Page 77 of Her Infuriating Duke

“I do.”

Felicity teased, “But you aren’t friends.”

“Felicity, do you really think now is the time to worry about this?” he scoffed.

“Sorry, I was just worried about Amber. You know I tend to turn to humor when I’m stressed.”

“I know, but you don’t need to worry, I’ll let her know that you’re thinking about her and do my best to fill you in on what happened as much as she’s comfortable with.”

“Please do. Now go; you need to make sure she’s all right.”

“I will,” he said then slipped away.

“Good luck.”

Christopher nodded then made his way into the hall.

Standing in the hall, he heard the sound of someone crying softly. His heart ached as he followed the sound down the hall.

Just outside the parlor, there were a few people still milling around. He glanced at either end of the hall before he decided to go back towards the parlor they had hidden away in when Amber first suggested her hairbrained plan.

Once he made it into that hall, it didn’t take him long to find her. She was just a few feet from the door, slumped on the floor with her back pressed against the wall. Her head was tucked in her knees as she wept.

“Amber,” he called softly, coming to kneel beside her. He wanted to reach out to her but pushed the urge down for the moment. “Did something happen?”

She didn’t say anything or even acknowledge that he was there. The only indication she was even aware was that her arms tightened around herself ever so slightly.

He sighed, hesitantly placing a hand on her back. “It’s all right. You don’t need to say anything if you don’t want to. Just take a second and let it out.”

She still didn’t say anything, but she leaned subtly into his hand. Christopher let out a sigh of relief at the subtle acknowledgement and began rubbing his hand up and down her back.

For a long time, neither of them said a word. The only sound came from her quiet sobs. Christopher wished he knew what more he could do to help, but for the moment, the best he could do was stay beside her and wait for her to be ready to tell him what she needed to say.

For a while, all it seemed she needed was a moment away from others with someone who cared. Still, the longer it went on, the more Christopher found himself wondering if he was doing enough to comfort her.

But it wasn’t like there was much else he could do, at least not as far as he could tell.

It didn’t seem to matter much. In time, her cries slowed before eventually stopping all together.

Finally, she lifted her red, tear-stained face from her knees and began trying to wipe her face clean. Wordlessly, he held out a handkerchief which she took with a stiff, unnatural motion. It was a bit like watching a well carved marionette puppet being handled by someone for the first time. Stilted and jerky.

For a while, they continued to sit in silence. After another few minutes, Amber finally spoke.

“Sorry about that,” she said in a voice far too calm for how tear-streaked her face still was and how red and puffy her eyes were. It was the kind of voice you only had if you were frequently interrupted and used to pretending not to cry.

“It’s all right,” he quickly moved to reassure her. “Whatever happened, somehow, I doubt you have anything to apologize for. Everyone needs some time away from everything to just let it out every now and then. From what I’ve seen, you had a stressful past few days. I don’t blame you for needing a minute or two.”

She scoffed. “I should be better at keeping my composure than this. Anyone could have walked by and seen me.”

“I don’t know. I think you managed to find a private enough spot; besides, they didn’t, and that’s what matters.”

She just shook her head. “It isn’t appropriate,” she repeated. “Simon would not have been pleased if word got back to him about my behavior. I wouldn’t want to see his reaction.”

“And you care about that, do you? Pleasing him? Keeping him happy? Because I thought part of our plan was to do something that would have caused him great upset.”

Amber said nothing, her scowling eyes locked on the wall in front of them. She crossed her arms, hugging herself close.

“Do you want to talk about it or just take a minute to get yourself under control.”

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