The Duke's Masked Wife

"Kate! Kate! Come quickly child, this is urgent."

"Mother, unless there is a fire there is no need for you to be yelling at this time of the day. Is that another letter giving condolence to my father? No offense but I have read plenty of them and they all say the same thing," Kate approached her mother with folded arms.

"If you would give me a chance to speak, you would find out we just received an invitation to a ball being held in the palace," Katrina showed Kate the fancy invitation.

"What," Kate snatched the invitation from her mother, almost tearing it in the process. "But it is not winter. This is unexpected but wonderful at the same time. Wait, it is tomorrow night. There is so much I need to do, mother. I need a new dress."

"Absolutely. We must travel to town to buy new dresses for both of us. We cannot let this moment for you to find a suitable husband go by. You must be the prettiest girl there Kate. Thanks to my genes you are already halfway there. If only the king was not married. You would be able to steal his heart and become queen," Katrina imagined the sight of Kate on the throne.

"If only the queen could choke and die. We need to get the names of everyone who will be attending. Most likely Alessandra and Edgar will be there. I cannot wait to see her again," Kate grinned. No matter what title Alessandra had now, Kate could always mess with her.

Alessandra threw herself into the fire by placing herself in a world Kate was accustomed to. There were numerous young women waiting to eat Alessandra alive for stealing Edgar.

"Do not concern yourself with her. I will deal with her while you look for a good husband. Get ready to leave in an hour to go for a new dress-"

"Baroness," James interrupted Katrina. "There is a carriage entering the gates. It appears to have the symbol for the Collins family."

"Is that brute here again?" Katrina began to panic. She did not want to deal with Edgar when they were in such a good mood. "Send him away, James. Tell him that we are busy."

"What if it is Alessandra coming to rub her new life in our face?" Kate went to the window to see who would be getting out of the carriage. "Who is this person?" Kate asked when an unfamiliar young woman got out of the carriage first but then her eyes widened when she saw the second person get out. "I-It's Priscilla Collins, mother. It's true that she is in town."

"Edgar's mother?" Katrina's eyes lit up. It was fantastic for Priscilla to be coming to them instead of them having to seek her out to talk about Alessandra. "James, let her in at once. Go out and greet her. Quickly!"

"What do you think she wants, mother?" Kate hurriedly fixed her appearance using her reflection in the mirror. Priscilla had never once visited their home before. You would always have to see her at parties or hope you received an invite to her home. "She has probably seen Alessandra and is here to speak with us. This is our chance."

"Hush," Katrina said while she forced a smile. "Lady Collins, what a pleasant surprise it is to have you here. Welcome back to Lockwood."

"Hello, Baroness. It is nice to see you again. I offer my condolences to your late husband. I hope you will not be upset with me because of what Edgar did. I don't like to get mixed up in my son's business. Now, there is something important we must discuss," said Priscilla. She didn't come to go down memory lane about the Baron she never liked. "Come, Heather."

'Who is this?' Kate eyed Heather from head to toe. 'I am prettier."

"Is it about Alessandra and your son, Lady Collins? I have been meaning to speak with you about this marriage they had behind our backs," said Katrina.

"You were not aware she was going to marry my son? How could she not even say something to her family? You would have been able to stop this madness if she told you. I am not a fan of this marriage, Baroness. I wish for it to end quickly. Had it been Kate, I would have been satisfied but I cannot accept that girl," Priscilla declared.

Kate's confidence increased hearing Priscilla would have liked for her to marry Edgar. If only she was here instead of in another town, Kate believed that Priscilla would have made Edgar marry her.

'Another person she will trick,' Heather thought as she watched how excited Kate became. 'She has no idea his mother wishes for me to marry Edgar when this is all over.'

"My husband and I also did not approve of the girl. We are not even certain how Alessandra was able to make the Duke propose to her when they only had one simple conversation. Alessandra met with the Duke alone one night and then not long after he came to marry her. I don't like to believe in those things but I'm afraid she might have placed a curse on him. Oh dear," Katrina clutched her necklace, pretending to be sad.

Priscilla was never one to believe in curses but there was no reasonable explanation of why out of all the women she placed in front of Edgar, he decided to marry a girl everyone avoids. It could not possibly be love when Edgar had a chain around his heart. "There is something odd about how she was able to get him to propose when they've only met once. Something is fishy and I intend to find out about it."

"I would love to help you. I fear Alessandra has placed herself where she doesn't belong and wouldn't be able to handle being Duchess. The best place for her to be is back here with her family. If there is anything you need us to do please inform us," Katrina said.

With Priscilla's help, Alessandra would be back where she belonged caged up. It was what she deserved for stealing Kate's moment, creating a problem with William, and getting her father killed.

"If I get you close to her, will you be able to convince her to leave my son? I'm sure you have received your invitations to the ball. There is no doubt my son and that girl will be attending. Please do not let me down, Baroness. If this marriage goes on for any longer I fear I might pass out. I am already feeling faint," Priscilla placed her hand on her forehead.

"Would you like to come in and sit down?" Katrina offered. Her friends would die of jealousy if they knew Priscilla was in her house. The woman kept a tight circle of friends and it was hard to have a moment to meet her like this.

"No thank you," Priscilla's eyes inspected the grim house. She couldn't be paid all the diamonds in the world to take a seat here. "Heather and I have someplace to be. I hope you can give me the results I want, Baroness. Goodbye."

"It was nice to meet the two of you," Heather said then followed after Priscilla.

"Goodbye," Katrina waved goodbye with a large smile on her face but when Priscilla entered the carriage it fell. "Kate, make sure you become friends with that young girl. She is your stepping stone to be in Priscilla's inner circle."

"Yes, mother."