Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11

T he next day, everyone was gushing over horses and the stables over breakfast. Apparently, Thomas has recently gotten some kind of prized new horse.

“You should all come see him sometime,” he boasted, making a point to catch Amber’s eyes from across the table. “It is amazing the quality money can buy.”

Christopher was narrowly avoiding openly glaring at him from the other end of the table. He was clutching his knife so hard, it was a miracle it hadn’t snapped.

Felicity frowned at him for an explanation, but he just shook his head. It wouldn’t do to contradict a duke.

Still, he couldn’t say nothing. There had to be a way to change the subject or at least the focus tactfully.

“Do you keep any horses, Earl Wilton?” Christopher finally said. “We haven’t heard much from you this morning.”

“Of course. They might not be much compared to his, but I do have a few.”

“We should give our guests a tour of our stables,” Mary suggested.

“I’m not sure the weather will permit, my dear,” he frowned.

“Nonsense, I’m sure our guests can handle a little cold.”

“It’s hardly even that cold,” someone else chimed in.

“I couldn’t agree more. There’s no reason we can’t go on a short trip to the stables later this afternoon.”

“I couldn’t agree more.”

And just like that, they were planning on going to see the horses that afternoon.

Christopher caught Amber’s eyes from where she sat. She saw the question in his eyes and nodded.

It looked like they had a plan.

The pair waited until just after lunch before Christopher made his move. In the meantime, all Amber could do was avoid Simon and Thomas as best as she could.

It was hard. She had to constantly be on the move. She slipped from room to room at the first sign of them, all the while maintaining tabs on Christopher.

Finally, it was time.

Christopher found where Amber was, clinging to the wall in one of the parlors, doing her best to avoid them. He made sure she saw him.

Amber caught his eye as he made his way from the room, heading towards the door, and she knew he was on his way.

Amber knew better than to race after him. She desperately wanted to, but it wouldn’t do to attract attention to themselves before they were ready.

She gave it close to five minutes before she slowly got to her feet, following after him. She didn’t make it halfway to the door when a voice called out to her.

“There you are, Amber dear.”

She froze in her tracks. Maybe it wasn’t too late. Maybe she could pretend she didn’t hear him and race outside. Taking a deep breath, she made to continue on her walk.

But it was too late. Thomas was upon her.

“Where have you been all morning?” he demanded.

“Looking for you,” she lied.

“Well, you have found me,” he grinned. “Shall we take a turn around the room?”

She forced a smile. “Perhaps in a moment, but first, can you perhaps get me something to drink? I worked up quite a thirst trying to find you.”

“I think it would be better for us to go together. I’d hate for us to get separated again, wouldn’t you?”

“You’re right,” she said, biting back her dread.

He patted her shoulder and led her through the room. Apparently, getting a drink was easier said than done. In the end, they circled the room several times before finally finding a footman.

“There you are!” Thomas groaned. “You know, there really should be more of you people in a party of this size.”

“Sorry, My Lord.”

“You should be. The least you can do would be to move around the space more. I am seriously considering if I need to have a word with the host.”

“There is no need for that,” Amber cut in before he could cause any problems for Mary.

“It will only take a moment. Besides, it might be best for me to show you how staff should be handled. After all, it won’t be long before I’m expecting you to do it on my behalf. I can hardly throw you to the wolves without a single example.”

“But—”

“Relax, my dear, it will only take a moment. Now, let’s go find our so-called host.”

“But I’m sure she’s rather busy.”

“I doubt that. From what I can see, it seems incredibly clear that she must be slacking off.”

As he stormed through the room, they bumped into Johnathan.

“Where are the two of you off to?” he asked.

“I’m looking for your wife,” Thomas snapped.

“But whatever for?”

“This place is severely understaffed! It took me almost five minute to find a refreshment for poor Amber. Do you think that is acceptable?”

“I see,” he nodded.

“I’m not sure that you do. This is unacceptable. She needs to ensure it never happens again. Let me talk to her.”

The other man nodded. “I hear you, but I’m afraid she is indisposed at the moment. Please, allow me to pass the message along.”

“Do you think you can handle explaining the importance of this failure to her?”

“I think I can manage, yes.”

Thomas stared at him for a while then sighed. “Very well, I will leave it in your hands. Don’t disappoint me.”

Then he turned on his heels and started to walk. “Come along, Amber.”

Before she followed him, she lingered near Johnathan for a moment. He caught her eye and smiled. “Don’t worry. I’m sure Mary and I can share a laugh over this.”

Only then did she let out a sigh of relief. “I’m glad you aren’t mad at her.”

“Why would I be mad at her? I saw how much work she put into planning this and ensuring our staff is well trained. I also know Thomas can be a bit unrealistic in his expectations.”

“I’m glad. When I saw how upset he was, I got worried that you would take his side.”

“Never. I must admit, I thought you knew me better than that.”

She flushed looking away.

“Don’t worry, I won’t hold it against you. Mary warned me you are under quite a bit of stress this time around.”

Amber paled. “She told you?”

“She told me nothing more than that; you need not worry.”

“Amber, come along!” Thomas’ voice cut through.

She winced, shooting Johnathan an apologetic look.

“It’s quite all right. Go on then.” He motioned for her to go.

That left her with little choice but to return to Thomas’ side and his endless chatter. She wanted nothing more than to escape, but every time it seemed like she was about to get a chance, it would go up like smoke. Every time she found a reason they had to separate, he would find a reason it would be better if they did whatever it was together instead.

Then, finally, like a light in the dark, Felicity caught her eye across the room. In an instant, she was by her side.

“Amber!” she greeted me. “Can you come with me to the woman’s parlor? I’m still having trouble with that stitch you showed me.”

Thomas scoffed. “No, we’re?—”

“Of course!” Amber agreed. “I promised to do whatever I could to help you learn, and I intend to follow through.”

She turned to Thomas. “I do hope you understand, but I can’t break a promise.”

“But—”

Before he could argue, Felicity whisked her away.

“Do you want to tell me what’s going on?” she whispered.

“Not really. Simply that I need to thank you, and I need to do everything in my power to avoid him.”

“Then I’ll do whatever I can to help.”

“Thank you.” she glanced around. “But I need to go. There’s someone I need to meet with.”

Once they were safely out of his line of sight, Felicity grinned. “Don’t mention it, and tell my brother to make sure he doesn’t stay gone too long this time when you see him.”

Her face paled. “I’m not meeting with him.”

“Oh, come now, you don’t need to lie to me.”

“I’m not. Why would you think that?”

“Because I saw him sneak out a little while ago then you were looking for an exit before that man cornered you.”

“You saw all that?”

“I did, but you don’t need to worry. As I said, any secret you might have is always safe with me.”

“Thank you. If this got out…” Amber trailed off.

“Don’t you worry about that; just get going. You don’t want to keep him waiting any longer than you already have, I’m sure.”

“Thank you,” Amber said again then started to make her way to the door.

“Any time,” Felicity called after her.

Amber couldn’t believe she had gotten so lucky.

The second she stepped outside, she was shocked by just how cold it still was.

Amber frowned, making her way over to the stables a short distance away. She could only hope this wouldn’t derail things too much.

When she was finally shut inside, she let out a sigh of relief. “Finally,” she sighed. “That wind is something else.”

“I would have thought you’d still want to keep your voice down at the moment,” Christopher called.

Amber jumped, a small yelp escaping her lips.

He smirked, walking down the aisle of stalls. “Surprised to see me?”

“I didn’t say that!”

“Then why were you so startled?” Christopher asked, coming to stop in front of her.

“I knew you were going to be here, but that doesn’t mean I expected you to be lurking in the dark.”

“Lurking? I was just standing there waiting for you.”

“Then why didn’t I know where you were until you said something?”

“I don’t know, but probably because you weren’t paying attention if I had to guess.”

“I was!”

“If you were, then you would have had no problems spotting me. I was standing in plain sight.”

“Why do I doubt that?”

“I don’t know how you think we’re going to go forward with this plan if you can’t trust me!” he said in mock hurt.

She rolled her eyes. “I’m here. Can we just get this over with?”

“I would love to, but it isn’t like we can just force them to show up. We need to wait for the right moment.”

“And you really think this is going to work? That we just need to wait here and let them catch us talking?”

He smirked, and Amber felt warmth shoot up her spine, “Don’t play naive. We both know we need to let them think there was more than that going on.”

She crossed her arms, avoiding his eyes. “So what are we going to do?”

To her surprise, he held out his hand. “Come with me. I know just the spot for us to put your plan into action.”

Amber hesitated, her heart pounding in her chest so hard she was worried it might find a way to escape.

Still, she didn’t want to just stand there, so she forced herself to take his hand.

The way he smiled at her made her stomach flutter. “Thank you for trusting me. This way.”

He pulled her down the line of horse stalls until they came to a small ladder.

“After you,” he motioned to her.

Amber blinked in shock, looking between him and the rickety wooden structure. “You can’t be serious?!”

“I am, but you need to trust me.”

She hesitated. “I just don’t know about this.”

“I can understand why, but I think this is the best place for us to get caught.”

“How? Will anyone even be able to see us up there?”

“Absolutely. They will have a perfect view.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive. Do you want to do this or not?”

She nodded. “Of course, I do.”

Then she pushed past him, climbing up the ladder, heart in her throat. When she got to the top, she frowned in confusion, looking around as Christopher followed after her.

It was a small space, right against the roof. Because of that the ceiling sloped in close. Hay covered the dusty floor.

“A hay loft?” she asked in confusion.

“Of course. No better place to try.”

“But why?”

He just grinned at her. “Just make yourself comfortable and trust me.”

“Comfortable?! We’re in a hay loft.”

“Exactly,” he said, stretching out on the ground with a sigh. “It’s rather cozy, isn’t it?”

“Cozy?”

“It is. Just lay back and try it “

“All right.” She glanced at him one more time before stiffly laying down on her back, eyes locked on the ceiling. “Like this?” she asked after a moment.

He snorted. “Not quite. It only works if you actually relax.”

“I’m perfectly relaxed.”

He snorted. “Of course, you are. That’s why your spine is as stiff as mahogany.”

“It’s not. I’m fine.”

He chuckled, rolling onto his side to face her. “Of course. You’re right. I can see it now.”

She rolled her eyes. “Is this the kind of place you usually bring ladies?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” he demanded, humor gone from his tone.

“Don’t pretend I’m naive. I’ve heard about your… dalliances.”

“Have you? And is that why you asked for my help? You thought this was something I would be used to or something?”

“Of course not! I just thought, you might be easier to persuade, and given your history, I don’t think it was an unfair thing to assume.”

“After everything we’ve talked about, you still think those stories are true?”

She rolled to face him, eyes wide with surprise. “Aren’t they?”

“I thought you would know better by now. I thought I told you. No, they aren’t. Not a single one of them has more than a grain of truth to them.”

“Then why don’t you ever try to set the record straight?”

“There wasn’t much of a point. If anything, letting people have their own assumptions was helpful. As I said, I’ve never wanted to consider marriage before.”

“Before?” she found herself leaning closer.

But when she did, she froze. Amber hadn’t realized just how close Christopher was. The tip of his nose brushed against hers. Their eyes locked. Heat raced to her face, stomach fluttering.

She swallowed, unable to pull her eyes from his.

For a moment, neither of them said a word, afraid to break the moment’s spell.

Amber found herself inching closer His lips were so close.

His eyes fell to her lips.

Amber’s breath caught in her throat.

Could this really be happening?

All she would have to do is lean in that last little-

Amber’s eyes widened. What am I thinking? she chided herself. This isn’t the time or place, but even if it was, I couldn’t feel that way about him.

“Something wrong?” Christopher asked, his voice a velvety whisper as he crept even closer.

Amber bolted upright. “I need to go!”

“Wait!” he called out to her. “What about the plan? Where are you going?”

But Amber pretended she didn’t hear him, climbing down the ladder before racing from the stables.

The chill that forced its way through the thin fabric of her dress brought her back to reality.

How could she be so foolish?

What had she been thinking back there?

If she hadn’t left when she did, they could have?—

Amber cut off the thought, shaking her head.

They wouldn’t have. Of course, they wouldn’t have. He could never feel that way about her. He made it quite clear even in that conversation that he was happy on his own.

Pushing her thoughts down, she forced herself to walk through the door to the house.

The second she stepped inside, Simon was in front of her, a look of pure rage on her face.

“We need to talk,” he said then started to walk with the knowledge that she had no choice but to follow him.

Amber’s heart pounded in her chest as she followed him. This was it. He was going to demand to know where she went, and everything would be ruined.

He didn’t say a word until they were inside one of the side rooms.

“Do you want to explain yourself?” he demanded.

“I don’t know what you mean,” she insisted, crossing her arms.

“Don’t play the fool with me. We both know you have been avoiding Thomas. It’s like you’re trying to sabotage all my hard work!”

Amber blinked. “This is about Thomas?”

“Of course, it’s about Thomas! What else could I possibly want to talk to you about?”

“Nothing. You are right. It was a foolish question.”

“No, it wasn’t. You are far too smart for that. It was an attempt to distract me. To make me think there was something else I should be talking to you about. I won’t fall for it.”

“You’re right. I should have known better.”

“I want you to tell me what exactly you think you’re doing? If you keep this up, you risk him losing interest.”

“Maybe I want him to lose interest!”

Simon’s face darkened. “What did you just say?”

“I don’t want to marry him! I don’t understand why you are so set on this or why you think you get to decide this for me at all! Your underhanded meddling isn’t going to work! I won’t let it!”

“Silence!” he bellowed.

Amber shrank back despite herself.

“Do you think I care what you think? When have I ever given you the idea that you had a choice in the matter?”

“But this is my future we’re talking about! How can you say I don’t get a choice?”

“Of course, you don’t! I know best. All you need to do is be a good little girl and do as you’re told. Do I need to remind you of the consequences of continuing to defy me?”

Amber looked down, locking her eyes on the ground. Rage coursed through her. She wanted nothing more than to argue, to fight back, but she forced herself to say, “That isn’t necessary. I understand.”

“You had better. Now, I’m going to talk to him. I expect you to be charming.”

He strode from the room before Amber could respond.

* * *

Christopher stared at the ceiling, alone in the hay loft. He could hear Amber’s feet pounding outside.

He sighed, torn between going after her and giving her space.

Why had he done that? What was he thinking?

After a minute, he sighed, pushing to sit up. He should probably head back and talk to Amber.

When he got outside, he saw her slipping inside. Seeing her, he sped up. Maybe he could still catch her before she went in.

But he wasn’t fast enough to catch her.

When he got inside, Simon was marching her down the hall. Frowning, Christopher chased after them until they slipped inside one of the rooms.

What he heard from the other side of that door left his blood boiling.

How could Simon speak to Amber like that? He was supposed to be her guardian. He should care for nothing above her happiness, and yet here he was, talking to her like she was nothing more than a piece to be used in a game.

Suddenly the door swung open. Christopher ducked out of sight, watching as Simon went back to the party like nothing was wrong.