The Duke's Masked Wife

"You have a good eye. I deem you the better of the two. It's a shame you had to share a wound," Simon said, taking a liking to Caleb while he disliked Reed.

"Finally someone agrees with me," Caleb said.

"Simon, I don't have much time to waste. Caleb, stay put so you do not bump into anyone else," Edgar said, not having time to hear about a sword. He wanted to get out of here soon.

"Right right," Simon put back the sword on its stand. "The missing young women. I did hear the King wants more nobles involved in the search. I agree that it should not be only you leading the search. I want to help. What do you need me to do?" He sat back down in front of Edgar.

"We're going to need to start searching homes and looking at deserted areas in the kingdom. The King wants to find the culprit before another young lady can be taken or killed. It would be helpful if you convinced some of your friends to join us and if there is anyone you find suspicious, please bring it to me or the town guards. No one is safe with this person running wild. Not even our wives," said Edgar.

"No, they aren't. I fear for Kate's life each time someone mentions what happens to those poor ladies. We have to catch that bastard," Simon said, gripping the edge of the chair as if he were angry.

"A bastard indeed, but for me he is more of a coward," Edgar said, lapping one foot over the over, and resting his chin on the palm of his hand.

Simon didn't agree with Edgar. "How so? He's killed many young women since he started, hasn't he? I don't know the count, but that makes him quite dangerous."

"He attacks young women who cannot defend themselves and even tries to attack the little boy who saw a body being placed on the snow. I view any man who goes after people who are defenseless to be a coward. Why doesn't he go after a man like me? I wonder how pitiful this bastard must be. The scum of the earth who thinks this makes him something by torturing women. Probably does it because he's never been loved and takes his frustration out on women," Edgar said, glancing at Simon's nails digging into the leather of the chair arm.

"I do have to give him credit for hiding who he is so well for all this time, but I will cut this short soon. I look forward to you joining me on the search, Simon. It is always good to have a man like you who cares for others. I will call for a meeting in the palace in three days to see who else will be joining us. I look forward to meeting with you then. I'm afraid I must move on to the next home," Edgar unlapped his legs and stood up.

Edgar stuck out his hand for Simon to shake. "Let's get this coward together."

Simon bit his tongue. He greatly disliked the insults Edgar had unknowingly thrown at him. He thought of attacking Edgar right here right now to show the man they spoke of was no coward. Edgar was going to eat his words one day. He should count himself lucky that Simon intended to hurt him by getting Alessandra first or Edgar would have ended up with Bella for his insults.

Simon stood up from his seat and shook Edgar's hand. "Let's get him together. Allow me to show the three of you out. Next time, please come with the Duchess so Kate can speak with her sister."

"Maybe," Edgar replied, but he had no plans of bringing Alessandra anywhere near Simon. Let alone Kate.

"I hope you can convince the others to join us. I will speak to my friends a bit later," Simon said, opening the front door and holding it open for Edgar.

Edgar, Reed, and Caleb exited the home and walked toward the carriage without saying a word to each other. It was only when the carriage was out of the gates that they began to discuss what happened inside Simon's home.

"Do you remember the last time we marched with the King's army? We spent the night near a bar and the owner there had a beautiful daughter. He used to eye the hell out of us to make sure we wouldn't make a move on his daughter. That's how it felt to be in that house. I felt watched but not by Simon. It was the servants," Caleb said, shaking his body to get rid of the eerie feeling.

"I did meet a couple of eyes when I was looking around," Reed agreed with Caleb. The house had a weird vibe to it.

"Kate mouthed help to me and did you see the way he tensed up when you spoke about a coward? I wasn't too sure of it before, but it's definitely him. If he's not the one taking the girls, he is something else we need to look out for. I don't like this Kate too often, but do you think it is safe for us to leave her behind there? It looked like she was desperately trying to get Edgar's attention," said Caleb. The poor girl might get hurt for him bumping into her.

"I am not going to leave him be. We are going to the palace right now to tell Tobias about this. We need to attack Simon before he hurts Kate or gets suspicious of my visit. His personality seems to be different each time I have spoken to him. I don't like this interest he has in Alessandra and Kate. Alessandra's time outside the home will be on hold for now," Edgar said.

"Reed, see if you can track down who built that house. I want a layout of it by nightfall. I want to strike him no later than tomorrow night. Caleb, assign a group of men to keep watch of Simon's house in the meantime. As of right now, we have no clear proof other than Kate wanting help, but it is better to search than risk letting him get away with whatever he is doing. Not a word of this to Alessandra," Edgar said, not wanting her to be concerned with this.

There was already too much on her plate with the babies and now her mother. Kate and Alessandra did not like each other, but Edgar would not put it past Alessandra to want to help Kate get away from Simon.

Kate still needed to be punished for what she did to Alessandra's face and the abuse inflicted on Alessandra when they lived under the same roof, but it wasn't meant to come from Simon.

Edgar tapped his fingers on the door of the carriage. He needed to look more into Simon's history. Who Simon met frequently to see if there was anyone working with him. It was clear as day his servants were.

Edgar tried to place what reason Simon would have to take the young ladies and kill them. He couldn't place any connection between Simon and the young ladies who had disappeared. Was this all for sport and he was just randomly taking them? What was the reason some young women seemed to live longer than others after they were taken?

"That bastard," Edgar muttered.

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