The Duke's Masked Wife

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“Where is Rose? Will she be joining us?” Alessandra stopped to ask before they entered the kitchen. Rose checking on Edgar had ended too fast.

“She might be leaving town soon. You don’t need to concern yourself with what she is doing. Unfortunately, she will no longer be helping you but I am not certain if that is a bad thing yet. There is still a chance for the two of you to go back to normal but I am waiting a moment before I call for her carriage to leave,” Edgar said whilst picking at the dough on her hands.

Alessandra still could not fathom how she and Rose came to be at odds with each other. “Furniture is the last thing I expected Rose and I to argue about. I was hoping after the two of you talked it would be over with.”

“It would have become more than furniture had we leave her be. She never got along with my mother well because she could not control my mother. Some time apart will make her realize how pushy she was starting to get. She did confirm that my parents are ending their marriage. It should have happened years ago but now isn’t a bad time,” Edgar said, preferring it end now rather than continuing to go on.

“How are you feeling?”

“What would I be feeling? It isn’t my marriage,” Edgar said, trying to place what it had to do with him.

“Still, it will be odd for you to not see your parents together,” Alessandra replied. It wasn’t odd for her considering her mother left when she was young. For Edgar, his parents were together for over twenty-five years.

“It would be odd if I saw my parents regularly. Nothing will change for me. I will continue to avoid them individually rather than as a married couple,” Edgar answered, still not seeing what changed for him.

Alessandra forgot who she was speaking to and how Edgar wasn’t one to care about things like this. “Right. Well, when news of their divorce is announced in town you will be pestered with many questions from nosy people who wish to know what is going on. Prepare to be annoyed,” she tapped his back but quickly regretted doing so because of the dough on her hands.

.....

“I hadn’t thought about that,” Edgar realized the flood of foolish questions he would hear.

“Why am I getting the feeling that if you knew you would be questioned about their divorce you would not have brought it up to your mother?” Alessandra asked and based on the look Edgar gave her she knew she was right. “You are a very special man.”

“I prefer the words rare or unique. I use special as an insult many times. Were you insulting me?” Edgar asked, starting to get the feeling that her words were not a compliment. More like an insult to his personality.

“As you said, I just meant there is no one else who thinks like you. Not necessarily a good thing,” Alessandra muttered.

“This is no way to treat your sick husband,” Edgar said, covering his mouth with his right hand and faking a cough.

Alessandra saw right through Edgar’s weak attempt to act sick. He should try getting a few lessons from Alfred who really knew how to act well with his dramatic side. “Then you should return to bed and I will sleep in another room tonight if you are still sick. Should I have a maid prepare another room for me?” She smiled, challenging him to continue with his sick act.

“When did you become such a sly woman?” Edgar replied.

“From the moment I married you. I had to learn to keep up with your games. You-”

“Prepare my carriage this instant!” From near the stairs, Rose’s shrill of rage could be heard.

Rose’s tone of voice startled Alessandra. Rose’s soothing voice was more familiar to her than this one, which sounded like it was intended to frighten her.

Alessandra looked down at her hands and picked at the dough she had left. Before she showed up, Rose and Edgar had a great relationship. She wasn’t going to bend like Rose wanted her to and be interested in things just because it was popular among other women but she couldn’t escape the feeling she got from being the source of the rift between Edgar and Rose.

“Do not overthink this, Alessandra. What is happening with me and my grandmother is not your fault. I gave her the option for us to move on and she chose to storm out of our home. It is her way of making us feel guilty and from the looks of your reaction, it is working. The relationship we have with her is not exactly ruined. We are just taking a break from each other so stop sulking,” Edgar flicked her forehead with his finger.

“Ow,” Alessandra groaned, touching the spot which now stung thanks to how hard he flicked her. “What happened to being gentle to your wife?”

“As I recall, you prefer when I am rough with you-”

Alessandra glared at Edgar for having no shame to say this when they weren’t too far away from her grandmother. “I am not going to sleep in the same bed as you tonight. I am in need of some time away from you and your mouth,” she said, trying to think of how she put up with him daily.

Alessandra removed her hand and started to go to the kitchen.

“Are you certain? You enjoy my mouth more than you think,” Edgar chuckled as Alessandra picked up her pace to get away from him. “Always with a chase,” he added, following behind her.

“Alessandra, I was starting to think you weren’t coming back to check on your cookies. Are you joining us, Edgar?” Wilma asked, wiping her hands in a cloth quickly to not look like a mess in front of Edgar.

“For a moment to see if Alessandra’s baking has gotten better. She tried to kill me with a cake full of flour recently. Has she improved or has our flour been wasted?” Edgar asked, ignoring the murderous glare from his wife.

“I am learning. I didn’t insult your failed attempt to paint to this degree and I should have considered the fact I could not make out what it was you tried to paint,” Alessandra poked his chest.

Edgar grabbed her finger to stop the hard pokes to his chest. “She always finds ways to keep her hands on me,” he said.

“I am seriously tired of the two of you making me miss my husband,” Hazel said, standing with folded arms in the corner of the kitchen as she waited for her cookies to be finished. Normally, she would enjoy seeing Edgar and Alessandra be cute but when her husband wasn’t around, other couples were the last thing she wanted to see.

“Sometimes it is good to be away from your husband,” Alessandra said, glancing at Edgar to show the reason why. She left his side to go to Wilma before she decided to cover him in flour.

“Is that why you looked on the verge of tears when I returned home yesterday? There is no reason for you to be annoyed when in truth, you love to be near me,” Edgar said, enjoying the way she glared at him.

Wilma continued to mix another batch of cookies while listening to the banter of the young couple. “Alessandra, have you told him about the court?” She asked as it was big news.

“I didn’t get the chance to. My grandmother has already received a message to visit the court to have a sit down with the Baroness. Not only for the inheritance since it was somehow paid back but it seems my father might be stripped of his title.” The news came as a surprise to Alessandra but even in death, he shouldn’t keep his title when he did not deserve it.

“I don’t know who from my father’s family will be attending aside from Katrina but I hope you can join us. I would love to avoid it since it would get messy but I am not going to protect my father’s name and be honest with what I know. I can only imagine that Katrina and Kate must be losing their minds,” Alessandra said.