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“Ava, why is your face so red?” she asked.

Ava touched her face. “My face is not red. Now, answer my?—”

“But here”—Stella touched her cheeks and nose—“you are flushed.”

“I do not want to hear anything about this, young lady. Now, let us return to the ball.”

With that, Ava stormed out of the room, her sister hot on her heels.

Stella’s questions had scared her, and she feared that she would end up revealing more than necessary if she told her young sister why she had been blushing.

Stella must never find out that she had been in a narrow passageway with a man. If she ever knew, she would taunt her to no end. And even more than that, she would feel justified in her sneaking around.

CHAPTER 3

“The Right Honorable the Earl of Shrewsbury!” the butler announced loudly enough that Ava could hear him clearly from Stella’s room.

She ran out of the room to take a peek at the young man who had joined the long queue of eligible bachelors outside the drawing room. Then, she quickly returned to Stella’s room.

“I am positive the Earl of Shrewsbury will pique your interest,” she said to her frowning sister.

Unlike other debutantes, Stella did not seem quite excited by the throngs of suitors who frequented the estate at different hours of the day. In fact, the previous day, she had suddenly come down with a mysterious illness that disappeared as soon as her suitors left.

“I am not interested in the Earl of Shrewsbury, I assure you,” she declared sharply as her maid pinned her hair.

“You have not even seen him yet,” Ava pointed out.

“I do not have to,” Stella said, still frowning. “I already know I do not want the man.”

“But you know you must take one of those bachelors as your husband,” Ava reminded her.

Stella shrugged noncommittally.

Ava knew her sister had changed, but she could not quite pinpoint the cause. Stella had been positively excited about courting when she had first debuted. But now, she no longer cared for it.

Finally, the maid was done with Stella’s hair.

“We must not keep him waiting. We must go to the drawing room immediately,” Ava urged.

With that, she led the way out of the room, her sister grudgingly following with a scowl on her face.

They descended the staircase, and soon enough, they entered the drawing room, where Lord Shrewsbury was already waiting.

He rose to his feet as soon as he saw them, the flowers in his hands bobbing a little.

“See, he even brought you flowers,” Ava whispered, nudging her sister.

Stella still did not look quite impressed by the gesture.

“Smile,” Ava hissed as they approached the Earl.

The man was beaming, unable to keep his eyes off Stella even for a moment, and that warmed Ava’s heart.

Stella forced a smile that looked more scary than pleasant. However, it did not quite deter the eager bachelor.

“Miss Stella,” he said as they finally made for their seats. He handed her the bouquet. “I was not quite sure what your favorite flower is, so I decided to get you a bouquet of every flower available instead.”

Ava’s heart swelled at the gesture. Lord Shrewsbury sure seemed pleasant.