The Duke's Masked Wife

"Oh, the Duchess is fast asleep," Alfred said after he opened the carriage door.

They had all safely returned to Lockwood and were now back home. The carriage with Alfred, Sally, and Caleb arrived first shortly followed by Edgar and Alessandra.

Edgar had stayed awake for the entire ride back home while Alessandra was fast asleep on his lap.

"It's a shame the Duchess will miss the first snow in Lockwood.  It is always fun to watch but we must not wake her. Bring her inside quickly before the cold makes her sick. I will light a fire in your bedroom," Alfred said then left to do it.

Maids and some of the guards rushed out of the home to help Sally and Caleb remove the luggage before they could get too much snow.

Edgar carefully shifted Alessandra's body so he could carry her up to their bedroom. He stopped for a moment when she stirred in his arms either from the cold or from being moved. Once she became perfectly still again, Edgar proceeded to lift her out of the carriage and quickly walked to the front door to avoid too much snow getting on her.

Had they left his grandmother's house the time they had planned instead of letting her rope them back into spending another hour, they might have reached Lockwood right before the snow started to fall.

Edgar entered their bedroom and found Alfred kneeling right in front of the fireplace.

"I've started the fire and closed all the windows. There is enough firewood there to last an entire day. I will see the two of you at breakfast," Alfred whispered to avoid walking up to Alessandra. The vacation he did not need was now over so he could go back to doing what he loved.

"Thank you," Edgar replied as he laid Alessandra down on the bed. He contemplated waking her up to let her enjoy a warm bath and change her clothes but decided against it. She was already sleeping peacefully and if she woke up now, Alessandra might not go back to sleep anytime soon.

With Lockwood soon to be covered in snow, it was highly unlikely that Alessandra would remain inside today. Edgar made a mental note to have Alfred place medicine in their room so it would be right at hand when either of them started to feel sick. He now remembered the cream from the palace that he would need to give Alessandra to place on her face.

Edgar sat on the edge of the bed to take off his shoes and not long after he felt a dip in the bed as Alessandra woke up. "How kind of you to wake up after I carried you from the carriage straight to the bed," he said jokingly.

"You are a strong man," Alessandra yawned, covering her mouth with her hands, and then she rubbed her eyes wanting to get rid of the sleepiness she felt. "What time is it?"

"Most likely we have gone on to a new day. You can go back to sleep. I will join you shortly," said Edgar.

Feeling uncomfortable with her shoes still being on, Alessandra slid to the edge of the bed but noticed her shoes had placed mud on the bed.  She would need to avoid that spot when lying back down as she was too tired to call for anyone to change the sheets or do it herself.

"Ah," Alessandra gasped when Edgar suddenly picked up her left foot and started to take off her shoe. "I can do it myself. You must be tired too."

"I am not. Enjoy these moments when they come. You will not find me touching just anyone's muddy shoe. It has started to snow," he said to distract her from taking off her own shoe. "It was a good decision to buy coats before returning to Lockwood. The season of parties has started which means trouble."

It was during the numerous parties when the town was busy in the winter that the first victim was found buried beneath the snow after a couple of children were playing around with the snow. A young maid was last seen working the night of a party and the lack of her presence was not noticed until the parties started to die down.

Since then a few young women have disappeared. The culprit had been silent for a while which meant something big must be planned for the winter. As much as Edgar, Tobias, or the town guards could advise everyone to be careful and aware of their surroundings, not everyone listened as they paid more attention to the parties and entertainment.

"You must not go anywhere without Caleb. I might add another guard to watch over you when you are out of the house. You need to be wary of more than your family members around town. We still have that old fool that tried to buy you from your father."

"Right," Alessandra replied, only now remembering William. When it came to her enemies, she mostly thought of Kate and Katrina but William was quite dangerous. "I completely forgot about him."

"You shouldn't. He is dangerous and will be in the same spaces as us in the future. There is no telling if your family has had a conversation with him. A fool could tell they would love for you to end up in Williams's hands. Never go anywhere alone with those two women," said Edgar. He didn't trust either woman as far as he could throw them.

Edgar thought the Baroness would be too busy with Clark to even focus on Alessandra but the woman still managed to start rumors about her and the cook. In the morning, he would see if the Baroness had done as he told her to or if her face needed to be cut again.

"I would be crazy to be alone with Katrina and Kate. I already know how they get when no one is watching. I don't want to hear about them right now," Alessandra fell back against the soft bed. It was too early in the day to think of her family. "I want to fall asleep quickly to see the snow tomorrow."