Page 13 of Songs and Spun Gold
Three nights after his lecture, his parents hosted a soirée for the local nobles and a few of the wealthier merchant families. The entertainment included several singers.
Axel had always felt wistful while listening to other performers, wishing he could join them. However, that had been when he was meeting with Lotti and singing in the bowels of the theater. Now that he had decided to give it up, his heart twisted inside his chest and his eyes stung as the beautiful voices washed over him.
The next morning, he woke before dawn, made certain of the time he needed to be back, and snuck out the side gate, exchanging the usual nod with Otto.
Lotti didn’t comment on his absence; it wasn’t unusual for him to be unable to escape for days in a row. He didn’t tell her about his intention to be a better crown prince, but he made certain to leave on time each day.
He minded the time, but while he was there, he threw himself into the role of Lars with all the passion in his soul.Sometimes he sang alone, sometimes he sang with Lotti’s flute. Sometimes Lotti sang the part of Astrid from the shadows where she lurked, and her alto mixed with his baritone in a haunting duet. Some of the time he moved about the stage, acting out the motions of the part or dancing with his imaginary partner.
The first time, he suggested that Lotti play the part of Astrid and join him, arguing that it was easier to dance with a real partner. For a moment, she hesitated. Axel’s eyebrows lifted when the shadows shifted near the floor, as if she took half a step forward, and her hand lifted so far as to be visible in the flickering candlelight.
Then she withdrew deeper into the darkness and curtly informed him that he would have to make do.
A week beforeThe Tanner’s Secretwas to open, Axel was standing in one of the larger sitting rooms in the castle, listening to one of his counts drone on about the price of corn, when a simpering voice caught his ear.
“—no explanation. The curtain should have been—”
“—plenty of rain, so the harvest was plentiful. It’s highway robbery, I tell you!” the count complained.
Axel held up a finger. “Excuse me for a moment.” The count appeared mildly perturbed, but Axel molded his face into the perfect mix of apologetic, pleasant, and politely in control. Within moments, the other man’s face melted into acquiescence, and he gave a slight bow as Axel turned away.
Sauntering across the room as if he had no particular destination in mind, he positioned himself so he could hear the rest of the partially heard conversation. Eavesdropping was an inefficient method of gaining information, but one of the speakers was the grumpy count’s daughter. At seventeen, Lady Ilse, a pretty little brunette, thought she was the heavens’ gift to men. Including princes that were five years older than herself.
Needless to say, Axel made a point of avoiding her whenever possible.
“Do you think they’ll cancel the show?” her friend asked. Axel rolled his eyes at the horrified delight in her tone. But only because he was pretending to examine a vase, so his face was hidden.
“I don’t know. He broke his leg. Do you think he’ll be able to perform by then?” By the sound of her voice, Lady Ilse was pouting. It was one of her favorite expressions.
Axel could almost hear the other young woman shaking her black curls. “My brother broke his arm last year when he fell out of a tree.”
“A tree?” Lady Ilse gasped. “He was climbing atree?”
Only Lady Ilse would find it scandalous that young noble boys, like most boys, liked to climb trees.
“Yes,” her friend replied scathingly. “He was.”
Axel shifted his weight, then meandered to a window. He was beginning to fear he’d have to outright ask.
“Anyway,” the young woman continued, “it was months before his arm was fully healed. If Georg only broke his leg this morning, there’s no chance of him being up and about by next week.”
Georg? Axel froze, so shocked his mouth almost dropped open. It was Georg who was injured?
“—all saying it was an accident, but how does a curtain manage to fall on someone by accident?”
As the lead male actor at the theater, Georg had an understudy to ensure the show would go on. Axel wasn’t concerned that the opening would be canceled. But as an avid patron of the theater, he was familiar with all of the actors and actresses. It didn’t seem right that the energetic, vibrant Georg was suffering a broken limb.
His mind lingered on the fragment it had caught afterhearing the injured man’s name. As far as he knew, the theater was well-maintained.
Howdida curtain manage to fall?
Having heard what he wished, Axel wandered away from the young ladies. The role of Lars would be played by an understudy on opening night. It was unfortunate, but whoever the show director had chosen for the position must be capable. Just not quite as brilliant as Georg.
Or Axel.
He paused with his hand on the back of a nearby sofa. Where had that thought come from?
No. He gave himself a mental shake as he strode past Lady Ilse’s father, forgetting that he had implied he would return to finish the conversation. No. He wasn’t arrogant enough to believe he could do a better job than Georgorthe understudy.
