Aurelia went numb. Every muscle, every fibre of her being completely shut down, forgetting how to work or move. It was a lie. It had to be. There was no possible way Evelyn could be Athos' mother, no way Athos was Aurelia's nephew. Evelyn just didn't want to tell her the real secret that their parents wanted her to keep, so she made up a dramatic story about how Athos wasn't their brother.

"That's not funny, Evelyn," She was finally able to utter, breaking out of her trance.

"It isn't a joke," Her sister replied. She knew Aurelia would react like that, she was too stubborn not to.

"Do you really expect me to believe you are Athos' mother?" Aurelia scoffed, a harsh laugh escaping her lips. "I think I would have noticed if you'd been pregnant for 9 months."

She thought she'd caught her out. How was she going to explain that detail? How would she be able to keep up her story missing out that tiny, yet vital fact?

"Not if I went away for school," Evelyn answered.

Aurelia's mouth fell open as all the information began to knit together. "That's why we went to Italy." The sudden unannounced move, the school Aurelia couldn't go to no matter how many times she begged her parents, Athos' appearance without any preparation. Her parents wanted to keep it a secret from the ton - their friends - to give their daughters a chance at finding marriages.

"I'm sorry, Aurelia. I promised I wouldn't tell anyone," Evelyn rapidly stated, sensing her sister's distress and hurt. "No one would marry me if they found out, and you would have been caught in the crossfire for just being related to me. I couldn't do that to you, I know how much you wanted to get married."

Aurelia met her with an icy glare. "I would rather my family hadn't lied to me for the past six years. Did they all know?"

Evelyn shook her head. "Just Mama and Papa, Marcus doesn't know anything." Aurelia thought it would help to know that her brother was out of the loop too, but it did nothing.

"We will tell Father we know where he is and demand that the Ashworths return him," She said, trying to formulate a start to a plan.

Evelyn sighed. "It's not that simple."

"How?" Aurelia barked, beginning to lose her temper. "They know you are his mother, they can't stand in your way."

"Exactly. They know," She said, her eyes drifting to the ground. "If we try and take him back they will tell everyone. We will be banished from society."

Aurelia couldn't believe what she was hearing. How could her sister be so selfish? "That is the last thing on my list of priorities, right now. He is your son, he should be by your side."

"No one will marry you if it were to get out," She insisted, stopping at nothing to get her sister to abandon the plan.

"Are you being serious, right now?" Aurelia choaked, her stomach tying itself in knots. "If you really think marriage is more important to me than my own family, Evelyn, you don't know me at all."

Evelyn opened her mouth but no words came out, only tears fell down her cheeks. Aurelia didn't feel an ounce of sympathy for her, anger raced through her veins, turning her sight red. "We are getting Athos back. Today."

She couldn't stand to be around her sister any longer. Barging past her and slamming into her shoulder on the way, Aurelia stormed away from the match, trying her hardest to conceal her rage from the other guests. She would have gotten away with it too, if Roman hadn't made such a scene chasing after her.

"Aurelia, stop!" He yelled. She tried to ignore him, but it was made impossible when he caught up to her and blocked her tracks. "Your sister has a point. You'd be throwing away your whole future." Aurelia rolled her eyes and tried to step past him. "What about Lord Harrington?"

"If rumours about my sister's private life are all it takes for him to end our courtship, why would I want to get married to him in the first place?" She fired back at him, hurt by how easy it was for him to take her sister's side.

"You're angry," He stated as if it wasn't already obvious to her. "Take a day to calm down and then you can think through your options."

He was mad if he really thought she was going to heed his advice. "My brother...nephew," She quickly corrected herself, even though calling him such felt awkward and unsettling, "has been gone from my family's side for far too long. Athos will be home by the end of the night, even if it means breaking into the Ashworth's home and rescuing him myself."

Roman sighed in defeat, realising there was no point in arguing. She had made up her mind and no one was going to change it. Yet, she'd feel more confident in her decision if she wasn't doing it alone. An extra set of hands would be useful, not to mention another pair of eyes. The Ashworth house was big, finding Athos wasn't going to be easy, nor was sneaking around the night staff roaming the corridors. An extra person would be a massive help, but no one she knew would be stupid enough to join her.

Unless...

She excused herself from Roman's company and raced back towards the match. The game was nearly reaching its end and the crowd had gathered to watch the final result, allowing her to be discreet in her search. The person she was looking for wouldn't be among them, now would be his perfect opportunity to slip away from the crowd with his next...distraction.

Looking high and low, she finally set eyes on two pairs of feet hiding behind the tea tent. She marched over and pulled back the curtain. "Lord Bridgerton."

Anthony and his companion both jumped out of their skin, shocked to have been caught. "Miss Bradford." The pair of them quickly straightened out their clothes. "I trust you have met Miss Renton before."

She had actually, on serval occasions, the last she recalled was her engagement party to Mr Wentworth. Aurelia bet he would be horrified to hear about this. "May I have a word?" Anthony glances at Miss Renton, before glaring at Aurelia as if to say 'now?'. "It's important." She insisted.

He reluctantly agreed, mentioning for Miss Renton to leave. Once she was out of earshot, Aurelia told him everything. How Roman found Athos, how Evelyn told her she was his mother, how everyone was too scared to do anything about it. He didn't speak once, a rarity for Anthony, and was shocked as she was when he heard the news. Clearly, Lord and Lady Bradford had managed to keep their little secret well.

"What are you going to do?" He asked once Aurelia was finished.

"I'm going to break into the Ashworth estate and take him back," She informed him, trying to sound confident in her plan.

He frowned, sceptical of her idea. "By yourself?"

"I was hoping you would help," She replied.

For a moment, he said nothing. It was a crazy idea - idiotic to say the least - but it was the only one she had, and without it, Athos could be stuck with the Ashworths forever. He ran his fingers through his hair, looking off into the distance as he considered her proposal, before sighing, "What's the plan?"