The Ambassador's Daughter

Chapter 16

For the next few days Elise kept Louise very busy around the Mansion, making preparations for the ball. But finally, Louise was able to escape for a few hours at the palace. When she arrived, she went straight up to Bucky's room. She was pleased to find the room empty. She felt like he spent too much time sulking up there. In all the time she had spent at the palace, she had only seen him out of this room once. She smiled softly as she remembered her last visit to the palace. On an impulse she left the palace to search the gardens.

As she'd suspected, Louise found Bucky sitting on the bench they had shared last time. A book in hand. But he wasn't reading. His thumb was in the book, holding his place, but his eyes were closed, and his head was tipped back, catching the sun. Louise almost hated to interrupt the scene, but she knew better than to try and sneak away. With her luck, Bucky would catch her and it would become very awkward when he guessed she'd just been standing there watching him. She cleared her throat and stepped forward, "Hey, Bucky." She said cheerfully, skipping to his side and sitting next to him on the bench.

At the sound of her voice, Bucky opened his eyes and closed his book, setting it aside. "Hi, Louise." She saw his eyes scrutinizing her face, "You're looking better."

"You mean the marks of my disobedience are fading?" She said dryly. "Yes they are. By the time T'Challa's ball rolls around, I might be presentable." She could see that her light-hearted attitude about her father's abuse did not sit well with Bucky, his eyes got tight and he frowned ever so slightly, but this was how she'd learned to cope with the abuse. Take it lightly and it didn't matter. Take it for what it was and it became too much to handle. So she changed the subject. "Have you decided if you're going or not?"

Bucky looked at her surprised, "What makes you think I wasn't going?"

She laughed and tipped her head back to catch some sun herself, "Let's see, a man who spent at least two years hiding from the world and when he was found decided to put himself into cryo to keep himself safe- sorry, society safe. Why wouldn't I think you weren't going to stay up in your room the whole night?" Bucky had to smile at the picture she painted of him.

"I told you I liked to dance." He pointed out.

She rolled her heard around to look at him, "No," She said slowly, "You said Steve was a good dancer. You said nothing about how you were on the dance floor or if you liked it or not."

Bucky shrugged. "I like to dance, and I guess I'm ok at it. None of my partners ever complained." Louise stood up and held her hand out. Bucky looked up at her. "What?"

"You don't sound sure of your dancing skills. I'll verify your skills for you." She smiled, cocking her head slightly to one side. The way the sun filtered through her hair bringing out the reddish high lights in her hair, and making her skin glow, her dark eyes drew him in, made him reach out and take her hand. He shook his head as he spun her around once, to better position her hand in his. He pulled her close and gently placed his right hand on her waist. They stood like that for a moment before Bucky led them into a simple waltz. He finished off the dance with a dip so low her hair swept the ground. Louise smiled as he brought her back up. They returned to the bench for her verdict. Louise's cheeks were slightly flushed and she was breathing slightly harder than she should have been for such a short dance. "Well," she said, "Considering I put you on the spot, and we had no music, that was one heck of a dance. You, James Buchannan Barnes, are a good dancer."

Bucky smiled, somehow very satisfied with her praise. "You're not bad yourself, a little keen to lead, but not bad." His eyes twinkled as he teased her.

"Yeah, well, my teacher was better at archery than at teaching." Louise smiled more broadly. "So, back to my original question: Are you going to the ball or not?"

Bucky sighed, he had kind of hoped she was easier to distract than this. Her eyes smiled at him like she knew what he was thinking. "I guess I could put in an appearance." He finally responded.

"Wow, how 'bout we try it again with some enthusiasm. Make it sound like we're not pulling teeth." She encouraged.

"I'll see you at the ball, Milady." Bucky replied sarcastically, bowing his head and grinning. Louise shook her head.

"Whatever," She said, standing up. "I'll see you at the ball if I have to drag you down the stairs for one dance. I've got to get back home. My mom is keeping me busy getting ready for the ball, I just wanted to check in and see how you were doing." Bucky stood and walked with her to where her car waited for her. When she left he turned and went to find Steve. He really needed to talk to his friend.

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