Chapter 14

CHAPTER 14

T hat night, Amber tossed and turned long after Rose left her alone to try and sleep. Despite the mental and emotional exhaustion that she felt deep in her bones, rest refused to come. It was hard to rest with her mind churning like a stormy sea.

All she could do was lay there, staring at the ceiling of her temporary room.

Amber wanted nothing more than to pack a bag and slip off into the night. She wouldn’t need to get far. Just to the stage coach station. She could leave London for another city. Maybe even leave England altogether. It wouldn’t be that hard to find a ship she could travel on.

Amber was reasonably confident she could make a living off of her embroidery. Maybe she could find a local seamstress to work with.

It was far too easy to slip out during the night. She hopped on a stage coach. When she first got on, she wasn’t sure where she was planning on going.

In the end she made her way to a small port town and climbed aboard a passenger’s ship bound for Ireland.

She got off in Belfast. The place reminded her of London in some ways. It was filled with people for one. So many people were fashionable, and couples walked the streets hand in hand.

As Amber looked around, she couldn’t help but think it seemed like the kind of place she could build a life to call her own. She walked along the streets until she spotted a shop front that caught her eye. It was a pale blue facade with elegant gowns displayed in the windows.

Amber took a deep breath then pushed inside. It wasn’t a big shop, but it was clearly well maintained and looked after. Everything about it was neat, tidy, and gave the place a generally welcoming atmosphere.

“Good afternoon!” she called to the still room, taking in the small warm place with a smile on her face. She couldn’t help but admire the gowns and fabric on display, but despite how welcoming everything looked, no one had welcomed her yet. “Is anyone here?”

“Coming, coming, give me just a moment!” a cheery voice called from somewhere out of sight.

A few seconds later, a short older woman popped out with a bright smile on her small round face. “Good afternoon, how can I help you today, Miss? Were you in the market for a new gown? Some fabric perhaps?”

“Actually…” Amber took a deep breath, tamping down her nerves as best she could. She didn’t know why she was so nervous. This was nothing compared to making her daring escape. “I was hoping I could help you.”

“Oh?” the woman looked intrigued, tilting her head to the side. “Well, don’t keep me in suspense. Tell me, I can’t wait to hear all about it.”

“I’ve just moved to the area, and I’m looking for work.”

“Are you a seamstress? If you are, I’m afraid I’m not sure if I have enough work to offer you full time employment.”

“No,” Amber shook her head, “as much as I would love to be, I have never had the opportunity to learn.”

“Is that so?” the woman studied Amber. “You look young enough. Are you looking for an apprenticeship?”

“I wouldn’t say no to one, but that isn’t why I’m here either.”

“Go on and tell me then! Don’t keep me in suspense!”

“I may not be a tailor, but I am not fully without skills,” she said, reaching into her bag to pull out a sample of her work. “You see, I do embroidery.”

“May I see?”

“Of course.” She handed a piece of her work over for the woman to inspect.

She hummed, looking it over. “I think I could sell something like this. Do you know where you’re staying yet?”

“Not yet. I only just got off the train.”

“I see. I have a spare room upstairs. You are welcome to stay there until you get yourself settled.”

“You don’t need to do that. That’s far too generous.”

“No,” she shook her head. “I want to.”

“All right, if you’re sure.”

“Wonderful! Follow me. Oh! And I’m Anna by the way.”

“Amber.”

“It’s wonderful to meet you Amber,” she said, leading her through the shop and up a flight of stairs in the back.

She showed Amber her room and let her settle in.

Once she found a new place to call home, time seemed to fly by.

She spent her days working in the shop with Anna and her evenings making friends and getting to know people.

Then, one day, when she was looking after the shop by herself, the door to the shop opened, and Christopher stepped inside.

“I thought I might find you here,” he said, stepping towards her.

“Christopher!” her words stuck in her throat. “What are you doing here?”

“I’ve been looking for you.” He took another step towards her.

“Why?”

“I’ve been looking for you since you disappeared that night.”

She shook her head. “You still haven’t told me why.”

“I think we both know why I’m here.”

“Do we? Funny, I hadn’t realized.” Amber let out a nervous laugh, taking a step back.

“Yes, I’m here for you because we need to talk.”

“About what? You still haven’t said.”

“You are right. Why don’t you try to guess why I’m here.”

“You said it was because you were looking for me.”

“Yes, but why?” he echoed her earlier words.

“Did word of our… involvement get out?”

“No, you don’t need to worry about that. That secret has stayed safely buried. Try again.”

“Has Simon done something?”

“I am pleased to say I haven’t had the misfortune of seeing so much as a hair of him since we parted.”

“But then, what else could it possibly be?” Amber chewed her lip, thinking desperately but coming up short.

He took another step towards her. “Still can’t put the pieces together?”

“I’m trying!”

“I can see that. The question is how long to give you before I intervene?”

“You could do it now and put me out of my misery!”

“True,” he grinned down at her. “I suppose I could.”

Amber shook her foolish fantasy from her head.

What was she even thinking? She should know better than to have such ridiculous daydreams.

Christopher would never come after her like that.

And if she did somehow escape, why would she want him to? If she managed to get away and live free, then she should enjoy it.

Not that that was even an option.

She was out of options, cornered, trapped. There was no stopping any of this now.

It seemed like her fate had already been decided. Thomas would never let her go. Simon would do whatever it took to make sure she went through with it.

She couldn’t help but imagine what her life would be like after the seemingly inevitable wedding.

He’d said she wouldn’t really be going out. That wasn’t much of a change really.

But he wanted kids. He would expect wifely duties from her. Amber knew she could never love Thomas, yet there was nothing she could do.

Now that he made it clear even ruining herself and losing any future marriage offers wouldn’t be enough, what more could she do?

And that brought her thoughts back to Christopher.

It was sweet of him to check on her and try to make her feel better, but she couldn’t help but feel like it had been more than a bit cruel to try and give her hope.

She didn’t understand why he would say any of it. Did he really believe it, or was he just trying to make her feel better?

Then again, it wasn’t like it mattered why he did it. There was nothing he could do to stop the marriage now.

There was nothing anyone could do to stop it.

Her eyes burned. Alone in the solitude of her room, she cried more tears.

She wanted nothing more than for darkness to pull her under, but it didn’t seem like it was going to happen anytime soon.

As she was laying there, a soft knock at her door interrupted her thoughts.

She shot up in bed. It had to be Christopher!

He must have come to tell her whatever his plan was.

Maybe it was something that could work. Maybe he had something they could hold over her cousin. Maybe if his plan wasn’t enough, if she talked to him, he would help her find a way to sneak off into the night never to be seen again.

A grin grew on her face at the thought.

Leaping to her feet she raced to the door, throwing it open as fast as she could.

“I’m so glad you came. I—” she cut herself off, heart sinking.

There was no one there.

But that couldn’t be right. She knew what she heard, but where did whoever it was go?

Why would they go?

Whoever it was must have snuck over here only to leave without saying a word, why?

Poking her head out, she looked down the hall, searching for any sign of whoever it was.

But there was no point. Whoever had once been there was long gone. Still, she had to try. She knew she hadn’t imagined the knocking.

As she stepped further out, she felt something under her foot. Looking down, she saw a small folded up note on the ground.

Glancing around, she picked it up off the ground before shutting herself back inside.

Staring at the folded paper, her hands shook. There was nothing written on the outside to indicate where it had come from, but it had to be from Christopher, didn’t it?

After all, who else would have come by to drop something like this off?

She was still telling herself that as her shaking hands picked it up, turning it over in her hands, looking for any sign of who could have possibly sent it.

But of course, there wasn’t any.

It was just a plain white paper of middling quality. Finally, she forced herself to unfolded the page.

She didn’t recognize the handwriting at first glance, lending more credibility that it could be Christopher.

Taking a deep breath, she read on.

Amber Parr

It read with no further greeting.

I have been watching you for some time, and I can’t help but notice you seem to have a particular attachment to a certain person.

In fact, I saw the two of you sneak off to the barn earlier today.

Now what business would two unmarried people possibly have alone in such a location?

I must admit I have a few theories.

Now, before we get ahead of ourselves, I should tell you, I am not the only one who has witnessed your illicit activities.

Of course, we are both more than happy to keep your dirty little secret. Tomorrow morning, you will be asked a very important question by a mutual acquaintance of ours. I think we both know who I’m talking about. The way to buy my silence is simple.

When he asks you, all you have to do is say yes.

Then that was how it ended. There was no sign off, no closing, and certainly no name. Amber could only speculate who it could be.

She knew the most likely answer was Simon, but as awful as he was, she wanted to believe he was above thinly veiled threats like this.

Not to mention whenever he had felt the need to apply pressure to her in the past, he had always done it in person. He always seemed to take a certain pleasure in it at that.

So why would he just send a note?

Even though she had retired for the night, he was her cousin and guardian.

No one would have turned him away from her room if he had tried to see her.

Maybe it was Thomas himself. He had already made it clear he knew about her and the Duke. Perhaps he wanted to make clear the consequences if she chose to spurn him.

Still, it should have been clear enough after their earlier conversation.

Panic filled her the longer she sat there.

There wasn’t enough air in the room.

Their plan hadn’t worked. Ruining herself, as much as she hadn’t wanted to do it, wouldn’t have been enough anyway.

And now, it wasn’t just her who would suffer the consequences. Christopher would be implicated in ways far worse than they had intended. What should have stayed the small subject of gossip at a party was now potentially all through the gossip pages.

That wasn’t even to mention the way this could harm Felicity.

She gasped, struggling to get her shaking hands under control.

She needed to run.

She needed to get out of there.

But where could she go?

It was too late.

Her fate was sealed. No one could help her.

She gasped for air.

Before she even knew what she was doing, Amber shoved to her feet, pulling on her dressing gown, and raced into the hall.