The Duke's Masked Wife

"At least she was truthful about the rain. They must have been excited to see the weather on their side," Alessandra said as she looked out the window at the rainwater running down the glass. "You should ask Tobias to let Alfred and Rose join in on creating strategies for war. They are both excellent planners."

"I will think about it. I'm afraid we found ourselves in a predicament with this weather. Alfred took all the umbrellas," said Edgar.

"Oh. We'll be fine. The distance to the door from the carriage is not that far. A little water won't hurt us unless they intended for us to get sick. If Calvin sees the carriage has returned he might come out with an umbrella for us. This is the perfect weather to sit near a fire and enjoy something warm."

"Hmm," Edgar replied. To him, the weather suited laying around in bed to enjoy the peace.

The carriage parked before the house as close as possible. Luckily, Troy had an umbrella for himself so when he went to open the carriage door, he offered to walk them to the door. Alessandra walked to the door first under Edgar's order and then Troy returned to him.

"Do not dramatically react to my words, Troy. As soon as the front door closes, I want you to disappear and go to my grandmother's house. Once you tell the butler who you are and that I have sent you, she will offer you a room for the night. Sally and Caleb will be there to keep you company. Do not return until the morning," Edgar ordered the young coachman. It was now time for him to take this game into his own hands.

"Understood," Troy replied without questioning why Edgar wanted him to do this.

"Edgar!" Alessandra frantically returned to the door. "There is no one here. How on earth did they plan all of this? I was not away that long from Rose when we returned home this afternoon. Not even the butler is here."

Edgar was the least bit surprised by this. It made his job much easier as Troy was the only person he had to sneak around to get rid of. Edgar stepped inside and closed the door behind him to give Troy the signal to leave. Feigning ignorance about the entire ordeal he replied, "Are you certain the servants staying here had not settled in because of the weather?"

"No one is here," Alessandra replied. "It is too quiet for someone to be here. You can hear something drop on the floor. It is only the two of us inside at the moment."

"I have to give it to those sly foxes for pulling this off. They must have sent a message back home while we were shopping. They truly should provide their talents to help create strategies for wars. We should enjoy this time alone together or does it make you uncomfortable?"

"It does not. It is just surprising the lengths those two have gone through. The sooner we separate Alfred and your grandmother the better. They are a dangerous duo. What should we do now?" Alessandra looked to Edgar for an answer.

It was nearing time for dinner to be prepared but it was just the two of them. She had never been taught how to cook and she was certain Edgar had no time or need to ever learn how to cook.

"Many thoughts are running through my mind about what we can do but let's take this slowly. You could change into something more comfortable first," Edgar advised her as she had been wearing the dress since noon. Her shoes could not be comfortable either. "Do you need my help?"

"No. The buttons are at the front. Do you remember what we talked about in the garden this morning? About you and I going a step further?" Alessandra blushed as the words left her mouth. She had been bold enough to say she wanted to try new things as a married couple with Edgar and did not want to turn away from it now they were alone. She did not intend to take a step forward, only to take five steps backward.

"It is hard to forget the temptation you gave me this morning. I intend on giving you a lesson but I have no desire in going too far. I don't want Alfred and my grandmother to be pleased with the fact something happened between us thanks to their planning. It will only encourage them to continue this in the future.  I will keep my promise not to go all the way. Do not let it cloud your mind or you will only panic."

'Too late,' Alessandra thought but she offered him a smile.

Edgar already had in mind what he would do to ease Alessandra into what he had planned from the morning. Regardless of Alfred and his grandmother's plotting, he had intended to pleasure her and this moment would not go to waste.  First, he needed her to forget all about it. "After you have gotten changed, we will head to the kitchen to prepare dinner."

"Can you cook?" Alessandra asked. He was already perfect at everything else, besides painting, so Edgar suddenly having a talent for cooking would not be surprising.

"I have only cooked meat over a fire during my time at the border. This will be a learning experience for both of us. Hurry so that I can grab a change of clothes or do you want the both of us to strip here? As always," Edgar chuckled, watching Alessandra hurry off to change in private. It did not matter as what she changed into would come off by the end of the night.

Twenty minutes later, Alessandra had freshened up and changed her clothes to her nightwear. After dinner, they would most likely end back up in their room so she thought there was no reason to dress up.

"Alessandra."

Alessandra looked to the right in the hallway that went under the stairs leading up to the second floor and found Edgar dressed in only short pants and his hair dripping wet. "Where did you get shorts from?"

She did not hear him enter their bedroom.

"There is another room with clothes I use when I come here. You took it off," he touched her exposed cheek where the mask once was a while ago.

Alessandra felt like there was something stuck in her throat as Edgar touched her face. Taking off the mask was still something hard for her to do and each step she took away from the table she placed it on was painful but as it was only the two of them present, she pushed herself out of her comfort zone.

"There was no need to wear it when it was just the two of us. I will no longer wear it to bed either. It has always been uncomfortable and now I can't wait to lay on a pillow without it getting in the way. I ugh," Alessandra cleared her throat after her eyes had gone to Edgar's exposed chest. No wonder the maids would peek at him when he was not looking.

Edgar did not miss the way she had averted her eyes. Her innocence would soon be the death of him. He looked forward to seeing more of her expressions once they go further. "It would not hurt for you to look at my body. I do not mind your stares."

Alessandra remained quiet, knowing she would embarrass herself if she spoke now.

"Come, we should get dinner started before it is too late," Edgar offered his hand for her to hold. He was yet to figure out why he craved her touch. It was more than just the feelings he started to have for her and more than just his desire to be intimate with her. He found her touch to be calming for some reason.

Alessandra did not argue against holding hands and held his hand. She quietly walked beside Edgar to go into the kitchen to start preparing food.

When they entered the kitchen they found a pot on the counter with a note.

Edgar picked up the note with his free hand and read, "Dinner is in the pot. It only needs to be warmed for three minutes. They have thought about everything," he balled up the paper in his hands.

Alessandra felt relieved they did not have to cook. There was bound to be a disaster with the two of them in the kitchen. "We can eat dinner later. I am not hungry at the moment-Ah!" She gasped after Edgar suddenly lifted her into his arms. Alessandra placed her hands on his shoulders afraid she would fall but Edgar would not let that happen.

"Then there is no need for me to prolong this," Edgar said, then placed Alessandra to sit on the countertop in the kitchen. He tried to be patient but he could no longer wait. The woman before him was more tempting than he expected. Her confidence to take off the mask right now had stirred something inside of him. "Let's pull you out of your shell by the end of the night."