The Duke's Masked Wife

Katrina forced a smile so Simon wouldn't suspect something was wrong. He already seemed to pick up on something going on between her and Randall. Regardless of how much she wanted to drive a knife into Randall's heart, she held back to not ruin the night for Kate. "He is staying with us," she said.

"Wonderful. I want to hear more about where he has traveled to. I have not been to many towns outside of Lockwood you see. Are you a friend of the family or a relative? I'm afraid I have not seen you before?" Simon asked, suspicious of the man standing beside him. He didn't like another guest attending but it was in his fake persona to care to have the man at dinner.

Simon resisted the urge to glare at Katrina for not sending the man away. This was meant to be an intimate dinner with him showing his intentions to marry Kate. Still, it amused him to see how quickly Katrina smiled when she was clearly ticked off by her companion. He could see where Kate had learned her habits from but Kate was far better at hiding her true personality than her mother.

Luckily, his marriage to Kate would give him one more person he could get to act like nothing was wrong. Simon was tempted to see if Katrina could continue to put on a show if he were to hurt her daughter. He had never tried breaking a mother and daughter before.

"I am like family to the Baroness and I knew her husband well. We should go inside before the cold air gets to us," Randall smiled, motioning with his hands for Simon to go inside first. He could tell the young man had money judging by his attire, the way he carried himself, and the fact he was standing before Katrina.

Katrina continued to smile as Simon entered the home first but the smile fell when she turned to Randall. "What are you doing here?" She mouthed.

"I cannot believe how long it has been since we last saw each other," Randall pulled Katrina into a hug to continue their act in front of her guest. "Try sending me away and I will expose who you really are," he whispered, kissing her cheek as a greeting before letting go.

"Can I ask why you called her Ida?" Simon asked, curious to know what was really going on between Katrina and this man. They must think he was a fool to not know when someone was acting before him. Had he known this house was so interesting, he would have arranged to visit sooner. Kate did something the other women failed to do. She was making the game fun. Not just with herself but with her family.

"It is a nickname I gave the Baroness to tease her. It is a name she hates. We were not properly introduced. My name is Thomas," Randall held out his hand for Simon to shake.

Simon eyed the disgusting hand of the man from obvious low birth with disgust but it disappeared before anyone noticed it. He shook Randall's hand and introduced himself, "I am Marquess-"

"Marquess?" Randall interrupted Simon before he could be given a name. "I am surrounded by big titles. I should have dressed better," he chuckled.

"Simon, Kate has been anxiously awaiting your arrival. James," Katrina called for the butler who was already watching them. "Please take Simon to surprise Kate. She will be delighted to see you here. You should take those flowers and give them to her instead."

"Then if you would excuse me for a moment," Simon said, turning to James to be taken to Kate. He wanted to witness more of the interaction between Katrina and this Thomas but he would get to see more at dinner. 'If I find out what the Baroness is hiding, I can have this family under my thumb, doing whatever I tell them to,' his lips curled.

"Why the fuck are you here?" The sweetness in Katrina's voice disappeared when Simon was out of sight. "We had a promise that you would not show up before me if I paid for my freedom. I paid you three times the amount."

"And yet here I am. You scored big," Randall whistled as he walked around the entryway, inspecting the house she weaseled her way inside. "I remember not thinking you could do it but you proved me wrong. It was a bit disappointing how long it took you to get rid of the husband. Did you love him?"

"I did not harm my husband. What do you want from me? Money? Haven't you heard this house is in debt?"

"You might have paid out your contract but you are a fool if you thought you were free from me. You should watch the way you speak to me. After all, I am the one who put you in this position. To meet the Baron and wipe away your life as Ida. You owe me for all that I did to get you where you are now. I lucked out by letting you get away. There were some wealthy men ready to pay for a night with you," Randall shook his head as the money he lost pained him. "So much money to be your first."

"Well they couldn't pay for something you stole," Katrina said through gritted teeth. The painful night came back to her, making her skin feel disgusted as she felt his dirty hands on her.

Randall grinned, as always entertained by her fire. That was why he thought of keeping her to himself. The infatuation he had with her was what gave her the opening to suggest letting her aim higher than selling her body to random men and instead, scam men with wealth. It worked out for a couple of years until she wanted to aim even higher by marrying a wealthy man.

"Stole away? You gave yourself to me in exchange for listening to your plans. You were so determined to not be like the other girls taking customers every hour only to sell yourself to wealthy men. I did like the drive you had to always aim higher. I started to think of you recently when I heard someone bring up this name you created and I thought, why haven't you created more Katrinas? More young girls to marry big and give me money?" Randall asked.

He grew bored of the business he had in the red light district in another town and wanted to take it to another step. "If you want to keep my lips shut about how your mother sold you to me for only a warm meal," he chuckled in the midst of his sentence as he could never get over how easily she was given to him. "You are going to help me with my new business."