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“It’s still rather impressive. My stitches have always been so unsightly, I would never dare to wear my own work. It’s such a shame. I always wished I was the kind of person who could give lovely handmade gifts, but it just isn’t to be.”

“Embroidery is a skill; you can get better at it with enough practice.”

“I could say the same thing to you about painting, but if I remember correctly, you said you gave it up because you didn’t think you were good at it.”

“You are right, but that had more to do with a lack of patience than anything else. If I’d stuck to it, I would probably be decent at it by now.”

“Sounds similar to what happens with me and embroidery.”

“How so?”

“I find myself coming back to it every now and again. When I do, I sit down with the best of intentions. I tell myself, this time I’m going to take it slow. This time I’m going to make something worth showing off, and for a while, I do take my time. Then a few hours pass, and I get impatient, so my stitches get bigger, spaced out more, and it isn’t long before I declare my sloppy mess a failure.”

“It sounds to me like you’re being too hard on yourself.”

“Somehow I doubt you’d say that if you saw any of my work.”

Amber lit up, squaring her shoulders. “Then you’ll just have to show me sometime.”

“No!” Felicity gasped.

Amber laughed. “Don’t worry, I won’t push you on it, but I do think you should sit with me while you work one day. I can give you an honest opinion on your technique, and it’s easier to be patient when you have something else to focus on, like conversation.”

“And I’m sure the better the conversation, the easier it is.”

“Yes, I would say so.”

“Then sure, why not? I can think of no one else I would be able to have such wonderful and easy conversation with.”

“We only just met.”

“Yes, and look at just how well we’re getting on! If anything, it would give us more time to get to know each other.” She leaned in with a grin. “Something tells me we will be seeing even more in the future.”

Amber blinked, heart pounding in her chest. “I- I’m not sure what you mean.”

“Don’t worry,” Felicity grinned. “I won’t say anything.”

Before she could collect her response and respond, Amber noticed Simon storming straight over to them.

“Oh no,” she sighed.

“What is it? What’s wrong?”

“My cousin is coming over. Please, don’t mention anything we talked about.”

Before she could say whether or not she had agreed, he was standing in front of them, a snake’s smile plastered on his face.

Her heart pounded in her chest. She could only pray Felicity would be true to her word and keep the details of their conversation to herself.

“Amber, dear,” he cooed in a sickly-sweet voice. “It’s getting late. Don’t you think you should get some sleep?”

“Is it?” she blinked, searching for a clock somewhere in the room. “I didn’t think it was even nine thirty!”

“It isn’t about the specific time. All that matters is that it’s getting late. At a minimum, it is far too late for someone who isn’t out yet. Why don’t I walk you to your room?”

“But it isn’t that late, and I’m not tired yet.”

“Amber is right,” Felicity cut in. “It really isn’t that late, and it is a small intimate gathering. It surely isn’t that bad for her to stay a little bit later.”