The Duke's Masked Wife

"Marquess-"

"I told you all not to bother me," Simon said, irritated with the butler disrupting his planning. Kate wanted Kyle and as a good husband, he was planning to bring the man here to be with Bella. He did not want to prolong Kate having her matching set to his Bella.

"Forgive me. There are three men approaching the house. One looks to be Duke Edgar Collins."

Simon froze when he heard Edgar's name. He quickly stood and went to the window to see if it was true. "You weren't toying with me. He's here. He's finally here," he smiled.

Simon had not grabbed Alessandra yet, but Edgar was already here visiting his home. "Clean this up quickly," Simon pointed to a map of the town. "Have Kate come out to greet our guests. I will open the door for him. Wait! How do I look?" Simon spread out his arms for his clothing to be inspected. He could not look terrible on such a joyous day.

"Wonderful-"

"Right," Simon cut in, leaving the butler to open the door for Edgar. He couldn't allow any old servant to open the door for Edgar Collins.

As he walked downstairs, Simon heard a knock at the front door. Life was going well for him recently. Perhaps Kate was a good luck charm.

"Duke Collins! What a pleasant surprise," Simon said as he opened the door. "Come inside."

Simon wasn't happy to see the two men with Edgar, but he would ignore them for now.

"Good afternoon, Marquess Simon," Edgar greeted the man who seemed overly happy for some reason. "I am sorry to disturb you when you must be enjoying your time with your new wife," he stepped inside.

"There is no need to apologize. Must your guards join you inside?" Simon asked, not wanting the two men he knew to be guards sticking close to Edgar. They would take away from the alone time he wanted with Edgar.

"We go everywhere with him," Reed stepped inside, challenging Simon to say otherwise. He towered over the Marquess who surprisingly smiled in response, not intimidated by Reed's frame.

"Fine," Simon walked away from the door. Just like the priest, Simon would like to get rid of the guards who were too close to Edgar. They were all ruining his fun.

On the stairs, Kate was surprised to see Edgar standing by the door. She only witnessed Simon have a conversation with Edgar once before and didn't think the two men casually visited each other's homes.

She got excited to have Edgar here as he would be able to get her out of there, but then she frowned. Why would Edgar help her? It was as clear as day he hated her because of the things Alessandra filled his head with.

If their positions were reversed, Kate would leave Edgar to rot in this hell. He was the man who killed her father and he gave Alessandra what was always meant for Kate.

Still, Edgar was the one leading the case for the missing women so she should take a risk to get his attention and somehow point out Simon as the suspect. It wouldn't be easy to do since Edgar had a habit of avoiding her gaze. Who would have ever thought she was putting her life in his hands?

"Duke Collins," Kate smiled, putting on her act as Simon wanted. "This is a surprise. What are you doing here?"

"Kate," Simon gave her a look. The ending was not necessary when Edgar didn't need a reason to come here. He was always welcomed here. Edgar was a big part of his game from the moment Tobias made Edgar get involved in leading the case.

"I came to have a chat with your husband. Caleb here," Edgar placed his hand on Caleb's shoulder.

"Keeps mentioning how similar you and I are because we married sisters."

'What the fuck?' Caleb thought. 'He was upset with me saying that and now he is using it for this.'

"I thought to pay you a visit to get to know you a little bit. Congratulations on your wedding. You too," Edgar looked at Kate. His eyes went to Kate playing with her fingernails as if she was nervous, but quickly stopped when Simon also looked at her hands.

Simon turned his attention back to Edgar. "Come take a seat with us in the drawing room. Kate, bring the men something to drink-"

"That isn't needed. I don't drink around from anyone. I am quite picky anyway," said Edgar. He didn't think someone like Kate would do a servant's job, but she did start to move before he said he didn't need anything. How long did she plan to keep up this good girl act?

"I am sure I can find something to suit your taste, Edgar. Everything I have in my house is something even a Duke can enjoy. How about water? Or are you afraid I would put something in that?" Simon asked and then silence fell upon the group. "I'm kidding," Simon added to break the tension. "We are family now, Edgar. I've been telling Kate how I wanted her to fix the relationship she has with your wife. I hope the two of us talking is the start of their reconciliation. Kate is ready to apologize for what she did wrong."

Edgar wouldn't believe that even if it came out of Kate's mouth. For a moment, Kate proved it when she frowned. There was the real Kate he knew.

"Right, Kate?" Simon held out his hand for Kate to come to his side.

"Yes," Kate replied, taking his hand to go to his side. "I would like to apologize for my wrongdoings."

Edgar released a chuckle. "You sure love to play peacemaker, don't you Simon?"

"I hate to see two sisters fighting instead of being close to each other. As you know, my family died when I was young so it is hard for me to watch anyone not cherish the time they have with their relatives. Why are we still standing around? Come sit down," Simon said, leading the group to the drawing room with Kate by his side.

Edgar and Reed shared a look as if picking up on the same thing.

Edgar looked around the house as he followed Simon to the drawing room. To the right of them, he noticed a servant girl peeking at what they were doing, and when their eyes met, she looked away. Despite servants walking around the home, the house was awfully quiet on the inside. Certainly, Simon had not found a butler better than Alfred who could keep his house so quiet.

"How is married life treating you, Simon?" Edgar asked, entering the drawing room and sitting down opposite the couple. Despite the odd feeling he got from Simon's house, what was strange to Edgar was Kate. He expected her to be boasting about her new life already. Instead, he felt her burning a hole through his head with her gaze.

"It is better than what others said it would be like. Kate and I are happily in love," Simon answered, squeezing Kate's hand.

"Your mother must be happy that you are finally out of the house," Edgar said, finally turning his attention back to Kate.

"She is, but I worry about her being all alone at home since I've been married. I can't wait to see her again-"

"I always view you and your mother as an inseparable pair. You have not seen her since you got married?" Edgar asked, finding it odd. With Katrina's title stripped away, she should be hovering around Kate to attach herself to her Marchioness daughter.

Kate hesitated for a moment but then knew what to answer to avoid angering Simon. "Well, I've just gotten married and I don't want to be away from Simon just yet. You seem to be hot, Duke Collins. Are you sure you do not want me to get something for you to drink?"

"I suppose it is rude for me to not accept what the owners are offering. I've got something private I want to discuss with your husband in the meantime while you are gone. Simon, have you received your letter from the palace yet? Honestly, it is the reason I am here today. I am going around trying to get nobles to join me in looking for the missing women," Edgar changed his story as it would never be believable that he came here to work on becoming family with Simon.

While the two men spoke, Kate stood up and slowly walked behind the chair Simon sat in. She looked at Edgar, wanting him to notice her so she could mouth something to him, but Edgar would not look away from Simon.

Before Kate could exit the open space of the drawing room, she bumped into Caleb who had moved from where he was standing before for some reason. She looked up at the tall man she remembered seeing behind Alessandra from time to time.

"Kate," Simon stood up to separate her from the guard who was too close to her.

"Help," Kate mouthed to Caleb and stood back before Simon could reach them.

"I apologize, Marquess. I was fascinated by the sword on the wall and almost pushed down your wife," Caleb awkwardly rubbed the back of his head.

Simon narrowed his eyes at the clumsy guard who reminded him of a child. He then looked at the sword which once belonged to his father. He remembered stabbing his father's corpse with it many times. "That sword has been in my family for generations. Come take a closer look at it. Excuse us for a moment, Edgar. Run along Kate," Simon sent her away.