The Duke's Masked Wife

"You do not have to stay with me, Alessandra. I have already eaten and you've brought more books than I needed for my time on bed rest. Please, find something else to occupy your time with. You still have a party to plan," said Alfred. He hated to see Alessandra spending her day taking care of him when it was meant to be the other way around.

"The kittens will be upset if I leave now," Alessandra lied, holding up the white kitten she brought along to keep Alfred company. "Therefore I will stay."

Alfred stared at the kitten that could care less where it played. If he were to throw one of the toys Sally made for it out the door, it would chase after it and never look back.

Alessandra placed the kitten back on the floor since Alfred did not buy her excuse. "I want to stay here a little longer and then I will give you some alone time. Also, I won't be planning a party anymore. At least not for a little while. I had enough of the conflict it brings. I will be planning a sleepover for not more than five women."

"A sleepover? Here?" Alfred questioned as he found it hard to believe Edgar's home would have overnight guests.

"Yes. I brought it up to Edgar already. I have most of it planned out but I have not thought about the food or how to decorate the rooms we shall sleep in. I will need your help when you are better. It must sound childish for young women my age to have a sleepover but we could all do with one night to get away from our problems," said Alessandra.

"I am not judging the type of party you have. I am glad you have found your circle of women all by yourselves. They will be much better than the list I created for you. I will create the menu. I have never else to do at the moment but read," Alfred said, closing the book he was almost done with.

"I'm sure you will be back to your daily activities in no time. You look better than you did last night. A good recovery gift will be interviewing the men wanting to become Edgar's butler. You can have fun teaching them all that you know and Edgar spoke of you wanting to open a school."

"No one can match the skills I have as a butler but I will try my best to help them come close," Alfred replied.

Alessandra bit her lip as she refrained from laughing. She thought Edgar got his ego from Rose but it seemed a part of it came from Alfred. "Yes, no one can ever match how perfect you were as a butler," she agreed with him.

"When did Edgar say he will return? I doubt he is having a good time with his parents. If only he would let me go with him. It is my arm that is injured, not my feet. Did he tell you what he planned to do with his mother?" Alfred asked full of curiosity.

When Edgar came to visit him early this morning, he was much better which only worried Alfred more. Edgar and Priscilla would certainly clash leaving Edmund in the middle to calm both of them. Alfred knew Edmund wouldn't allow Edgar to kill his wife which would create a fight between father and son.

"He did not mention it to me. Honestly, I did not ask what his plans were. We will find out together when he returns. Whatever happens, his mother needs to be responsible for her actions.  I will not question what Edgar has done," Alessandra said, choosing to stand by whatever Edgar did to his mother. It should have happened by now.

"Duchess," they heard Sally's voice from outside followed by a few knocks on the door.

"Come in."

Sally opened the door and walked to the bed.  "Duchess, men from the court are here to have a word with you," she said.

Alessandra was confused as to why the court would want to speak with her. At first, she thought it had something to do with what happened to Alfred but then she remembered her inheritance. She had not received anything from her grandmother or Katrina. "Let them inside," Alessandra gave the order for the gates to be opened.

"What are they here for?" Alfred asked after Sally left the room.

"My inheritance which is rightfully mine. I know that my father spent it but after the stunt Katrina pulled with Mario and then visiting with my grandmother, I could not let them get away with something else. After everything they have done, I cannot allow them to keep what belonged to me too. Your moment alone came quickly," Alessandra said, smiling as she stood up.

She left the kitten behind so Alfred wouldn't be all alone.

Alessandra walked out to the front door to await her guest. She was anxious to know if Katrina was able to pull the money out of thin air or if she came up with some excuse. Had her grandmother truly provided the money to keep Katrina from getting arrested?

'After years of them not getting along of course now would be when they start to see eye to eye,' Alessandra thought.

Sally came to stand behind Alessandra, watching three men ride toward the house. She hoped trouble wasn't coming to Alessandra while Edgar was currently away.

"Duchess," Mark greeted her as he walked up the steps with Declan, leaving their horses in the hands of Zachary. "It is a pleasure to finally meet you. I offer my late condolences to your father. We've received your notice about your inheritance and have been working on it.  We won't take up too much of your time today."

"Please come inside from the cold," Alessandra welcomed them in. She briefly glanced at the large box one of them was carrying and wondered if it belonged to her.

Mark stepped into the home he wouldn't be able to enter if Edgar was at home. He would not have made it past the gates if not for Alessandra. He didn't particularly have an issue with Edgar but they always stayed out of each other's paths as long as Edgar wasn't causing trouble.

"Your grandmother paid all the money left to you from your father and mother. All that is missing are items from your mother's list. Your stepmother has one day left to either provide us with those items or pay what we deem a reasonable price," Declan explained, setting the box with the money down on the floor. "We are trying to find your mother to alert her of this issue."

Alessandra froze at the mention of her mother.

"Tell me, what does everyone have this reaction to your mother? Are we searching for a dead woman?" Mark asked.

"I genuinely do not know if she is alive or dead. I have not heard from her in years and my father never spoke of her whereabouts. It was surprising to hear someone is searching for her. I hope you can find out about her so that I can stop guessing what has happened to her," Alessandra said, eager to hear news of her mother.

"We will send a notice to you the day we find her. In the meantime, we have gotten in touch with your grandparents. They will be coming to Lockwood soon. Perhaps they will give you a better story of where their daughter ran off to."