Page 73 of Songs and Spun Gold
“I thought perhaps you required an introduction first, just as when we first met.” His self-satisfied expression melted into something softer. Glancing around, he lowered his voice and added, “And I never gave you a proper one. Can’t we start over?”
Start over? Pretend he hadn’t lied to her?
It would be nice, she admitted to herself. If she could forget the price hanging over her head as well, King Steffan’s insistence on her marriage to his son would have her in the clouds.
Since she couldn’t change either of those things, she might as well change what she could.
Nodding, she reached out and settled her hand in his elbow. She held herself as far away as possible, much like she had when she’d taken his arm outside his dressing room.
Shaking his head, he gave her a lopsided smile. “I think you were nicer the first time.”
“You said we were starting over,” Katy said stiffly. “That means we are complete strangers. How close do you expect me to walk?”
“We were complete strangers the first time, too,” he pointed out.
“And this is how I should have behaved. You’d turned myhead with your singing.”
He brightened. “Does that mean if I sing for you, then you’ll—”
“No,” she hurriedly cut him off. “I’m wise to your tricks now.”
His smile showed his teeth, but he didn’t launch into song.
They were mostly quiet as they traversed the halls. His behavior as they walked was almost identical to when he’d been Gunther, but nothing like he’d been in front of his parents or her friends.
This version felt more real, but why the act the rest of the time?
“Here we are,” the prince announced. He stopped next to a door that looked depressingly like all of the others. Maybe she could memorize the nearby tapestries. “I hope that you paid attention this time, but I also hope you didn’t.” When she raised an eyebrow at him, he explained, “If you did, then you won’t become lost again. But if you didn’t, it would give me the excuse to escort you in the future.”
She opened her mouth to tell him that no excuse was necessary, but the stranger’s nasty smile appeared in her mind’s eye.
“May I see you again?” Prince Axel looked at her with a shy smile. His twinkling eyes sent a flutter through her chest despite what was at stake.
Pursing her lips, she pretended to think. “If I say no, will you give up?”
“As a gentleman, I would. However, my father won’t.”
She heaved a sigh. “Then I suppose you have my permission.”
“So willingly given, too,” he murmured as he pressed his lips to the back of her hand. Raising his eyes, he said, “Until next we meet, fair Katrin. I shall count the hours.”
“Not the days?” she quipped.
He gave her a funny look. “With you here at the castle, I trust it will not be days.”
“No, of course not,” she quickly agreed, her cheeks heating as she silently scolded herself.
Until next...count the days.
Curse the echoes in her memory!
CHAPTER 20
Axel
Deciding that he’d pushed his luck enough for one day, Axel contented himself with offering to escort Katy to supper. He would have foregone even that, but it was her first day loose in the castle; she might appreciate a guide.
At his light knock, Katy’s door opened to reveal a vision of loveliness. Her friend’s dress had fit her better, but his mother’s was more fashionable and made of finer fabrics. Someone had pulled her hair back into a stylish knot, but a few curls had been left loose to frame her face, and he found the effect enchanting.
