Page 23 of A Slipper in the Smoke
He wished for more evenings like that one, and the chance to get to know Elena better.
He knew he ought not to be thinking of her, that he ought to turn his mind towards important business, or even the Princess of Navarra. It wouldn’t do to form any kind of attachment to anyone else.
He sighed, shook away his thoughts, and went to find the game.
Boules turned out to be a delightful distraction. The company was pleasant, Mira was absent, and with a game to focus on he was able to turn his thoughts away from politics, his father’s poor health, and Elena’s slight smile. She had the kind of face not too used to the action, the kind of face that made him want to speak nothing but soft words and light jokes until it crinkled with laughter.
On second thoughts, perhaps boules didn’tcompletelydistract him, nor did lunch, or dinner. He wanted to sneak back down to the workshops, but he was conscious of his presence being missed, and that the workshop would likely still be full of other people. He could hardly talk to her then.
What if heneverspoke to her again? What if he was always busy or she never came or there were too many other people in the room? He wouldn’t remain in Petragrad for long. They might never have the opportunity—
He should have arranged a second visit. Asked to meet her in the gardens. Something.
But then what if that scared her off? You didn’t invite someone you’d just met to speak with you privately in the gardens.
A hand clapped against his back. “Pip, old boy!” Nero exclaimed. “Fancy a walk through the grounds with a couple of rather lovely scientists I’ve just met? One’s a redhead. Very fetching.”
Well, maybesomepeople did.
“Not tonight, Nero. I have somewhere else to be.”
“Better than a redhead’s—”
“Nero!” one of the courtiers laughed, a young noble by the name of Sasha. A friend of Nero’s, for whatever reason. “Let poor Pip be.”
Nero shrugged, and left him to it.
The Baroness had cancelled most of Elena’s long-term projects in light of her work at the palace, but there were still jobs to be finished and a steady influx of the smaller ones to manage. She made her way back to her garage workshop late the next morning, sneaking out while the Baroness was busy with her daughters’ piano lessons so as to escape her wrath. Never mind that most days, the family were still asleep when Elena left for work.
She managed to grab six hours of solid sleep, more restful than usual, and somehow, the smog didn’t seem quite so dark and dreary that morning. When she walked past the square where old Grandma was telling a story, she stopped to listen.
It was a story of a woman who found herself married to a monster, only to discover he was under a curse, and the monsters were the ones who had done this to him and led the woman to what they assumed was her death. It was quite the epic, a tale of magic, adventure, love and betrayal. Ordinarily, Elena would never have listened for so long, but there was something about that day that made her stop and listen.
“What is this life, if full of care, we have no time to stand and stare…”
It was one of her mother’s favourite sayings, a poem from long ago. When they used to take walks in the woods together, sometimes she would stop suddenly, staring at a red flower in the ferns, a bird in the trees, a babbling brook.
Elena had long since stopped finding beauty in anything, but she could still listen.
Well, apart from last night.Thathad been beautiful.
But she ought not to be thinking about that.
The story done, she thanked Grandma for the tale, added a copper to her jug, and carried on to the garage. She spent the next couple of hours sorting through her existing projects, finishing up a couple of the smaller ones, and tidying her workshop.
Snowdrop appeared just as she was getting started on something bigger, limping her way into the seat before Elena even noticed her.
She swivelled around, nearly dropping her blowtorch. “Engranajes y dioses!” she spat, turning off the flame. “What are you doing here?”
Snowdrop shrugged. “Can’t a girl just drop in on another girl with no motive whatsoever?”
Elena raised an eyebrow.
“Fine!” Snowdrop threw up her hands. “I wanted to know how your first day at the palace went.”
“So you can sneak in?”
“Well, maybe…”
