CHAPTER 26
Katy
K
aty burrowed down in her chair and tried to surreptitiously rub her back. Despite her instructions, she’d done quite a bit of standing that day, and the chairs around the ballroom weren’t as cozy as the ones in her sitting room. Even her chair in Axel’s study was more comfortable than this.
“...but when I came back, I couldn’t find Lizzie, and Lizzie is my favorite, so I couldn’t leave without her!
Thankfully, Babette was nearby and agreed to watch the rest while I looked for her.
I searched all over that hillside, and do you know where I finally found the little rascal?
” Liesl had a hint of exasperation in her voice, but her grin was too wide for it to be real.
“Heavens, where might that have been?” Lord Luther grumbled under his breath, stopping just short of rolling his eyes.
Helena sent him a poisonous glare, accompanied by that too-wide grin that showed all her teeth. “Why, dear Luther, don’t you care about the industry that forms a main part of our economy? Or is your problem with my friend? If so, you are free to amuse yourself elsewhere.”
Tobias paused with his glass halfway to his lips. “Keep that up, and he’ll think you don’t want him here.” He took a sip. “Not that I would mind; he is interrupting Lady Liesl’s tale.”
Katy didn’t miss the way his eyes slid sideways to her sister. Lord Luther flopped his mouth like a fish. “Lady Liesl? She’s the daughter of a miller!”
“And sister to Crown Princess Katrin,” Tobias calmly replied. “Not to mention as beautiful as any lady here.”
Liesl’s cheeks turned rosy as Helena turned her falsely cheery expression on him. “Careful – someone might think you’re more interested in my friend than you are in me.”
“Perish the thought.” Swirling the liquid in his glass, he tilted his chin to look at her through his half-lidded eyes. “Naturally, you outshine everyone else.”
Helena’s smile bent into a grimace.
While they were distracted with each other, someone dropped heavily into the chair next to Katy. “May I have a moment, Kat?”
She turned to her cousin, a question on her lips, but he shushed her. “I’d prefer your sister not notice. She’ll draw attention.”
He motioned for her to follow as he slowly stood. Taking his lead, Katy pushed carefully to her feet and slipped away.
They escaped into a nearby receiving room, the dull murmurs of conversation and the lilt of the orchestra dimming when Otto closed the door behind them. He looked around, then straightened with a slight groan. “I need you to pass a message to Axel; it’s better if I’m not seen talking to him.”
“What happened?” Katy asked, trying to hide her anxiety. Why wouldn’t it be safe for him to talk to Axel? And wasn’t he supposed to be keeping an eye on Lord Ulrich and his assistant?
“Thank him for that pipe for me,” he said in a low voice, even though they were alone.
“And suggest he ask his contact for another to pass around the guard here. I think my mark has an object that allows him to use a little mind magic. He walked past a lot of guards that shouldn’t have ignored him. ”
“What did he do?”
Otto shook his head. “Nothing; he only walked and looked, but he was in places he didn’t belong. And on the way back, I think he noticed me; it’s difficult to stay unobtrusive when there’s no one around. Shortly after, the guards started giving me strange looks.”
“You think he used magic to make them suspicious of you?”
“It’s possible.” Running a hand down the side of his face, he sighed. “If he can lessen their suspicion of him, why not increase it about someone else? I know some of those guards; they shouldn’t have been eyeing me like that.”
Katy gave a little laugh to lighten the mood. “Unless they think you’re a homeless troublemaker now. You look the part.”
“Very funny, Kat.” He made a face at her. “The point is, I should make myself scarce, but Lord Ulrich’s assistant didn’t do anything that we can arrest him for. Unless the king disagrees, tell Axel he can accuse his attacker. I’m sure your husband will sleep better knowing the man is behind bars.”
“I will. If I don’t see you before you retire to the country, stay safe.”
One side of her cousin’s mouth pulled up as he watched her. His eyes softened. “How’s the baby doing?”
Rolling her eyes, she said, “Honestly, no one sees anything but my belly these days.” He opened his mouth, but she cut him off.
“And before you apologize for taking Britta away while I’m pregnant, I’m not helpless without her.
If you insist on playing spy for Axel and me, the least I can do is let you have your family.
You should be present when your baby is born. ”
The other side of his mouth pulled up into a wide grin. Stepping forward, he folded her in a hug. “Then it’s time for me to slip out the other door. Take care, Kat.”
Squeezing him back, she sank into his embrace, not knowing when she would have another chance. But she would have one – his innate sneakiness would keep him safe among their enemies.
She had to believe that. It was the only way she could let him go.
~
She hadn’t been gone long, but the crowd had begun to thin by the time she returned. A sigh of relief escaped her at the sight of guests waving farewell to their friends; she was beyond ready for bed.
But if others were leaving, Lord Ulrich might be as well.
Focusing on the problem at hand, she scanned the attendees for her husband. Should she avoid drawing notice and let him come to her? Or should she seek him out since it was so late?
The decision was made for her when she spotted him standing next to her vacated chair. His weight was on his back foot in a relaxed posture, but the motions of his hands were a little stiff. She rushed over, concerned.
“Did something happen?” Katy asked, keeping her voice low.
A tiny lift to Axel’s shoulders betrayed his surprise before he turned to her with a perfect smile and relief in his eyes. “Katy. Light of my eyes, where have you been hiding? ’Tis unfair to play games without informing the other players.”
“He’s been berating us for losing you,” Liesl interjected, her eyes sparkling. “It’s like he thinks there’s danger to be met at a ball.”
Katy hid her wince by leaning into the hand playing with her curls; she or Otto should have thought of that.
Of course Axel would be worried when he couldn’t find her.
“Ah-ha, silly, isn’t he?” She patted his arm and hoped her smile looked more real than it felt.
“Sorry; something came up involving a friend.”
Raising her eyebrows at Axel, she tried to silently communicate her need to talk to him.
He tilted his head, the hawk appearing in his eyes as he examined her.
Without turning back to their companions, he grinned and said, “If you will excuse us, I believe I need a moment alone with my beautiful wife.”
Lord Luther looked disgusted, but Liesl giggled as Axel wrapped an arm around Katy’s waist and tucked her into his side. The hint of a smile curved Tobias’s mouth.
“No need to gloat, brother,” Helena said, giving him a light shove. “Just go before you make the rest of us lose our appetites.”
Once they were ensconced behind a group of tall, potted plants, Axel folded her in a hug. He gave her a lingering kiss that tasted of the remnants of his panic. Sliding his lips across her cheek, he whispered, “That’s for scaring me. Where did you go?”
Relishing his closeness, she planted her own kiss in front of his ear. “Sorry about that. Otto didn’t want to be overheard.”
He listened as she quickly relayed the message. Sighing, he said, “Rushing off to talk with Father might draw attention, but I should hear his opinion on how I handle this. And if I dawdle, I may lose my opportunity.”
“You should be on your way, then.” Pulling back, she patted him on the chest. “Shall I come with you? We can stroll about and casually bump into him.”
A short time later, they were casually strolling away from the king. Axel waved genial farewells to the people they passed as he subtly steered himself and Katy in Lord Ulrich’s direction.
“Your Highnesses!” Their target waddled his way in front of them and offered a shallow bow.
Axel’s hand tightened around Katy’s, but he kept his polite expression in place.
“Allow me to congratulate you on a fine ball.” Glancing down at Katy’s abdomen, Lord Ulrich curled his lip before returning his focus to Axel. “And how is your sister doing?”
Katy bared her teeth in one of her hunting smiles. “She would do better without the interference of overbearing council members.”
Axel brought their joined hands to his chest and patted them with his free hand.
“Now, now, my love, be nice. Lord Ulrich is simply concerned for the well-being of our fair kingdom.” Transferring his gaze to the man behind Lord Ulrich, he widened his pleasant grin, but his eyes pinched at the corners.
“Won’t you introduce us to your friend?”
The nobleman hesitated for a moment before stepping aside and waving his companion forward. “My assistant.”
Axel extended a hand. “Pleasure to meet you. It’s the strangest thing, but you look familiar.”
The shaggy-haired man had already awkwardly clasped Axel’s left with his own.
At these words, he stepped back, but Axel didn’t release him.
Katy watched with a small smile as Axel maintained focus on the other man.
“Interesting scar you have here.” He pulled their hands up, turning them so the back of the man’s hand was visible.
A long, white patch of skin stretched diagonally across it.
“Wasn’t paying attention while opening a letter,” the other man mumbled. His eyes darted sideways to Lord Ulrich. “The letter opener slipped and sliced me open.”
“That must have been quite the accident,” Axel replied pleasantly. Releasing his hold, he lunged forward and grabbed the man’s forearm, turning the man’s hand palm-up as he did so. “To stab clear through your hand like that.”
“What are you implying, Your Highness?” Lord Ulrich’s eyebrows pulled together, and he fixed a disapproving stare on the prince. Katy balled her free hand into a fist at his gall.
Axel didn’t break eye contact with the “assistant,” who fought to free himself from Axel’s grip. Axel’s eyes bore kingly steel even as his voice remained pleasant. “I imagine my boot-knife would leave a scar like that on someone who was pulling me across the ground by my ankles.”
“What?” The oily nobleman’s mouth dropped open as his eyes skipped between them.
Axel didn’t spare a glance for him. “Guards! Arrest this man.”
“Really, Your Highness!” Lord Ulrich protested as royal guards converged on their location. “Harassing my employees because you disagree with my suggestions in the council is not becoming of a ruler.”
A pair of guards grabbed the upper arms of Lord Ulrich’s accomplice, pulling his hands behind his back to secure them with a set of shackles.
The man struggled, twisting against their hold as his eyes grew wide and frightened.
“It was his orders!” He bucked against the guards and nodded his head toward Lord Ulrich. “He’s the one who sent us after you!”
“Thank you for that confession.” Axel gave his attacker a polite nod. Turning to the nobleman, he raised his eyebrows and said blandly, “Do you have anything to add?”
“Don’t be absurd.” Lord Ulrich stepped away from his assistant, looking at him in disgust. “I know nothing of this! And I’m appalled to learn that one of my employees was involved in something so disgraceful.”
The orchestra was persevering in their current number, but no one was dancing.
Across the ballroom, the remaining guests halted their conversations to stare at the altercation, their whispers and murmurs forming a dull roar as backdrop.
None of them would support the arrest of a nobleman on the frenzied accusation of a desperate man, but this little scene might make it easier to convince them of his guilt later.
The hawk-like intensity remained in Axel’s eyes as he stared the nobleman down. After a few moments, they widened into his usual laid-back expression. “I would be a fool if I believed everything I heard. Restrain your fury; I will not be commanding my guards to bind you next.”
The frantic shouts of the arrested man grew faint as the guards dragged him down the hallway. Katy sagged lightly against Axel, resting her head on his shoulder.
Glancing down, he changed into the doting husband. “In the future, I advise you to be more circumspect in your hiring process, Lord Ulrich. Now if you’ll pardon me, my wife is weary; all this excitement isn’t good for the baby.”