Page 92 of Songs and Spun Gold
Katy looked up at his voice. Curled up on a loveseat in a corner of the library, she had been absorbed in her book and missed his approach. “Axel.”
His clothes were as perfect as always, but his face was uncertain. Gesturing to the book in her lap, he asked, “What are you reading?”
“A book about sheep husbandry,” she replied, holding it up. “I hoped to find some pointers for Liesl.”
“Ah.” Shoving his hands in his pockets, he looked down at the rug and then out a nearby window. Unsure what she should say to him, Katy watched her fingers as they played with the edge of the pages.
The awkward silence stretched out. Finally, Katy broke it. “You did well last night. I don’t know how Georg could ever compare.” She gave him a small, tentative smile.
“Thank you,” he said quietly. His eyes flicked toward her as he said it, but then they were gone again.
She debated with herself as she continued to play with the book. She wasn’t sure how to deal with a silent Axel, especially when he wouldn’t even look at her. However, surely it meant something that he had sought her out. “I missed you this morning.”
“I overslept,” he said quietly.
She’d never had so much trouble talking to the cheerful, loquacious prince.
“I’m sorry about last night,” he finally said. He peeked over at her. “I let things get out of hand.”
Dredging up a smile, she tried to joke, “Now you know what my blowups are like. It certainly gave you an excuse to flee.”
He chuckled a little at that, but even his chuckle had a downcast air to it. “That it did. Fueled along by my own reactions, of course.”
“I think you were justified.” Setting her book to the side, Katy sat up, lowering her feet to the floor and fitting them back into her shoes. She pushed off the seat and took a couple steps toward him, stopping an arm-length away. “I’m sorry, too, Axel. I never meant—” She paused. “I didn’t want to hurt you.”
Yesterday, he would have reached up to play with the loose curls by her face, but today, his hands didn’t leave his pockets. “I’m glad to know that,” he acknowledged.
“Maybe we need to start over again,” Katy suggested awkwardly, holding out her hand. “Hello, my name is Katrin, but you can call me Katy. I heard you sing last night, and I knew I had to come find you.”
The left corner of his mouth tugged up a little. “Axel,” he responded, taking her hand and bending over it instead of shaking it. “It is a pleasure to meet you. I am glad that my humble voice was able to bring you pleasure as well.” He dropped her hand as soon as he was finished.
“It’s almost lunchtime, but I’m not sure I know the way from the library to the dining room,” she teased lightly.
“Shall I show you?” He gestured toward the door with a subdued sweep of his hand.
Katy watched him expectantly. “I believe the next move is yours,” she prodded gently. When one of his eyebrows raised afraction, she added, “Isn’t the offer of your arm the next step in our meeting?”
At last, a bit of light entered his eyes. Lifting his elbow with something closer to his usual panache, he replied, “As a gentleman, it is. May I have the honor of escorting you to your meal, my lady?”
“You may.”
The other side of his mouth lifted. “Are you sure you are not closer than is wise, my lady? You have only just met me, after all.”
Meeting his eyes, she replied, “I think I’ll take the risk.”
~
The next few days were a new experience for Katy. Like his mother, the prince had a habit of touching the people around him, whether that was a hand on a shoulder or a pat on the back. She still observed the behavior with others. But where before he would play with her hair, brush her cheek, or simply place a hand on hers while escorting her, he now seemed to avoid contact. He escorted her when proper, but he never patted her hand like he used to; she touched him, but he didn’t touch her.
He also stayed more subdued around her. Oh, he spouted off and waved his arms in grand gestures in public, but his eyes didn’t twinkle as brightly as they had before.
It was a pleasant day, with a light breeze drifting through the branches of the trees as she and Axel wandered through the arboretum. Fritz would probably have been in a short-sleeved shirt under a leather vest, but the prince still wore his more formal long sleeves and satin waistcoat. The lighter fabric of his shirt must have been the reason he could stand it. The day wasn’t so pleasant that Katy would have traded her own short sleeves for long.
His sleeve was soft under her hand, but she found herselfwishing she could feel the roughness of the dark hair on his forearm instead.
Maybe when they returned to the castle, she should track down her cousin – he’d been unable to trail them today – and claim a hug. She was clearly starved for affection due to her lack of close acquaintances in the capital.
“Is something wrong, Katy?” Axel watched her with concern as she hesitated. Usually, she simply walked up and wrapped her hand around his arm after examining some blossoms up close. This time, she had the strangest urge to grasp his weapons-training-hardened hand instead.
