The Ambassador's Daughter

Chapter 22

Louise woke up with about an hour after her parents met to discuss her apparent choice in a boyfriend. She lay on her back, smiling up at the ceiling. Last night had been amazing. As an ambassador's daughter she was used to going to balls regularly, but last night was definitely that best one, in her books.

Her smile deepened as she remembered the brief interlude in the hallway niche. Her parents hadn't been happy to see her dancing with Bucky. How would they have reacted if they knew she'd been making out with him? The thought made her laugh. She tossed aside her blankets and dressed quickly. She called the garage and then the servants' quarters. At the garage she told Gordon to meet her out front as soon as possible, at the servants' quarters she asked for a servant to be her escort that day. She still wasn't allowed to go out alone. Sometimes she took a servant with her, sometimes she didn't. But today she was in a good enough mood to follow her parents' rules. The servant met her in the front foyer, and Gordon was waiting.

Gordon opened the door and Louise waved the servant in. Louise climbed in next and Gordon closed the door behind her. Unseen, Brandt watched his daughter climb into the car. He narrowed his eyes and watched the car as far as he could. "There she goes again," he muttered, folding his arms. When they got back, Brandt was going to have a word with that driver. He turned away from the window and back to his books.

Louise was in too good of a mood to be quiet on this trip. She chatted away with the servant. This time it was a young woman, about Louise's own age. She seemed rather nervous to be talking with Louise like they were friends, but by the time they pulled up to the palace, the girl had warmed up to Louise and they were giggling like two friends at a slumber party.

Louise climbed out of the car and up to the palace. Bucky met her at the entrance. He gave her a big hug, lingering a bit. "We need to talk," He whispered in her ear before pulling back. He led her through the palace to the garden. They sat on the same bench they had danced in front of before the ball. Louise noticed that Bucky seemed nervous about something.

"What's up, Bucky?" Louise asked, curious. His anxiety was starting to make her anxious. Bucky sighed and flexed his fingers. He looked at her and nearly lost his nerve.

"I want to talk about last night." Bucky said slowly.

"Oh?" Louise felt her euphoria beginning to slip away.

"I want to apologise for-if I was out of line in anyway."

Louise laughed, "I didn't exactly try to stop you, did I?" She laughed again and took his hand. "Is that all? You wanted to make sure you didn't over step any boundaries?" Bucky nodded. "Well, rest assured, I am not upset by anything that happened last night. With you, anyway."

Bucky smiled shyly, "Good, 'cause neither am I. Last night was great. It was definitely more fun than I ever expected it to be." Louise smirked at him.

"See, I told you so." She gloated, "Not pulling teeth." Her eyes darkened as she remembered her parents' reactions last night when she'd confronted them.

"No," Bucky looked at her, his eyes questioning. "Not like pulling teeth. What's up with you?" He reached out with his left arm and gently brushed some hair out of her face.

"Oh, it's nothing, really. It just seems that my parents weren't too thrilled to see you and me together last night. It really freaked my mom out." Bucky frowned and slid away from her a bit. Louise slid closer to him. "My mom is a worrier," Louise said softly, pulling Bucky's hand into her lap. "I don't share her worries." Bucky looked into her eyes. He pulled away from her and stood up. He moved to lean against a tree.

"You don't worry that I'm a trained killer? That I'm not in control of myself? A handful of words and I revert to a mindless killing machine, relatively unstoppable? You've seen what I tried to do to my best friend. I don't know how to stop it. I am a weapon. Hydra made me that way," Bucky punched the tree, it shuddered under the force of his blow. When he drew his hand back the tree was splintered and cracked. "And I... I can't get them out!" The pain in Bucky's eyes and voice tore at Louise's heart. She ached for him. She wanted to reassure him, but she wasn't sure he would let her. Even though that was what she was supposed to do for Bucky. That's what Steve wanted her to do.

Louise stood up and slipped between him and the tree. She took his face in her hands and forced him to look her in the face, "What doesn't worry me is that you want to get them out of your head. That one detail may seem insignificant, it may not make headlines, but it is exactly why, someday, you will win. Someday, you will get them out of your head." Bucky searched her face then wrapped his arms around her pulling her tightly against him, he buried his face in her neck. Surprised, Louise stood frozen for a moment, then she slipped her arms around Bucky and held him tight.

Steve stood in his bedroom watching the gardens. He really hadn't meant to spy on Louise and Bucky, but when Steve saw them together out there, he couldn't look away. When he saw Bucky punch the tree, Steve almost ran out there, but the Louise had stepped up. And now Steve couldn't help but smile. He knew Bucky well enough to tell that his friend was highly frustrated with himself, but Steve could see that Louise was not going to back away from Bucky. She had just placed herself between Bucky and his punching bag, without even being sure that Bucky wouldn't strike again.