The Duke's Masked Wife



"I don't want to meet with anyone else today. I am tired and just want to rest. Alfred," Alessandra greeted Alfred, who like always, was waiting at the door. "I always wonder how you are able to tell when we are returning home. Do you come to the door regularly to check the gates?"

"That is part of it, but other times I just get a feeling that you might be there. I am used to predicting when Edgar will return home. How was the palace?" Alfred asked, helping Alessandra out of her coat. 

"It was fun. It is good to meet with friends and let your guard down. Is the room finished painting?" Alessandra asked because she wanted to see what was done to the child's room in her absence. It would help take her mind off what was discussed with her mother. 

Alessandra had a feeling that, though her mother said she would work on herself, they would not see each other for a long time. Which would make things awkward when it came to meeting with her sisters. She would have to make plans for her sisters to be able to be here in Lockwood since Melanie would not want to come and Lewis could not always be made to travel.

"It has been painted white as you requested. I have a window opened to help with drying and getting rid of the scent. You should wait a while before going inside. I moved your paint and brushes into the room for you," said Alfred. Alessandra informed him that she planned on adding a few paintings directly on the walls. 

"Thank you. Then I will hold off painting until tomorrow. I am going to rest. Please do me a favor and keep Edgar busy. Do not let him go down to the dungeon. He will find himself sleeping in another room tonight if he goes down today. Please send Sally to my room shortly, Alfred," Alessandra said, leaving the two men to keep each other busy.

"There seemed to be someone at the gates you spoke to. Why didn't they come inside?" Alfred asked, walking to close the front door behind Edgar. 

Edgar looked down at Alfred's feet as he walked. "It was Alessandra's mother. They spoke briefly. Did you injure your right foot? You are walking with a bit of a limp."

Alfred touched his right knee. "I am getting older as the days go by. The time I spent chasing after you has caught up to me. These old things will start to hurt on their own. I shall rub it later."

"This is why I told you to stop being the butler, Alfred. You are not as young as you think to be moving all around this home. Even I get annoyed walking from one end to the other. Step away from being a butler, and don't ask for it back this time. You'll hold a better title when my children are here," said Edgar.

Alfred sighed. He did not want to be fired twice. The first time was already hard to bear. "There is no one to run this home like I do-"

"We need to get a new butler at some point. If you wish to overwork yourself and speed up no longer being here, do it elsewhere. While you are here, rest. When the children are here, do you wish to be a grandfather or a butler?" Edgar asked.

"Edgar, it is kind of you to grant me this title and I am always honored, but with the tension between you and your father, you should-"

"They are my children. I will give whoever I wish a title. You have been by my side for so long that you could be mistaken for my father. Well," Edgar said, giving Alfred's appearance a look over. "Not when it comes to looks. I would have to say I take after my mother."

Alfred frowned, once again trying to figure out what it was about Edgar that made him stick around for so many years. To the point where he was ready to devote more time to raising Edgar's children. Long ago, the plan was to settle down outside Lockwood after he helped find Edgar a family so he would not be alone. 

"Do not frown, Alfred. It cannot be helped that I am a good-looking man, and though you are easy on the eyes, you do not physically look like you could be my father. I expect that you will retire as a butler by the end of the day, and don't come crying to me again to get the job back. Get off your feet and start enjoying a more relaxed life. Now, what are we to do since I cannot bother my wife? You have me all to yourself," said Edgar.

"Since I am supposed to be off my feet, there is nothing I have to do with you. There seems to be someone else at the gate. You and Alessandra are quite sought after today," Alfred said, looking out the window at a guard coming to the front door.

"We are always sought after. Alessandra does not want to be bothered, and neither do I. Whoever it is, send them away," Edgar said, ready to walk away to find something to do while Alfred opened the door to receive the message.

"It is Mark from the court," Alfred relayed the message before Edgar could get too far away.

Edgar stopped. He had already heard a bit of what was happening with Kate from Tobias. He was curious if a final decision was made about whether Kate would be punished, or was Mark here thinking he could get Katrina? Alessandra wouldn't need to be bothered to come down to speak with Mark. He could take care of this all on his own.

"Let him through the gates, but he will go no further than the steps," Edgar decided to speak with Mark.

"Let him in," Alfred told the guard.

Edgar went outside to await Mark's arrival, with Alfred standing right behind him.

"Duke Collins," Mark greeted after getting off his horse. "I was told you were at the palace. I went there to speak with you, only to find you had left."

"I don't like being followed. What is the decision about Kate?" Edgar asked, getting to the point. He did not care to exchange pleasantries with Mark. 

"Not even a hello or an invite inside. Let's start with the suspicion that Kate was going to work with Simon to take your wife. There is no proof, so many have voted not to punish her for that. It is not something Kate admitted to. When it comes to her abusing your wife in her youth-"

"Kate messed with Alessandra up until I proposed to her. She got married to Simon the same year. Since she has married, we should not be using youth as an excuse for her behavior," said Edgar. 

"Kate admitted to things done in her childhood. Things she knows we can't punish her for.  Things we would have had to go after her parents for. Many of the men in court don't want to upset the town, but they don't want to upset you at the same time. We've come to the decision to take away Kate's title as a punishment and have her pay the duchess for her trouble. It should be enough, given her state. Now, about her mother," Mark trailed off, wanting Edgar to say he would hand her over.

"I am going to keep her a little longer," Edgar answered. 

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