The Duke's Masked Wife

"My lady, your son does not appear to be here."

"So his butler is alone. Alert Federick that I am in need of his services right now. If he does not come right away I shall cut ties with him. Move quickly," Priscilla ordered the maid. "I cannot waste this chance."

Priscilla stared at the shop Alfred had long entered but not come out of. She hated the sight of him to her very core. It would hurt any mother to see their child care for someone else after the pain she was burdened with to bring Edgar into this world.

Alfred had the relationship she wished to have with Edgar and if Alfred was out of the picture, perhaps Edgar would cling to her for affection. She barely had her husband so she should at least have her only child.

"He won't ever speak to me again if he finds out," she whispered.

Priscilla knew her son's anger and should he ever learn she had harmed Alfred, Edgar would never speak to her ever again and he loved Alfred enough to kill her. Knowing this only fueled her anger toward Alfred. It was frustrating to be jealous of a man with a status far below her own.

On one side, she didn't want to push Edgar further away but her jealousy had grown over the years.

Priscilla walked towards the shop Alfred had entered as she wanted to have a word with him. She always wanted to but Edgar would get in the way. She hoped Alfred would know his place and be willing to leave with money she could offer him. If not, Federick would have to get rid of him forever.

Priscilla entered the shop and was immediately disgusted with the array of herbs and other scents filling her nose. This was a place she would rather send her maid instead of stepping foot in.

"Good afternoon, my lady."

"Alfred," Priscilla called to Alfred who was occupied with whatever he was doing at the counter.

Alfred slowly turned around, surprised by Priscilla's sudden presence in the shop. It wasn't a place he expected to meet her. "Mrs. Collins," he greeted her.

"Follow me," Priscilla said, turning around to leave the shop.

Alfred stared at the door swinging in after Priscilla left. Of all people, why her? He would rather have a run-in with the person kidnapping all the young women. Alfred looked back at the counter where all the items he picked out were placed. "Please bag these up for me quickly," he said as he fished through his pocket for money he had brought along.

"Yes sir."

'This won't be good,' Alfred thought. Running into Priscilla never ended well.

"Thank you," Alfred said to the shopkeeper after a bag was placed before him. He placed the exact amount of money on the counter and proceeded to leave. Before he exited the shop, something else caught his eye. "Add this too," he picked up the item and went back to the counter.

Less than a minute later, Alfred exited the shop and was greeted by Priscilla who was not the slightest bit happy with how long he kept her waiting.

Priscilla only stood outside because she did not want him to run away from her. She walked across the street to where all the carriages were parked and stepped into her own with the help of her coachman.

Alfred entered the carriage behind her, sitting where the latch to open the carriage door was.

Priscilla looked outside the window at a woman walking with a little girl. "I had Edgar too young. I was hardly ready but it was needed. Still, there is nothing better than being a mother and I have placed great opportunities before Edgar to make sure he would be far above his peers. He is always the talk of the town and there were so many eligible young women wanting to marry him but my plans were interfered with."

She wished to wake up and hear Alessandra had somehow disappeared.

"Even with my status and good background, it wasn't easy to become a part of the Collins family so tell me, why should the daughter of a Baron get an easy ride? I heard that the old woman has taken a liking to her. Why am I not surprised?" Priscilla asked.

"If you take a moment to get to know the Duchess you would see what a good person-"

"Good person?" Priscilla chuckled. "That hardly matters in this world. We marry for money and status. That girl had neither. Edgar only benefitted tales of him being cursed from this marriage."

"Edgar has fallen in love," said Alfred. In his eyes, it was better than anything else Edgar could gain from marriage.

"You all think I ruined him. No one wants to point a finger at his father who was still seeing that woman when I was having a hard time with my pregnancy. Regardless, we had an image to uphold and Edgar is tarnishing it with his wife. All these years I put so many resources before him and he is throwing it all away. That school wasn't cheap-"

"Edgar hated that school," Alfred interjected, unable to stay silent while she pointed fingers at everyone else. "He detested it yet you kept sending him back. You needed to listen to-"

"Do not tell me how to raise my son!" Priscilla yelled, angered by the habit he had not gotten rid of. "I am his mother. The person who brought him into this world while you are nothing more than a butler and that is all you ever will be. Stop telling me what I have done wrong with Edgar. It is not your place. You have made it hard for me to have a relationship with Edgar. Then you act all innocent."

Alfred sighed as this was far from the truth. He had pushed for years to have Edgar repair his relationship with his mother. It put him at odds with Edgar a few times since he was tired of hearing about this. Edgar had long grown out of his need to have a relationship with his parents and there was nothing Alfred had done to make him dislike his parents.

"I know what you did. Leaving my home in the middle of the night to take Edgar away from his school and travel to his grandmother. I had never been more degraded in life than when she paid me a visit the day after. Snatching my son away from me and giving him a home to be away from his parents. You took part in that. Be a man and admit it," said Priscilla.

"I did what was best for the young master. I have not asked for anything for the time I have stuck by your son. I care for him as if he was my own-"

"That is your problem," Priscilla said, tapping against the carriage door as she stared at Alfred. "You keep thinking he is your own. I am giving you two choices. One, you pack your belongings and get far away from my son, or two, I shall make sure you no longer irritate me."

Alfred didn't fear Priscilla's threat to end his life. "You may not like it when I offer you advice but I will do it one last time. Once Edgar hates you, it will never go away. If you hurt the people he loves, be it me or his wife, he will not care that you brought him into this world. He will ruin you and you know it. That is why you are trying to justify whatever you plan to do with this conversation. You are trying to paint me the villain to be guilt-free."

"I never feel guilty or regret the things I do. I have given you time after time a chance to get out of my sight. I can no longer watch you stand where I want to be."

Alfred gripped the bag in his hands. "If I were to die today, it would not fix the relationship you have with Edgar. It is best to work with me to mend it before all hope is lost. It was never my intention to take your son away from you. I only wanted him to be happy. I'm afraid you just lost one of the two people who could have helped you."

"I do not take well to my life being threatened nor do I like thinking about the state Edgar would be left in if I were to die before my time. I have little ones to take care of," Alfred said with a smile. "No one is going to take that away from me and I will not ruin the happiness he has with his wife. I am no longer a butler. Your son has made it clear I am a part of the family and went as far as to fire me."

Priscilla was stunned by this news. How could Edgar do such a thing?

"Send whoever you wish but I am not dying today. Have a good day," Alfred said, then opened the carriage door to get out.