“Not at all. It was a bit of a disaster. Neither one of us was very good. The horse was the closest I came to making something decent. It was my prized possession for the longest time.”
“You should be proud. The horse is adorable.”
“You don’t need to flatter me. I know it’s messy, especially now with all the water damage.”
“I’m not trying to flatter you!”
Auguste looked at me skeptically. “You asked me what it was.”
“Like you said, it’s water damaged! I couldn’t tell at first. But now I know, and it’s very well made, particularly for such a small child.”
I meant what I said. Mostly. I hoped Auguste would believe it. His face had never been gentler than when he talked about Madame de Maintenon. It was clear that he loved her deeply, and that the memories of his childhood with her had a special place in his heart.
“How did it end up hidden away in a cascade?”
Auguste shook his head. “Louis. We were visiting Versailles while it was in the process of being built. I was about twelve and he thirteen. He was making fun of me for still playing with toys and threatened to throw it in the Grand Canal. Louis chased me all over the gardens. This grove was one of the first to be built. I evaded him and tucked the horse away in the cascade, where I knew he’d never look. He hates getting wet. We left before I could come back and retrieve it. I was sad for a while, but I moved on and mostly forgot. Until you dragged me in here, that is.” Auguste winked at me.
“I did not drag you in here! What happened to wanting to spend time with me?”
With a laugh, Auguste tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear. My skin burned where his fingers brushed my cheek.
“I guess you’re . . . uh . . . excited to have the horse back,” I said, my throat dry and scratchy.
“I am. Thank you for bringing me here. I missed Frederick.”
“Frederick?”
“I’d read the name in a book. It seemed fitting at the time. Don’t judge me.”
“I would never.”
“Right, right.”
Auguste was doing it again. Looking at me like I was the most important person in the world; like I was the only person in the world. When his green eyes were locked on mine, I felt special for the first time in a long time, and I didn’t want him to look away.
A soft pressure on my hand drew my eyes down. Auguste had placed the little horse in the palm of my hand and closed my fingers over it. I looked up, confused.
“What are you doing? Don’t you want Frederick?” I asked, putting extra emphasis on the horse’s name.
“Frederick is a dignified name. The name of a great leader. And no. I want you to have him.”
“Why? After all these years, you’ve finally been reunited, and now you want to give him up. To me?”
“Yes, you. Who else?”
“I don’t know. You, maybe?”
Sighing, Auguste said, “I’m trying to give you a gift. Can’t you just say thank you and leave it at that?”
“Of course not. You should know me better by now.”
Auguste released my hand and leaned back against the stone wall of the cascade. It was only after he’d put space between us that I realized that my skin was wet where he’d touched me. He’d dripped on my dress, too, leaving dots of water scattered across the silk. Somehow I didn’t mind if I got wet anymore.
“You’re going to think it’s ridiculous,” he said, so quietly I could barely hear it over the sound of rushing water.
“You won’t know until you tell me.”
He took a deep breath before speaking. “Cendrillon, there’s nothing I want more than to court you myself. But with my brother courting you right now, it’s impossible. Not only can I not make you dauphine, but I have nothing to offer you. I am the king’s son, and while I was raised at court, I have no land and no title. I am no one. I have nothing to offer you.”
I wasn’t prepared for him to be so honest and vulnerable, and I realized it was time to tell him the truth about my feelings as well.
“Auguste, I don’t give a whit about land or title,” I told him. “I just want you.” I felt a desperation taking over me.
“No. Even if Louis doesn’t choose you, because you were favored by him, other high-ranking lords will want your hand. You deserve a better life, a life that I cannot offer,” he said softly. “I can’t take that away from you.”
“No . . . no!” I said. “We have to find a way.”
Auguste shook his head. “I brought you here because I want you to have something to remember me by. You deserve so much more than a silly little toy, but it’s all I have to give you right now.”
The thought of losing him just as we discovered each other was too much. I threw myself against him and pressed my lips to his. Our bodies were flush against each other now, my arms around his shoulders, the cold water from Auguste’s soaked clothes seeping into my dress, but I didn’t even feel the chill; my entire body was on fire. We kissed until my lips were sore—minutes or hours, I couldn’t tell. Only then did Auguste pull away, gasping.
“We can’t,” he said, chest heaving in a mirror of my own. “Cendrillon, we can’t.”
I buried my face in the crook of his neck and felt the tears fall down my face. “Yes we can,” I said. “You are the only happiness left in my life.”
“Oh,” Auguste whispered, his breath warm against my cheek. He placed a feather-light kiss on my jawline and another on my neck. I shivered and held on tighter. “Then we’ll find a way. I promise.”
We stood in the cascade’s pool, wrapped in each other’s arms as water lapped at our ankles and sprayed cool droplets onto our already-damp clothing.
Anyone could have come along and spotted us. We weren’t even watching our immediate surroundings, much less the entrances to the grove. It was incredibly reckless, but that thought couldn’t spur me into leaving Auguste’s arms. I was so very tired of not getting what I wanted.
Chapter Thirty-Three
For the next week, Auguste and I spent as much time together as we could. I barely paid attention to the competition and merely smiled politely at Prince Louis. As far as I was concerned, there was only one king’s son that mattered.
I didn’t know what I was thinking. Perhaps we had been too naïve, too innocent. While I was getting ready to meet Auguste in the maze once again, there was a commotion in the Place d’Armes.