The Duke's Masked Wife

After more than fifteen minutes of walking, Sally was able to find a carriage to pay to take her home. She was lucky to have money in her pouch for emergencies. She was scared out of her mind when one or two carriages passed by. The thought of the person taking the young women consumed her mind with each step. Sally only felt relieved when she was dropped off in front of Edgar's home.

The gates were opened for her by someone new which made her curious about Caleb's brother. He was always there being lazy or annoyed by the people wanting to come inside. He had once told her to climb the gates instead of bothering him. There was no testing needed to prove that all the fun personality went to Caleb while his brother was grumpy.

Sally dragged her feet to the front door, tired of walking for the day. She wished to stumble across Alfred on her way back home but did not see the carriage they took this morning passing by her. Since he was late, he should expect that she had left. Hopefully.

Her shoulders relaxed when she twisted the doorknob and entered the home. Her body tensed at the sight of Edgar walking down the stairs with a paper in his hand.

"Good evening, Duke Collins," she greeted him.

Edgar looked behind Sally at the slightly opened door. "Where is Alfred? Did he drop you off and went out again?"

"No," Sally shook her head. "He never came back to pick me up so I-I," she choked up when his expression changed. She gulped, wanting to disappear at this very moment. He was eyeing her like she had done something to Alfred.

"When was he supposed to pick you up?" Edgar asked, wary of the situation.

"This will be going on for two hours now. I think. I have no idea what time it is now," Sally replied as best as she could.  It felt like hours since she left her aunt's home but it could have been only one hour.

"Fucking hell," Edgar cursed. It wasn't like Alfred to not be on time. Even when he was sick. Something was wrong and he disliked the terrible feeling he had building up inside.

Sally stepped to the side to get out of Edgar's way as he walked out the front door. Her concern for Alfred increased now that Edgar seemed sure something had happened to him. She knew that it was odd Alfred had not returned for her but she let it go as him messing up just this once.

"What's up with him? Got to pee?" Caleb asked, walking up to the front door with his brother right behind him. They were supposed to deal with someone who injured the Duchess but Edgar sped out the door without them.

Reed rolled his eyes at his brother's comment. "How the hell did we come from the same womb?" He muttered. If not for them looking the same, he would doubt his mother's words that they were brothers.

"There's a chance something happened to Alfred," Sally alerted the two. Her palms became sweaty as many scenarios ran through her mind. She noticed the similar expression of shock the brothers wore before charging out the door to follow after Edgar.

Sally watched them run down the steps but the sound of a horse shifted her gaze to the side of the house where Edgar rode a horse toward the gates. She worried about him being out in the cold since he had no coat to handle the snow. He rode out in casual clothes that were more suited for the warmth of the house.

Not too far behind Edgar, she potted Caleb and Reed riding behind him on horses. She couldn't understand how they had reached the stables so quickly but she was glad they had all set out to search for Alfred.

"This will all be a big misunderstanding. The carriage must have broken down. There's no need for me to worry Alessandra about this. This will be fine," Sally said, biting her nails as she tried to convince herself. Sweat covered her forehead despite the coldness. "What on earth would happen to him? There is no reason to be so worried," she concluded.

Sally didn't see what bad thing could happen to Alfred who kept to himself. She closed the door to keep the snow out. Soon enough, Edgar would be returning home with Alfred who would have a funny story to tell.

Meanwhile, Edgar rode through the snow ignoring the coldness biting at his skin. He advised Alfred to take a guard and though Alfred had turned down the offer, he should have pushed more for Alfred to take the guard. Edgar didn't pay much attention to Caleb calling out for him. He could only find focus on finding Alfred and scolding him for not taking guard.

Edgar followed the road that would lead into town. Luckily, Sally's aunt lived along this road so if Alfred was going there to pick her up or coming from there right now, they would have to cross paths. The timing of this made him worry about Alfred. A lot could happen in the two hours Sally had not seen Alfred. It would have been better if she returned home right away but he could not fault her for not thinking something was wrong.

Edgar stopped at the front of Mr. Norman's home. A man he met a few times but was easy to forget about because of his boring personality. The carriage Alfred took was not there.

"Was this where Alfred was going?" Reed asked.

"No. Sally was waiting for him here. He didn't reach here. I am going into town," said Edgar as that was the next place Alfred had to be. Either that or something happened to the carriage so it should be on the side of the road.  At least one person should have passed his carriage that was one of a kind.

Not passing Alfred before they reached this house confirmed something had happened. Unless Alfred was coming from the direction of the palace, this was the only road he could have taken to get home. Alfred would never abandon Sally for this long. Not even in sunny weather.

While Caleb was concerned for Alfred, he was worried about Edgar becoming sick if he stayed without a coat much longer. "You need a coat-"

"I need to find Alfred," Edgar snapped. A coat did not matter when Alfred was missing. He had too many enemies to pinpoint which would have targeted Alfred. "Reed, return to get the hounds and bring more men. Have them spread out to look for Alfred. Question everyone you pass about my carriage. Follow me, Caleb."

While Reed turned his horse around to head back to the estate, Edgar continued to ride towards town. His hands trembled from anger and panic. He would send this kingdom into chaos to find Alfred and the person who took him.