Page 36 of Songs and Spun Gold
Katy felt her jaw drop, her spoonful of stew suspended halfway to her mouth. “Fritz? Fritz is back?”
“By all appearances as sweet and patient as ever, but if I were you, I don’t think I’d test the patient part too much,” Adele flippantly replied. “Even the most patient man will only wait so long.”
“Yes, of course.” Katy stuffed the final spoonful into her mouth as she scrambled out of her seat. She strode quickly to the wall, pulling her cloak off its nail. Swallowing, she called out, “I’ll be back later!” as she flung aside the curtain and trotted down the stairs.
He was standing by the front wall, staring out one of the windows at the dark street, when she pushed the curtain aside and walked into the room. Adele had left a candle burning on the table, its flickering light casting an orange glow on Katy’s visitor.
“Good evening, Fritz,” she said softly. At the sound of her voice, he turned, his lips stretching into a smile. His boots reflected the candlelight, and the parts of his long-sleeved, white tunic that were visible underneath his blue cloak were once again spotless. Painfully aware of the stains on her own brown dress, she wondered briefly if she should have spared the time to improve her appearance.
If he noticed, he didn’t say anything. “Hello, Katy. Would you be willing to walk with me this evening?” he asked. His nerves were in their normal state tonight; his previous success must have given him confidence.
“It’s been a while,” she replied hesitantly. She didn’t want to chase him off, but she was desperately curious to know why he’d finally come again. She hadn’t heard any gossip about him asking anyone else, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t. Was Fritz settling, too?
His smile faltered. “I know.” Ducking his head, he continued, “I—I heard about what happened in the market. With Babette and Angelika. And I thought—I thought maybe you needed a little more time. So I backed off. I’m sorry if I made you think I’d changed my mind.”
“Oh, Fritz.” She pulled her cloak off her arm and arranged it around her shoulders as she walked over to him. “You really are too good, aren’t you?”
“Should I not have come back?” he asked uncertainly. His eyebrows knit together as he watched her approach.
Shaking her head, Katy replied, “No, I’m glad you did. But you could have come back sooner, you know.”
“I wasn’t sure if I should come tonight,” he admitted, looking back out the window. He ran a pale hand over his brown hair. “Angelika told me about your theater friend.”
“Angelika talks too much.” Katy busied herself with tying her cloak to hide her wince. “Yes, Gunther and I enjoyed a stroll through the city together, but he can’t make the trip here, and I can’t make the trip to the capital. It was a fascinating opportunity, but I never expected anything from him.” She mustered a decently-normal smile as she looked back up at Fritz. “So you see, there’s nothing for me to get over and no reason for you to stay away longer.”
Fritz turned to face her, examining her with his blue eyes. Knowing how terrible she was at hiding things, Katy focused on how sweet Fritz was and poured all of her appreciation for him into her expression. If he would only give her the chance, she was sure that she could make it reality. In time.
Promise you won’t forget me?
The whispers in her memory could take a hike.
Don’t let me hold you back from living your life. It’s…it’s all right if you forget about me.
She’d take the advice given her by a charming young man,even if part of her didn’t want to.
She had a second chance with the sweet young man in front of her. Only a fool or an incorrigible dreamer would pass it up, and Katy was neither.
“If you’re sure…” With his furrowed brow and slightly pursed lips, he looked like he wasn’t, but he held out his arm anyway. “Shall we?”
~
“I hope you don’t mind walking down the main road this time,” Fritz said, laying his right hand on hers where it was tucked in his elbow. He glanced up at the sky. “It’s too cloudy to walk by the river. Maybe we should skip tonight.”
Katy pulled her cloak tighter above her right arm. In the two and a half months since Fritz had returned, she’d become familiar with his tendency to be overly concerned for her comfort. Walking with him two nights each week gave her plenty of opportunity. “Don’t worry about it,” she replied with a light smile as she squeezed his arm. “I’m not going to shrivel up because I can’t be so near my rapids that they drown out conversation. This is fine.”
His fingers lightly caressed the backs of hers before he let his hand drop back to his side. The corners of his lips curved up in a fond smile. “I’m glad to hear that. It would make me sad to take you straight back home.”
“We could join my mother and sisters upstairs, and then the weather wouldn’t matter,” she laughed.
“But then I would have to share,” he grinned back. His free hand came up to rest on her hand again. That was something that had changed in the weeks of walking together: while he was always a perfect gentleman, he had become much more comfortable touching her. Or her hands, at least. “And I like having you to myself.”
She smiled at him before looking away, hoping it appeared as if she was simply examining the houses on the other side of the road. His teasing words should have made her happy. And they did.
But last night, she’d dreamed again of finding the young man singing in the garden. This time when she woke up, she could remember the song he’d been singing. It was the one fromThe Tanner’s Secretin which Lars searched for the woman he loved. Gunther was overlapping more withhimin her memories.
She hoped it would make it easier to forget them both, but that didn’t seem to be proving the case yet. Not when they haunted her dreams.
As they turned the corner onto the main street, Katy found herself looking up at the sky. She wished the cloud cover wasn’t so thick. Not so that Fritz could take her down by the river, but so that she would be able to see the familiar, comforting pinpricks of the stars. They always made her feel better when she was distressed.
