The Duke's Masked Wife

"You are making it harder for me to like you," Edgar said.

"Sally?" Alessandra wasn't aware anyone was following behind the two of them as she heard no footsteps.

Had Sally been purposely following behind them to hear what they were speaking about or was she genuinely not trying to interrupt their conversation? If it was the latter, it was common courtesy to make your presence known in case something private might be said.

"I wasn't trying to eavesdrop on your conversation on purpose. I came in but neither of you said anything and left so I followed behind. I swear," Sally tried to plead her case.

"I don't believe you. Considering the glances I saw the Baroness give you when you came out with your bag, I wouldn't be surprised if she threatened you to spy on us. Am I right or wrong?" Edgar saw the glance Katrina gave to Sally when he was taking Alessandra's bags from her bedroom.

It was quite predictable for Katrina to use Sally to be her eyes and ears since she was banned from stepping foot on his property.

"There were two reasons why you were afraid to enter my carriage. One, you were afraid Alessandra had some resentment because you released the sheets. Two, you were scared of what might happen to you should I find out you are a spy. Be honest with me as I am already upset with the servants here. Do not add to my anger," Edgar gave a warning.

Alessandra also expected something like this from her stepmother. "Did she tell you to spy on us? She is not here to hurt you for revealing the truth."

"She did," Sally admitted the truth. She had to choose between Edgar and Katrina being upset with her but the answer was quite clear. Katrina lost a bit of power with the Baron's death and Edgar had the ability to kill her right now. "She came to me and threatened to harm my family if I do not report everything you do. I do not want to work for the Baroness but I was scared."

"That side of you I truly dislike," Edgar said, referring to her always seeming scared. "What do you want to do with her, Alessandra?"

"Let us stay and work for me.  I was going to consider having you send fake reports back to Katrina but it will only put you in danger. You will be my personal maid here. That is if you want to work for me," Alessandra gave her the option.

If Sally did not want to work for someone with a bad reputation, Alessandra would have Edgar find other work for her elsewhere.

"I would love a second chance to prove myself as a good servant, Duchess. And I won't be scared anymore, Duke. At least I will try not to be," said Sally.

"Good, we should see how it goes the next few days but if you do send reports back to my stepmother, I won't stop Edgar from getting rid of you. Is it this way to where the servants have gathered?" Alessandra pointed down the hall they had come across. She walked ahead to not keep the servants and Alfred waiting for much longer.

Edgar smiled while Sally tried to process the fact Alessandra had just threatened her.

"Isn't she entertaining?" Edgar hummed as he followed behind Alessandra. Soon enough, she might turn into a female version of him, and then the true fun would start.

"He found that entertaining? What on earth am I getting myself into?" Sally questioned. Alessandra and Edgar were such an unlikely pair but they interacted better than she expected. 'Did the two of them truly fall in love at first sight?' She thought about how they came to be together.

"This way," Edgar tapped Alessandra's shoulder to stop her from going in the wrong direction. "We are going outside. Ladies first," he held open the door leading outside for her.

Alessandra exited the hall and was immediately greeted by three horizontal lines of servants and Alfred waiting for them on the outside.  She noted the surprised look on their faces as they most likely looked at the mask she wore then averted their gazes to not be cursed.

"Good morning," Alessandra greeted the crowd. She was unsure of what to do right now as it was Edgar who called for them to be here.

"Good morning," she received a loud response but their voices did not match the way they were refusing to look at her. It was clear that she only received a good response because Edgar came out right behind her and they did not want to be scolded.

Alessandra was not the only one to notice this. Unfortunately for the crowd of servants, they had managed to piss Edgar off.

Edgar walked past Alessandra to deal with the situation himself. He only had one simple question for his servants. "Why am I here?" He asked out loud then awaited someone to give him the right answer.

The servants looked around wondering why Edgar would ask such a question when the butler told them the Duke wanted them to line up. No one dared to tell Edgar it was him who brought everyone outside.

"My sword," Edgar held his hand out for Alfred to place his sword in it. "When it comes to me, all of you are respectful and work quietly around me. You all know not to cause any trouble as I don't mind letting any of you go.  Early this morning before the town was even awake, I gathered all of you to do one single thing. Respect my wife, your Duchess. Did I not?"

"Yes sir," the crowd simultaneously replied.

"Perfect harmony. I should give all of you a raise for this but unfortunately, all of you have pissed me off today. Why is it that when the Duchess greeted all of you, you took it upon yourselves to either stare at her mask and look away or start talking about her? You did it," Edgar pointed his sword at a maid in the first line. "You did it," he pointed his sword at another.

Edgar placed the sword over his shoulder as he walked closer to the lines of servants.  "All of you wasted my good time this morning. I wasted my time bringing you out here this morning to announce that I am now married and that my wife should be treated as you would treat me. I guess I have to blame myself. Why would I have to tell any of you to treat my wife right? It should be a common sense thing."

"Did I hire an entire crowd of people who cannot perform basic thinking? Even worse, one of you struck my wife while I was away. Let's get to the point, shall we? I don't fucking care what type of relationship you think you have with me or what rumors you have heard about her. Pay more attention to the rumors about me. I will kill anyone who disrespects my wife and I do not care if I need to massacre all of you. I am not going to play with any of you when it comes to her."

To hear Edgar make such a declaration to his servants when he did not need to, moved Alessandra. He took defending her to another level and she would forever be grateful for it.

"Anyone who wishes to quit because she is my wife can start leaving. To everyone else, greet your Duchess again but this time, look her in the eye. Go on. I'm waiting," Edgar urged the crowd to start making their decisions.

"Good morning Duchess," the crowd greeted Alessandra in unison while looking at her without removing their gaze unlike a moment ago.