By the evening, the date was set. Lord Harrington and Aurelia would be promenading (riding) around Hyde Park (the Harrington estate) under the watchful eyes of his sister and her husband. She'd be lying if she didn't say she was excited. They were halfway through the season, and somehow she managed to coax the Lord of one of the wealthiest families out of hiding - not to mention, the most handsome. It seemed her luck had changed and Lady Danbury was right, she would hear wedding bells before the season was done.

Lord Harrington had invited the whole family to watch a polo match being held on his estate, a request he had barely even finished before Lady Bradford accepted the invitation. She wasn't willing to risk her daughter's future by hesitating.

Only a few select members of the ton were asked to attend, a fact her parents revelled in, leaving her sister, Evelyn, under strict instructions to mingle with as many Lords and their eldest sons as possible.

She didn't appear enthused.

Aurelia spent the majority of the event standing on the sidelines of the playing field, watching Lord Harrington win match after match, silently cheering him on, so as not to appear too eager for his affection.

He looked so grand on his horse, like a prince in one of the fairytales she used to read as a child, perfect in every way imaginable. She couldn't help but picture what he would look like on his wedding day, how handsome he'd look stood in front of the altar as his wife walked down the aisle, or how much he'd smile once she reached his position. He was literally everything she had dreamed of.

"He is a tremendous player," A man stated next to her, turning her dream into a nightmare. "I hadn't expected to see him play, since he retired from social events."

Aurelia sighed and rolled her eyes, not in the mood to play any more of Anthony Bridgerton's games. "Well, it appears he is back."

"Apparently so." He smiled.

Aurelia refused to look up at him, or feel the need to dignify him with a sideways glance. Her sights remained on Lord Harrington, and nothing - or no one - could sway it.

"Rumours say he intends to marry," Anthony continued, trying to pry a response out of her.

Aurelia smirked. "I don't think you are his type, Lord Bridgerton." She struggled to keep the amusement of her own joke off her face.

"I think we share one thing in common," He continued to taunt her. "Has he kissed you, yet?"

Aurelia's head snapped upwards. "What kind of question is that?"

"I take that as a 'no', then," He smirked to himself, secretly pleased that their relationship hadn't progressed that far yet.

Annoyed with herself for caving to his whim so easily, Aurelia turned her focus back onto the game. "How did you even know he called for me?"

"We're neighbours, Aurelia," He stated. "With windows."

She shuddered at the thought. How many times had he been watching her family, how many hours of his day did he waste sitting at a window ledge? She never thought he would act so desperate. "Is your life that dull that you entertain yourself by watching the comings and goings of my front gate?"

The amused grin dropped from Anthony's face. He knew she was being sarcastic, but the idea that she could paint him as a peeping tom so easily didn't sit well with him. "Why are you entertaining him?"

"This concept might be a bit foreign to you, but he is actually a kind gentleman," She bluntly answered. Anthony Bridgerton couldn't understand 'kind' or 'being a gentleman' if they hit him in the face. It was a good job he didn't want to get married, because after a few hours with him any woman would grow to detest him.

"You mean boring," He corrected her.

"No, I mean kind," She stood her ground. Of course, he thought any man acting in any other way than his own should be considered as such. Anthony Bridgerton would never describe himself as boring, never in his wildest dreams. "Why does it matter to you? I thought you planned on being a bachelor for the rest of your life."

"I will marry someday," He shrugged.

Aurelia frowned. She'd always know that he would have to, the Bridgerton line couldn't end with him, but the way he said it almost sounded like he wanted to, like the idea no longer terrified him as it did before.

"Well, I suggest you start working on that instead of bothering me," She snapped out of her daze, desiring to waste no more time on Anthony Bridgerton. "Now, you will have to excuse me, I need to find my sister."

She hadn't yet had a chance to corner her sister and demand she spilt her secret about Italy, their mother had whisked her away to the modiste immediately after Lord Harrington had left to buy the perfect dress for their 'walk'. She had to know what her sister was hiding, especially if it was her parents who demanded that she kept it secret.

Rushing through the crowd, she scanned every feature on the sea of faces, looking for her sister. When her eyes finally landed on her, she called out her name.

Evelyn nearly jumped out of her skin, but didn't hesitate a single second to run when she saw it was her sister requesting an audience.

"Evelyn, don't run away from me," Aurelia shouted, chasing after her. She had always been a better runner than her sister, so it didn't take very long for her to catch up. She grabbed hold of her arm and spun her around. "You promised you'd tell me about Italy."

Evelyn sighed, her breath heavy from exhaustion. "That was a mistake. I promised Mama and Papa that I wouldn't say a thing."

"It's too late for that now. Tell me," Aurelia demanded, refusing to go easy on her. She can't dangle half a secret in front of her like a fish to a cat, it was cruel and beyond irritating.

"Aurelia, I -" She started, but was swiftly cut off by a loud shout.

"Aurelia!" Roman was racing towards them, his face red with panic.

"Roman, what is it?"

"I've found him," He huffed between breaths. "I know where Athos is."

Aurelia's heart jumped into her throat. "Where?"

"The Ashworths have him."

I glanced over to Evelyn, assuming she would have the same confused expression on her face. Why on Earth would the Ashworths want to kidnap Athos? Instead, Evelyn's eyes lit up, as if she was questioning herself as to why she had never thought of the possibilities before.

"We have to tell Papa," I tell her, turning to hunt Lord Bradford down.

"No, Aurelia, wait," Evelyn grabbed hold of her, stopping her dead in her tracks.

I couldn't believe what she was doing. From the moment our little brother was taken, all she had done was moan that no one was taking the search seriously. Now we knew where he was, and she was telling me to stop. "They kidnapped our brother, Evelyn. They broke up our family."

"He is part of their family, too." She utter, her words barely making it passed her lips.

My retort was ready to fire from my lips but was stopped when her confession fully sank in. "What are you talking about?"

She opened her mouth but closed it almost instantly, as a pained expression danced across her face. Taking a deep breath in, she forced herself to spit out the truth. "Athos is Lord and Lady Ashworth's grandson." My heart stopped. "I'm his mother."