The Duke's Masked Wife

197 The mask comes off (3)

“You have,” Alessandra answered. She could not list any moment off the top of her head when Edgar was not honest with her.

“Then don’t try to paint me as a liar now. When was the last time a doctor saw your face or you added medicine to help heal it?” Edgar asked. With enough care, her face could have healed enough for the marks to be less noticeable.

“There was only one doctor visit and that was the night my face became like this,” said Alessandra.

“What?” Edgar growled, angered by this news. He knew he shouldn’t expect much from the Baron and his family but at some point, he hoped they cared for Alessandra.

“My father was fuming the entire time the doctor was there and when the doctor left, I was punished to remain in my room. Due to what happened, I could not attend parties with him and it put him in a difficult position to explain what happened between his two daughters. I think it was for a week that I was forced to stay in the room so I had to remove the bandages and add the ointment myself. Once it ran out, that was it.”

Alessandra remembered hating being alone at first but as she got older she realized it was best she remained out of sight of her father.

“I will have the best doctor in the kingdom come to our home when we return. You don’t have to show your face. The palace has the finest medicine so I can get a hand on some. If you are okay with it, we should start taking care of your face. Too many years have gone by without proper care. Is that alright with you?” Edgar asked for her permission.

“I would like that thank you,” Alessandra smiled. She would try anything to make the scars less noticeable. “I am going to try not to wear my mask in front of you while we are alone like this but it will take a little time for me to open up to everyone else. Eventually, I hope I can destroy all the masks I own.”

“Whatever you want, I will aid you as much as I can. Why are your hands fidgeting?” He commented on the small action. It seemed like she was restless. “Are you nervous?”

.....

“Not anymore now that you have seen it. Wearing those masks for so long makes my face itch but I try t not to scratch it. What if it opens up an old wound? It will go away soon,” Alessandra said.

“I will have the butler bring some ointment to help with the itching. I believe there is some special ointment at home that I got from Tobias. It is said to work wonders to heal wounds. You can have all of it. You still have a lot of time to order me around,” Edgar reminded her. “What do you want me to do next?”

“Honestly, I had not planned past this part. I didn’t think we would move on from my face so quickly but I am glad. I can’t let this hour go to waste. What can I have you do?” Alessandra looked around the room for ideas. “Oh, I want you to prepare a picnic for us in the backyard. There seems to be some force in this house stopping me from going into the backyard and the last time I prepared a basket for us, you lured me into a tub.”

“Lure? I recall you willingly followed me there and got undressed. What a lovely sight that was,” Edgar recalled the memory of her being on top of him. It was only not that he remembered her deal. Now that he saw her face, they could be more intimate. However, considering this was a deep moment for Alessandra, he could not jump to kiss her. He could hold out to wait for the right moment.

“You know what I meant. You stole my moment back then. Please hurry to prepare everything before the rain falls and my time is up. Go!” Alessandra shooed him away. She enjoyed seeing him leave to do as she ordered him. In the meantime, she put back on her mask but this time, it felt lighter. “I was worried for nothing,” she whispered.

Alessandra wondered if this was the world finally trying to be good to her by sending Edgar her way. There was quite possibly no other man who would have cared for her like this besides Edgar. “He’s one of a kind just like he says but I can’t let him know that to boost his ego,” she chuckled.

Alessandra fell backward against the bed and thought of where she had to go from here. She was officially on the path to not wearing her mask no matter where she was. There was the plan she and Hazel were coming up with to make her a social queen to help girls like herself have someone to stand up for them. It would be a tough journey but she would become a Duchess where her friends could not get hurt and the culprits get away with it.

“Duchess Alessandra Collins. I am going to make that name unforgettable,” Alessandra made a promise to herself. She hoped that somehow her father could watch her and see what a big mistake he made. “I shouldn’t be thinking about my father on such a good day,” Alessandra shook her head to clear her mind.

She sat up from the bed, deciding to go back downstairs now that their serious conversation was over and to make sure Edgar was not wasting time.

As Alessandra was walking down the stairs to the first floor, she heard Sally and Caleb’s voices arguing over something. Once she came into view and they noticed her, they cleared their throats. Caleb offered her a smile before walking away while Sally came up to her.

“Are you in need of something, Duchess? I saw the Duke head to the kitchen as he wanted the butler,” said Sally.

Alessandra was curious about what was going on with Sally and Caleb but as it was not her business, she could not say anything. Instead, she answered, “Nothing. I was going to look for Edgar and then go outside. You can do whatever you wish. If Alfred goes on a walk again, you should tag along to explore the town. The trip is soon coming to an end.”

“Duchess, I would rather clean all the floors in this house before spending time with Alfred. When you and the Duke are busy, Alfred tries to get me to join him in gardening. I have no need to dig around in wet dirt or listen to him scold me about relationships in your home,” Sally rolled her eyes. She needed to make a sign to say she was not dating anyone. Specifically dating Caleb.

“Back home it is fun to spend time with Alfred. Maybe a vacation has brought out another side of him. When I have free time, you and I should explore the shops here. I promised to buy you something. We should try for this evening after I have returned from spending time with Edgar’s grandmother. Deal?” Alessandra held out her pinky.

“Deal,” Sally happily agreed. She had missed being around Alessandra as much as they would be back home. ‘Who would have thought Alessandra and I would turn out this way?’ She thought. Sally considered buying James a gift as he was the one to advise her to follow Alessandra.

“Why does it sound like you are planning to spend time with someone else?” Edgar questioned as he approached the two from the direction of the kitchen. “Had I known I would end up sharing, I would have left everyone else at home.”

“I have spent enough time with you, Edgar. I have not spent enough time with Sally.”

“Of course not. She’s not your husband, I am. Therefore you should only be making plans with me. You’re already running off to be with my grandmother. I am sure if Sally was in a relationship she would want to spend every passing moment with that person. Isn’t that right?” Edgar stared at Sally for her to agree with him.

‘Why is he bringing me into this?’ Sally cried on the inside.

“Stop it,” Alessandra nudged him. “You can’t scare people into being on your side. You should spend some time with Alfred while I am away with Sally and Caleb.”

“Why Caleb?!” Sally exclaimed.

“He is my bodyguard,” Alessandra stated the obvious. They were in an unfamiliar town and had no idea what dangers were around them. She would not leave without Caleb to protect her and she was certain Edgar would scold her for trying to leave without Caleb.

“Oh right,” Sally muttered. She was annoyed with the fact Caleb had not given up the house situation and did not wish to speak with him.

Not interested in Sally’s problems, Edgar held Alessandra’s hand to take her away. “‘I’m stealing back my wife,” he informed Sally so that she could take her troubles with Caleb elsewhere.