The Duke's Masked Wife Chapter 2

"Did your father arrange this?" Edgar considered it the most logical explanation.

"My father doesn't know I'm out here talking to you, Duke Edgar. I've mentioned the party is indoors. Nobody was meant to spot me walking past. He won't be happy finding you with me," Alessandra shared the straightforward fact.

Few folks could claim frequent sightings of the baron's daughter, as Desmond hid her from view. The mask she donned and the swirling rumors rendered Alessandra useless to him.

"None of what I'm saying now involves my father. It's your call whether to trust me. I'm not seeking marriage for love. My sole desire is to escape this spot and never return."

"What's the issue? Is your father planning to wed you to someone much older, or sending you someplace undesired? It must be severe for you to propose marriage to a stranger," Edgar extinguished his cigar by grinding it on the stone wall.

"Staying here feels stifling. My own father has cast me aside. I don't desire your appearance, Duke Edgar, or your wealth or whatever else attracts others. To be blunt, I view you purely as a way out," she clarified why she selected him.

Alessandra hadn't anticipated their encounter at all, yet she refused to depart without suggesting her proposal.

.....

"I've overheard my family mention the king's desire for you to wed. For someone avoiding romantic ties with anyone, I could suit you well. I'll exist silently like a specter, handling your needs, and I'll never develop feelings for you."

"Really?" Edgar, unusually, found her statement credible for the first time. Even so, he wasn't ready to consider tying the knot with her immediately. "Finding an actress to act as my spouse isn't challenging."

"If it were that simple, you'd have done it by now," Alessandra countered, piercing his feint. Likely, he required a spouse acceptable to the king. "If the king is toying with you this way, picking someone like me would surely make him rue the decision."

Edgar's lips curved upward slightly. "You're sharp-minded. That's precisely why I advise my acquaintances against trusting gossip. It's repeatedly claimed that Alessandra Barrett is merely a shy lass who panics and flees upon being noticed."

"You're rumored to be a beast, yet you seem quite mortal to me. I do what's necessary to endure here. Should you decline the contract, I'll depart peacefully," Alessandra advanced a single step, then paused for his reply.

With no response from Edgar, she moved forward again, assuming he rejected her suggestion, but he caught her off guard.

"Come to my home tomorrow. We'll delve deeper into this matter there, and I'll provide my decision afterward."

In her excitement, Alessandra spun around swiftly, nearly tripping. His willingness to ponder it shocked her, but even more so his invitation to his residence. "I never venture out."

"I figured as much from your stealthy movements. Consider it a challenge. I need to gauge your resolve. Regrettably, I must cut our talk short; I've lingered in your home too long already. It was pleasant conversing with you, Alessandra. I hope we meet again shortly," Edgar pivoted and headed back indoors to locate her father.

Alessandra started fretting over how to rendezvous with the Duke the next day. At minimum, he appeared to regard her proposal earnestly, unless he planned an audience to mock her faith in a contractual marriage. "We'll meet tomorrow," she vowed.

"Duke Edgar? To whom were you talking?" Kate Barrett, the baron's younger daughter, emerged outdoors.

Having learned the Duke was solitary, she aimed to offer companionship. Witnessing him depart as her father's other daughter lingered outside ignited her fury.

Kate held herself in high esteem. Her beauty helped boost her status among her peers. Resembling her mother, she possessed golden locks and azure eyes—traits she deemed superior to all others.

Attired like a porcelain doll, Kate sought a private chat with the Duke to spark his attention. She'd pleaded with her father for solitude with him, but Alessandra had snatched the opportunity.

"I trust she didn't upset you, Duke Edgar. She wasn't supposed to be outside," Kate shot a stern look at Alessandra, signaling her to flee.

"Hmm," Edgar halted next to Kate. "She hasn't bothered me. Unlike your father."

"That's a relief. She—"

"Perhaps because I'm an only child, but shouldn't you call her your sister or use her name at least?" Edgar swiftly sensed the younger girl's disdain for the elder.

As the Duke addressed her sister, Alessandra seized the moment to dash off before they could demand her input. She regretted Kate's emergence from indoors.

With Kate aware of her Duke conversation, chaos would erupt come morning.

Edgar silently noted Alessandra's retreating footsteps while Kate scrambled for a suitable response to his query. He pondered Alessandra's evident fear of Kate.

"You're right, Duke Edgar. It stems from your lack of siblings. Siblings bicker and play small tricks, but I adore my elder sister. Clearly, she's very timid and sometimes clumsy. That's why I worried she might have irked you," Kate donned her facade of sibling warmth.

She'd go to great lengths to convince the Duke of her virtue. No other man struck her as fit for a spouse.

"If it eases your conscience," Edgar continued onward once Alessandra had distanced herself. He envied her escape, wishing he weren't left dealing with Kate.

"Duke, I desired some private moments with just us. I'd like to prove I'm a superb wife candidate," Kate trailed him, clutching his arm to halt his progress.

Exasperated by Kate's obliviousness, Edgar sighed. The Baron and his wife had nurtured her as a pampered royal. Luckily, his dealings with a true entitled royal equipped him to manage her. "Do you assume I'm seeking a wife solely for bedroom pleasures?" He brushed her hand off firmly.

Should onlookers witness this, fresh scandals would proliferate. He had no desire to bolster his extensive rumor tally.

"Forgive me," Kate reeled from his rejection. Many gentlemen would eagerly accept her overtures toward Edgar. "You frequent the red light district."

Edgar lifted his shoulders indifferently, failing to link it to his prospective bride. "How do you know I don't visit to peruse a novel?"

"The noise there is deafening."

"Noise aids my focus, but do tell, how familiar are you with its clamor?" Edgar smirked, relishing Kate's dawning error. "Why would the baron's daughter know unless she's attuned to others' tales from there?"

"N-No. That's not it," Kate hastened to correct the impression. She'd never set foot in such an area.

"Listen well, Kate. Your actions won't draw me in. Moreover, I've got a superior proposition. Pardon me," Edgar declared, abandoning a flustered and humiliated Kate.