Page 1

CHAPTER 1

“ H ave you seen Stella?” Ava asked Lady Florence, one of her younger sister’s friends, who had also debuted.

She was not quite sure that the girl had heard her over the din of the ball.

Lady Florence stared at her in confusion for a moment.

Ava was about to repeat the question when the girl finally shook her head. The next moment, she turned around to continue conversing with a gentleman who seemed to be positively enthralled by her.

Ava sighed in frustration. Chaperoning a debutante was an arduous task, even more so when the debutante was her troublemaker of a sister, Stella.

“Ava, you seem worried,” a familiar voice said, before she felt a hand on her shoulder.

Ava whirled around instantly. She could not help the smile on her face as she spotted her sister, Eveline, arm in arm with her husband, William Bolton, the Duke of Mayfield.

“Your Grace, dearest Eveline,” she greeted.

Eveline beamed at her. “I take it that Stella has not made your task easy?” she asked, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

Ava shook her head in exhaustion. “I promise you, that is an understatement. I simply have no idea where she has run off to.”

“I would have loved to judge her,” Eveline said, looking up adoringly at her husband. “However, that would only make me a hypocrite. After all, I would not have met my husband if I had not sneaked out of a certain ball.”

The Duke took her hands in his own as he stared at her with love in his eyes. “And every day, I thank my stars that you sneaked out of that ball.”

Ava could not help but feel happy for her sister. Only two Seasons ago, Eveline had met the Duke, and now they were happily married with children. She could only wish Stella the same happy ending.

“I hope that is not what Stella is doing. I still had some trust in you, and even then, your actions almost resulted in a scandal. Knowing just how much of a rebel Stella is, I know she is doing something rather foolish.”

“I am certain Stella would not do anything scandalous,” Eveline reassured her.

However, that did not assuage Ava’s fears.

“You only say that because you have not been around Stella this Season,” Ava snorted. “She has been acting rather oddly ever since she debuted.”

“How so?” Eveline asked.

“For about two months since she debuted, she would disappear for a long while, and sometimes I would find her in the garden or on some balcony alone,” Ava admitted. “That is quite unsafe, and it is unlike Stella.”

Eveline furrowed her brow. “I suppose if you told me that Stella was causing trouble with her friends at every ball, I would not see a cause for concern. However, quietly disappearing is quite the opposite of who she is.”

“I am glad you see reason with me,” Ava said. “I am certain she is up to no good. Stella shall be the end of me.”

Eveline moved closer to her and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Do not conclude so soon that Stella is up to no good. She might simply be overwhelmed by the noise and the activities and the crowd.”

Ava shook her head. “That is not the case. Stella is up to something, and I know it is no good.”

“Even if that is true, you have to stop worrying so much,” Eveline persisted.

“How could I stop worrying when I do not know my sister’s whereabouts?”

“You worried about me, too, and it all turned out fine,” Eveline pointed out.

“But you are not Stella. You were reserved, but Stella is simply a wild, adventurous girl.”

“You must stop worrying still. There is only a little you can do to make her stop this.”

Ava sighed. Eveline did not quite understand her. No one ever did.

Stella was her responsibility in the same way Eveline had been before she got married. If anything were to happen to her sister, then she would have failed in her responsibility, and her father would put all the blame on her.

But instead of saying that to Eveline, she simply smiled half-heartedly.

“There is Lily!” Eveline blurted, pointing excitedly at a spot behind her.

Ava turned around to see Lily approach, beaming positively at them.

Lily was a spinster just like her, and a bluestocking. She had been friends with Eveline for quite a while, and now, even Ava considered her a friend too.

Ava watched as Lily exchanged pleasantries with other ladies as she approached them. She was famous in the ton, and for good reason. She was incredibly sociable, and she helped the ladies avoid rakes so they could make good matches.

“Oh, Ava, it is good to see you again,” Lily said when she finally joined them.

“Lily.”

“Evie. Your Grace,” she greeted.

“Have you by any chance seen Stella today?” Ava asked.

“Ava is certain that Stella is up to some mischief,” Eveline interjected.

Lily smiled. “Knowing Stella, I would not quite believe that.”

Ava chuckled. “Then you certainly do not know Stella as well as I do.”

“I assure you, Stella is not up to any mischief,” Lily said.

Ava narrowed her eyes as she came to a realization. “You know what Stella has been up to, do you not?” she asked.

The genuine surprise on Lily’s face told her that she had assumed wrong.

“I assure you, I do not,” Lily replied. “I am incredibly flattered that you would think a debutante like her would confide in me.”

“It is not quite surprising, though, Lily,” Eveline said. “After all, Stella is positively enamored by you. She admires you.”

“Is that so?” Lily’s lips twitched. “Well then, that is even more reason to be flattered.”

“Now, Lily, do you by any chance know where she might be hiding?” Ava asked.

Lily pursed her lips for a moment as though deep in thought. “I suppose there might be a way for you to find her,” she relented. “Come with me.”

With that, she led Ava out of the ballroom, the noise from the party fading behind them.

“You know the Pemberton estate belongs to my uncle, and I spent the better part of my childhood years here,” she said, guiding Ava towards a staircase that led below stairs. “There are some old and forgotten passageways that lead to almost every room in this estate. That is the easiest way to find Stella.” She stopped at the landing.

“Thank you so much, Lily,” Ava murmured, before she ventured down the stairs and into the passageways.

As she stepped off the staircase, she could immediately see why the passageways were old and forgotten. They were incredibly cold, and the walls were damp. It did not quite help that they were so narrow. It was a miracle that she could even pass through at all.

Even though the passageways were lit, she still stumbled over rocks and stones, as there was very little room for her to maneuver.

Ava shook her head in disbelief at what she had resorted to all in a bid to find her sister.

Even though she had only been in the passageway for a little while, it felt like forever to her. And what was worse, she had yet to see the rooms that Lily had mentioned.

She was just beginning to consider giving up and returning to the party when she heard a noise ahead of her.

Ava froze.

This time, she heard rapid footsteps ahead of her. But the footsteps were far too heavy to belong to Stella.

Didn’t Lily say that these passageways were old and forgotten? But if Lily knows about the existence of the passageways, then who knows what cruel and malicious person might know about them too.

That was everything Ava needed to know to turn on her heels. She could not imagine being trapped in the passageway by some thug.

She had scarcely taken a step back towards the staircase when she remembered why she was there.

What if the thug sees Stella?

Ava’s blood ran cold. Without even giving it another thought, she ran back, determined to get to her sister and protect her from whatever dangerous person might be in the passageway.

She had just turned a corner when she ran into something… something huge and towering.

Startled, she gasped as the force sent her stumbling back. Her hands flew out and clutched desperately at the figure in front of her.

Her palm pressed against his coat, and underneath it, she could feel rippling muscles.

A man?

She yelped as she righted herself immediately and took several steps away from the man.

Even though he was only but a stranger to her in that dimly lit passageway, there was still something so familiar about him.

He was dressed in a fancy waistcoat and breeches, enough to suggest that he was of noble stock. He was huge, and in this rather narrow passageway, he filled the entire space, towering easily over her.

Ava’s heart skipped a beat, and she suddenly felt hot all over.

Half of his face was covered by a mask. However, the half she could see was surprisingly strikingly handsome.

His expression was hard, and his green eyes seemed rather empty. His jet-black hair was unruly yet framed his face just nicely. The mask gave him a mysterious look that Ava found rather magnetic.

It was then that she realized why he was so familiar.

The Duke of Gillingham!

No wonder he looked so familiar. He was one of William’s friends from the army, and they had met on a couple of occasions at Eveline’s home.

However, if the Duke recognized her, he did not quite show it. Instead, his empty eyes only continued to stare at her.

Ava knew she should flee the scene immediately. After all, being caught in a secluded area with a man was the most scandalous thing that could happen to a lady. Yet she suddenly seemed to have lost the ability to move her legs.

The fact that he was staring at her so intently terrified and excited her at once, and she suddenly became all too aware of her breathing and the small gap between them.

She dared a glance at him, but her eyes lingered a little too long.

“Curious habit, hiding in the walls,” he suddenly murmured, his voice velvety smooth. However, there was something cold and unyielding in his eyes.

Hiding in the walls?

Ava was suddenly upset.

Who does he think he is? How dare he accuse me in such a manner, when he is the one who has been skulking in the passageway?

“Says the man haunting the passageway,” she shot back.

But it seemed that was the wrong thing to say, for his already hard eyes darkened.