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Lord Notley gasped. “You are right, Your Grace, and I shall nip this in the bud right at this moment.”

“I certainly hope you can,” Edwin drawled.

He shook his head dramatically and gave Ava a rather devilish smile before walking away. Behind him, he could hear the Viscount yelling at her, and that pleased him immensely.

Since she had chosen to be so hostile to him, he was certain that a thorough scolding from her father would soften her demeanor. Moreover, he had enjoyed their banter, and there was no better way to heighten the tension than by getting her father to fight for him.

CHAPTER 5

The Duke had scarcely walked out of the door before her father rounded on her, the veins in his temples bulging as though they would burst at any moment.

“Ava, how foolish can you possibly be? Attacking the Duke and telling him he cannot marry your sister!”

“Father, that man is lying,” Ava said calmly.

Yes, she had said those things. However, the Duke had also said unkind things to her.

“And yet, when he stood here and spoke of the things you had said to him, you did not deny it,” her father retorted.

“Yes, I might have said some of those things, but I only did it for good reason,” she argued.

“What reason could possibly be good enough for you to anger a man so powerful and ruin your sister’s chance to marry one of the most eligible bachelors in all of London? Do you know how fortunate we are? Eveline’s marriage to the Duke of Mayfield has brought me unprecedented opportunities—my social standing hassoared. Now, imagine the impact if the ton were to hear that yet another of my daughters is marrying a duke.”

Ava grimaced at those words. All her father seemed to care about was what he had to gain from such a marriage. He did not even seem to see just how cold, unfeeling, and devilish the man who had shown interest in her sister was.

And even now, his being so angry with her was only another one of the Duke’s manipulations. The devilish smile he gave her before he left was enough for her to know that he had deliberately gotten her in trouble with her father.

“But what about Stella’s happiness?” Ava asked.

She looked at her sister, who was sitting dejectedly on the chair, her eyes trained on the floor, her arms wrapped around herself.

“Stella will be happy when she marries the Duke and becomes a duchess,” her father stated.

“She cannot possibly be happy if she marries a man with such a reputation.”

“And yet Eveline is happy with her husband and children,” he retorted.

“Eveline is happy because she and her husband are in love,” Ava pointed out.

“Stella will also grow to love the Duke,” her father declared with finality.

“A man like the Duke could never love anyone!” she shouted in frustration.

How could Father not see this?

For the first time since their argument started, there was complete silence in the room. The Viscount was quite livid; his jaw clenched, and his nostrils flared. The sound of his heavy breathing was only punctuated by Stella’s muffled cries in the background.

Ava knew she had taken it too far, but she was past caring.

“I hope for your sake that the Duke has not decided to withdraw his proposal,” the Viscount bit out. “You can say goodbye to new ballgowns for the foreseeable future.”

Ava gasped. She did not quite care for gowns. However, the fact that her father would be so cruel as to deny her the one thing she found joy in was simply outrageous.

“And Stellawillmarry the Duke the moment he asks for her hand,” he continued.

“Nooooooo!” Stella cried out, jumping out of her seat. Her eyes were bloodshot, and tears were streaming down her face. “I willnotmarry the Duke!”

“Young lady.” The Viscount moved closer to her, his face contorting. “I do not know who has put such foolish thoughts in your head—that decision does not lie in your hands. I am your father, and I shall give you to the Duke the moment he asks.”