CHAPTER 19
Katy
K aty! Your bracelet!”
Fritz looked up. “The one from your old friend?”
“It wasn’t from him,” Katy protested, wishing her cheeks were slower to heat. “I made the bracelet myself.”
“Yes, but he gave you the river stones for it, didn’t he?” Angelika said. Her eyes were wide. “That was the next best thing to—”
“He never made me any promises,” Katy cut her off. “He—we found the stones together while exploring along the river’s edge. He kept some, and I kept some, and I made the bracelet out of three of mine because they were pretty.”
“I wish I’d known that,” she heard Fritz mutter.
Her forehead wrinkled as she turned to him. “Why?”
Running a hand through his hair, he dropped his eyes before glancing back at her. “You’d been wearing it since before he left, and you never took it off, even years later. I thought—I assumed he’d given it to you as—”
“As a betrothal bracelet?” Katy finished, gaping at him. “Fritz, I was fourteen!”
He shrugged. “Everyone knew how you felt about him. And he took you with him sometimes when he and his sister came to town.”
“Yes, but—!”
“And I saw the way he looked at you, Katy.” He looked down at his hands, rubbing them together in his lap. “It was the same way I did.”
Could she be any redder?
“If I’d known the truth, I would have asked you to walk the day you turned eighteen.” He looked up again, and his blue eyes were unspeakably sad. “If I had, we wouldn’t be here now.”
“You don’t know that, Fritz,” Katy said softly. “The king couldn’t require my marriage if I was already married, but it might have meant that I couldn’t save the mill.”
Fritz started to reach toward her, then squeezed his hand into a fist and drew it back. “We would have figured it out.”
“It doesn’t matter; we can’t go back and change things.” She felt her hand drifting toward her bare wrist and forced it back down. “I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
She shrugged. “For all of it.”
Clearing her throat, Angelika awkwardly said, “So what happened to the bracelet?”
Katy gritted her teeth as she remembered the glee in the stranger’s face when he demanded it as his price the second night. “It was time to let it go. One way or another, I expected to be betrothed soon; I couldn’t keep his river stones on my wrist after that.” Vaguely, she wondered if she would have a bracelet from Prince Axel or if the tradition would be overlooked since it was the king’s decision, not theirs. “So, I traded it for something I needed.”
“What now?” Fritz asked in a quiet voice.
“I suppose the two of you need to go home,” Katy said, twisting her hands in her lap. “Fritz surely can’t stay away from the shop too long.”
“And you?”
“As far as I know, I still have to marry the prince to free my family of the debt. I’m stuck here for the time being. ”
Shuddering, Angelika said, “I can’t imagine living in that room any longer. If you’re staying, can’t I at least arrange someplace else for you?”
“I can’t let you do that,” Katy protested. “I don’t know if it’s days or months until—until—” Confounded cheeks! “Anyway, the prince arranged for me to have a better room in the meantime. I was amazed when I woke up and saw where I was.”
Angelika’s jaw dropped. “‘Woke up and saw’ where you were? Where did you fall asleep?”
“On a sofa in a sitting room. Otto must have carried me.”
“Are you sure it was Otto?” her friend asked, wiggling her eyebrows.
Her cheeks were on fire again, but Katy fought the urge to lower her head. Hiding would only make her discomfort more obvious.
The sound of the door latch releasing broke the silence. “Katrin? Are you in here?” a smooth baritone voice called.
She rose to her feet and dropped into a curtsy. Her friends followed her gaze to the now-open door and quickly copied her. Well, Angelika did; Fritz executed a hasty bow.
“None of that, now,” Prince Axel chided lightly. “I can’t have you—oh, are you entertaining friends?” He strode into the room, hand extended. “It is a pleasure to meet you.”
“Yes,” Katy replied, hurrying forward. “Your Highness, these are my friends from Flussendorf: Angelika and Fritz. Fritz, Angelika: Prince Axel.”
“You must allow me to welcome you to my home with as much grace as I would any other, for if you are friends of Katrin, you must also be friends of mine,” he said as he gripped Fritz’s hand before turning to bow over Angelika’s. Fritz’s eyes narrowed; Angelika giggled. “Your hair may be dark as the night, young maiden, but it only enhances the pale beauty of your skin and the ocean in your eyes.” Straightening, he faced Katy and swept his left arm out to the side, bowing over the right one. “Fair Katrin, I am delighted to be in your presence once more. May I escort you on a tour of the castle? Your friends are welcome to join us.”
She tilted her head, studying him. Gone was the penitent, pleading young man of the morning; in his place was the bright, cheerful actor, twinkling eyes and all. “Otto planned to take me later.”
“And he may, if he wishes; however, I hoped you might allow me the pleasure now,” he returned lightly. “I would consider it a great honor to introduce you to your new home.”
No, not quite; his eyes twinkled, yes, but less than they had after the show.
“Thank you,” she told him with a strained smile, “but I believe I will wait for my cousin.”
His eyebrows contracted the briefest hair before his smile brightened. Turning his head to encompass them all, he waved a hand to the furniture and replied, “If that is your wish, then we shall wait for him. But I hope that you do not mind if I join you and your friends in the meantime. I would be delighted to round out your party to four.”
As Katy nodded in acquiescence and slowly resumed her seat, Prince Axel maneuvered himself in front of Angelika’s old spot. Fritz warily lowered himself into his seat while Angelika hovered for a moment before claiming an armchair.
Instead of sitting straight and proper, the prince lounged against the backrest, his right arm stretched across it toward Katy and his legs angled in her direction. Once he was settled, he bent his right elbow, leaning his head on his fist.
At least his hand was no longer inches from her shoulder, but did he have to gaze at her with such adoration?
They sat in awkward silence. Katy glanced nervously at Fritz. She had seen him wound up the first night that he asked her to walk with him; she had seen him sad and worried since she came to the castle; and she had seen him overly polite with a difficult customer. But she couldn’t recall seeing him angry. The restrained glare directed at the prince was out of place on Fritz’s kind face.
Angelika, on the other hand, looked almost giddy. Hands clasped in her lap, she was perched at the edge of her chair, leaning forward. Her glowing eyes and the slight upward curve of her lips betrayed the smile that was trying to escape. Catching the prince in such an intimate setting instead of settling for a brief word in passing must be a dream come true for her.
“Please, do not allow me to interrupt your conversation,” Prince Axel said lightly, twisting his head on his fist so that he could catch Angelika with the edge of his gaze before sweeping it across Fritz and back to Katy. He pressed his left hand to his chest. “I promise faithfully that I will not carry tales.”
“It is such an honor to speak with you, Your Highness,” Angelika gushed at this invitation, the smile finally breaking free. “I was so sad to miss you on opening night for The Tanner’s Secret .”
As his eyebrows raised a fraction, one side of his perfectly crafted smile pulled up, making it uneven as he adjusted enough to include her with his body language. Uneven or not, it still looked polished to Katy. “ The Tanner’s Secret ? Were you there?”
As if he didn’t know perfectly well that she was. A flick of his eyes in Katy’s direction, accompanied by a teasing lift to his smile, acknowledged that he did.
“Yes, Katy and I were both there. You missed a marvelous performance, Your Highness!”
“Which part did you like best?” he asked, his smile returning to the sculpted version but his eyes at closer to full twinkle.
Her friend beamed. “The entire thing was magnificent. It was one of the best I’ve ever seen! I thought the understudy did a marvelous job.” Her own expression turned mischievous as she grinned at Katy. “Katy could tell you more about him. She convinced him to spend the rest of the evening with her.”
“Oh, really?” he replied, eyebrows raising as he returned his full gaze to Katy. Once again, her traitorous cheeks began their journey to crimson as she glared at her friend. “And how did you like the young man, fair Katrin?” His voice was grave while his eyes danced at her.
Crossing her arms, she turned her nose up at him. “He was a rogue,” she sniffed. The right side of his face – the one hidden from her friends – turned impish just for her. “He wore two faces, and I don’t know which one to believe, if either.”
The amusement fell out of his face, but he kept the public side polite.
“It displeases me to hear that he was such a disappointment to you,” he said softly.
“Didn’t you also meet someone that night, Your Highness?” Fritz interjected. No longer resting his forearms on his knees with clasped hands, he was now leaned back in his chair, arms folded across his chest as he stared the younger man down.
Raising his eyebrows, the prince lifted his head and turned a faintly amused expression to his antagonist. “My, the gossip has spread wide, hasn’t it? Or has my guard been telling tales?”
“Yes, please do tell us how you abandoned the girl that you loved,” Katy quipped, folding her arms. “You must admit, it’s not a good look, Your Highness.”
“Why so formal, fair Katrin?” he asked. “I would prefer that you simply call me Axel.” Free of his head, his hand drifted down, and he wrapped his forefinger around one of her curls.
Springing to her feet, Katy stomped over to a chair next to Angelika and dropped into it with a huff. “Just Axel would be disrespectful from a poor miller’s daughter,” she retorted. Her blush deepened as he repositioned himself to face her, the twinkle in his eyes brightening as they measured the distance between the chair she had chosen and each of her friends.
“But not for my fiancée,” he replied merrily. Katy shot a glance at Fritz, trying to hide her wince at his tight jaw.
This wasn’t working. Jumping to her feet once again, she fumbled, “Perhaps I’ll take that tour after all, Your Highness.” Maybe he would talk about the building instead of their relationship.
Angelika’s eyes bounced between the other three while she worried at her lower lip. “Fritz and I should head back to the inn to pack our things.”
“I only need five minutes,” Fritz argued stiffly. He was still watching the prince, whose eyes remained fixed on Katy as he pushed himself confidently off the sofa. “If His Highness is willing to show us, I would like to see the castle.”
“But of course,” Prince Axel glibly interjected. Sauntering forward a few steps, he slid a hand over Katy’s shoulder. “Nothing would please me more than to ensure that you are satisfied regarding Katrin’s accommodations and comfort.”
“She’s not your pet,” Fritz growled, taking a step toward the prince as Katy shrugged away from his hand.
“Certainly not,” Prince Axel replied easily. “She is a delightful young lady and deserves the finer things of life. Which, incidentally, she will be able to access here.”
“How would you know? You just met her!”
“Fritz.”
“She is fiery, adorably easily flummoxed, loves her family, and is incorrigibly honest. Do you disagree?”
“Listening to Otto isn’t the same as knowing her.”
“Fritz!”
“Of course, it isn’t. I’m an excellent judge of character; I had her measure before her cousin told me a thing about her.” He broke eye contact with Fritz long enough to throw Katy a quick wink.
Fritz took another few strides forward, putting himself in Prince Axel’s face. Both were tall, but Fritz had an inch or two on the young royal. “You don’t deserve to even look at her! A man who would fall in love with a woman at first sight only to cast her aside for the next pretty face could never deserve my Katy.”
She had been ready to reprimand him again, maybe step between the two and force some distance, but those last two words stunned her. My Katy. She knew that he had been ready to propose, but even so—
Prince Axel appeared struck as well. The light in his eyes dimmed as he tilted his head toward her. “So you have decided to return to your village, then?”
“She doesn’t need you or your father to take care of her family,” Fritz responded belligerently.
Glaring at him, Katy snapped, “I already told you, Fritz, I won’t let you! This is my problem to fix.”
“But he—”
“I’ve made my decision. I’m sorry, Fritz. I really am. I never wanted any of this.” Gunther, yes. But not like this. “But it is what it is, and neither of us can change it. So we might as well accept it.”
“Wisdom of the ages, that,” the prince remarked, traces of a smirk hovering around his lips.
Whirling, she shook an angry finger in his face. “Don’t think that means you’re off the hook, you—” She might be irritated, but she wouldn’t reveal his secret. “I’m still mad at you.”
He took a step back and held his hands up palm-out, but his eyes laughed at her.
“You see how he treats you! He’s mocking you!” Fritz protested, the frustration evident in his voice. “How can you stay with him?”
“I can handle him,” she said grimly. “Nothing has changed. Trust me, as soon as I can convince the king to let me out of this without harm to my family, I’ll be headed straight home.”
“And if you can’t convince him?” he challenged.
She gave a little shrug. “Then I’ll do what I have to do to protect my family.”
“I really think we should leave now,” Angelika interrupted. She stepped around Katy and set a light hand on Fritz’s shoulder. “I think we’ve worn out our welcome.”
“Nonsense,” the prince cheerfully stated. “Our friendly banter is delightful.”
Fritz’s eyes were hard. “If Katy is staying, we should enjoy the time we have left.”
“You think I’m enjoying this?” Katy scoffed. She alternated her glare between them. “This posturing is ridiculous! I would love to escape it, but I’m afraid to leave you two alone together.”
Assuming a shocked expression, the prince splayed one hand over his chest. “You think that I would engage in a physical struggle with one of your friends? Even if I did, I promise I would not harm him.”
“Whoever said it was Fritz that I was worried about?” she replied, raising an eyebrow at him before looking pointedly up at the tanner’s greater height.
“You worry about me?” Prince Axel said, turning rapturous – but twinkling – eyes upon her. “I cannot tell you how blissful that makes me!”
By the time Angelika and Katy convinced Fritz to give in, Katy was at the end of her rope. She was fond of them both, but she had never been happier to see Fritz’s back, and she was ready to see Prince Axel’s as well .
“Shall we commence with our tour?” the prince suggested with a light smile. Her friends had just exited through the massive front door, and she and her unofficially-betrothed were standing in the entryway. A footman nearby was pretending that he wasn’t watching curiously.
“I’ll wait for Otto.” Spinning on her heel, Katy marched off toward the hallway. “I’ve had enough of suitors for today.”
The thudding of his boots echoed in the large space as he trailed behind her. Instead of saying anything, he casually leaned against the wall when she slowed down after the corner. Katy ignored him, striding down the hall in what she wished was a confident manner. Unfortunately, she was soon forced to a standstill.
Glancing over her shoulder, she saw him watching her from his place by the wall. She looked down one path, then the other, and still he was silent.
He was going to make her ask, wasn’t he?
Closing her eyes, she dropped her head for a moment. She could wander aimlessly until she found a servant who didn’t look busy. But her stubbornness shouldn’t add to their work.
She lifted her head with a sigh and turned toward him. Raising her voice enough for him to hear, she grudgingly said, “I suppose you may escort me to my room.”
The brat looked down the hall behind him before looking back to her, pointing to himself, and raising his eyebrows in surprise. Exaggerated, clearly, since she could see the change from where she was.
“Yes, you,” she said crossly. He smirked but didn’t move. “I wasn’t paying enough attention when Britta brought me here, and everything looks the same.”
Pushing off from the wall, he stuffed his hands in his pockets and sauntered toward her. When he was within arm’s reach of her, he stopped. “Are you telling me that you’re lost? ”
“I’m not lost.” She put her nose in the air and pointed back the way they’d come. “The main entry is that way.”
“And your suite is…?”
Katy crossed her arms and glared at him. “I can bother a servant if I have to.”
“Heaven forbid.” Chuckling, he stepped closer and offered his arm. She transferred her glare to it. The prince stepped back and swept one of his flashy bows before presenting his arm again. “Pardon my manners. Axel Dracovich, son of King Steffan of Ralnor, at your service, my lady. May I have the pleasure of escorting you to your desired destination?”
She gave him an unimpressed look.
“I thought perhaps you required an introduction first, just as when we first met.” His self-satisfied expression melted into something softer. Glancing around, he lowered his voice and added, “And I never gave you a proper one. Can’t we start over?”
Start over? Pretend he hadn’t lied to her?
It would be nice, she admitted to herself. If she could forget the price hanging over her head as well, King Steffan’s insistence on her marriage to his son would have her in the clouds.
Since she couldn’t change either of those things, she might as well change what she could.
Nodding, she reached out and settled her hand in his elbow. She held herself as far away as possible, much like she had when she’d taken his arm outside his dressing room.
Shaking his head, he gave her a lopsided smile. “I think you were nicer the first time.”
“You said we were starting over,” Katy said stiffly. “That means we are complete strangers. How close do you expect me to walk?”
“We were complete strangers the first time, too,” he pointed out.
“And this is how I should have behaved. You’d turned my head with your singing.”
He brightened. “Does that mean if I sing for you, then you’ll—”
“No,” she hurriedly cut him off. “I’m wise to your tricks now.”
His smile showed his teeth, but he didn’t launch into song.
They were mostly quiet as they traversed the halls. His behavior as they walked was almost identical to when he’d been Gunther, but nothing like he’d been in front of his parents or her friends.
This version felt more real, but why the act the rest of the time?
“Here we are,” the prince announced. He stopped next to a door that looked depressingly like all of the others. Maybe she could memorize the nearby tapestries. “I hope that you paid attention this time, but I also hope you didn’t.” When she raised an eyebrow at him, he explained, “If you did, then you won’t become lost again. But if you didn’t, it would give me the excuse to escort you in the future.”
She opened her mouth to tell him that no excuse was necessary, but the stranger’s nasty smile appeared in her mind’s eye.
“May I see you again?” Prince Axel looked at her with a shy smile. His twinkling eyes sent a flutter through her chest despite what was at stake.
Pursing her lips, she pretended to think. “If I say no, will you give up?”
“As a gentleman, I would. However, my father won’t.”
She heaved a sigh. “Then I suppose you have my permission.”
“So willingly given, too,” he murmured as he pressed his lips to the back of her hand. Raising his eyes, he said, “Until next we meet, fair Katrin. I shall count the hours.”
“Not the days?” she quipped .
He gave her a funny look. “With you here at the castle, I trust it will not be days.”
“No, of course not,” she quickly agreed, her cheeks heating as she silently scolded herself.
Until next...count the days.
Curse the echoes in her memory!