The Duke's Masked Wife

"Alessandra," Kate greeted her half-sister. She liked to think of Alessandra as more of her stepsister as she failed to believe they shared the same father. A house guest would be more suited as a title for Alessandra instead of a sister. It would have been a good rumor to stir up that Alessandra's mother had an affair and Alessandra was not the child of Desmond Barrett.

"Duchess," Alessandra corrected Kate. They weren't close enough for Kate to drop the title. She knew Kate was trying to be disrespectful. Why was Kate even speaking with her? They had nothing to say to each other.

Kate forced a smile as she didn't want to seem like the aggressor between her and Alessandra. Kate knew it wouldn't be long before all eyes would be on the two of them. It was evident by now to everyone else that they did not care for each other. She wanted Alessandra to appear like the unhappy one.

Now that they were away from the men, Kate had an opening for her plan to start. The man she paid for should be nearby so all she needed to do was get Alessandra away from everyone else and then leave her.

"I would like to have a word with you in private. There is a hallway nearby for no one to hear us," Kate said, expecting Alessandra to follow her.

Alessandra couldn't help but wonder if something hit Kate's head before this. "I am not going anywhere with you," she replied. Not now, not ever would she leave the group to hear what Kate wanted to say. "Whatever you wish to speak about I do not care to hear."

"Can't you spare a moment for your sister?" Kate raised her voice to get the attention of the other young women. They would help pressure Alessandra into having a conversation with her.

"No," Alessandra replied. Hearing the word sister from Kate was as odd as Kate speaking to her now.

"Kate just got engaged, Duchess. I am sure she is excited to share the good news with you," Grace said to help Kate. She wanted to see whatever Kate had planned to play out. The ball was quite boring since no one had asked for her hand in marriage. Seeing the Duchess fight with her sister would make up for it. "You two should speak in private."

"Congratulations on your engagement. I wish you happiness but I have more to say to you. If I leave with you now, it would be no different than a mouse leaving with a cat who always spoke of eating it. Whatever you are planning, put it to rest and enjoy your engagement. Do not let your hatred ruin your night," Alessandra advised Kate.

On the night Kate got engaged, how could she look to ruin it by speaking with someone who didn't care for her?

Alessandra did not forget the type of person Kate was. Kate might have bossed her around in their youth but it was only because Alessandra could not say no. She didn't want to create more trouble for herself back then as Kate liked to attack her when she didn't listen. Now it was a different story.

"I'd like to take a seat, Heather. I don't think the Queen will come back to us any time soon," Alessandra said, pointing to the open room nearby where she assumed the women were meant to go. She could see chairs and maids standing around with trays in their hands.

"What? Oh yes, I would like to sit down," Heather replied after she snapped out of her thoughts. She was wondering what could make sisters be so against each other.

Heather felt the animosity and dislike the two had for each other. It was a bit uncomfortable and odd as she had heard when she returned to Lockwood and was learning about Edgar's wife, how Kate had taken up for her sister and spoke of taking care of Alessandra daily. Kate received a lot of pity for having to care for her sister who was known to have a curse.

Heather didn't have many interactions with Kate when she returned from White town but her time in Lockwood now showed Kate was not exactly sweet.  Kate was jealous of how close Heather was to Priscilla so it wasn't surprising to hear Kate join the group of young women who were excited to see Priscilla push Heather out of her circle. Heather was still getting to know more about both sisters so she didn't know how to feel about the tension in front of her.

"Alessandra," Kate grabbed Alessandra's hand before she could walk away. Alessandra was still looking down on her.

Was it because Kate did not have her title yet or because Simon didn't compare to Edgar? Did Alessandra think her face was special? Was Alessandra foolish to think she was better than her? Kate didn't like the way Alessandra looked at her. She preferred when Alessandra could not meet her eyes and panicked when she was near. "You really think you are something special."

"For the last time, it is the Duchess," Alessandra pried Kate's hands away from holding her. She looked in the direction of the hallway Kate wanted to take her to speak and wondered what Kate had planned there. It was the same direction Reed had taken Eleanor to find a bathroom. "We are not familiar with each other, so do not use my title."

"I will be Marchioness-"

"And when you are officially married, I will not be childish and give you the respect you are entitled to but not right now when you are grabbing my hand. We have nothing to say to each other, Kate. I know you let your anger get the best of you but to ruin your engagement night by messing with me is a new level. Savor the night Kate," Alessandra said. Everyone should look back on the night they got engaged and be happy.

"Stop acting all high and mighty. When will you address the fact that you went after the Duke solely because I liked him? That is the kind of person you are. You want to appear like you are so innocent but I know the real you. You let your husband kill our father and didn't help with the funeral after everything-"

"What about you? Will you address what happened to my face?" Alessandra asked, refusing to let Kate paint her as a villain. No one was aware of what she endured when living with her family so it was easy to say she turned her back on her family the moment she got married to Edgar. Katrina and Kate fueled talk of her being ungrateful when she did not attend the funeral. "Stop acting like you are an innocent person with clean hands, Kate."

Alessandra continued to say, "Since you are hell-bent on ruining a good night, how about I tell a story from our childhood? From when we were alone and you-"

"You!" Kate exclaimed, clenching her fist. She looked over her shoulder to see if anyone other than Grace and Heather was close enough to hear.

"Talking about my face isn't hard to do anymore, Kate. I want to have a good night with my husband and friends. If you continue to pester me, I won't mind ruining your night even more. I wonder what your fiance would think about how aggressive you were in your youth. I've let you lie about me and what happened to my face for years. Leave me alone before I shatter your life," Alessandra warned in a low tone so not everyone watching could hear.

As good as it would be to reveal the full story right now, Alessandra wanted to hold on to it and dangle it over Kate's head to keep her silent. The last thing Kate would want was for Simon to hear about this. Kate's karma would come without Alessandra being the one to expose their past.

"Do you still wish to talk?" Alessandra asked.