Page 101 of Songs and Spun Gold
Katy squeezed his hand, beaming at him, but Axel gave her a tight smile in return. Just because one person had not recognized his voice did not mean no one else had.
“A singing prince,” Lady Ilse sniffed. “Whoever heard of such a thing?”
One of her friends snickered. “You’re just jealous because ‘Miss Katrin’ has a prettier voice than you do.”
“Do you think we should stay?” Katy whispered.
“They’ll see us if we move,” Axel whispered back. “It’s not dark enough to slip out to the garden without them noticing.”
The ladies continued gossiping for several minutes while Katy and Axel lurked in their sheltered position. Finally, one of them said, “Let’s go back in. We shouldn’t deny all the young men waiting to dance with us, after all.”
“I suppose, but I’m most interested in dancing with Prince Axel,” Lady Ilse pouted. “Surely, he’ll be finished with his village girl by now. Did one of you happen to see where they went?”
“Didn’t he bring her out to the balcony?”
Katy caught Axel’s eye, and they both fought to hold in their snickers at the heavy silence that followed.
“He must have taken her out to the gardens, then.” Lady Ilse’s voice was half an octave higher than normal. “Let’s return to the ballroom to wait for him.”
Axel and Katy restrained their mirth until they heard the door close behind the ladies. Then they broke down, laughing heartily at the noblewomen’s discomfiture.
“Can you imagine the look on her face if she knew we’d overheard her?” Katy giggled. She moved toward the doors. “Come on, let’s go find out!”
Axel grabbed her arm. “Oh, no, you don’t. I’m in enough trouble tonight as it is. I don’t need to add to it by giving dear Lady Ilse cause to make a scene.”
Katy sobered, turning back to him. “Do you think anyone made the connection?”
“I don’t know,” he replied, shaking his head. “But whether they did or not, I just revealed to the entire court that I sing. My father has been working to suppress that information for years.”
“But why?” Katy asked, furrowing her brow. “I don’t understand why your parents are so disapproving of it.”
“You heard Lady Ilse,” he said with a sad shrug. “A singing prince isn’t what they expect. The people want a strong king, not a musical one.”
“And you can’t be both?”
“I like to think that I could be, if I had to. That doesn’t mean that people’s perceptions would give me the chance to prove it.”
“That’s sad,” Katy said quietly.
“I’m used to it.” As he looked at her frowning face and wished that he could smooth away her distress, he suddenly recalled that she had agreed to marry him. They were no longer betrothed simply because his father said so; they were betrothed by choice.
And Katy had kissed him.
He grinned. “But right now, I don’t care. We have some practicing to do.”
And with that, he leaned down and kissed her laughing lips.
~
Dealing with his father the next morning wasn’t as bad as he had feared. Apparently, Father had received a number of compliments and only a few derogatory comments. In addition, Katy had jumped in and accepted blame for the unscheduled performance, which immediately softened the king. When Axel added that she had been accepting his proposal – at which point Katy proudly displayed the bracelet on her wrist – all was forgiven.
Preparations for their wedding began to accelerate shortly thereafter. His mother was planning a grand event, and Axel had plans for his own, now that Katy was his by choice. Andnow that his father had grown more lenient regarding his singing.
What better way to celebrate their wedding than with a performance at the theater?
Accordingly, he launched into discussions with the operations director. It would disrupt the theater’s schedule, but the accidents that had ceased after Axel’s performance as Cesar had picked up again after the show’s completion. Notes had begun demanding that Gunther or the prince return to the stage. And once the plan for Axel to star in a special performance was in place, the accidents became nothing but a memory.
He hoped no one drew the conclusion that he was behind the notes. No one was aware that he had already “benefited” once as Gunther. But the rest by itself might be enough to make someone question.
