The Duke's Masked Wife

"I pity you for having to deal with a stepsister. Still, as ladies, we much pity her because she must be jealous that your father remarried and had a new daughter he adored. I would be jealous of you too if I were in her position. That's why she aimed for the Duke. It is only because you liked him. There must honestly be some truth to her pregnancy for the Duke since there is no other explanation for why he married her so quickly," Grace said, still trying to figure out why Edgar married Alessandra.

"Hey!" Grace grabbed Kate's arm. "Between you and me, do you think your sister is pretty under her mask? It wouldn't make sense why-"

Kate shoved away Grace's hand from touching her. "Are you foolish?" She asked as it was the only reasonable explanation for why Grace would bring this up to her. What was happening in Grace's mind to make her ask if Alessandra was pretty?

"I am only trying to put together why everyone failed at marrying the Duke but your sister was successful. Now that I think about it, Edgar always had a particular taste in the women he was spotted with and at first glance, your sister isn't like those women. I will admit since it is just the two of us now that the half of her face we see is quite pretty," Grace replied, admitting that Alessandra wasn't ugly for the first time.

"If she didn't have that mask she would be sought after from the moment she came of age. She would have been able to find a wealthy husband with her looks. It's proof since she got the Duke with the mask," Grace continued, and like always she once again thought this was why Kate hated her sister so much. Kate hated when there was someone better looking than her around.

Grace hated to hear Kate rave about her blond hair and blue eyes which were honestly overrated now. No one cared about the color of Kate's hair or eyes but Kate.

"You," Kate glared at Grace for having the audacity to compliment Alessandra in her presence. "Have you lost your mind? Nothing about her is pretty."

Grace found it amusing how Kate was still in denial about her sister. "You need to calm your anger as I am not the only person who thinks she is pretty. Your sister is catching a lot of attention from men and there are women who like how mysterious she is. You should do something fast if you don't want to be overshadowed by your sister. I can admit she is pretty but I still do not enjoy hearing everyone else compliment her."

"Men are so fickle with the things they want. They are only lusting after her because she is Edgar's wife. Nothing more," Kate was sure of it. She heard before how men lusted after the wives of their peers. If Alessandra were to be caught with one of these men, even if the meeting was set up, her name would be ruined and Edgar might not look at her the same.

It was irritating the cook Mario had left as he was the right person for Alessandra to get caught with because of the rumor they stirred around. Rather than knock off Alessandra's mask, Kate thought it would be better if Alessandra was found in the arms of another man when her husband was away.

'It wouldn't be too hard to find a man willing to take advantage of his time alone with Alessandra,' Kate thought. She wanted Alessandra ruined to the point of no return and maybe if she could hold everyone back for the man to do his job, Alessandra would take her life soon after. The only way they could not be compared in the future was if one of them died.

Kate could never forget how their father once favored Alessandra over her and the compliments to Alessandra she had to endure while she remained on the sidelines. If she had not done something in the past, she would have forever lived in Alessandra's shadow. It was a place she would never go back to no matter what.

Once she became the pride and joy of her father, Kate's hatred for Alessandra when she was a child faded away and she kept Alessandra in her place as the forgotten, unwanted, useless daughter. Now that anger was coming back when people like Grace spoke of how pretty Alessandra was. The anger she had now at this age couldn't compare to how much she hated Alessandra as a child.

"I will meet with you later Grace. I have much to think about before the King's ball. If you hear anything about Lila, come to my house right away. I need to know what she is hiding from us. Goodbye," Kate excused herself, ignoring the disappointed look from Grace as their time together came to an end quickly. Kate's mood was soured thanks to Grace, so she did not want to remain in town.

"What a waste of my time," Grace muttered.

Kate heard what Grace tried to utter under her breath but it didn't bother her enough for her to turn around and make Grace apologize for it. She had Simon to think about and what she would do about Alessandra.

As Kate exited the shop, she picked up on something strange right away. When she looked at two young ladies coming to enter the shop, they looked at her and whispered something to each other. Before they could walk by her and enter the shop, Kate held out her left hand to stop them from going inside.

"What are two whispering about?" Kate asked, turning her head to the right to look at them with a blank expression. She didn't appear angry, annoyed, or irritated that they were being secretive. "Talk quickly."

"There is a rumor that your family is going to be struck with a final blow to your reputation. News has traveled from a good source in the court that your father will lose his title. It is quite bold of you to be out shopping when such a tragedy-"

"You, your father just welcomed his secret son into the family, didn't he? Just like all of you, I know a lot of gossip," Kate said, looking down on the two young ladies who were doing a terrible job at trying to make her shame about what would happen tomorrow in court. It wasn't certain yet that her father would lose his title but all his crimes were going to be exposed.

Her grandmother was returning to town to stop what her father had done from becoming public.

"That smile vanished as quickly as it fell on your lips. What a shame. The likes of you do not have what it takes to make me feel embarrassed," Kate said, glancing down at one of the young ladies' shoes which were popular two seasons ago. "Enjoy," she removed her hand from blocking their path. "You are in desperate need of shoes that are popular."

Kate forced a smile and left the young ladies with her head up but once she got far away, her smile fell.