The Gentleman of Greenstoke

XII.

Sakura was walking next to the youngest Mr Beilschmidt, observing the buildings around them. After lunch was served, Mr Edelstein had expressed his curiosity of visiting the town nearby. The Austrian had explained that he read of the impressive classical architecture in the village. Due to the good weather conditions, the group had decided to take advantage of the sunny atmosphere.

During the walk, the Japanese had given in to the blonde German's questions of her sad behaviour. He had noticed the rather cold-manner and neutral look on her face; and he was certain that something terrible must have occurred. It was strange enough that the German felt comfortable in her company. Normally, women made him feel nervous and left him speechless. But not with her; she was a dear friend of his and he cared for her enough to ask about her state of emotions. After minutes of silence, she had finally admitted her worries and Ludwig was not surprised that it involved a certain English man who – unbeknownst to them – was observing them from afar with a frown.

Arthur's pace increased; he wanted to address Miss Honda due to her different behaviour towards him. He knew that she was confiding in the German, as the atmosphere around them was serious. Being a few metres away from the pair, he uttered his request. "Excuse me, Mr Beilschmidt," the British man spoke gently, "May I speak alone with Miss Honda."

Upon hearing the English accent interrupting their conversation, Sakura stiffened. She knew that her host will ask to talk to her one day, but she did not expect it to be while Mr Beilschmidt was accompanying her. Her eyes glanced at Mr Kirkland's green irises before facing the ground again. He in return, cleared his throat and repeated his sentence after he had witnessed her reaction.

"I am sorry . . . , but no," the German answered sternly, "Miss Honda was in the middle of telling me a private story I wanted to hear."

Although he remained gentle, the tone of his voice told the English man to not intervene their conversation any further. Ludwig had remarked how tense the Japanese had been when his English friend had approached him. Miss Honda's grip around his arm had tightened – probably without her taking any notice of it – and the aura around her had changed immediately. All these aspects had motivated Ludwig to deny Arthur's request.

The gentleman stopped abruptly and nodded speechlessly before the couple proceeded their walking. "What . . . ," the green-eyed muttered, the frown on his visage growing. His eyes followed them. He returned to his cousin and remained extremely silent. And now he knew that something had happened that must have included him. But she had no wish to talk to him which left him sad and hurt.

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Elizabeta was walking through the village as her eyes perceived the party. Although she was far away from them, the woman decided to purchase the food she needed for tomorrow's feast. If they would see her, she would admit that she could not talk to Sakura, due time pressure. This was not an honest excuse but as she had noticed the white-haired Prussian she wanted to avoid as much as possible. Meeting the oldest Mr Beilschmidt on the street was not what she had wished for. Her eyes wandered around the group and it was at that moment that her sight caught another figure she still had not met. It was the Austrian pianist, cousin of Mr Beilschmidt, who had been staying at her employer's house for several days. She had heard his wonderful play. Her eyes remained on his form – longer than she had anticipated – before she proceeded in her duty of buying the needed ingredients. Unbeknownst to her, a certain Prussian general had noticed her light staring and decided to follow her quietly.

Gilbert Beilschmidt could not believe his luck, when he had beheld the Hungarian cook as she was looking at them. 'She is so beautiful,' he thought as his eyes fell on the small basket she was holding, 'and cute.'