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But with her thread, she was able to make art in her own way. It also had the added benefit of being usable.

To her annoyance, the door swung open, and Simon stepped in. He studied her from the doorway for the moment.

“I hear you’re something of a little businesswoman,” he said.

She shrugged, keeping her eyes locked on her work. “Something like that. It isn’t much, just a way for me to earn some spending money of my own.”

He stepped deeper into the room. “Well, that stops now.”

“What? You can’t be serious!”

“I’m completely serious. There’s no reason for a woman of your stature to be engaged in such an endeavor.”

“I’m not ‘engaged’ in anything! It’s just something to do with all of the things I embroider. I make a lot of things, and I don’t have a need for all of them.”

“Then you can gift them to friends, but there’s no reason for you to sell them. You aren’t a businessman. You are a lady. What would the men of thetonthink of you if they knew what you were doing?”

“Any man who would have a problem with it is not someone I would want to marry.”

“Then it’s a good thing you have me now to guide you.”

“Oh really? And why is that?”

“Because if that’s how you feel, then you have no idea what you should look for.”

“I know what I want!”

“Too bad that what you want isn’t necessarily what’s smart. As I said, it’s a good thing you have me now to help you know what’s best for you.”

Amber gritted her hands into fists. “At the end of the day, it’s my choice. You can do what you want, but once I’m out?—”

He cut her off with a laugh. “Perhaps, but you have to be out first.”

She opened her mouth to protest, but he had already turned and walked from the room, leaving her alone.

Amber threw her hoop down, eyes burning. She needed to get out of here.

CHAPTER1

THREE YEARS LATER

“And then, Lord Rainhard lost his hat!”

“No! Whatever happened to it?”

“Who can say for sure? All I can say is the next thing we knew, it was floating down the river never to be seen again! And that’s the last time I will ever go to York!”

Amber forced out a polite laugh at Lord Darnly’s lackluster story. His stories were always so horribly dull, but she couldn’t let him know she thought that. It would be rude, and if she was rude, Simon would give her an earful. She didn’t have time to worry about that. She needed to focus. Amber turned her attention to the rest of the room as discreetly as she could, eyes still raking over the crowd, still turning up short. This would have been easier if she were at a larger gathering, but since Simon had yet to bring her into society, all Amber was able to attend were small house parties like this one.

There couldn’t have been more than fifteen or twenty guests. It would be almost impossible to find someone here who had even the slightest chance of working let alone agreeing to?—

“Have you had a bit too much to drink?” Mary, the Duchess of Wilton, the wife of one of Simon’s close friends, said, cutting off Amber’s thoughts. “That has to be at least the third time you’ve told that story tonight.”

The man scoffed, rolling his eyes, a good-natured smile on his rum flushed face. “I haven’t had more than a glass or two!”

Mary gave him a look.

“Perhaps I might have told that story once or twice, but it couldn’t possibly have been more than that. Besides, it is a great story. Can you blame me for wanting to tell it?”