Page 7 of Songs and Spun Gold
“Fritz, I—” Would it be dishonest to take his arm? Would it be crueler to walk with him only once, or to refuse him outright?
Would it be so terrible to enjoy walking with him and grant him a second?
When she failed to complete the thought, he began to withdraw his arm, cheeks reddening. “I apologize for my presumption. I’ll just—”
“Fritz, wait.”
She took a deep breath and met his blue eyes, willing him to understand without making her put it all into words. The poor man had wound himself up so much that he was about to bolt, and his eyes kept jumping around instead of staying focused on her. He folded his arms across his chest and tapped his fingers on his biceps while waiting for her to continue.
Taking a step closer, she gently took hold of his arm and pulled it away from his side. “No expectations?” she asked softly.
Fritz settled some at her touch. Taking a shaky breath, he agreed, “No expectations.”
“Then I will walk with you. Tonight.”
He nodded and headed for the door, starting with two long, hurried steps before visibly restricting his stride to something calmer and easier for her shorter legs to match. The songof the frogs along the riverbank increased in volume as soon as the door was open.
Following him into the late evening, Katy looked around at the twilit world. She’d been so busy lately; it had been a long time since she was last outside to enjoy this time of day. Across the river, the horizon was red, shifting through an array of colors before melting into a dark, midnight blue over their heads. A few stars peeked through the velvet sky, but most were waiting for the sun to complete its retreat before showing their faces.
The tension in Fritz’s arm decreased as they walked. Gradually, his gait became more natural, and his tight shoulders relaxed.
The frog song mixed with that of the crickets to make a dull roar, a peaceful sound to Katy. It was not unpleasant to enjoy it with Fritz. Mostly, he was quiet, but when he did speak, he was kind and thoughtful, just as he always was. He might be a tanner from a small village, but Katy was sure the most gentlemanly noble couldn’t be more of a gentleman than Fritz.
Any woman should be honored to be courted by him. And she was.
But a set of twinkling brown eyes brushed against her memories, and the old familiar longing tugged at her heart. Fritz was a good man, but he wasn’t…him.
“Katy? Is something wrong?”
“Hmm?” Looking up, she found Fritz watching her with a furrowed brow. “I’m sorry, I’m afraid my mind wandered away from me. What were you saying?”
He paused, drawing her to a stop next to him. He reached a hesitant hand up as if to brush a stray hair from her face but let it drop without touching her. “I wasn’t saying anything. But your face… Am I making you unhappy, Katy?”
His mouth was turned down slightly, and his dark eyebrows, stark against his pale skin in the dim light, pulledtogether. What kind of a terrible person was she, to hurt this sweet young man?
It wasn’t as if she didn’t like him. She did; Fritz was the sort of boy the village girls giggled over, and for all her protests to her friends, she hadn’t been immune. He was quite pleasant to look at, and unlike some men, he had a pleasant personality to match. And she knew that in another life, she would have been thrilled to be on his arm right now.
She should be thrilled inthislife.
Closing her eyes briefly, she took a deep breath before meeting his gaze, willing herself to smile. “No, Fritz. You’re not making me unhappy. But would you mind if we went back now? Perhaps…perhaps we can try again next week?”
He squeezed his eyes shut. “Of course.”
“Fritz.” She set her free hand on his shoulder. “I mean it. Ask me again next week.” Gazing earnestly up at him, she silently begged him to see her sincerity.
“If you’re sure that’s what you want,” he replied softly, his mouth curving slightly.
She ruthlessly shoved the brown eyes from her mind. “I’m sure.”
~
“Fritz asked you to walk with him?” Babette exclaimed. She clapped her hands, bouncing a little on her toes. Then she narrowed her eyes at Katy. “You didn’t turn him down again, did you?”
Katy rolled her eyes at her friend as she sifted through a barrel of potatoes. “What do you mean ‘again’? This is the first time he’s ever asked me.”
It was Angelika’s turn to roll her eyes. “For all you’re so clever, Katy, you can be really dense sometimes. Fritz has been trying to get your attention since before you turned eighteen.”
“He has?” Katy’s eyes widened as she spun to face her two friends. “Are you sure?”
