One week had passed since Aurelia stormed out of the Berbrooke ball, and her father had still not forgiven her. She made no attempt to appease her actions, she didn't see why she have to. Her father had made his opinion on the situation very clear, she was simply doing the same for her own. If he didn't like it, that was his problem.

However, no form of protest went unpunished in the Bradford family, so Aurelia was stuck babysitting her sister. Under the orders of both their parents, she had to ensure Evelyn went outside at least once every day to keep her face in the minds of any potential suitors since she, somehow, wiggled her way out of going to the Berbrooke ball.

As much as she hated to admit it, Aurelia was getting fed up with looking at her sister's stone-cold, emotionless face. She could be out looking for Athos, instead of trying to drag a dry conversation out of Evelyn. It would be much more productive and solve the latter issue in a heartbeat.

Lord Bradford disagreed.

After taking a sip of her tea, Aurelia placed her cup back on the saucer and turned to look at Evelyn's glum face. "Have you tried the cake? I think it must be a new recipe."

Her sister's mouth hardly moved. "Yes."

Whilst she had not expected her sister to have a miraculous recovery with a visit to Evelyn's favourite tea shop, Aurelia had at least hoped for a smile. She was lucky if she got a slow blink.

Pushing through, Aurelia asked, "Are you enjoying your tea?"

Her response didn't change. "Yes."

Her cup remained untouched, full to the brim and cold. If their mother was there, she would have scolded her for the waste of water.

"Have you tried..."

"Please stop asking me questions, Aurelia," Evelyn finally snapped, her tongue as sharp as a dagger. "I don't want to answer them."

For a second, Aurelia sat speechless, taken back by her sister's sudden outburst. "We will find him, Evelyn."

Without a second's hesitation, Evelyn replied, "You mean father's men will. They are the only ones doing anything about it."

Aurelia couldn't hide her hurt. "I went looking for him the first night he went missing."

"Don't remind me," Evelyn scoffed, folding her arms across her chest. "Father has had his eyes on us ever since your little stunt at the farmhouse." Aurelia was shocked by how ungrateful she was being. "What were you even doing out there in the first place? In our brother's clothes, no less."

"I'll go in my ball gown next time," She spat, leaning back in her seat as she took another sip of her tea.

Evelyn's eyes swam over her sister's entire body, as she narrowed her stare. "I don't like it when you hide things from me."

"I'm not hiding anything," Aurelia protested. Just a kiss or two with Anthony Bridgerton, but her sister really didn't need to know about that. "You're the one who has been hiding in your room for the past week."

"I am upset," Evelyn gasped at her sister's low blow.

"We are all upset, Evelyn." Aurelia barked back. "The difference is that we are doing something about it."

Furiously fighting back the tears, Evelyn probed, "Who is this 'we', Aurelia? Father? Mother? That one attempt made by you? No one is doing anything."

"If you hadn't taken your eyes off Athos in the first place, we wouldn't even be having this conversation, right now."

Aurelia's hands clamped down onto her mouth, shocking herself that she'd said such a thing. She didn't mean it, not in the way that it came out, but it was too late now to take any of her words back now.

Evelyn's eyes filled up and her lips began to twitch as she stood up from her seat. "I'm leaving." Whipping her body around she began to march towards the door.

Aurelia sprang to her feet to follow her. "Evelyn!" Her sister nearly slammed the door in her face, but luckily she was able to catch it. "Wait for me!"

With the tears blinding her vision, Evelyn couldn't see where she was walking and her body slammed into a man standing on the street. "I'm so sorry." She cleared her eyes of tears and looked up at the stranger, causing her heart to skip a beat. "Lord Bridgerton? Please, forgive me."

Anthony Bridgerton stood in the street, dressed rather casually for a Sunday afternoon. While most families would be spending time with each other in Hyde Park or tea rooms, he appeared as if he'd only just gotten up - most likely, out of somebody else's bed.

Aurelia would have slammed into her sister's back once she'd caught up, but the shock of seeing her standing with Viscount Bridgerton froze her to the spot. They hadn't seen each other since their kiss in the corridor, nor since Roman had warned her about the suspicious amount of time they'd been spending with each other.

"I am glad to see you are feeling better, Miss Bradford," Anthony bowed his head to Evelyn, "we missed you are the Berbrooke ball."

"Yes," Evelyn's voice turned raspy, as if her throat her gone dry, "it is a shame I missed it. I heard it was quite eventful."

Anthony's eyes darted to Aurelia, concerned she had split their secret with her sister.

"She is referring to me abandoning Mr Yaxley on the dance floor," She informed him, calming his suspicions.

"Obviously, Aurelia," Evelyn rolled her eyes. "What else would I be referring to?"

Anthony only just managed to conceal his sigh of relief. "Miss Bradford, I hope you don't regard me as forward, but I would like to introduce you to Mr Russo." He gestured to a man who stood behind him.

Both Aurelia and her sister's eyes grew wide. He was the most handsome man either of them had ever seen. Tanned skin, thick black hair, deep brown eyes...his list of attractive attributes went on and on.

"Siniora Bradford," He greeted Evelyn, taking hold of her hand and planting a small kiss on her knuckles.

He was Italian!

"Mr Russo," Evelyn tried not to blush.

"Mr Russo and I attended Oxford together," Anthony informed her, "he is visiting from Sicily."

The Bradford's had never visited Sicily, but if she'd known that gentlemen like Mr Russo dwelled there, Evelyn would have demanded they paid the country a visit at once.

"I hear you lived in Rome for some years," Mr Russo said, unable to take his eyes off the eldest Bradford daughter.

"Yes, we did," She smiled.

"Did you miss the British rain?" He asked, sarcasm laced into his every word.

"Yes," Evelyn laughed for the first time since Athos went missing, "rather."

Mr Russo cleared his throat. "I know we have only just met, but if you don't think it too bold, I would love it if you accompanied me on a walk around Hyde park."

"That sounds wonderful," She gushed, her smile somehow widening.

He held out his arm, gesturing down the street, and the pair set off together towards the park.

Aurelia had never felt so invisible in her life.

After waiting a few seconds, watching the pair leave, Anthony sharply turned to Aurelia. "We need to talk."

"We have nothing to talk about," She snapped, not even bothering to spare him a glance as she spun around and marched off in the opposite direction.

Anthony was forced to chase her. "What did Roman say?"

"That he loved me once, that's all," She replied, trying to act nonchalant. "exactly what he told you at Oxford."

"That's it?"

"Yes." She nodded her head, before adding, "Why did you imply you knew more?"

A beat went by before Anthony could formulate a response. "I had a theory and I wanted to know if it was true."

Aurelia rolled her eyes, ashamed that she allowed herself to so easily fall into one of his traps. "Why did it matter?"

If he was being totally honest, he didn't know. At the time, he'd just wanted to wind her up, but now, he had a deep desire to know every detail. All he could do was shrug. "I'm not sure."

Stopping in her tracks, Aurelia frowned and slowly turned to face him, confused by what game he was playing. "How very unlike you."

Anthony didn't respond.

"Please leave me alone Lord Bridgerton," Aurelia sighed, fed up with whatever trick he was trying to pull. "People are beginning to question the nature of our relationship and unlike you, I would like to be married by the end of the season."

She didn't give him the chance to bite back. Whipping around on her heels, she disappeared up the street, leaving him to stand alone.

As much as she hated to admit it, what Roman said was true. If she was to be taken seriously this season, it was about time she put in the effort. Conversations with the gentlemen of London could be dire, but there had to be at least one she could tolerate - someone she could learn to love. Wasting time with Anthony Bridgerton was only going to get in her way.

It was in her best interest to never speak to him again.