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“That’s very kind of you to say, but you hardly know the first thing about me.”

“As I said, I don’t need to. If you are a friend of my brother, then I just know you must be pretty great.”

Amber opened her mouth to reply, but before she could, a footman entered the room.

“Dinner has been served. Please follow me to the dining room.”

As they walked, Amber felt a hand clamp down around her arm, yanking her away.

CHAPTER2

Amber nearly let out a yelp in shock as the hand on her wrist tightened, pulling her away from the others. Her heart pounded in her chest, every fiber of her body screaming at her to find a way to escape. She looked up to see her cousin, Simon, glaring down at her.

“I’ve been looking for you.”

“Why? What is it? Did you need something?” She forced her voice to stay level.

He scoffed. “I think you know what this is about.”

She pulled her arm from his hands. “Do we?”

“Yes,” he nodded, eyes harder than stone. “You do. Now, stop trying to fight me on this.”

“I’m not fighting you on anything.”

“That’s good because if you were, you wouldn’t win. Now, come on already. I have someone to introduce you to. It ideally would have happened as soon as we arrived, but you ran off the second we were through the door for some reason.”

Amber looked away, crossing her arms, “It was nothing. I only had something I needed to talk to Mary about.”

“I’m sure you did. What might that be if I might ask?”

“You cannot ask.” Amber replied. “Conversations between ladies should stay between ladies.”

“Is that what you think you are? A lady?”

She squared her shoulders. “It’s what my father's title made me. It's what I always will be.”

It was a small act of defiance, but it was one, nonetheless. Simon wanted deference. He wanted Amber to show that she knew her place. She had no land or money of her own. Everything she had came from him.

So she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.

She would hold her head high and make sure he knew that she knew her worth and value even if he told her that she was wrong. It was a small victory, but sometimes, those are the most important to celebrate.

And celebrate she did. When she saw the rage spark in his eyes, she had to fight the urge to grin. Still, some victories were best celebrated in private, so for now, she would simply tuck the memory away to savor when she was finally blessed with permission to return to her room and lock herself away from the others for the night.

For now, she kept her face a mask of unreadable emotions even as his eyes bore into her.

“Perhaps that was true once, but he is not here now. I am here now, and at the moment, you are nobody. You are simply my cousin. You had best keep that in mind.”

“I am well aware of our relationship.”You would hardly dare let me forget for even a single moment.

“You had better be. I hope you won’t forget again.”

For once, she held her tongue.

Simon once more snatched up her wrist. “Bear it in mind, and come with me. We have kept him waiting long enough.”

“Slow down!” she called, struggling to keep up after him.