The kiss was firm - strong, more passionate than Aurelia had ever intended. Not that she ever intended to kiss Anthony Bridgerton ever in her life, but once she did, she completely lost herself.

For a second, Anthony didn't move. He was in shock. Never in his wildest dreams did he think Aurelia would ever kiss him, not even if he was the last man on Earth. He didn't know what to do, what to think, how to move. It wasn't until Aurelia moved her hands up from gripping his lapels to the sides of his face, deepening the kiss, that his instincts finally kicked in.

He scooped her up into his arm and walked her backwards to perch her on the table she'd been sat on prior. One hand gripped onto her thigh, pulling her legs upwards to hook around his waist, clamping their bodies together.

Aurelia slid her hands underneath his jacket and slid it down his arms, dropping it to the floor, before pulling his shirt above his head and throwing it to the ground. His chest felt cold underneath her fingertips, still damp from the rain, yet his skin remained soft to touch. His heart beat hard against her palm.

Her brother's jacket and shirt were big enough to pull over her head and they quickly joined Anthony's at his feet, allowing his lips to travel down her neck and shoulders, planting kisses with every step. Aurelia plunged her fingers into his wet hair as her breath turned heavy, her head falling backwards to give him more surface to work with, as she closed her eyes.

Fog clouded her mind, his mouth casting a spell over her to the point where she could even think straight.

That was until a gunshot was fired a short distance away from the farmhouse.

"What was that?" Her head darted towards the door

"The forest is used for hunting," He said between kisses.

"When it's raining?" She questioned, pushing him away as she picked up her shirt and ran to the window. Peering out, she searched for the source of the sound and her eyes landed on two figures stalking across the field. "Someone is coming."

Anthony's head hung in defeat as he sighed, before turning to join her at the window. "No there's not..." He pulled back the lace curtain, and sure enough, two figures were drawing close.

Aurelia swung her head towards Anthony. "I thought you said this place was abandoned."

"It is," He protested, before realising that was obviously not the case. "It was."

"We need to get out of here," She said, pulling her brother's shirt back over her head and dashing for his jacket.

Anthony started to get dressed, too. "Where are we going to go?"

Aurelia flicked her gaze over to the door on the overside of the room. "Out the back."

As he tucked in his shirt, Anthony strode over and pulled on the handle. The door didn't budge. "It's locked."

"Well, can't you break it down, or something?" She asked, testing out the handle for herself. It refused to move.

Suddenly, voices echoed directly on the other side of the front door. "Hurry up, Arnold." The handle began to turn.

Frantically, the two of the searched for other possible escape routes, but the only way out of the kitchen was through into the bedroom, and for all either of them knew it would just lead to another dead end.

They had no other option.

"We have to hide under the bed," Anthony said.

Aurelia opened her mouth to argue, but Anthony didn't allow her the chance. Just as he pushed her into the bedroom, the front door opened and two sets of footsteps plodded in.

Dropping to the floor, Aurelia crawled under the bed, as the two figures strolled across the kitchen. Anthony wasn't going to make it, they were mere meters away from him and he was in their line of sight. He had to abandon the plan or risk getting caught.

He raced to the other side of the room and hid behind the side of the wardrobe, pressing his back into the wooden surface.

A split second later, he would have been seen.

A woman walked into the room, carrying her wet coat in her hands, before throwing it on the bed. Aurelia clamped her hand over her mouth, in an attempt to mute her heavy breath, watching a pair of boots stomp across the wooden floor towards the bed, and taking a seat on the mattress. The frame bent under their weight, nearly pushing into Aurelia's back.

"I told you a storm was coming," The woman yelled, lifting each foot one at a time, taking off her boots.

"Well, how was I supposed to know?" A man shouted from the kitchen. "Toni told me it never rained down in London."

"Toni is a half-wit," The lady yelled back, placing her now bare feet on the floor and wiggling the cramp out of her toes.

"He's my brother, Mona," He scoffed, his eye roll evident in his voice.

"I know, it runs in the family," She replied, laughing at her own joke. "Pass us the bag, I want to have a look at the money. You better have not lost any of it on the way over here."

Arnold plodded in, striding across the room to the bed and handing her a satchel made from old used rags. Flipping the top open, Mona peered inside, her eyes lighting up as bright as stars in the night sky. "That kid must have been someone special to pay this amount. Who did they say he was again?"

Uninterested, he shrugged. "Some Lord's son. I don't know. We don't ask questions, remember?"

Aurelia's eyes grew as she clocked on to who they were talking about. They were the people who took Athos. Her first instinct was to launch out from under the bed and demand they take her to him, but as they were the ones with the gun, her common sense took over and she remained in place.

"Well, whoever the boy was, he's just made us rich," Mona laughed. Grabbing fist fulls of coins, she let them drop back into the bag through her fingers, smiling as they clanged against the others. Each one a painful ring in Aurelia's ears, knowing they were the reason behind her family's suffering.

Yet, the couple's joy was cut short, when the sound of horses drawing near shot them to their feet in a panic.

"What was that?" The woman asked, rushing to the kitchen window to peer out. The second her eyes set on the outside, they landed on two men sat on horses, dressed in drenched riding clothes. "Bloody hell."

Once he'd joined her, Arnold ran his hand down his face. "Do you think they are looking for the kid?"

"Probably," The woman growled, before throwing the curtain closed and storming across the room. "We should have known they weren't going to let him go so easily. We need to get out of here before they find us."

The man nodded. "We can use the back door."

The pair sprinted to the other side of the kitchen, shimming the handle to get the door to budge open. When it didn't work, the man charged it at it. Once...twice...on the third try, the door flew off its hinges and landed on the damp grass. The woman grabbed the bag of money off the bed and they shot out into the rain.

Aurelia didn't risk letting them escape. 

"Aurelia, no!" Anthony shouted as she slid out from under the bed and charged out of the front door, to catch the attention of the men on the horses.

"They have Athos!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, pointing over to the couple disappearing into the distance.

"Aurelia?" One man questioned, and she instantly recognised the voice of her father.

When she reached his horse, she was struggling for breath. "They have Athos!" She waved her arm in the direction of the running pair.

Her father's eyes followed her arm and caught a glimpse of them vanishing into the wood. "Quick, go after them," He ordered the man accompanying them, who immediately raced off. 

Dismounting his horse, Lord Bradford stared at his daughter. "What are you doing out here?"

"Searching for my brother," She replied, her voice firm.

"By yourself?"

Aurelia turned her head back to the house, wondering if Anthony was still lurking inside. She couldn't confess to being alone with him in there, what would have father think? 

"Yes," She lied, nodding her head.

Lord Bradford sighed, annoyed with himself for believing that, for once in her life, she would follow his orders. "I told you to stay home." His eyes scanned her wet clothes. "What are you wearing?"

"Marcus' riding clothes," She answered.

Lord Bradford shook his head at her stubbornness, before mounting his horse and holding out his hand. "Come on, we're going home," He said.

Aurelia glanced back at the house again, wondering how Anthony would get home if they left him behind.

 "Why do you keep looking at that house?" Her father questioned.

"It's nothing," She lied to him once again.

"With you, Aurelia, it is never 'nothing'." Lord Bradford stated, but he didn't bother to ask her again. "Come along."

"Shouldn't we be following those people?" She asked, taking her father's hand and jumping on the back of the horse.

"Dominic will catch them," He insisted. "Besides, your mother will kill both of us if she ever finds out you snuck out in the middle of the night."

That, they could agree on. Lady Bradford's demeanour was grouchy as it was, never mind when her children directly disobeyed her orders. When Dominic caught them, they could squeeze out the information on Athos' location, and punish them for their crimes.

As for Anthony, Aurelia would have to deal with him later, without the watchful eye of her father. What they would discuss was another matter, but Aurelia was certain he was going to hold their kiss over her for as long as he could. She'd handed him the perfect form blackmail, and there wasn't a doubt in her mind he was going to use it.