The Duke's Masked Wife



"What are the two of you doing?" Duncan asked after he entered the room and found Mark with his foot out pushing Edgar away from reaching him.

"Having a little chat. Can you stop trying to murder me now, Duke Collins? I might have you imprisoned if you do not leave me be. I was merely making a joke. You need to find a sense of humor," Mark said, trying to kick Edgar away, but his foot was grabbed. "We need to speak about who this Ida person you spoke of is and about Simon wanting your wife. You can kill me after."

"You better keep your promise," Edgar retreated for now and went back to his seat. "I'm not telling you who Ida is. Not yet at least."

"If it concerns Katrina, why shouldn't the court know?" Duncan inquired.

"I've made it clear that the way you intend to punish the two of them won't satisfy me," Edgar answered. 

"Why does it have to satisfy you? This is all about your wife, not you. You appear to be more angry at her family than she is," Duncan replied, annoyed by Edgar being secretive. 

"My wife would very much like to see them get what they deserved. She just doesn't spend her days thinking about them. I'll take care of them for her as her husband. It is that simple," Edgar answered. How was he to leave Katrina and Kate be when they kept poking at Alessandra and were not remorseful of how they treated her in the past? Alessandra shared bits and pieces of what they did, but Edgar had a feeling there was so much more left out. His dislike for them would never fade away.

"Her husband wanted to take my wife. It is evident my wife can never move on with her life since those two have a way of dragging her into their mess. I'm going to make life peaceful for my wife without your help. The court is quite useless honestly," Edgar said, ignoring the offended look from Duncan.

"All you do in here is sit around calling up meetings after everyone else has done the job and throw people in a dungeon. I've left you to take care of Alessandra's treatment in her home for how long now? You've found nothing about Katrina, but I have. There's no need for me to tell you about her at the moment. I will take care of her and her daughter. Stay out of the way," Edgar warned the two.

"The court does things the right way. We do not go through dirty measures like you do to find what you need to know. We punish people the right way. I think it is time the Duke stays out of our case against Katrina," Duncan looked at Mark.

"I was never in it. I was simply giving you the push in the right direction," Edgar replied.

"Leave him," Mark decided since they wouldn't be able to stop Edgar from going after Katrina and Kate. Plus, Edgar was right about a few things. Mark wanted to punish wrongdoers according to the laws created by the court and King, but their clean methods made capturing those people slow. They could not always keep their hands clean.

"Mark!" Duncan found the man to be losing his mind. Normally Mark would warn Edgar about being imprisoned for the way he went after his enemies.

"I want to know who Katrina truly is and we've sworn to get justice for children mistreated in their homes. She's been able to hide who she is for years and the servants do not want to speak about the Duchess's time in her father's home. Most likely because they indulged in mistreating her and fear being punished. I will let you handle it Edgar, but you must not kill either of them. Let us imprison them when you finish toying with the two," Mark said.

"I will think about it," Edgar stood up. It could not be helped if Katrina or Kate suddenly ended up dead. It depended on what mood he was in. Also, he could not control if either one would take their lives. "I have other places to be. I will kill you next time, Mark."

"I look forward to it," Mark replied.

Edgar exited the room and hoped that this was officially the last time he had to be in the court for a really long time. He ended up leaving home just to toy with Katrina and confirm that Kate was part of Simon wanting Alessandra.

"You."

Before Edgar could get out of the court, he was stopped by someone. He looked to his right and found the person who wanted to slap him not so long ago. "I have a name I like to be addressed by. Are you here to slap me again, Ida?"

"Stop calling me that name!" Katrina exclaimed but realized her mistake. She looked around to make sure there was no one near the two of them. 

At times, she could not believe that she had wanted to set Kate up with Edgar. The man was out to ruin her life from the moment he proposed to Alessandra. Perhaps if he had gotten married to Kate, he would have been helpful with further burying her past. 

"What do you want from me?" Katrina asked as she needed to be on his good side for now. Until she was ready to get rid of him and his wife. She had the money to hire someone to get rid of Edgar when he would be alone. 

"To choke and die. Haven't I been making that quite obvious? Did you think I wanted you to have a happy ending?" Edgar asked, truly wanting to know what was going on in her head. Why would she ask what he wanted when it was painfully obvious? Did she think he would ask her for money? Her of all people?

Katrina bit her lip.

"You have one minute to choke and die before my carriage comes around. Go on," Edgar encouraged her.

"I am not going to roll over and die at your request," Katrina answered. 

"Then it was pointless of you to approach me. You're more of a clever woman than I thought. Sleeping with men and robbing them right after. You ended up poisoning two who died. Was that what made you decide you needed to get away from that life before you could be caught? Why you targeted Desmond to become a Baroness? It appears you were slowly robbing him," Edgar mused. Granted he didn't like Desmond so he didn't feel bad for the former Baron.

Katrina now knew it had to be Randall who spoke to Edgar. Randall was the only one to know about what she did. Stealing from wealthy men was what she proposed to Randall so she wouldn't have to be like the other women in his business taking customers back to back. She picked the men she wanted to sleep with and took their wealth when they slept peacefully. 

She poisoned two of them because it was what they deserved. Acting righteous among their family, but paying to sleep with her in the silence of the night. She cleaned them out leaving nothing for their families who had life too easy.

"You've been told lies," said Katrina. 

"Your anger tells me otherwise. Since you don't plan to roll over and die now, we shall continue this another time. I have places to be and you have worrying to do. Oh, you might want to check the paper first thing tomorrow. There will be something special about Ida," Edgar said, walking down the steps to get to the carriage that arrived for him. 

"Why don't you just get this over with and reveal who I am?" Katrina asked.

"Well, it is more fun to crumble the life you've created here in Lockwood before I come for you. Don't think about running out of town. I am watching and waiting for you."