The Duke's Masked Wife

"Thank you for coming along with me, Alfred. I doubt Edgar would have let me out of his sight if you didn't offer to travel with me," said Alessandra.

One day had passed since she last saw her mother and sisters. A letter was sent for them to meet again in town. Edgar was against it as he had matters to take care of in the palace but Alfred offered to come along with her. Edgar was to come later on once he was finished with his work.

"I feel like I am moving with an army," Alessandra said, looking at the others who were squashed in the carriage.

Aside from Alfred, Sally, Caleb, Rafael, Andre, Clyde, and Alessandra's new female guard Ivy were present. Rafael rode with Andre out front with the coachman while everyone else squeezed together on one side.

Alessandra looked at the space between her and Alfred. "I told you someone should sit here with me and Alfred. The four of you look squashed together over there. I'm surprised that the seat has not broken."

"Duchess, I speak for everyone when I say we would rather walk beside the carriage than sit next to you and accidentally touch your stomach. Your husband has taken crazy to another level," Caleb said, trying his best to not squash Sally who sat beside him.

"None of you will hurt me if you sit here. We should have brought a second carriage to avoid this-"

"But then what if something happens here and we cannot help you!" Sally exclaimed. Edgar made it quite clear with the sword in his hands at the last meeting with all the servants, that they were to stick close to Alesandra.

"I would still have Alfred here with me and what could go wrong in the carriage? I feel like I am already dealing with children when all of you are near. If you wish to be uncomfortable then so be it. Edgar's protectiveness has gone up another level, but I keep telling you that I am not a fragile little lady," Alessandra said, wishing they would stop walking on eggshells around her.

"There is no point in telling them this, Alessandra. You are carrying important children in your stomach. No one wants to piss off their fathers," Alfred said.

"Alfred, please do not tell me you are also thinking there is more than one. Please do not encourage Edgar," Alessandra sighed. Edgar kept mentioning how they needed to buy two of everything. Then it turned out to be four of everything because he then said there could be two of the same gender or one of each.

"Edgar has a strange intuition," Alfred chuckled. He wouldn't be surprised if there were truly twins in her stomach. It didn't matter to Alfred if there were. All he wanted was to care for their children. If they only had one child, he would help to raise it as he did with Edgar. "And I enjoy his excitement. He isn't one to care for children. He thinks of them as annoying replicas of their parents."

"He told me this recently. Oh, we are in town already," Alessandra looked out the window. Aside from meeting with her mother and sisters, she was excited to secretly look around at some of the shops dedicated to nurseries. They had a long way to go, but she was excited to start decorating a room.

Alfred looked out the window when the carriage stopped. He looked at a woman and two young ladies standing behind her. It was certainly Alessandra's mother because of the similar features. Edgar already told him to keep an eye on the trio.

"Thank you," Alessandra thanked Reed who helped her out of the carriage.

One by one, her entourage got out of the carriage and stood behind her.

"Alessandra, you look wonderful today," Melanie greeted her daughter. She tried to ignore the number of people Alessandra brought with her.

"Thank you. You as well," Alessandra replied. Mother was still a hard word to leave her mouth.

"It is good to see you again sister. Who is the man beside you?" Claire pointed at Alfred. He was dressed like he was rich and since he was with Alessandra he had to be.

"This is Alfred. He is the family butler, but he has raised Edgar for years so he is more like family. He's been like a father figure to me since the day we first met," Alessandra happily introduced Alfred.

"Oh," Claire replied, uninterested in the butler. She wanted to see more of the nobility she heard about in Lockwood. "Why have you travelled with so many people? Are they your guards?" She asked.

Claire didn't like how it was coming off that Alessandra needed protection against her own family. They were not here to hurt her. 'Does she think that because we have no title we would look to harm her?' Claire wondered.

"It is normal for nobles to travel with many guards. One can never be too safe. Edgar always makes sure Alessandra is safe when she leaves the estate. Please do not misunderstand," Alfred answered in place of Alessandra.

"I understand. I remember the dangers that came with being Baroness. So many people are looking to rob you of your wealth. It is good to see that your husband keeps you protected. I had a good warning from him the last time we met," said Melanie.

"He warned mother not to hurt you," Melody said, sharing the same feelings as Claire that the Duke was wrong to threaten their mother. She knew it was wrong of her mother to leave a child behind for years and only return when she was ordered to, but Melody could not ignore the threat said to her mother.

"I don't see anything wrong with that," Alessandra said, standing on Edgar's side. "It is good it was said in the early. If you don't mind, I am getting a little tired of standing around outside even though we just arrived. Edgar has paid for no other customers to be present so we will be alone inside."

"The power of a Duke. I forgot the strings nobility could pull to get what they want. Come inside quickly before you get sick from the cold air," Melanie said, attempting to touch Alessandra and guide her to the entrance since there was still ice on the ground, but the butler beat her to it.

"The grounds are still quite slippery. It is good Sally did not pick out a shoe with too much heel. Careful," Alfred held Alessandra's hand and led her inside.

Melanie placed her hand on her hips and sighed as Alessandra's group of people walked by her. If it wasn't Alessandra giving her the cold shoulder, there was the Duke warning her as if she would ever physically hurt her own flesh and blood, and now there was a butler who beat her doing a nice gesture.

"Mother," Melody placed a hand on her mother's shoulder. "I don't like seeing you like this."

"It is fine. It is what I have to pay for leaving her behind. Come along before they think something is wrong with us that we have not entered. Claire, I don't like the way you pouted when you heard that man was the butler. No wonder they think we are after something. We need to be nice to everyone in Alessandra's life so we can get close to her," Melanie said, guiding the two inside.