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“I do not suppose you know how much effort I have put into ensuring that you get the best offers this Season. Yet, you are determined to ruin my hard work.”

Stella simply shrugged in response, before she made to leave the drawing room.

“Where do you suppose you are going?” Ava called after her.

“I suppose that is the only suitor I have for the day. I would love to retire to my chamber,” Stella said in a rather solemn tone.

Ava walked over to her. “You have been behaving strangely, lately.”

“I have not been behaving strangely,” Stella retorted.

“You know you have. First, you sneak away at every ball, and now, you either try to avoid meeting with your suitors or you are simply rude to them.”

For the first time, Ava saw remorse flash across her face. Stella averted her gaze and stared down at her shoes.

Ava knew that if she were to coax the truth out of her sister, it should be now.

“Stella, you know you?—”

“Miss Jennings.” The butler entered suddenly. “His Lordship is asking for you.”

And just like that, Stella slipped out of the drawing room.

Ava sighed. She half wanted to follow her sister and demand a response from her. However, she knew the moment was missed and could only question Stella on her strange behavior at a later time.

So she headed for her father’s study, dreading whatever condemnation she was sure to receive from him again.

“Father, you have summoned me,” she said as soon as she entered his study.

The Viscount Notley was bent over his desk, poring over the papers in front of him. It took him a rather long moment before he finally responded to her. However, Ava was used to it.

When he finally straightened and looked at her, he had a frown on his face.

“How was the suitor that came calling this morning?” he asked.

“He seems to be an agreeable young man,” she said simply.

“Did Stella like him?”

Ava was not quite certain how to answer that question. She had been the one managing her sister’s suitors, just as she had raised both of her sisters. And if there was something she had quickly learned as a child who had been forced to raise her younger sisters, it was that her father would blame her for any of their shortcomings, even if it was not her fault.

Therefore, she lied. “Stella was polite to him and engaged him in witty discourse.”

“Is that so?” the Viscount asked, his eyebrows rising high on his forehead. “That does not sound like Stella at all.” He then shrugged. “Well, I suppose she has realized that she would only become an old spinster if she were rude to her suitors.”

Ava nodded. “I suppose so.”

“The suitor who came this morning is an earl, and he is from a respectable family. If you ask me, I would say that he is by far the best option for Stella,” the Viscount continued. “Hence my surprise when this morning I received a letter from someone of higher rank, interested in courting her.”

He had a wide grin on his face, looking rather pleased with himself.

“Someone of higher rank?” Ava echoed.

“You seem to be surprised, too. Well, I would say I have done a good job at arranging the best prospects for my daughter,” the Viscount crowed.

His tone irked her.

She could not believe that he was now trying to take credit for all her efforts.Shehad worked very hard to ensure that her sister had the best debut, and since then, she had taken her to every party to ensure that her sister made an appearance.