The Duke's Masked Wife

"Sally fainted," Alessandra bent down to check on the state of Sally. "Edgar, please release the king. There has to be some sort of consequence for you choking him."

"I am free to do whatever I want to someone who trespasses on my property and enters my bedroom where my wife is alone. Isn't that right, Tobias?" Edgar playfully asked but when Tobias started waving his arms around like a crazed man, Edgar released him. "You're no fun."

"Dammit, Edgar. You could have killed me," Tobias touched his throat and took breaths as the pain subsided. "Do you know the chaos you would have caused? I don't have an heir yet. I wasn't expecting your wife to be inside of here."

"That's why you knock on the door before you enter any room. Furthermore, what are you doing at my house? You should be back in the palace where it is safe. Go."

"How rude. The king comes to pay you a visit and you aren't grateful. Why are we friends, Edgar?" Tobias paused to think of the reason they became friends.

"Judging from your appearance you snuck out of the palace again. Return now before someone realizes you are gone and it causes a panic. I am sure the queen must be missing your presence. Go away," said Edgar.

"Actually, she isn't. She told me she wanted time to herself to relax. Fine by me. I had bigger issues to deal with like the fact you got married behind my back Edgar! One day you were telling me you'd never get married and then the next you get married in the middle of the night! Who does that? I let you know when I was getting married."

"The entire kingdom knew when you were getting married, you idiot. It's a publicized process. You've confirmed that I have gotten married and now you can leave before I throw you out after the count of three. One," Edgar began to count.

"I'm not leaving here until you tell me why you suddenly got married and she was your choice. No offense," Tobias gave Alessandra an apologetic look. "Edgar, we should talk about this in private. Where did you put the alcohol I sent you from the palace? Alfred should know," Tobias proceeded to leave the bedroom to search for Alfred.

"Is he truly the king?" Alessandra asked Edgar while she fanned Sally. The king was nothing like she imagined.

"Unfortunately, he is. I am the only person who has to deal with this ridiculous side of him," Edgar sighed, mentally preparing himself to deal with Tobias. "He is more like a king when he is around others."

"So you do know what it is like to be in my position. Interesting," said Alessandra.

"What a smart little mouth you have. I am going to keep an eye on him before he does something stupid. It's a shame I won't be around to see her face when she realizes how she spoke to the king. She's more entertaining than I thought. Do miss me while I am gone, Alessandra. We should continue where we left off this morning when I return," Edgar teased Alessandra then left the room to find his fool of a friend.

"As if," Alessandra shook her head. She mentally planned to stay as far away from him as possible."Sally, are you alright? The king has left. Sally?"

Sally placed her hand on her spinning head as her eyes slowly opened. "Was I…really in the presence of the king, Duchess?"

"Yes."

"Why didn't I realize who he was right away? I've seen his portraits many times. I can't believe I passed out in front of the Duke and the king," Sally's eyes began to water. "Just kill me, Duchess. I'll never be able to forget this moment."

"I don't think the king noticed if it made you feel any better. He was more interested in getting Edgar to release him. We shouldn't consider the dramatic conclusion of you dying just yet. Here, let me help you to your feet," Alessandra stood up first and offered her hand to help Sally up. "We should inspect your head for any bruises. I'm sorry I was unable to catch you. I wasn't expecting anyone to faint."

"Me neither. I should have expected someone as grand as the king to visit the king. Everyone knows how close the two of them are. It's already so hard for me to be in the presence of the Duke and now we have the king here. Forgive if I pass out again, Duchess. Thank you," she thanked Alessandra for helping her up.

"They are certainly close if Edgar can practically choke the king and they both move on from it quickly. I wonder how often the king sneaks in here."

"Should we leave the Duke unsupervised with the king?" Sally wondered out loud.

"Not when the king is insistent on staying while Edgar wants him to go but surely Edgar would not try harming the king again. At least I don't think he would," Alessandra muttered. "I have no idea what their friendship is like but the king does not seem worried. They'll be fine. I am more concerned about your fall. I'll pour you some water."

Alessandra left Sally's side to pour out water from a jug a maid had brought in when Alessandra was getting dressed. Just as she was about to pour water into the cup, Tobias entered the bedroom once again, startling both Alessandra and Sally.

"Your highness," Sally abruptly bowed her head lower than she needed to.

"Your husband plans to send me away before I can attend dinner and get to know you. I want to know the truth behind why the two of you suddenly got married. Am I the only one trying to put together why Edgar would marry the daughter of a man he hated? For goodness sake, he hated that girl. What was her name?" Tobias tried to think of the name the Baron kept mentioning whenever they were around each other.

"Kate?"

"Yes, her. Why on earth would he marry you and become related to the Barretts? I sent Edgar there to annoy him and now I am to believe he just happened to fall in love with you when he went there? Now he's married. Listen, I have the power to help you get away from Edgar if he forced you into this. Don't let him scare you," Tobias pointed over his shoulder to where Edgar stood with folded arms.

"He did not force me into anything, your highness. I also wanted to marry Edgar after seeing him that night. I suppose I should thank you," Alessandra now realized that she was able to get away thanks to the king.

If the king had not sent Edgar to her father's home as a joke, he would not have attended the party, and they would not have met to talk about a contract.

"Thank you," Alessandra said to Tobias. For once, she was grateful for someone's meddling.

Tobias smacked his face, angry with himself for being the one responsible for Edgar and Alessandra's meeting.

"You have always said I should get married and now that I am, you are complaining Tobias. A King who is indecisive is concerning. Should I bring this up to your court?" Edgar asked.

"Certainly not! I wanted you to get married but I wasn't expecting you to marry a Barrett, Edgar. I have a feeling you did this to annoy me," Tobias rubbed his forehead as he processed his thoughts. "We cannot turn back time so I can only judge you and see if you are worthy of my friend, Alessandra. Let's start over."