The Duke's Masked Wife

"You have the same look Edgar has when Sally and Caleb are together. Do you not like seeing them talking?" Alessandra asked Reed after Jeanette left her for a moment. She caught Reed shaking his head at Sally and Caleb many times.

"They should just fuck-I mean," Reed paused as he didn't think his language suited her. "I'm sorry."

"I'm married to Edgar, Reed. I'm sure you know how blunt his mouth can be. You can speak how you want with me. So, you see that Sally and Caleb have some sort of attraction for each other," Alessandra said, watching the two bicker.  "They will figure it out," she added, choosing not to meddle in what will become of the two.

Reed stared at his brother following behind Sally like a big stupid dog. The fool was already smitten but didn't want to admit it. 'What is different from the other girls?' He wondered, trying to make sense of Sally.

Sally annoyed Reed each time she wanted to go outside and come back inside the gates. Now, he had to be around her more because of this fake engagement that was bound to fail.

"Excuse me," Reed told Alessandra when he caught Andre signaling for him by the door.  He went over to where Reed and Clyde stood guarding the door and asked, "What is it?"

"The Baroness," Clyde pointed at Katrina walking down the street. "Edgar has been waiting on her to leave her home."

Reed knew Edgar was waiting for this woman to be seen out of public and now, here she was. He found it odd how she kept looking over her shoulder like she was about to do something shady or she felt she was being watched. "Talk about timing," he licked his lips. "She must not know the Duchess is in town yet. Keep the Duchess safe and do not leave until I get back," he said as he exited the door to follow Katrina.

A prime opportunity to give Katrina her gift and see what she was up to should not be wasted. Edgar's enemies became Reed's enemies and now the same could be said when it came to Alessandra.

Reed discreetly followed behind Katrina. She wore a hood to cover her head but it didn't make it hard for anyone to tell that it was her.  He kept a good distance between the two of them, silently watching how she looked around at the people passing by her and saying a few hello's to those who recognized that it was obviously her.

This continued for almost four minutes until they reached a part of town where you wouldn't catch a Baroness roaming around. From behind her, Reed watched her pull the hood forward and seemingly try tucking her blond hair in. Now, she really did not want to be seen.

'And here I thought I would just be carrying around bags all day,' Reed thought. The day was looking pretty exciting right about now.

Reed stopped when Katrina entered a small inn. Despite the financial situation she was in, she could still afford something better than this. He went by a window instead of going in since he would most likely be noticed by her, and watched her speak with who seemed to be the owner and then she was given a key.

Reed figured she was either meeting with someone or there was something she had hidden away. Some inns had a few rooms reserved for customers to rent weekly or month to month. No one else was allowed inside. It was mostly men who wanted to hide their affairs that did this.

It wouldn't be too hard to find out what business she had here once Edgar was made aware of this.

Inside the inn, Katrina covered her nose as she walked up the creaking stairs to find the room she used when she first came to town. One more trip after today and she would be done with her visits. The smell of the inn was worse than usual which made her consider sending James next time.

Katrina stopped in front of the room with the number seven and looked down both ends of the hall before stepping inside. She took off her hood and shook her hair free.  It was still as filthy as the first day she came to Lockwood. Luckily, she did not have not to bear living here for long considering how easy it was to have Desmond take her to his home and marry her.

"I need to get back home before Kate," she muttered, hurrying to a spot where the board on the floor lifted.

Katrina hid some of the money she had gathered from scams in other towns. It was a wonderful business but it did not give her the life she desired. She desired a nice title that would have her name the talk of the town.

Katrina took out a box from under the rotten floor. There was one other box full of jewelry she needed to take with her to end her trips here but it was too large for her to take now. Especially when there was somewhere else she needed to go to start her deal with William.

Katrina placed the box to the side and fixed the floor so that no one being sneaky would find out what she used this room for. She spent more than seventeen years in town without anyone knowing of this room besides the owner who didn't care about her secrets as long as she continued to pay her rent.

"There," she said after everything was placed back just as she found it. Katrina covered her head with the hood once again and left the room with her box in her hand.

She kept her head low as she walked out of the inn to avoid the gazes of the disgusting drunkards drinking in the middle of the day. She was glad to never have to deal with such bastards ever again. Aside from this inn, Katrina had one more secret stash of money in case of emergency should she ever need to quickly leave town.

Katrina's happiness to have the box was disrupted by one sentence.

"Never thought I would see a Baroness here," Reed said just as she passed him. He waited for her a good distance from the inn so she wouldn't know he saw her there.

Katrina gripped the box, looking at the man who knew just who she was. His clothes were an indication that he did not belong on this cheaper side of town. "Who are you?" She asked.

"A friend of someone who has been waiting for you to crawl out of your hole.  You should come to this side of town when it is night," he advised her. Reed leaned against the wall of a shop, playing with a blade in his hand. "That way no one will recognize you."

Katrina couldn't place who this man was but his features did remind her of someone else she met before. She had no time to remain in this area with a man she did not know so Katrina continued to walk to the other side of town she was more familiar with.

"Not so fast," Reed grabbed her hand, causing the box to drop.  Reed dodged her other hand trying to claw at his face. They started to tussle with him trying to keep her still to cut her cheek and her trying to push him away. "You are only making it worse for yourself."

Reed had the advantage of his large frame so it wasn't long before he overpowered her and added another cut to her right cheek right under where Edgar left the first. Thanks to her squirming to get away from him, the cut was not straight, creating a bruise that would leave an odd shape when it healed.

Reed pushed Katrina away since he was finished with what he came to do. "That should tell you who I work for. Keep your daughter away from the Duchess unless you want a third bruise," he warned her before leaving to go back to Alessandra.

Katrina's eyes filled with tears as she touched her cheek where she could feel blood running down. It was already hard to deal with the first bruise now she had to bear with another.  She slowly picked up the box and then pulled her hood down as far as she could to hide what she now considered a hideous face.

Katrina wanted to yell at the people who stopped to watch her and the strange man but did not help her. She would only embarrass herself and she did not want to show her ruined beautiful face.

Katrina practically dragged her feet in the snow as she tried not to cry out loud. One thing for certain, she was going to get back at Edgar for destroying what she dearly cherished.