Page 84 of Songs and Spun Gold
What surprised Axel was his father’s reaction. Comments that would have brought glares and a lecture if Axel had made them earned indulgent smiles when they fell from Katy’s lips.
He felt certain that Katy had noticed the same thing. A bit of smugness slipped into her smile whenever her eyes caught the queen frowning after some snarky comment, but her lips turned down whenever the king displayed pleasure.
What was she up to? Was she following through on her joking suggestion to convince his mother to throw her out? But if she was still determined to go home, why had she insisted on that little show for Lady Ilse?
Heavens, that had been sweet torture!
After dinner came the ball, at which Katy was formally introduced as his bride-to-be. It was only after he mentioned that she would be opening the dancing with him that he realized she didn’t know how.
“I can dance,” Katy protested. Stabbing her fists onto herhips, she huffed, “I’ve danced plenty at home. It’s not my fault that you have different dances here.”
Axel rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m really sorry, Katy. I should have said something sooner.”
“Can’t you show her out on the balcony?” Michael folded his arms and craned his neck to peer over the other attendees. “It looks empty at the moment.”
“There’s not enough time,” Axel argued, shaking his head. “You know what the traditional opening dance is like.”
“I avoid them all,” Tobias said to no one, swirling his glass and gazing at the ceiling.
A passing guest bumped into Katy, knocking her forward. Glaring over her shoulder, Katy asked, “Do we have to be traditional? You could teach me something simpler in the time we have left.” A wicked gleam entered her eye. “Or we could really switch things up, and I could teach you one of my dances.”
“It’s his duty as crown prince to open his ball with the expected dance,” Michael frowned. “A simpler one might be acceptable, but not a village one.”
And why not?
Stepping closer to Katy, Axel wrapped an arm around her, earning a startled glance. “It’s my ball, and I’m supposed to open it with my betrothed, who happens to be from a village.” Looking down at her, he grinned. “If a Flussendorf couple hosted a dance to celebrate their betrothal, what song would it open with?”
“You really want to know?” she grinned back. “It might assault the delicate sensibilities of your fine nobles.”
“Axel—”
He threw an annoyed look at his friend. “Just because you’re married to your duties, Michael, doesn’t mean I have to be married to mine. I’d rather be married to Katy.” Ignoring the wide eyes of his companions, he turned back to Katy. “My finenobles can use some stirring up. Come, teach me this dance of yours, and we’ll inform the musicians of the change.”
Half an hour later, he was leading Katy to the center of the empty dance floor. The glittering chandeliers and the columns lining the high-ceilinged room were impressive, but none of it could match the wonder of Katy’s rough hand in his raised one, her face lit up with anticipation.
He bowed over her hand as she curtsied to him. Placing his right hand at her waist, he raised their joined hands to the side. She lifted a dainty amount of her skirt in her left hand, completing the pose for the traditional opening dance. The quiet murmurs of the guests died down to a few whispers.
And then the musicians struck up their tune.
Instead of producing slow, stately strains, the violins dove straight into a lively melody, accompanied by a lilting pattern in the cellos and strong, short notes from the basses. A wave of shocked gasps broke out as Axel lifted his knees and led Katy in the energetic village version of a waltz. He and Katy grinned at each other when he spun her out and the murmurs became more obvious, the attendees leaning toward each other and hiding their words behind their hands.
He was familiar with some of the moves from playing Lars. The others, she had taught him on the balcony, and now she quietly whispered the next step to him as they danced. He stuttered every now and then when his feet tried to take him in the wrong direction, but he laughed, enjoying it all the more.
He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had so much fun at a ball.
Twirling her under his arm, her skirts flaring around her, he stepped to the side before stepping back in and turning under their raised arms with her. They placed their right hands on each other’s shoulder before moving apart, hands sliding down their arms, until they gripped hands just before losing each other.He pulled her back in, bent his knees as he grabbed her waist from behind, and lifted her into the air for a quick spin – one of several improvisations he’d suggested as a hat-tip to the dance they were replacing.
The musicians approached their finale as he set her feet back on the floor. Katy moved her hands from his wrists to his hands, and they flung their arms out to the side before he wrapped their left ones around her waist and their right behind his. They leaned opposite directions, she to the right and he to the left, so that they could meet each other’s eyes for the ending pose.
It begged for him to lean in to finish it off. Her laughing eyes and wide smile, chest heaving from the exertion of the dance, lured him in.
His hands tightened on hers, and he felt his grin start to soften out. But as soon as he moved, her smile froze, a look of panic flashing through her eyes.
Of course. She’d pushed him away after his teasing suggestion in front of Lady Ilse; she wouldn’t be more eager here when they were the center of attention.
A single strong clap sounded from Michael’s direction. A smattering of hesitant claps followed before it built into something resembling the expected response. As the applause grew, Axel released Katy’s hands and offered his arm to escort her from the floor.
“Another shocking performance,” Tobias greeted them. Ceasing his lazy clapping, he lifted his glass from a nearby table. “Keep that up, and half the court will be clamoring for your father to change his mind.”
