He flicked his eyes over to me again.
Sorry, I mouthed, trying with my eyes to communicate how sorry I was to have bothered him while he was clearly having a nice time. He shot me a small smile and shrugged before turning back to the assistant. I could tell from his body language he’d gotten my blow-off message from the night before loud and clear.
The realization tightened my chest and made my fingers clench into a tight fist, but before I had a chance to say anything to him, Calum clapped me on the shoulder.
“Want to see what we’re working on these days?”
I followed him through the studio, trying my best to pay attention as he showed me the latest designs his team had created. They were beautiful and unique, as always. I’d been a big fan of his from the early days of his arrival at Gadleigh but had shunned his efforts to teach me anything about the process of glassmaking. My father had demanded too much of my time for me to spend it on “art.”
But now I realized I’d missed out on something by not allowing him to teach me. I could see how much joy it brought all of the men in the studio and how they took great pride in their work. I wasn’t sure I could say the same about the hours I’d spent toiling over memos and diplomatic documents earlier that morning.
The entire time I tried listening to Calum’s voice, I couldn’t help but sneak glances at Felix across the big open space. After a few awkward minutes, he was finally able to forget I was there and go back to his work. He returned to the easy camaraderie with the other glassmakers, and I even overheard him talking to them about their favorite bands. When the subject moved on to favorite movies, Felix seemed to go quiet. The two men with him chattered on endlessly about new releases coming out that week and didn’t seem to notice Felix’s body stiffening and his complete departure from the conversation.
I continued to watch him, concerned about what had caused him to shut down, when Calum’s hand landed on my arm. I glanced at him and found him looking at me with knowing concern.
“We’re begging off early today, so I’ll leave you to it,” he said quietly. I arched an eyebrow at him in question. “Christmas Eve, yeah? Gonna let these boys go home to their families.”
I’d completely forgotten about the holiday.
“Oh shit. Yes, of course. Please,” I stammered. “Merry Christmas. Go on.”
Calum studied me again for a beat. “Would you mind terribly staying to help Felix finish up?”
“I… I don’t know how to help him do anything here,” I admitted. Not that he didn’t already know this. Plus, since when did he ask the prince of Liorland to do a cleanup job in his workshop? It wasn’t that I minded at all. In fact, it was nice to be spoken to normally for once—as if I was just a regular man lending a hand. “Of course,” I added.
The truth was, I wanted them to leave. I wanted to be alone with Felix. To nudge him out of his sudden funk and find a way to bring him back to the easy joking from before.
“Cheers, sir,” he said with a twinkle in his eye and a pat on my arm. “And a Merry Christmas to you too, Your High—”
I rushed to cut off the honorific. “Go! Get on out of here and have fun. You too, guys,” I called to the men helping Felix put his design into some type of special cabinet.
The men turned to gawp at me but quickly tidied up and gathered their belongings to leave with Calum. Felix watched them in shock as the three men rushed out of the large front doors, and quiet descended on the studio again.
“What—” he began. “What the hell just happened?”
“They’re headed home. It’s Christmas Eve.”
“Well, yes. I know. I guess… I guess I just thought they’d help close down the shop or something?” He glanced around the space at the items left out.
“I told Calum I’d do it,” I said, walking toward him. “But, to be honest, I don’t really know what I’m doing. Maybe you can help?”
He nodded.
I picked up one of the tools scattered on a workbench. “What’s this?”
Felix hesitated before stepping forward to stand next to me. “It’s an optic mold. You can put the warm glass down inside it to help shape it.”
I switched out the mold for another tool. “And these?”
“These are jacks. They’re kind of like scissors to cut your item off the base.” He ran his hands along some of the other items one at a time. “These are tweezers for grabbing and manipulating the soft glass to shape it. This is a block. If you place the glass in here and spin it, it helps shape it evenly. Let’s see… these are tongs and forceps, pliers and clamps… And this,” he said, gesturing to another long pipe. “This is a pontil. It’s a rod that holds your design while you add decorative flourishes.”