The next week, the Bridgertons came to visit. Lord Bradford, Marcus, Anthony, Benedict and Colin stood in the gardens behind the house, each with a rifle in hand, cheering the others on when they hit their target.

Lady Bradford, Lady Bridgerton and Aurelia all sat under a gazebo, with more than enough cakes and teas to rival the gala. Evelyn stayed for a while, but once Athos got fussy she volunteered to take him for a walk by the lake. To the Bradfords' surprise, Daphne was in attendance too, to practise her social skills (her mother claimed), and so far she was impressing her hosts.

The event was rather dull. Other than the cakes being nice, the only thing that made it bearable was Anthony being too distracted shooting with brother her. His words had haunted her all night, another wasted sleep worrying about what Anthony Bridgerton had done. He was only fooling himself if he thought she could ever be jealous of him being with another woman. She couldn't care less if she tried.

And try, she did.

"Why do they find this so entertaining?" Daphne asked, curiously watching the men a few meters down the lawn. "It is rather barbaric."

"It makes them feel powerful, Daphne. It makes them feel like men," Violet Bridgerton informed her.

Aurelia scoffed. "They must have extremely low self-esteem if shooting tiny clay birds makes them feel powerful."

"Aurelia!" Lady Bradford scolded her, her eyes forming daggers in her daughter's direction.

"I have to agree, Aurelia," Violet stated, before popping a piece of cake into her mouth. "I've never really understood the sport myself. Though, it keeps them busy."

What men found entertaining confused Aurelia. Surely, they could do something much more productive with their time.

"Mama said Marcus took up shooting in Italy, Lady Bradford. Is it popular out there?" Daphne questioned, pretending to show interest in her hosts' lives, just like her mother had instructed her.

"Relatively," Lady Bradford hummed, "but only as much as it is out here."

"They tended to shoot at each other more than at clay birds," Aurelia added, much to her mother's dismay.

"Please excuse my daughter," Lady Bradford tried to contain her growl, "I don't know what has gotten into her today."

Violet Bridgerton laughed. "It's quite alright, Lady Bradford. I rather enjoy Aurelia's little anecdotes." Whilst Lady Bradford smiled, Aurelia knew it held no happy meaning. "How have you been enjoying the season, Aurelia?"

"It's everything I have ever dreamed of," Aurelia lied. The season had been anything but. Balls were nothing like the ones in the fairytales, and neither were the knights in shining armour. The whole summer had been a massive letdown.

"I hear you promenaded with Mr Yaxey yesterday," Violet probed, hoping to extract some talk-worthy gossip.

Aurelia's jaw clenched. She'd been rather hoping she had made a lucky escape from the rumours of his presence reaching her mother's ears. How could she ever be so stupid? Nothing stays secret in London.

"Yaxley?" Lady Bradford nearly choked on her tea. "As in Roman Yaxley."

"Yes, Mama," Aurelia sighed, anticipating the storm that was about to rain down on her. She turned to Violet to set things right. "It was more of a chance meeting than a promenade."

Violet understandably nodded her head, realising she'd made a mistake bringing him up. "He is a fine young gentleman. He went to Oxford with Anthony."

"If he is an acquaintance of my brother, I doubt we can describe him as 'fine'," Daphne stated through a laugh.

"Daphne Bridgerton." Violet's jaw dropped agape, horrified her daughter could speak so ill of, not only her brother but gentlemen she had never even meant.

"Sorry, Mama," Daphne said, pretending to feel remorseful for her remark, all while concealing the smirk tugging at the corner of her lips.

"What was Roman Yaxley doing at such an event?" Lady Bradford questioned, still flustered by the news.

"The same as we were, Mama," Aurelia casually replied, "Socialising."

Lady Bradford huffed, certain the true motivation behind his appearance lay with a reason much more vulgar. "I thought he would go back to Italy after school."

"He was travelling," Violet informs her, "he lives in London."

"I don't want you talking to that boy, Aurelia," Lady Bradford warned her daughter, ignoring Violet's comment entirely, "I thought I made myself very clear on that matter whilst we were away."

Aurelia rolled her eyes. "Yes, Mama." She feared, even married, that her mother would forever treat her like a child.

Wishing to dispel the tension that had grown, Voilet changed the subject. "Has Evelyn had many suitors?"

Lady Bradford shook her head and sighed. "Little to none. Not that she has tried very hard to look." To be truthful, between looking after Athos and not caring about a single man she had met since returning to Mayfair, Evelyn was not interested in finding a husband. "I don't know what I am doing wrong, Violet. It is as if my daughters are plagued."

It was hard not to take offence to her mother's words, but it was not the worse Aurelia had heard from her mother's lips.

Whilst Lady Bradford ranted about her disappointment in her children, Daphne took the opportunity to discuss a topic with Aurelia that she had been very eager to talk to her about. "I thought you were very brave when you called my brother an arse," She whispered, leaning in so her words didn't reach their mother's ears. "It was about time someone told him to his face."

"I don't think he shares the same sentiment," Aurelia replied, glancing over to Anthony who was celebrating a direct hit.

She thought her gaze would go unnoticed, but it was as if he could feel her eyes on him, and his own locked onto her. For a moment, the pair just stared at each other, doing or saying nothing. For the first time, they looked at each other with no hatred, but curiosity. Benedict had to hit him on the arm to regain his focus.

"I'm glad you didn't apologise either," Daphne said, pulling Aurelia back into the real world.

A small frown graced her forehead. "I did apologise."

"Not according to him," Daphne shook her head. "He was raving to Mama about it the next day for hours, saying how crude it was of you not to offer a single 'sorry' for humiliating him in front of his family."

A heavy exhaled 'ha' escaped her mouth, as her jaw fell slightly ajar. Aurelia couldn't believe her ears. How dare he spread lies about that night and soil her good name. It made her question what else he'd been telling other people. What lies had he been spinning in his gentlemen's clubs? It would explain why she had no interest from suitors, he'd been whispering falsehoods in their ears, driving them away. His madness needed to be stopped at once.

"Mama!" Evelyn's cry ripped through the garden. She ran up the lawn, holding the skirt of her dress to her hips, tears streaming down her eyes.

"Evelyn, what's the meaning of this?" Lady Bradford scolded her, embarrassed that her guests could see her in such a state.

"It's Athos," She sobbed, her hand pressed hard against her chest, "he's gone."

"Gone where?" She questioned, not an ounce of sorrow in her voice, as would have been expected of a mother who'd just been informed her child had gone missing.

On seeing his daughter's anguish, Lord Bradford marched over to her side. "Evelyn, what's happened?"

She clutched onto his arm, struggling to breathe. "I can't find Athos. We were just walking by the lake and when I looked down he had vanished."

"He will have just wandered off," Violet tried to offer her some comfort, but it landed on deaf ears. Evelyn was too distraught.

"Aurelia, take your mother and sister inside," Lord Bradford instructed, "and give Evelyn some tea to help her calm down."

Aurelia wasn't entirely sure what the tea was supposed to do, but that was the least of her concerns. "Where are you going?"

"To look for your brother," He replied.

"We will help you." Anthony jumped in, and both of his brothers nodded in agreement.

"Thank you, Lord Bridgerton," He bowed his head in gratitude.

"I am coming, too," Aurelia insisted. She couldn't sit around waiting for her brother to turn up, she would drive herself mad with worry. They needed an extra set of eyes.

Lord Bradford held her by her shoulders, grateful for her offer. Judging by the 'protective father' expression glowing on his face, her offer was going to be declined. "I need you to stay here and look after our guests."

The Bridgertons were the last thing on her mind. Athos was out there, lost and most likely scared - the more people they had out looking for him the quicker he would be found. Aurelia opened her mouth to refuse, but Lord Bradford interjected before she could. "Your mother and sister need you."

He had put her in a duty-bound choke hold. Her mother didn't have one sympathetic bone in her body, Evelyn deserved some emotional support. Whilst she would rather be out searching for her brother, her sister needed her more.

With a nod of her head, the men set off down to the lake, calling out the young Bradford's name, as Aurelia ushered everyone else inside.

For now, she was would comply with her father's demands, but if Athos had not returned by nightfall, she would go search for him herself.