Page 68 of The Starling and the Hatter

I caught my father’s eye, worried that Elise would be swept off before I even spoke a word to her. Dad just pointed in her direction, as though the solution was obvious.

Perhaps it was. I moved quickly to her side.

“Now?” she asked the servant as I approached.

“Yes. Everything will be provided for you when you reach the palace. You will dine with the other performers at the banquet as you take turns performing for the duke and duchess and their court.”

“But—”

I reached her side and put a hand to her waist, unable to resist the urge to touch her. “Elise.”

She turned to me, and the relief and joy I saw on her face made my heart swell. She grabbed on to my other hand and turned to the servant. “Might I bring my betrothed?” she asked.

Though I knew we were not betrothed, having Elise refer to me as such gave me such a sense of pride and hope that I had to restrain myself from wrapping her in my arms and picking her up off the ground.

“Of course,” the servant intoned. “It’s only proper that your man escort you, but we must go now.” He swept an arm in the direction the duke’s entourage had gone.

Elise scooped up her nest of coins, pulling the strings closed and tying it to her belt before taking hold of my hand again. Her nerves practically hummed through her fingers where they clung to mine. As we followed after the crowd, I squeezed her hand in reassurance and she looked up at me, a genuine smile showing through her anxiety. “Hello,” she said.

I chuckled. “Hello. You’re here,” I said in wonder.

She nodded. “Your father said you were wandering, so I was just singing while I waited for you.”

“Just a moment’s singing and now we’re on our way to the palace,” I said, bemused.

“Yes, it’s very strange,” she said through nervous laughter.

“Though, you’ll have to remind me, because I can’t recollect, when exactly did we become betrothed?” I teased, hoping to broach the subject without shattering the congeniality that existed between us. We had parted on very unstable terms, and the last thing I wanted was to go back to that tension, but I couldn’t just ignore the fact that she had claimed me in such a way.

She leaned her forehead into my shoulder, almost like she was embarrassed, which was intriguing. There wasn’t much that embarrassed my Elise. Yes, I wanted her to be my Elise. Did her returning mean that was a possibility?

“What happened on your quest?”

She pulled in a deep breath. “I learned a great deal about myself.”

“Really?” I asked, instantly intrigued. “I’d love to hear about that.”

She looked up at me, her eyes smiling more than her mouth. “There’s a lot I’d like to tell you, but first”—she glanced around us—“I think we’ll have to get through this evening. Do they really wish me to perform in the palace?”

“It seems that way. Are you glad that you left Lorta?” Say yes, say yes, I chanted in my head. If she was happy she’d left Lorta, that would mean she was happy to leave Robert behind.

“Very,” she said, her eyes fixed on me as we let the crowd around us guide our movements. “For more reasons than one.”

“I know you were looking for something,” I ventured. “Someone.” I watched her face to gauge her reaction to the mention of Robert. “Did you find him? Robert?”

She glanced at me, then away, seeming embarrassed. “Yes, I did.”

“But you left him behind?” My heartbeat pounded on my ribs, waiting for some definitive declaration. Say you left him behind on purpose. Say you came here for me.

“Yes, though I expect he’ll arrive tomorrow,” she said.

My heart plummeted and I released her hand. “Oh.” All the hope slumped out of me, leaving me bereft. Why was she here, calling me her betrothed, if she knew Robert White was following her here? A flash fire of anger ignited in me and my jaw hardened.

She saw my drastic change of mood and sucked in a breath of worry. “No,” she said, shaking her head. “No, not that he’s the reason I came. He’s not.” She tucked her hair behind her ear and folded her arms, looking over her right shoulder in the way she did when she was nervous and didn’t want to meet someone’s gaze. Hope sprung anew. “I actually came to see you. I wanted to talk…”

She continued to look behind her, and her words drifted away. As I watched her profile, I saw the blood drain from her head, and the terror that morphed her features made my heart drop.

“No,” she breathed just before turning back toward me, away from whatever she had seen that so frightened her. She tried to push past me, but I caught her, unwilling to let her out of my sight and worried that if she tried to run in such a state, she would collapse. I banded my arms around her and felt her fingers digging into the skin at my back. Her breathing was rushed and heavy, making my concern grow even more. I didn’t believe I’d ever seen her so frightened.