The Duke's Masked Wife



The next day, in the early hours of the morning, Edgar walked down the stairs to collect the paper to see if his money was well spent. 

"Good morning Alfred," Edgar greeted the butler who stood reading the very paper Edgar was after.

"Edgar! You are awake early. Do you have some business to tend to? Should I prepare the carriage right now?" Alfred asked. Edgar was only awake at these hours if he had somewhere to go which required a long travel. These were the hours when the servants started to feed the animals and prepare breakfast. 

"Did the cats scratch you?" Alfred inquired as he spotted a line of red marks on Edgar's chest.

"No," Edgar took the paper from Alfred. "That is the work of my wife. Feisty little thing she is. I'm not leaving home yet. I came down for the paper."

Alfred sighed. "The next time I ask you a question, if the answer involves your privacy with Alessandra, please don't tell me. As much as I care for both of you, there are some matters I do not wish to know about. The paper is quite odd today. News of a woman who slept and killed men is written bigger than news of the war at the border ending. What the town finds to be better news is ridiculous."

"I have to disagree with you there Alfred. News about this woman is important. I haven't wasted my money," Edgar said as he quickly read through what was written about Katrina. "They did a good job of hinting that the woman is here in Lockwood and gave a few ideas of who it could be. The reward for finding this woman should get the town motivated."

"You did this? Who is the lady behind this?" Alfred asked, stepping closer to Edgar to look at the paper once more. It was hinted to be a well-known lady with status, but then it mentioned the red-light district. "Why couldn't there be peace so we could get over what happened with Simon?"

"You've lived here long enough to know that there is never peace in Lockwood. This is about Katrina. I found valuable information about her two days ago. Money will get you all the answers you need. In three hours, portraits of what the woman in the paper looks like shall be handed out around the town. The town will not be peaceful, but for Alessandra, there will be one less headache. Enjoy the show," Edgar handed Alfred the paper.

"I thought you were planning to leave the two alone," said Alfred. It was so long since he heard Edgar speak about Katrina. Alfred hated the woman for hurting Alessandra, but he also enjoyed that Alessandra and Edgar were focusing on the better things in life. 

"Nonsense. There were other people who I had to deal with first like Grant and William. Then Simon suddenly joined the list. Now all of my attention is on Katrina and Kate. Katrina will no longer be an issue by tomorrow evening. She will be joining our guest in the dungeon before I send her off to the court. She is not deserving of rotting in my dungeon. She will ruin Tobias's. I am going to visit my guest to tell him the good news," Edgar said, walking away in the direction of the dungeon.

"Keep an eye on Alessandra. She is bound to notice that I am no longer in bed and come looking for me. You know how my presence is missed."

Alfred shook his head at Edgar's compliment to himself. "Is it really?" He whispered. 

Meanwhile, Edgar descended underneath his home to the dark halls that lead to his dungeon. It had been a while since he had someone before this guest. The person before them was his very own mother. Edgar whistled a tune to wake his guest. 

They were so loud when they were brought here that they could have woken Alessandra from her sleep. As always, after one night his guests would settle down. There was enough motivation in the dungeon to eventually make them silent. 

"Release me," Randall said without looking at Edgar. He sat in a corner where the light could not reach him. One foot was stretched out while the other was bent and his right hand was placed on top of it. "We were supposed to be working together."

"Nothing about that has changed. You and I are still working together to expose the truth about Ida. I came to tell you that the little story you told me about her is in the paper this morning. A bit of money and learning that she was fucking the butler was all it took to get you to run your mouth," Edgar said.

Randall clenched his fist, annoyed by how Edgar said it was only a bit of money. Edgar had offered him enough money that he could quit his businesses in the red light district and settle down somewhere. Randall had to work all his life while a man like Edgar was born into riches he could easily give away.

"If we are working together, why am I here? You were supposed to give me the money and I would be on my way. You're a liar and a cheat," Randall looked at Edgar. He understood why Katrina hated him so much.

"Liar? The money is right there," Edgar pointed to a box full of the money Randall wanted. "I gave you the money and then I took you here. My part of the deal was finished. The money will remain there until you are ready for it. You will be in here for a few more days. Ida will want to see you-"

"It is her that you want. Leave me the hell out of it and give me my money! I've done all that you've asked for so properly hold up your end," Randall said, slowly getting to his feet.

"Fine," Edgar sighed, agreeing to what Randall wanted. "I shall have one of my guards place the money in your cell.

Randall's eyes widened. "And let me go-"

"That requires another deal between the two of us and unfortunately, you have no more use for me. I will let you out when the court comes to take you away," said Edgar.

"Court?" Randall was puzzled by why the court would come for him. "I have done nothing wrong. My businesses are no different from the other ones in the red light district. You must take the other owners too if the court is to come for me."

"Did you think I wouldn't look into your background once you told me about how you came to know Katrina? You deserve to rot for all the people you have taken advantage of. The young children who worked in your businesses. Katrina being one of them. You sat and talked about your obsession with her when she was merely a girl and expected I would forget about it," Edgar said, disgusted by the man before him.

"The court will learn about you just as the town is learning about her. At the very least, she will have some justice in seeing her tormentor killed, but first, there is a punishment of removing what makes you a man. She shall get that satisfaction as she shares a cell near where you shall cry in pain. I would like to be a fly on the wall to see her now. As much as I would like to see the realization of your impending death hit you, I have a wife waiting for me." 

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