Chapter 18
The next day, Caden called. They’d seen him pretty often since he’d given Kiri the rose and made his intentions clear.
Sometimes he and Kiri went for walks, sometimes they had tea by the fire.
Once, they even organized a picnic, for which Azam stitched her a special dress.
Whenever Kiri returned from her time with Caden, she looked ten years younger, her eyes glittering.
‘Hello, loves,’ Caden said, entering with Butterscotch. He gave each of them a kiss hello.
Kiri explained how Sonya and Azam were going to the wedding, and Dania was upset to be left behind. ‘Until I told her we have better plans,’ Kiri said. ‘Don’t we?’
Caden caught on quickly. ‘Yes, of course!’ he said, and Dania perked up. ‘The sheep are waiting!’
‘Yes!’ Dania jumped up and down, excited, and Caden smiled.
‘Thank you,’ Kiri whispered, and he held her close.
‘And we’re going to stay at night so I can sleep with Scotchie,’ Dania said. Kiri opened her mouth to protest, but Dania’s lip began quivering. Kiri sighed. ‘Fine.’
Dania grinned, happy, then ran off with Butterscotch to the garden. ‘To hell with propriety,’ Kiri muttered to herself, putting the kettle on for tea. Caden sat on the sofa, Sonya beside him. A few minutes later, Kiri joined them with tea for everyone, along with biscuits.
‘So, have you prepared your best dancing shoes?’ Caden asked. Sonya stilled. Of course there would be dancing!
‘I have not …’ Sonya said.
‘I’ve been to a few weddings out in the country, and they have very specific dances, you know,’ Caden said. ‘A bit different to the usual dances at Castletown parties, which take their cues from the royal balls.’
Of course, Sonya only knew the dances from royal balls, things like the waltz and quickstep.
‘I actually don’t know any dances …’
‘You haven’t been dancing?’ Caden asked, shocked. ‘My dear, you haven’t lived!’
Caden took a long sip of his tea before clapping his hands together. ‘Not to worry,’ he said. ‘We can fix this. I’ll teach you, of course! But we need music …’ He looked around, thinking as he drank more of his tea. Then he smiled. ‘I’ll be back in a jiff.’
When Caden returned half an hour later, it was with Enzo in tow.
‘Ladies,’ Enzo said, bowing his head. He had a fiddle with him, and Caden looked very pleased with himself.
‘Music,’ he announced, gesturing to Enzo with a flourish.
Enzo played a quick tune, the melody beautiful and sharp, resonating in the air, and Sonya felt a jitter run through her. She hadn’t heard music or danced in … She couldn’t remember how long!
Usually, Sonya had had to retire from parties early because she got too tired and the king didn’t want her to overexert herself, but sometimes, after she had changed into her nightgown, she and Elspeth had snuck out into the halls, listening to the echoes.
They’d creep closer and closer, until the music was loud and clear, and they’d dance together when no one was looking.
Not in time, and certainly not proper steps, but it was always the very best fun. They weren’t a princess and her maid, then, just two girls, laughing and dancing, hands clasped as they spun and spun and spun.
Recalling those memories, Sonya was excited to dance, now. Kiri made Enzo a cup of tea, and he took a sip before he started playing the music.
‘Okay, what do I do?’ Sonya asked, standing.
‘First, my dear, you watch,’ Caden replied. He turned to Kiri, offering his hand. ‘Darling, may I have this dance?’ Kiri blushed, then took his hand. Enzo began the music, and Sonya sat close to him, listening and watching intently as Caden and Kiri danced.
The both of them were having fun, moving easily and smiling. Sonya watched closely, trying to catalog the steps, but it was harder than she imagined—they were moving so quickly! Dania and Butterscotch came in to watch as well.
After the song was done, Caden and Kiri took a bow. Kiri’s cheeks were flushed, and she held a hand over her heart.
‘That was splendid,’ she told Caden. She reached over and kissed his cheek, whispering something in his ear that made him grin from ear to ear.
‘My turn!’ Dania cried, rushing to Caden’s side. Kiri laughed, stepping to the side.
‘Sorry, Sonya,’ Caden said, and she waved a hand. Caden took Dania and lifted her onto his feet. ‘Watch our feet,’ Caden instructed as he and Dania began dancing. ‘Count with me. One, two, three. One, two, three …’
He counted aloud for the pattern a few more times before going silent, and Sonya continued counting in her head, following along. Enzo continued providing the music, a beautiful melody.
‘I used to do this with my girls when they were little,’ Caden said, smiling fondly. Then his movement quickened as he picked Dania up and twirled her around. She laughed with glee, and Caden set her down. ‘Now, can Sonya have a turn?’
Dania nodded, skipping away, and Caden offered Sonya his hand. She took it, and Enzo began the music anew.
‘Remember: one, two, three,’ Caden said, as they began dancing together. Sonya was a little stiff, but soon she got into the flow of it, only stepping on Caden’s toes a few times. Enzo played the music again, and they started over, until she felt light on her feet, more natural.
She smiled, spinning, and Caden let go of her hand. When she turned back, Azam was there. He swooped her into his arms, picking up where Caden had left off, and her heartbeat quickened immediately.
‘Azam,’ she said, feeling breathless.
‘Hello,’ he replied, smiling down at her. She was suddenly nervous, which certainly didn’t help matters. She forgot all her progress and stepped directly onto his foot.
‘Oof.’
‘Sorry!’ she cried.
‘Not to worry.’ He laughed, recovering from the injury quickly. ‘I don’t need all my toes, anyway.’
She smiled, relaxing a little, and then it was easier. She followed the rhythm, letting Azam lead, their bodies moving together as they danced.
One of his hands clasped hers while his other was steady on her waist, moving her gently forward and back.
She loved his hands; she had seen them do so much.
The way he worked his magic, the way he cared for his little sister, even the way he held her now.
She knew how competent and clever he was with those hands.
Heat poured over her, like being bathed in sunlight, and she lost sense of everything around her: the music, the crowded room. Everything sharpened down to her and Azam, just the two of them, fluid like the waves of the lake lapping against the shore, glittering beneath the sun.
Their movements quickened, and she let him lead, following where he went, dancing and twirling until they came to a stop, both of their breathing labored. His gaze dropped to her mouth, and she felt her lips part, desire stirring deep within her, making her chest ache.
Then, the sound of clapping filled the air, and Sonya came back to the room. She had forgotten their audience, and she blushed, face hot. Azam took a step back, away from her. He lowered his head, bowing.
Azam was just heading back to the shop when Winnie entered, and Enzo switched to a dramatic tune. Winnie tossed Enzo a glare, then asked, ‘What did I miss? Why was Azam pink?’
Enzo laughed out loud. ‘You might ask Sonya that.’
Mortified, Sonya only covered her face with her hands.
‘Enzo! What have I told you about teasing Sonya?’ she warned, putting a protective arm around Sonya’s shoulders.
Sonya removed her hands from her face to see Enzo holding his hands up in defense.
Kiri brought a cup of tea, saying, ‘Caden was teaching Sonya how to dance for the wedding, and Azam stepped in to help.’
‘Ah,’ Winnie said, as if that explained everything. She took a sip of tea, then smiled devilishly. Enzo played a quick tune that somehow encapsulated Winnie’s pleased expression, and she scowled at him. ‘Will you stop that? You’re ridiculous.’
She took Sonya’s hand, and they went up to Sonya’s bedroom.
Sonya’s heart was still pounding, and she fell back onto her bed, catching her breath.
Winnie lay beside her. Sonya felt Winnie’s hand reaching for hers, and she clasped her fingers. ‘You have to be brave,’ Winnie said, turning to look at Sonya.
Sonya looked over. ‘In what regard?’ she asked. She was only attending a wedding, not fighting off villains.
Winnie gave her a small smile. ‘You’ll understand, if you don’t already, deep down.’
And Sonya had a feeling that she did understand what Winnie meant, though she couldn’t think about it now. She sat up. ‘I need to pack! Tell me which dress to wear.’
She went to her closet, pulling out her nice dresses. She tried each one on for Winnie—the baby-pink, sage-green, custard-yellow, and lilac. The others she would wear during the travel.
Winnie considered each one carefully, before they both decided on the lilac.
‘It’s very fashionable,’ Winnie said, ‘and isn’t her wedding dress blue? Purple will go well.’
With that decided, Sonya packed her things. Winnie pulled a bundle of fabric strips from her bag, handing it to Sonya. ‘For your hair,’ she said. ‘You can do it up into curls!’
‘How on earth will I do that?’ Sonya asked, undoing one of the strips.
‘Let me show you.’ Winnie grabbed the strip and showed Sonya how to curl it into her hair, then tie it at the end. ‘Do it at night before you sleep and, in the morning, the curls will be perfect!’
She showed Sonya in the mirror. The tied strip looked a bit silly, but it reminded Sonya of when Elspeth used to do Sonya’s hair.
She was suddenly overcome with missing Elspeth. She wondered how she was getting on, and if Elspeth missed her, too.
When Sonya was at the castle, she had just wanted to get out. She hadn’t realized how much she would miss some things from her old life.
But she was glad she had new friends to hold on to.
‘Make sure no one recognizes you,’ Winnie ordered, ‘though I doubt anyone will. Keep an eye on your accent, and stick to the sidelines.’
‘Yes, I will,’ Sonya agreed.
Winnie smiled, releasing a breath. ‘And most important of all—remember every single detail because I want to hear all about it when you’re back!’ Winnie finished. She and Sonya squealed. While Sonya was excited to go, she couldn’t wait to come home and tell Winnie all about it.