirror sat against the far wall. Delicate scrollwork had been carved along the edges of both pieces of furniture. On the wall opposite the bed, a fireplace contained a small blaze.
Katy blinked at the entire scene for a few moments. This one room had to be as large as the entire living space above the mill at home. Or close to it, anyway.
She brushed at her skirts nervously, pleased to discover that she was still in her rough woolen dress. She didn’t like the thought that someone might have changed her while she slept. After all, the only two people with her when she fell asleep had been her soon-to-be-betrothed and her cousin. Her male cousin.
Seeing a door near the bed, she wandered over to it. On the other side was a well-furnished sitting room. It, too, was covered in blue, from the rug on the floor to the armchairs and sofas. What could one person need with so many pieces of furniture?
On the far wall was another fireplace with merrily burning logs. But more than the familiar picture it represented, she was relieved by the sight of the familiar figure crouched in front of it.
“Good morning, Kat,” he greeted without turning to face her. “Welcome back to the land of the living.”
“Morning?” she echoed. “I slept that long?”
Rising to his feet, he flashed her a grin. “No, it’s only midafternoon. But you’ve been sleeping the sleep of the dead.”
Katy strolled farther into the room. “I hope I’ll be able to sleep tonight,” she sighed. “My sleeping schedule is so messed up now.”
“You could join me in the training yards,” her cousin joked. “I bet I could wear you out. ”
“Maybe someday I’ll take you up on that offer,” she chuckled. “But I think I’ll pass today.” She trailed a hand across the back of a sofa, admiring the smoothness of the polished wood. “So where am I, and how did I get here?”
“Not on your own two feet,” Otto snorted. He crossed his arms. “As I said, you were dead to the world. As for where you are, you’re in the suite the prince arranged for you.”
She looked around, once more taking in the understated wealth of her surroundings. “A room fit for a princess,” she murmured. Was it bribery? Or simply his good nature? “He shouldn’t have bothered; I can’t marry him.”
“Why not?” Katy could hear the frown in his voice. “You’re not spoken for; you didn’t let Fritz make an official offer. I was there, if you recall.”
“It’s not that,” she replied, shaking her head in frustration. “I didn’t let Fritz speak because I fully expected to be here right now. But things have changed, Otto. I can’t marry the prince!”
“What changed, Kat? Why would knowing that he is your actor make you determined to not marry him?”
She couldn’t tell him the truth. How could she admit to anyone what she had given up to save her family? Scrambling for a response, she said, “He lied to me. I trusted him, and he lied to me.”
“I thought you were in love with him,” her cousin said carefully.
“How can I be in love with him?” Katy retorted. “I only met him twice before this morning; that’s not enough time to fall in love with someone. Yes, I was quite taken with Gunther. I always knew he was acting, but now that I know he was dishonest, how do I know who he is anymore?”
Otto’s hand wrapped around her shoulder as he pulled her in for a brief squeeze. “It’s true that the prince spends a lot of time acting. And I have sometimes wondered what I should believe about him. But he’s a decent man, Kat. You could do a lot worse than Prince Axel.”
“I could do a lot better, too,” she shot back, sticking to her excuse, even though it made her a hypocrite. “Instead of settling for someone who would lie .”
He turned her toward him, scanning her face with downturned lips. “Everyone lies from time to time, Kat. I’ve lied to you; your sisters and friends back home have lied to you. If Fritz hasn’t, he will someday. You’ve forgiven all of us. Why can’t you forgive the prince?”
“You don’t make a habit of it,” Katy retorted. “It sounds like he does.”
Her cousin pursed his lips, but to her relief, he only shook his head and looked away, letting the subject drop.
She was still upset about Gun—the prince’s dishonesty. But even if he’d told her the truth, she would have spun that third night, because she couldn’t turn her back on her family.
She was trapped between two impossible options, and the knowledge that Prince Axel was her actor friend didn’t change what she had to do.
It only made it more terrible.
~
“Good afternoon, Miss Katrin.” Smiling pleasantly, a castle maid bobbed a curtsy on the other side of Katy’s door.
Katy stared at her. “Why are you curtsying?”
“It is only appropriate for you, Miss Katrin.”
“Don’t.” She flicked a hand toward the maid. “And don’t call me Miss, either. Katy will do.”
The maid arched a single dark eyebrow. “We have received instructions to treat you respectfully. You are the prince’s betrothed.”
Katy frowned, but she couldn’t think of a response to that .
“The reason I came to see you, Miss Katrin, was to inform you that you have visitors. Shall I bring them here?”
“Visitors?”
The maid gave a brisk nod. “Yes. They claim to be from your hometown.”
A grin spread across Katy’s face. “Angelika and Fritz? Of course—” She cut herself off and cast a glance at the opulent room behind her. “Can you take me to them?”
“Yes, Miss Katrin. If you will follow me.”
Her friends were waiting with a footman in the grand entrance hall. Katy rushed forward, stepping into Angelika’s open arms and returning the embrace with desperate affection. Fritz hung back, looking uncertain as Katy asked the maid for a place to talk.
Once they were settled on sofas in a nearby sitting room, Angelika turned to Katy with an eager expression. “So, how did it go? You’re still here; does that mean you succeeded?” Katy nodded. “Have you met the prince yet? What did you think of him?”
Katy narrowed her eyes at her friend. “You seem awfully excited for someone who thought I shouldn’t be trying to win a prince.”
“I thought you were rejecting sweet Fritz for a title,” Angelika breezily replied, waving a dismissive hand. “Now I know it was only your overwhelming sense of responsibility. So? Are you betrothed? Isn’t he simply fabulous?”
Katy’s eyes darted toward Fritz. He had yet to say a word; his eyes were focused on his folded hands at his knees. “I don’t know if it is official,” she slowly replied. “He promised to speak with his father about ending it, but that was before I fell asleep, and I haven’t seen him since.”
“Why? Don’t you like him?”
What a terrible conversation to have with Fritz in the room.
Clasping her hands in her lap, she forced a smile. “He was not what I expected,” she said truthfully.
Angelika bounced slightly on her seat. “He must have paid you one of his outrageous compliments. What did he tell you?”
Between her sleep haze and her shock, she couldn’t reliably recall anything that had passed between them. Except for his agreement to speak to his father and the part where she had called him a liar.
She felt her face heating as she sat in the armchair, trying to decide how to answer. “Um...I was half asleep on my feet. And I’m not wearing an evening gown like you were.”
Angelika pouted. “Does he not like you? Maybe he just needs some time to get to know you.”
That was definitely not the problem, but Katy didn’t want to abuse his trust and spread his secret, so she stayed silent.
Reaching up to push her hair out of her face – she needed to find a replacement ribbon – she opened her mouth to give some non-answer when Angelika gasped. Katy dropped her hand and tugged her sleeve back down, but the damage was already done.