Two weeks had flown by and Aurelia stuck to her word. She attended every ball, danced with every eligible gentleman, and put as much distance between herself and Anthony Bridgerton as possible. Her mind was focused solely on impressing the ton's young elite, and more importantly, their mamas.

So far, her new plan had worked.

"Goodness. Another?" Lady Bradford gasped, beaming with pride, as a maid scurried into the room with a huge flower arrangement. Pinks of every shade shone brightly from the petals, and the flowers themselves were bigger than Aurelia's head. The bouquet was impressive, indeed.

"For Aurelia, no doubt," Evelyn scoffed from the sofa, picking at the skin around her nails.

"Jealous is unbecoming, Evelyn," Her mother warned her, rushing over to see who the flowers were from.

Aurelia leaned over to her sister, and whispered so their mother could not hear, "What happened with Mr Russo?"

"I don't know," She shrugged in the most unlikely manner. "We had a lovely time in Hyde Park and then nothing."

Aurelia was shocked to hear the news. Evelyn was known for her charm and grace, not to mention how infatuated with her Mr Russo seemed when they were introduced. The only conclusion she could come up with for his lack of courting was that Evelyn hadn't conducted herself properly in the park. Did her grief over Athos' disappearance distract her?

"From Mr Francis Walton," Lady Bradford grimaced, scanning the note attached to the bouquet. "We can dispose of them."

"Mama!" Aurelia scolded her, shocked she would be so quick to rid the house of such a lovely arrangement.

"You have options now, Aurelia," Her mother informed her. "Titled options." A fact of which, Lady Bradford was most pleased. "If you have Lords fighting for your affections, we don't need to concern ourselves with the riff-raff. Your father is impressed."

"Speaking of father," Evelyn interjected, "where is he?"

"He had business to deal with," Lady Bradford dismissed her question as if it was nothing more than dust on her shoulder.

"He seems to have a lot of business to deal with lately," Evelyn remarked with a narrow glare.

"Well, with running the accounts and searching for Athos, he is a very busy man," Her mother replied, sharply. "Now that your sister is taking the season seriously, she has taken a lot of work off his hands. Something he is very grateful for."

Evelyn ignored her mother's passive-aggressive taunt.

"Has there been any news on Athos?" Aurelia dared to ask.

"It is best to keep it from your mind," Lady Bradford smiled at her, "he will turn up."

"He is not a dog, Mama," Evelyn barked, horrified she could speak of his disappearance in such a causal manner.

"Do you not think I know that already, Evelyn? I am his mother." Lady Bradford fired back, her voice harsh against her throat.

Evelyn didn't hesitate to match her tone, as she stood to her feet. "Well, it's about time you started acting like it!"

Within a mere matter of seconds, Evelyn marched out of the room and slammed the door so hard that the force shook the paintings on the wall.

Her mother sighed, annoyed that her eldest daughter could act in such a childish manner. Aurelia stared at her mother, unsurprised by the lack of guilt radiating from her face, before deciding to chase after her sister.

-----

Evelyn was already halfway down the corridor by the time Aurelia made it out of the door. "Evelyn!" She shouted after her, but she didn't even flinch.

Aurelia rushed after her, lifting her skirt up to avoid tripping on the material as she ran. Her older sister still ignored her when she called her name again, forcing Aurelia to catch up with her and physically bring her to a halt.

"What was that?" Aurelia asked out of breath, grabbing onto her arm.

Evelyn's eyes were on her sister like wildfire. "I am just tired of everyone pretending that everything is alright," She spat. "Athos has been missing for a month, and we are no closer to finding him than the day he disappeared."

Aurelia understood her pain, but throwing tantrums was not helping anyone. If anything, it was causing more problems. "You don't have to take it out on Mama."

"Oh," She began to laugh, "so you are on her side now that you are the favourite child?"

"I am not on her side," She scoffed, shocked she could even suggest a thing. "I'm on nobody's side."

Evelyn didn't believe her sister, but she had no counterargument to fire back. "I just wished she'd take it more seriously."

On that, they could agree. "I know she doesn't show it, but she is hurting too. Athos is her son."

Evelyn folded her arms across her chest and let her eyes drift to the ground. "I suppose."

Aurelia narrowed her stare. "What does that mean?" Her question was met by silence. "You can't be angry at me for hiding things and then keep secrets yourself." Still no answer. "What is it, Evelyn?"

"I promised not to tell." She replied, sharply, unable to stare her sister in the eye.

"Not to tell what?" Aurelia pushed, unsatisfied with her response.

"Father would kill me."

"What are you talking about?"

She bit down on her bottom lip and glanced towards the room where their mother still lingered, as if she check whether there was a chance she'd be able to hear the conversation. "You have to swear not to say a word to anyone."

Aurelia nodded her head. "I promise."

Evelyn took a deep breath in, as she tried to formulate her confession in her head. "The reason we moved to Italy was..."

"Aurelia!" Lady Bradford's voice shrieked down the corridor, causing both her daughters to jump out of their skin. "Lord Harrington is here," She continued, her body hanging out of the doorway. "For you."

Aurelia turned back to Evelyn, knowing that whilst their mother was in earshot, there was no way she was going to hear the end of that sentence. Just as the truth danced on her sister's tongue, it was quickly snatched away. She refused to let it slide, it would soon see the light of day again. "We will finish this conversation later."

Evelyn nodded and left her sister to deal with their visitor.

Aurelia watched her go, craving to run after her and demand her to speak the last few words. Why had they really gone to Italy? Her parents had told her it was so Evelyn could attend her school, but if she'd learnt anything since returning to England, they are all capable of keeping their secrets.

There was little Aurelia could do other than wait to speak to her sister again.