The Duke's Masked Wife

"It wasn't as bad as you were making it seem, Alessandra. Stop being so dramatic."

"Erin, you were not the one being held down to try on clothing. I'm certain one or two of my fingers are broken from trying to fight back. Look," Alessandra held up her hand to show the aftermath of fighting against Sally and Erin.

Erin held up her hand to show a bite mark Alessandra gave her. "Let's talk about this too. I've never seen anyone so against having to take off their clothes. At least it was all for a good cause. The Duke will certainly love the ones I've picked out for you."

"It's only supposed to be one. I will send back any extra left behind to your home."

"Are you trying to get me killed? My mother would have a fit. Fine, we will only get one but I will keep the others and hide them until you come begging for more. Truthfully, I will hold them for myself," Erin whispered to Alessandra when Olivia disappeared into another room. "I cannot wait to be married. Sally, I guarantee you will soon bring us good news."

"Why are you like this?" Sally muttered as Erin knew well enough that was not true. As much as she wanted to get married, she had to spend a lot of time working to help support her family. Who would want to be with her at a time like this when they would have to help her support her family? "When I am not working I am with my family. I don't have time to meet anyone. I can only stare at men from afar."

"I can set you up with someone since you're so hellbent on not marrying me. I'm surrounded by the men on the Duke's land. Don't worry," Caleb ruffled Sally's hair and chuckled when she practically clawed at him for doing so. "You will find someone soon."

"Who is meant to find someone for you?" Alessandra asked Caleb.

"No one. I am honestly a man who enjoys a bachelor's life. I don't plan on getting married any time soon. There are too many women out there waiting on me."

"Thank you for shopping here," Olivia returned with bags and handed them to Caleb to hold. "Please come again."

"We certainly will. I'm sure the Duke will buy out your entire shop after the Duchess seduces him," Erin winked at Olivia.

For a brief moment, Alessandra caught Olivia looking at her or more specifically her mask after Erin's words. Alessandra had some idea of what the woman was thinking and decided it was time to go.

"It was nice to meet you but we have to get going now. Goodbye," Alessandra said her farewells and dragged Erin out of the shop with her mouth covered. "Erin, I have fun with you but there are certain comments you shouldn't say to other people," she informed Erin as they walked back onto the street.

Alessandra felt awkward about these comments solely due to the fact she was not intimate with Edgar like others thought and the comments made her think about it. When she could not confidently show him the other side of her face yet how could she be confident enough to think about wearing nightwear to seduce him?

'At this point in our relationship, I could never wear something with the intention of seducing Edgar. I am certainly not bold,' Alessandra thought.

"I don't mind making jokes between the three of us but I don't want to say to anyone else that my sex life will have Edgar buying out shops. It is awkward because I don't know that woman. I feel like a joke will be made out of it because I don't seem like the type to be able to seduce anyone," Alessandra explained.

"What on earth are you talking about?" Erin couldn't help laughing at Alessandra's delusion. "I've seen your body each time I help you put on dresses. There's nothing wrong with it and you said you were trying to gain weight so your body will die when you do."

"It is not my body that I am speaking of.  Let's move on from it. I don't want our trip to suddenly become depressing. I am feeling hungry-"

"Duchess," Erin cut off Alessandra. "I don't know the backstory behind what happened to your face and why you chose to hide it but when I find the person who has made you this way, I'm going to kill them."

Alessandra was surprised by Erin's words but then she smiled. "There is no need for that Erin. I am slowly learning to love myself. I don't care to seek revenge right now and who knows, maybe I might become the most seductive person you have ever seen," she joked.

"Duchess, you can go ahead with Caleb to find a place to eat. Erin and I will catch up," Sally held Erin's hand to calm her down from whatever emotions she was going through.

"It's upsetting how she views herself," Erin stated after Alessandra and Caleb left.

"After years of being cast aside by her own family and then the town believing ridiculous rumors, it is understandable she would not be confident when it comes to her face. Compared to when I worked for her father, she is stepping out of her shell now. Quite frankly, Alessandra doesn't need help with these clothes. She unintentionally seduces the Duke and he seems to like it a lot. Perhaps he's patiently waiting for her to come out of her shell," said Sally.

No one was around Edgar and Alessandra more than her except for Alfred. Sally was able to witness that Alessandra could do the smallest thing and Edgar would look affected by it. Sometimes there was sexual tension between the two so much that it suffocated her.

"Alessandra does the impossible by keeping up with the Duke's personality. I truly believe that once she learns to love those scars and maybe show them to the Duke who I can tell doesn't care, we're going to witness the birth of a completely new woman. As her friends, we have to be patient with her growth because she is growing. We can't try to pull her out of her shell, only encourage her. So let's stay away from things to do with seduction until the right time."

"Sally," Erin sniffled and wiped tears from her eyes. "I'm lucky I found a friend like you."

"Ugh Erin, you're making people stare at us. I'm lucky I found a friend like you too but please stop crying. There's nothing to see here," Sally told the people who stopped walking to look at them.

"They're not looking at us, Sally. They're looking at Caleb pointing his sword at some man," Erin pointed in the direction where Caleb and Alessandra had walked off to look for food.

"What?!" Sally swung around instantly forgetting about Erin's tears to see what was wrong with Alessandra. "Move quickly, Erin," she ran to aid Alessandra in whatever was happening.  "Duchess, are you alright?"

"Walk away from the Duchess or take your last breath," Caleb warned the man who seemed to have no ears. "She does not wish to speak with you."

"Alessandra, I ran all the way here when news of your presence in town spread. Do not treat your dear uncle like this," Clark pleaded with her. Contrary to what Edgar said, he was determined to meet with her. He was certain he could convince Alessandra to keep him around. 'I didn't rush here to be turned around,' he thought.