The Duke's Masked Wife

"Erin will accompany me at the ball so you will not have to stay by my side if there is anyone you wish to speak to in private," said Alessandra.

"I have no one to speak to when I never planned to be there in the first place.  I will stay by your side all night long now that my mother is in town and everyone else will act like they have no common sense the first time they see us together. You can  never say I did not warn you about how much drama there is at these balls."

"You requested a quiet place for the two of us. I will stay on the sidelines for this first ball and not dance. I will enjoy just being there with you and Erin. I should have mentioned I haven't taken any dance lessons since I was a child. Tonight is not when I'd want to see if I remember the steps." Alessandra imagined herself falling in front of the crowd. She would hide her entire face if that were ever to happen to her.

"If you want to dance, we can. I do not care if you were to mess up. Some people will inspect any and every little thing about you to find something to talk about. They will judge the good things if they can't find anything bad to say. Life is too short to think about others. Here," Edgar stood behind Alessandra and lowered an emerald necklace in front of her.

Alessandra admired the beauty of a large emerald surrounded by tiny diamonds. "I can't accept this, Edgar. It must have cost you a fortune."

"It did," Edgar replied, not seeing the point in hiding it. "If you do not accept it I shall toss it out the window."

'Why couldn't this be me,' Sally silently cried as she cleaned the room. There was no doubt in her mind that Edgar and Alessandra had forgotten she was still here. 'Should I leave before they do anything I should not see?'

"Edgar!" Alessandra exclaimed, jumping to grab Edgar's hand before he tossed the necklace out the window. "Oh," her mouth fell open when her left foot got caught up in her dress causing her to fall.

"I got you. If you wanted to be in my arms all you had to do was ask, Alessandra. You have a strange way to get me to hold you," Edgar smiled teasingly at the woman in her arms.

"You know that's not what happened, Edgar. Do not throw the necklace out the window. I'll wear it. Can you please help me stand up straight?" Alessandra tried moving her feet but the bottom of her dress was completely wrapped around her.

"Could have been avoided if you had just accepted the gift. I sit on money I will leave in this world when I die. Why not spend some of it on my wife? Alfred told me women love these kinds of things. Don't know how he is so sure when I've never seen him with a woman," Edgar said as he unwrapped Alessandra's dress.

Alessandra watched Sally tiptoe out of the room and closed the door.  "This is not what we agreed upon, Edgar."

"Where did we state that I cannot buy you gifts? Did you decide that rule on your own and not inform me of it, Alessandra? Do you have a list of things I do not know about?"

"I don't. I do not feel good to be receiving all these expensive gifts from you when I am unable to give you something in return. I need to find a source of income-Oww!" Alessandra touched her cheek after Edgar pinched it. "What was that for?" She rubbed the aching area.

"Do you think I give you these things expecting something in return? I have always been aware of the fact you came to me without any money. I give you things because I simply want to. I thought it was clear that you are able to spend my money but if having your own source of income will make you feel better, we will talk about it later. About this," Edgar held up the necklace. "Can I put it on now or should I toss it out the window?"

Alessandra slowly turned around for Edgar to place the necklace around her neck. She was surprised he was going to talk with her about finding a way for her to have her own money rather than convincing her to only spend his money. The future is completely unpredictable and if their contract had to suddenly come to an end, she needed her own money to leave with.

"Beautiful."

"It is," Alessandra agreed with Edgar as she touched the necklace. "We'll be late for the ball if we don't leave soon. Do you think Erin is ready? It would be better for her to ride with us instead-"

"No. Absolutely not," Edgar quickly disagreed. He was all for Alessandra making a friend but he needed peace inside of his carriage and the dressmaker talked too much. "What if she wants to return home early? Must she wait on us or will you have to leave the ball before it is over?"

"That is true. She did say she felt like going home to create dresses. Erin might change her mind. It might be better for us to go separately then. Maybe I can ride with her there. I'll ask."

Edgar grabbed Alessandra's hand to stop her from going to Erin in the bathroom. "Why would the Duke and Duchess arrive separately? You'll have plenty of time to talk to her at the ball. What if I say I'll be lonely in the carriage if you ride with her?"

"I'd say I see through your lies," Alessandra replied as she knew he would not be lonely. "You only needed to say you wish for me to stay with you, Edgar. I suppose it would be unfair for me to leave you alone when you did not want to go in the first place. I will check on Erin to see if she is ready to go. Can you please let go of my hand, Edgar?" She looked down at where he was holding her.

"Take your time. The later we get to the palace the better. That means it will almost be over," Edgar released Alessandra.

Somewhere in his heart, he was hoping the ball would have a little less drama than it normally would so that Alessandra would not be disappointed but Edgar knew the ball would never be drama free.

***

An hour later after Erin had gotten ready and everyone left the Collins estate in their separate carriages, they had all arrived at the palace.

"Is your foot alright?" Edgar asked in a dull tone. He sat watching Alessandra move around excitedly in her seat as there was a lot for her to see. Her right foot impatiently tapped against the carriage floor as she could hardly wait to get out and see the palace up close. 'I was expecting her to become scared as we neared the palace,' he thought.

Forget a kitten, Alessandra was like an energetic bunny.

"I have always wanted to see the palace. Can you imagine how big the inside must be?"

"I've been in the palace many times," Edgar sighed, not interested in it as Alessandra was. When he noticed her shoulder slumped due to his unenthusiastic response, he sighed and replied, "The inside is much larger than what you are imagining and there are lots of paintings for you to see."

"There are? They might give me inspiration for the ones at home. Look at the lanterns by the bushes. Do you think we'll be able to visit the garden?" Alessandra asked as she tried to look over the tall trimmed bushes which hid the garden.

"Depends on how cold the night becomes. You might catch a cold if you walk around in the garden but there is a balcony for you to look out and see the entire garden. We will have to step away from the main room for you to get a look at it. I have a feeling that you will pass out if this excitement carries on for any longer."

"I won't. My biggest fear for tonight is passing out in front of a crowd of people. Erin is getting out," said Alessandra.

Erin's carriage was ahead of their own and from her window, Alessandra was able to see Erin exit her carriage and start to walk up the long stairs where other people were gathered.

Suddenly, her nerves began to cloud her excitement as she was reminded this was her first time out in public amongst a large crowd. Alessandra played with her fingers to hide the fact her hands were beginning to shake due to her nervousness.

"Alessandra," Edgar touched her hands with his left hand and used his right hand to turn her face from the stairs to him. "It will be alright. I'll be by your side the entire night. Take a deep breath before we go out. Follow me, in and out."

"In," Alessandra mimicked Edgar by taking a deep breath and then releasing it. "Out."

This continued for a minute until Alessandra felt better.

"I am ready," said Alessandra.

"Open the door," Edgar said to their coachman who was waiting by the door as the carriage had stopped a while ago. Edgar exited the carriage first and stood by the door to offer his hand to help Alessandra out.

With her confidence regained, Alessandra accepted Edgar's hand and stepped out of the carriage.