Page 23 of Songs and Spun Gold
Laughing from under his hood, he merely patted the hand on his arm and kept pulling her toward the street. They soon rounded the corner, blending seamlessly into the stream of people headed away from the theater. Feeling chilled, Katy pulled her own hood over her head, although she didn’t draw it forward as far as Gunther had.
“Where are we heading?” Katy asked. Not being familiar with the city, she didn’t even know what direction she was facing. “You seem to be in quite a hurry to get there.”
“Somewhere less crowded,” he replied. He glanced down at her. “Unless you prefer to have private conversations on a busy city street?”
She tapped her chin with a finger, pretending to think. “Flussendorf has a shortage of busy city streets. However, I did have a heated argument with two of my friends in the middle of the market a couple of months ago.”
“How did that turn out?” She couldn’t see his eyes, but his mouth was stretched in a wide grin.
“I will grant that somewhere less crowded would have been preferable,” she said loftily. Then the memory of that afternoon crowded in, and her face fell. Babette hadn’t spoken to her for an entire week. And Fritz…
Gunther turned a corner and finally slowed his stride as they passed onto a narrower street with fewer pedestrians and no carriages. The gas lamps were also less frequent, but the pockets of shadow didn’t worry Katy while she was on Gunther’s arm.
Perhaps the pockets of shadow should have worried herbecauseshe was on Gunther’s arm. It had been less than an hoursince they’d first met.
“In that case, I believe I will proceed with my plan to secrete you away before provoking you further.” She could hear the smile in his voice, and she tried to focus on that. The argument was in the past. Right now, she was walking with this nice young man for the first and only time. She was determined to enjoy it.
He led her across the road, then through a small wrought-iron gate bisecting a tall, stone wall. On the other side was a small park. The dormant grass crunched under her feet and most of the trees were bare due to the season, but the small night noises of the city were muffled inside the walls.
He closed the gate behind them, then turned so that they faced each other. His hood was still up, but she could make out his twinkling eyes beneath it.
“So tell me, Katrin-who-argues-in-the-street, what about you drives away the men around you?”
Her jaw dropped. “Excuse me?”
Tapping one finger on his chin, he looked up at the stars. “I can only assume there must be some defect, else someone as beautiful as you would have been snatched up long ago. Yet you do not appear to be unkind, nor unintelligent – leaving aside the decision to walk with me – so what other explanation can there be but that something is wrong with you? Surely not every man in your village is either blind or a fool.”
Katy’s eyes stung at the light-hearted accusation. His words mirrored the questions she often asked herself, but that didn’t give a stranger the right to voice them.
She had thought he wanted to walk with her. Instead, he was mocking her.
“No, they aren’t,” she snapped. “Obviously, I’m the blind fool. Good night.”
Spinning on her heel, she took one forceful stride towardthe gate, blinking furiously, but he reached out and grabbed her hand, pulling her back.
“Let go of me!” She tried to jerk her hand free, but he was stronger than he looked. “I should never have agreed to come with you.”
“Do you know the way back to your inn?” he asked. To her great annoyance, she could hear a barely suppressed laugh in his voice.
“I’ll figure it out,” she growled. “Now let—me—go!”
He reeled her back in. “I’m sorry; I was only teasing. I didn’t mean to offend. Forgive me?”
As she was resisting returning to him, she glared up into his face. His warm brown eyes laughed at her. “Why should I?”
“I promise to walk you back whenever you want, as long as you answer my question first.” He pressed his free fist to his heart. “Actor’s honor.”
She raised a skeptical eyebrow as she tugged against his grip. “They have that?”
“Ouch.” Wincing, his fist changed to gripping the cloak under it. “You wound me, fair Katrin.”
Fair Katrin, her memory echoed.
Katy gave her head a shake to clear it. There was nothing unusual about the words. Anyone might say them. But…
“You’re right,” she said softly, the fight draining out as she dropped her eyes to the ground. “It’s my own fault.”
“How so?” Gunther lightly squeezed the hand he still held. “Despite my teasing, I struggle to believe you become less desirable upon greater acquaintance.”
