Page 88 of Songs and Spun Gold
“Do you take offense at the comparison, little guard dog hiding in the shadows?” she cut in.
Muffled by the carpet underfoot, Otto’s footfalls were silent as he stepped forward into the light. Katy followed him, her chin lifted defiantly. “It is an apt description, whether I like it or not,” he responded. His quiet tenor carried where his footsteps did not. “How do I know I can trust you?”
“I want him to perform,” Lotti said flippantly. “I have no reason to harm him. Just as he has been safe the last ten years, so he will be safe today.”
“Why do you not wish us to watch?”
“Would I hide in the shadows if I did not value my privacy?” she retorted. “If you wish him to learn what he needs to know, you and the girl will leave.”
Otto had chosen a position that was a compromise between his need to be close to the prince and Axel’s insistence onkeeping distance between Katy and Lotti. Axel couldn’t read the changes in Otto’s stoic face, but the guard’s weight shifted from one foot to the other and his right hand clenched and unclenched the hilt of his sword.
“It’s fine, Otto.” Axel settled his weight on his back leg and spread a lazy grin across his face, making sure to insert a carefree note into his tone. “She won’t even touch me to teach me the dance; she always makes me learn with an imaginary partner.”
Katy reached over and placed her hand on her cousin’s arm, leaning closer and saying something too quiet for the echoes of the auditorium to pick up. He angled his head toward her, keeping one eye on the stage. The two argued quietly for a few minutes before Otto relinquished his grip on his sword and gave a stiff bow. “As you wish, Your Highness.” Then he and Katy made their way to the back door of the auditorium, the slam of the closing door echoing through the large space.
“That was your theater girl,” Lotti noted with disdain. “I thought you were giving her up for the woman your father wishes you to marry.”
Turning to face her, Axel smiled. “That’s one of the great things about life; you never know what it will surprise you with next. As it so happens, my ‘theater girl’ and the woman my father wishes me to marry are the same person. Now, shall we sing?”
She didn’t respond for a few moments. He caught a flash of her flute as it lifted into the air, but instead of playing, she said, “Your theater girl or not, you barely know her. Yet you would marry her at your father’s command?”
“The hopeless romantic in me, I suppose.” He rubbed the back of his neck, gazing toward the door through which Katy had left. “I can’t shake the feeling that I’ve known her for years.”
“Romantic nonsense,” Lotti retorted. “Pure infatuation.”
“That’s what I keep telling myself.” He sighed and turnedhis back on the audience chamber. “But I didn’t come here to discuss my love life. Shall we start at the beginning, or is there a particular dance that I should learn first?”
“First, you demonstrate for me how well you have learned your song.” The clear notes of her flute drifted out of the shadows, and as they neared his entrance, Axel took a preparatory breath and joined them.
CHAPTER 24
Katy
Katy tilted her head back, enjoying the sunshine on her face. The dull roar of shoppers haggling and gossiping and merchants hawking their wares surrounded her. The weather was pleasant: warm enough to have no need of cloaks, but cool enough that they wouldn’t perspire. Otto and two of Axel’s other guards trailed behind. Axel had assured her that she would have her own guards someday, but she hoped that time was far in the future, preferably far enough that she escaped her betrothal before it arrived.
Even if that hopeful eventuality seemed more unlikely with each passing day.
It was hard to remember to dislike Axel while wandering through the biggest Himmelsburg market on his arm. There was so much more to see than in the small market back home; so much more variety in the merchandise, so many new types of food enticing her with their delicious smells. Through it all, Axel whispered witty remarks to her under the guise of whispering sweet nothings in the ear of his beloved. His public face remained serene, but Katy couldn’t keep a smile off her face.
“Shall we find some lunch, fair Katrin?” Axel remarked, patting her hand and giving her an adoring smile – overdone for the benefit of the crowd. “I find myself losing the ability to resist the calls of the many succulent aromas drifting through this part of the market. Is there anything you most wish to try?”
She elbowed him in the ribs. “Perhaps ham, since you are one,” she quipped.
He gave her a sly grin. “Are you admitting to having succumbed to my charms? May I at last bask in the unequaled knowledge that you want me?”
“No, just ham. Or pork, since that seems a more likely find in a market.” Scanning the nearby stands, she paused when her eyes landed on one. “No, beef! They have bierocks! Isn’t that your favorite?”
Giving her a funny look, he steered her in the direction that she was pointing. “They used to be,” he answered. “Two or three years ago, I discovered a similar dish that uses a pastry crust instead of bread.”
“Oh. We can get that, then,” Katy said.
He continued to watch her with a confused expression. “But how did you know that I used to like bierocks?”
“I suppose you must have told me,” she said.
“I told you what my favorite foodusedto be?” he replied, raising an eyebrow skeptically.
Shrugging, she said, “You must have. Why else would I think that? And if you want to debate it further, how did you know that my favorite color is green?” she challenged, dangling a newly purchased set of green ribbons in front of his face.
