The Duke's Masked Wife

"Edgar, don't look so sad since you are away from your wife. Why the hell am I cheering you up on my birthday? Have a drink," Tobias said, pouring more of the expensive liquid he saved just for this occasion. He looked forward to spending time with his friends since morning. His birthday was more of a big party for the town instead of a celebration he got to enjoy with his family and friends.

"I don't want anymore," Edgar replied, pushing the mouth of the bottle up so no more could be given to him.

"Why are you such a gloomy person? Can't you just drink because it's my birthday? Don't tell me you are like one of those fools who quit drinking right after his birthday," Tobias said, hoping it wasn't the case.

"I don't want to drink a lot tonight. Stop trying to peer pressure me. It won't work," Edgar said, standing firm on his decision not to drink. Alessandra had stopped drinking since there was a possibility of her being pregnant soon and he made a promise to not get drunk so they could dance later. Not like he would ever get so drunk he couldn't walk around.

Tobias shook his head at Edgar. "Why did I even try with him? It is just you and me, Dominic."

"Pass the expensive drinks I don't need to pay for," Dominic happily placed his cup to receive more wine. It was always a good day when he drank high-quality wine or alcohol he did not need to pay for. "Edgar and Alessandra haven't been drinking at dinner. Well, Edgar has a glass but Alessandra doesn't at all. Yet Edgar won't give away some of his bottles to me."

"I have not stopped drinking. Alessandra and I wouldn't mind having a child now. I simply don't care for more than a cup right now. I have a bad feeling," Edgar said, looking at the door where the servants passed.

"You always have a bad feeling. What is it now?" Tobias asked. Edgar's intuition was always something they needed to pay attention to. "And good luck with trying to make a child. It's harder to do than anyone realizes. I can't wait to see what type of fathers we will be. You too," he pointed his cup at Dominic.

"I don't want any children but I am interested in seeing children driving the two of you crazy," Dominic replied. He liked to visit Daniel to see his nephew turn his brother crazy. "Then again, I hear Alfred is ready to raise your children so as soon as they start to annoy you, just send them to-"

"Your highness! I came to wish you a happy birthday and a healthy life," Simon raised his cup as he approached the group. He got bored of watching all of them having a good conversation and wished to join. The three of them were always around each other and Simon was made to watch on the sidelines in envy. All three men had perfect lives and childhoods. "Duke Collins, can I call you Edgar now?"

"Why?" Edgar asked, almost unamused by Simon's presence. Simon didn't annoy or amuse him in the past but Simon was getting ahead of himself recently.

"Haven't you heard the news? I am now engaged to Kate Barrett. We will be family as soon as our wedding takes place. I hope we can fix the broken relationship between the two sisters," Simon said, ignoring the look Tobias and Dominic gave each other. "I'll send you an invitation as soon as we sort our date. I don't like winter so we might have to wait till spring. Kate might want my head when she finds out."

"Engaged for less than an hour and think we are family. Nothing needs to be fixed. No matter how many times you approach me, I won't consider anything you have to say in regard to Kate. Mind your soon-to-be wife and I will mind mine," Edgar replied. He never had an issue with Simon but his constantly mentioning Kate was moving him from a two to a seven.

Simon would quickly become a ten if a wedding invitation showed up at Edgar's house.

"Well, I do think you need to mind your wife a bit more. She could be a bit more disciplined," Simon stressed the word. He could see why the old fool William wanted her but Alessandra wasn't special in his eyes. He would be helpful in making her perfect if Edgar asked nicely.

"Why?" Tobias palmed his face. Edgar already seemed bothered by something. Hadn't Simon heard what Edgar was like when it came to his wife? The Edgar before Alessandra was already not someone you wanted to piss off. "I'm sure he didn't mean how it came off to us. Right?"

"I'm sorry. I can see how bad it could be for me to tell a husband how to deal with his wife. Forgive me?" Simon smiled, holding out his hand for Edgar to shake and get over his words.

Edgar stared at Simon's hand he didn't plan to shake. He noticed something when Simon's coat was pulled up slightly. "Lost a fight to a cat?" He commented on a small scratch. There was someone else bothering him at the moment so Simon's words went in one ear and out the other. For future reference, he would remember Simon as a ten just like his fiancee.

Simon quickly pulled his coat down. He forgot Lila had grabbed a hold of him when she tried to run away. "Cats tend to not like me," he chuckled. "I had to give the poor thing away. I hope you don't think of me as a bad person because of what I said, Duke Collins."

"I don't think about you at all. Maybe I should. The King is looking for more people to join the search for the young women who have gone missing. You should think of joining. Excuse me for a moment," Edgar handed his cup to Tobias.

'Since when did I say more people could join?' Tobias thought.

Edgar had looked into many people with shady backgrounds like William but he hadn't taken notice of men like Simon who were forgotten because of their quiet nature. He didn't know much about Simon and others who were quiet like him. The scratch on Simon was odd but it was too fresh to belong to the last young woman found. Still, it couldn't hurt to pay attention to more of the quiet men in town.

Edgar left the room where all the noblemen had gathered to drink in honor of Tobias. The women weren't too far away from here. When he left Alessandra's side earlier after they had arrived, he had continued to watch her from a distance. Regardless of Reed nearby, Alessandra was still surrounded by a crowd of people eyeing her with bad intentions.

Alessandra was safe near Hazel since Reed could not join the women but he needed to make sure so he could get this bad feeling out of his mind. It was always better to check than regret this later.

On his way to see Alessandra, Edgar passed by a couple and didn't pay them any mind until it clicked who the man and woman were. Edgar turned around and asked, "What the fuck are you doing?"

"Well shit," Reed cursed, keeping Eleanor out of view from Edgar's gaze. "The Duchess wanted me to take her friend to the bathroom."

"This doesn't look like a bathroom and rather than trying to fuck one of her friends in a hallway, you're supposed to stay close to her. That is the only reason you are here at the ball, remember?" Edgar reminded Reed. He was glad to have come to check up on Alessandra. Left and right, one of his men were trying to fuck her friends and get distracted from the one job they had. "Where is Alessandra?"

Eleanor wiped the corner of her lips to fix where Reed had smudged her aunt's hard work. It was embarrassing to be caught up in a moment with Reed and then to be found by Edgar. "She is with all the other ladies. I will rejoin her," Eleanor said, keeping her head low as she felt like a fool for kissing Reed and enjoying it. They were supposed to be with Alessandra right now.

"Wait," Eleanor ignored Reed's call. She didn't want to look him in the eye any time soon.

"Excuse me," Eleanor apologized to the person she bumped into since she was not watching where she was going.

"It is alright," the servant apologized. He panicked when he noticed Edgar was present with the couple. He had been waiting for Alessandra to meet with the woman who passed by him so he could make his move. The Duke was not supposed to be here yet. "I will make sure no one comes this way," he turned around.

"Wait," Edgar said as the servant seemed familiar. "Turn back around. You've been following us since the moment we arrived. I saw you in the crowd with those bastards eyeing my wife."