The Duke's Masked Wife

"The three of you are serious that you believe the person taking the girls is Simon? Why?" Tobias asked, not seeing how Simon fit with all of this. What could make the quiet man do such a thing? Tobias knew Edgar would never come to him with this if there weren't some clue, but right now, he was puzzled.

"I don't know why he is doing this just yet, but there is something off about him, and we cannot ignore Kate asking Caleb for help. I had a suspicion about him before and now I am led back to him. I will take all responsibility if I am wrong," Edgar promised.

"No," Tobias sat down in his seat. "If Kate of all people is asking you for help there is something wrong with Simon. That bastard. Coming around giving his concerns about those women. Okay, let's fully assume that it is him. Where does he keep them? You said his servants look to be on his side, but he wouldn't put the girls in his home, would he?"

"I doubt he keeps them in his home. It is not like he doesn't get guests in his home. There has to be another place he keeps them. Reed is going to get a layout of Simon's house so we can find any rooms he could keep someone in," said Edgar.

"Good. Keep this among the four of us for now. Anyone else who hears about this might just think of this as a case where a wife got hit by her husband and is acting out. As if that is not a bad thing. This would all be made easier if we could speak to Kate. Find out what exactly she needs help with. Fuck," Tobias cursed, running his hand through his hair.

"I doubt we will be seeing Kate away from Simon anytime soon. Unless you invite them to the palace tomorrow night so I can use that time to search the house. Invite a few more nobles so it doesn't seem strange right after my visit. Say you want to make a big announcement so it is important they all attend," Edgar said, walking to the window to look at the view of the town.

"And what announcement is that? Don't tell me you are referring to announcing Hazel's pregnancy. We aren't ready yet-"

"It's a win-win with this announcement. The kingdom is restless since there has not been an announcement for an heir and you will help me catch the madman killing young women. It is time to make the announcement. I need the distraction," Edgar replied.

"Why the hell don't you announce your wife's pregnancy? I am trying to play it safe for Hazel with these early weeks. Dammit," Tobias gritted his teeth and smacked his hand on the table.

It was true that they did have to come out and share Hazel's pregnancy soon. Talk of him having a mistress who could bear him a child since the Queen seemed to be barren began again. The pity everyone felt when they learned it was not Hazel's fault the kingdom was left without an heir for long quickly went away.

"Fine, I will do it. Getting that bastard is what matters most. I cannot sit through being told of another young woman dying again. I hope this is it and we can finally put this to an end. Bring peace to the families. I will get a list of anyone we have not found yet. Dead or alive, you need to find them in the open window I will create for you. What will you do about the servants? They might put up a fight," Tobias said as from what he heard, they seemed quite loyal to Simon.

"Then they will die," Edgar honestly answered.

He didn't care if Simon had threatened his servants. Brought them under his command with fear. If Simon was out of the house and his servants chose to fight Edgar who was there to help, they would have to die. Edgar's main focus was to save any girls still alive and anyone who got in the way of that would die.

"I suppose it is inevitable. Try to keep a few alive or just wound them enough to get them from fighting you. I want most of them alive to be questioned. In order to get Simon away from Kate, we will need to get Hazel involved in this. Have her pull the women away from the men for a moment and question Kate. I will send a message to you as fast as I can if we guessed wrong," said Tobias.

"Reed, Caleb. Do what I ordered you to and come back to me right after. I want someone watching that house right now. Watch who goes in and comes out. Go," Edgar sent them away.

Simon was a smart man who could be suspicious as they spoke right now. He did hide from them for this long after all. If Simon does not show up to the dinner, it was a sign he knew Edgar was onto him, and he could only point to Kate as the reason he was exposed. Her life was at risk.

"Have the invitations sent out right now, Tobias. You'll need to double the guards tomorrow night to protect everyone attending. I need to find out more about Simon in the meantime," Edgar said, walking to the door to leave. He had a few sources who could tell him about Simon.

"Watch your back, Edgar. You can't underestimate him," Tobias said.

"I know," Edgar replied, leaving the room to find what he needed.

...

"It feels like the days are going by too fast. I'm going to be an old man before I know it," Peter muttered, watching the sun setting to begin the ending of another day in Lockwood. The view of the sun going down was one of the things he loved about the church.

Peter stood on the steps of the church with his hands behind his back, enjoying the moment of peace before the night crowd would start coming to the church. He remembered the time he had visited another church in the middle of the night and asked for forgiveness. His mother would be happy to see how much he had changed his life around.

"I should pay her a visit soon," Peter said, turning around to go back inside the church. He needed to bring out the blankets for anyone who needed to use the church as a shelter for the cold night. "Should I put on some tea and bring out some biscuits for anyone who has an empty stomach?"

Peter left the doors wide open for any visitors to come inside and sit down or go straight to praying. He hoped he didn't have anyone who was drunk out of their mind waltzing inside the church tonight. He was not in the mood to be cleaning up after someone.

"This should be enough for now," Peter returned with blankets to be placed on the benches. "Oh," he said when he noticed someone seated close to the altar. "Good evening," he greeted the person as he placed the blankets down.

"Rude," he muttered when there was no response. "God isn't going to answer your prayers."

"Hello again."

Peter froze and looked at the visitor with the familiar voice.  "Simon? I mean Marquess. What are you doing here?"

"I'm having a rough day. I had a bit of trouble with my wife today and it seems my fun might be over soon. I came here hoping to get some advice from the priest who wed us," said Simon.

'Well, my advice was you shouldn't have married her, but no one listens to me,' Peter thought.

"What advice can I help you with?" Peter asked, slowly approaching where Simon sat. He had not forgotten how Simon had frightened him but this was a person in need.  "How to make up with your wife?"

"No, there is no hope for us. She isn't what I thought she would be. I will deal with her later.  How can I start over priest?"

"I don't think you should give up on your marriage just yet. To start over, you should think back to what made you love her-"

"No, I meant my life. How do I start it over? Or should I just accept that I have been dead inside for a long time and just end it all? Have a grand finale to it?" Simon asked.  His game could not go on forever.  He wanted to have a big end to it.  "Edgar isn't playing the game fair. He's playing out of turn before I make a move."

Peter stopped right before he could pass Simon. "What? I'm confused about what we are talking about now. What game?"

"You seem to be quite close to Edgar," Simon said, looking up at Peter.

Peter took a step back as there was a crazed look in Simon's eyes. "I assure you that we are not close. I hate that bastard. We're just a priest and Duke who run into each other from time to time. Whatever you hate him for, I hate him for it too."

Simon chuckled. "A priest who lies while standing in a church. How interesting. You will make a nice addition to the collection," he stood up.