The Duke's Masked Wife

"What if I take the ones from your brush? I'm kidding," Alessandra snickered when Edgar looked up at her in disbelief. 'Do not come between him and his hair. Noted,' she thought.

"I do not wish for anyone to get my hair and try meddling in the art of dark magic. This kingdom has a lot of problems and my hair being added to a doll is the last thing it needs. While we are speaking about problems, never venture out of this house on your own. I will find you a guard tomorrow," Edgar made a mental note of this so he wouldn't forget.

"Is it because of the girls that have gone missing?" Alessandra asked. She heard the Barrett servants speaking about it from time to time.

"That and the fact you are now a Duchess. My enemies are now your enemies, unfortunately. I will do everything in my power to protect you," Edgar promised.

"I am surprised there is anyone who wishes to go up against you. I don't know much about the power you have but it is not hard to tell you are not a man to mess with. I mean, you did lift my father at his own party but you faced no consequence. I would avoid you if I did not like you," Alessandra stated as it was foolish to try going up against a man who could slice your head off in a blink of an eye.

"There have been many situations where I have faced consequences. Your dear husband was nearly thrown into a cell once. From that day, I decided to plot my every move to avoid trouble. That is the thing many people here lack. Plotting their moves rather than jumping straight into the action. It took a while but I learned to control my temper."

"I see. Should I brush your hair for you?"Alessandra removed the cloth from his head as it was damp from the water and his hair was partially dry.

"So that you can later pull my hair from it and sell it? No thank you. What you have done so far is fine. You also have to prepare for dinner but I am thinking of doing something unlike me which is eating dinner in our bedroom. What do you think?" Edgar awaited her opinion.

Alessandra shrugged her shoulders as eating dinner in her bedroom was something she did quite often. She loved being able to sit at the table in Edgar's home but it wouldn't hurt to have one night where they could just reside in their bedroom. "I am okay with it."

"I will inform Alfred about it. That is if I am able to find him. He will be hiding to avoid being told about his little trick. He is lucky that I like him a lot," Edgar stood up from the bed. His hair no longer dripped water thanks to Alessandra and it would soon be dry thanks to the breeze coming in from the open window in their bedroom.

"I am envious of the relationship you have with Alfred. The butlers at my father's home were always so serious. Alfred seems more like your family than your butler. Someone's knocking," Alessandra looked to the bedroom door. "Do you think that's him?"

"Not likely," Edgar shook his head. Alfred was going to avoid him tonight like a sinner avoided the church. He approached the door and opened it to see the fool Alfred was going to use to take his place tonight. "It is your maid," he informed Alessandra the moment he opened the door.

"I'm sorry to intrude, Duke Edgar. I was supposed to prepare the Duchess's bath," Sally looked into the bedroom wondering if she should leave since the Duke and Duchess were in their bedroom. She assumed they would want privacy and wouldn't care about a bath being prepared. "I will leave if the Duchess does not need me."

"Stay. She needs her bath prepared. I will leave for a moment to inform the cook we will be eating in our bedroom. It would be a nice treat if I get to creep on you as you did to me a moment ago," Edgar grinned, enjoying the red hue appearing on Alessandra's cheeks.

Alessandra sighed as she knew Edgar would never let her forget what happened. "Edgar-Wait! Are you going to the kitchen like that?" She pointed at his exposed chest and short pants.

It was one thing to be half naked because of bugs or you were training under the hot sun, but there was no reason why he had to be without a shirt when he was currently in his bedroom. The breeze from the window was chilly therefore Edgar would end up catching a cold.

"Am I going to be banned from walking around in my home comfortably? I am always like this and there is no need to get angered by the thought of the maids seeing me like this. They can look but not touch. Not unless they wish to lose a finger," Edgar smiled as if he didn't just mention taking someone's finger. "I will be back soon."

"I don't care about the maids. I don't want you to get sick," Alessandra muttered.

"We should hurry," Sally quickly closed the door behind Edgar. She picked up what was happening from the way Edgar was dressed and figured Alessandra was clueless.

"I know I must bathe but I don't see the rush. Is there something wrong?" Alessandra found Sally's quick movements to be odd.

"The Duke said the two of you will be eating together in your bedroom. I have to make you presentable before he returns. I will also tell the butler not to have anyone disturb you. Where is the bathroom? Is it here?" Sally practically ran towards the door.

"Isn't this a bit much of a reaction just because we are eating inside our bedroom?" Alessandra asked, following Sally inside the bathroom.

"It is obvious the Duke intends to be intimate with you tonight. He must be impatient if he wishes to eat with you in your bedroom. What did you wear on your wedding night? I must make your nightwear just as grand for the second night since the two of you are still in the honeymoon phase. Luckily, I learned all about this before my life changed."

"Edgar and I are just going to eat tonight, Sally. It is not what you are thinking and I am honestly confused by how you reached the conclusion that he is impatient. Wouldn't he have tried to do something quickly before dinner? Why am I even asking that question?" Alessandra placed her hand on her head to stop herself from overthinking like Sally was.

"Just going to eat?" Sally repeated the words. "What is wrong with the dining table that you are just going to eat in your bedroom?" She did not see what they wished to hide if they were not going to fool around afterward. She figured as newlyweds, they would be anxious to get dinner over and then be able to hop in bed.

"There is nothing wrong with it. Edgar and I are just going to spend time together in our bedroom. The servants can retire early instead of having to wait up to clean up the table after us. He is not going to touch me tonight."

"Why?" Sally did not understand. They had just gotten married and this was when she heard couples spent most of their time making love to each other. "Aren't you concern why he would not want to touch you on the second night? He has his needs and you are his wife. If this keeps up, he might go looking for pleasure elsewhere. Hasn't anyone ever told you about this?"

Alessandra opened her mouth to speak but then closed it. She was already understanding what Edgar meant by tutors being kind of a problem.