Day turned into night and there was still no sign of Athos, nor Lord Bradford and Marcus. Hours had passed since they set off to search for Athos, Violet and Daphne Bridgerton had gone home, and Lady Bradford insisted that her daughters go to bed.

None of them slept. Aurelia could hear Evelyn sobbing from her room down the corridor. She tried to comfort her, but the door was locked and no one responded when she knocked. Aurelia had never seen her sister so heartbroken, not even after they received the news of the Ashworth boy's death. She spent all night praying for her little brother's return, if not for his own sake, for Evelyn's. If he was lost forever, Aurelia wasn't sure Evelyn would recover.

Looking at her clock, which sat on the fireplace mantel, she sighed. It was two hours past midnight and she couldn't wait any longer. She was going out to search for Athos, whether her father liked it or not.

She leapt out of bed and ran down to Marcus' room to borrow some riding clothes. There was a heavy storm out and ploughing through mud whilst she was wearing a night dress didn't sound easy or appealing. Luckily for her, she and her brother were of similar height and size, so the clothes didn't sag too much.

After arriving at the stable, she unhooked her horse and set off into the night, calling out Athos' name. He was only small, he couldn't have gotten too far, but he was very good at hiding. Storms had frightened him since he was born. Back in Rome, he would cry for hours, only stopping once the storm had disappeared. On a night like this, he would be terrified.

Nearly an hour passed and Aurelia was completely drenched. Her brother's clothes weighed down heavy with water and strands of her hair stuck to her face. Even though she called out Athos's name, all her attempts to find him had thus far failed. He was nowhere to be found.

"What on earth are you doing?" A voice called from behind her, causing her to jump.

Pressing her hand hard against her chest to steady her rapidly beating heart, Aurelia turned around to meet the equally drenched gaze of Anthony Bridgerton. As if that night couldn't get any worse. He had no horse, implying he had made it out there on foot, leaving Aurelia curious about where he had come from.

"Searching for Athos," She shouted back to her, her voice almost drowned out by the heavily beating rain.

Anthony couldn't believe the stubbornness of the girl. Her father gave her strict instructions to stay home, yet here she was, stuck in the middle of the storm, in clothes that obviously didn't belong to her, looking like a drowned rat. He could only regard her as completely mad.

"Your father will kill you if he finds you out here," He informed her, as if she didn't already know.

"I'm surprised you don't want to reserve the honour for yourself," She replied, her voice as sharp as a knife's edge.

Anthony ignored her jab. "Let me escort you home."

"Ha," She scoffed, wiping the rain from her eyes, "you are fooling yourself if you think I would ever accept any help from you."

"Aurelia," His tone turned firm, "let me take you home."

"I am not your wife," She stated, thankfully for the fact, "I don't do as you command."

"Aurelia..." He persisted to make her listen, but Aurelia swiftly interrupted him.

"Viscount Bridgerton, if you are determined to insist you truly care about my wellbeing, you will have to join me on my search. Otherwise, leave me alone."

They held each other's irritated glare, neither of them refusing to back down. Anthony had never met a woman like it, not one in London at least. How her family tolerated her was a complete mystery to him.

"You do really enjoy being a thorn in people's sides, don't you?" He said, daring to break their silence.

"No," She answered, "but I make an expectation when it's yours."

A thorn in Anthony Bridgerton's side was all she desired to be. He was rude, arrogant and a pain in the arse. She wasn't sure how it was possible, but he aggravated her more than her mother.

After a moment of deliberation, Anthony decided that there was no point in trying to convince her home. She was firm in her decision. "There is an abandoned farmhouse, just on the other side of the field," He told her. "At least let us wait there until the storm passes."

"Us?" She laughed. "I can wait there on my own."

"You don't even know where it is," He replied.

As much as she hated to admit it, he did have a point. Getting lost herself wasn't going to aid in finding Athos. Just this once, she would have to accept his help.

-----

Abandoned was precisely the condition the farmhouse was in. A thick layer of dust covered every surface, curtains were moth-eaten and torn, and a window in the bedroom was broken, leaving a pile of shattered glass on the floor below. Though it was sturdy enough to just keep out the rain, the wind blew through to every room, causing a ghostly chill. Aurelia prayed she wouldn't have to dwell there for long.

"How do you even know about this place?" She asked, before it suddenly dawned on her that she was unlikely the first woman he'd brought there. "In fact, I don't want to know." She was more than happy to avoid hearing about the conquests that likely took place in the very room she stood in.

Anthony smiled to himself, amused by all the possible thoughts running through her mind.

"What are you even doing out here, anyway?" She questioned him, a sly glimmer sparkling in her eye. "Off to hear Miss Smith's singing, were you?"

Judging by her tone, her question wasn't literal. "No," He said, shutting down her suspicions, "I was helping to find your brother."

"Why? You are not wanted out here," She stated. Her father had not asked him to search for Athos into the early hours of the morning, he had no reason to be out in the storm.

"What do I do to vex you so?" Anthony asked sharply, genuinely intrigued to hear her response.

Without a second's hesitation, she replied, "Breathe."

He was not impressed with her taunt. "Your humour lacks wit."

"Yet, my wit does not lack humour," She smiled sweetly, daring to take a seat on the edge of the dusty table. "I could ask you the same, Lord Bridgerton."

Anthony scoffed. "You're infuriating."

"I'm surprised you know such a big word."

"You have no respect for rank, class, or authority," He continued, ignoring her cruel jab. "My family is considered to be one of the most highly respected in the ton, mothers would kill their secondborn child if it meant their first had a chance at ending the season engaged to one of us."

"Well, Benedict is rather charming," Aurelia twisted her knife.

Anthony shook his head in complete disbelief. "You are unbelievable."

"Remarkable," She cooed, "I've gone from 'infuriating' to 'unbelievable' in the space of a mere few seconds. That must be a record."

Anthony was speechless. It was not often he could be left lost for words, but Aurelia Bradford seemed to have a knack for it.

"Oh, don't stop now, Lord Bridgerton," She taunted him, "Things were just getting interesting."

Against every fibre of his being, he decided not to dignify her with a response. Instead, he stood tall, crossed his arms over his chest, and stared her down in silence. Aurelia frowned, shifting uncomfortably under his gaze. "Why are you staring at me like that?"

"You have everyone fooled, don't you?" He stated, nodding his head as if he had finally caught onto a secret game she'd been playing.

"I beg your pardon," She narrowed her stare.

"You pretend to be this fearless, witty, independent woman," He explained his theory, "yet you are scared."

Brushing his words off like they were dust on the table, she said, "It's not the first time I've been trapped in a cage with a monster, Lord Bridgerton. I'm sure I will survive."

Anthony laughed, causing Aurelia's skin to crawl. "Ah, yes. This must be very reminiscent of your evening with Mr Yaxley."

"Not entirely," She pushed out her words, "I seem to remember enjoying his company."

"I'm sure you did," Anthony grinned, enjoying having power over the conversation for a change.

Aurelia forced out a stiff laugh, pretending his words did not irritate her. "Whatever Roman told you of that night, I'd rather you keep it from your mind."

"How can I," He continued his torture, "when he went through it in such excruciating detail?"

In an attempt to conceal her anger, Aurelia's jaw clenched tightly shut. "I don't tend to judge people's intimate preferences, but if that night truly thrills you, you are clearly very easy to please." Pushing her shoulder back, she regained some confidence as she lined up her next jab. "I'm glad to hear Miss Smith doesn't need to overexert herself. "

Unfortunately for her, it had the undesired effect. "There it is again," Anthony sang, "your jealousy is rather easy to drag out."

"Don't flatter yourself," She spat, sensing that there was a chance she was fighting a losing battle.

"I don't need to when you are so eager to do it for me," Anthony teased her, pushing her temper over the edge.

Aurelia jumped off the table and matched the short distance to where he was standing. "I have the desire to do no such thing." She barked. "I would rather stick thousands of pins in my eyes every hour of every day than have to sit through a conversation with you. Everything about you would drive the sanest person to complete insanity." She had no control over her movements - her hands flailed in the air with rage. "Whatever respect you believe you deserve is only demanded by your title, your personality should be gifted anything but." She shoved a finger into his chest. "You think I'm infuriating? I find your presence to be unbearable."

The pair stood in silence, glaring at each other with such fire in their eyes that if they didn't pull away soon, one of them would get burned. Aurelia wanted to walk away, storm out of the house and run into the rain, putting as much distance between her and Anthony Bridgerton as possible.

So, it even came as a surprise to her when she pulled him into a kiss.