The Duke's Masked Wife

"Welcome back, Duke and Duchess Collins. I hope your time out was lovely. Alfred has told me to inform the two of you if you return before he does that he has gone on a walk. Is there anything I can prepare for you? A warm bath maybe?" Calvin stated as the weather stayed true to its mood swings and switched from sunny to cloudy in a blink of an eye.

"Nothing right now for me thank you. I just want to go outside and explore the backyard. Hopefully, it is not wet," said Alessandra.

Clavin looked up at the clouds and found dark clouds. "It is not but I will have someone on standby with an umbrella. It seems like there will be heavy rain which is why it has turned cold."

Edgar looked up at the sky and was surprised to see the dark clouds. "Research should be finished to answer why this town has such unusual weather. Lockwood's weather is much more predictable. Did Alfred leave with an umbrella?"

Calvin nodded his head. "He did. He said he would return shortly so I think he will be back before the rain comes. You should hurry to enjoy the backyard a bit before the rain comes, Duchess."

"Right. I will see you soon, Edgar," Alessandra quickly gave her goodbyes and then hurried off to the side of the house to inspect the backyard properly.

"Should I be offended if she is eager to quickly leave my side?" Edgar asked.

"I don't wish to cross the line but I've heard the Duchess has never traveled around. Once she has seen everything around the home and a bit of the town, her attention will be only on you. My wife was the same when I took her on a trip. You should make some use of the rain about to fall, Duke Collins. I will make sure no servant bothers you. Until then," Calvin excused himself to go back to what he was doing before the carriage returned.

"I see why I hired him," Edgar muttered. It was clear from the dark clouds and cold air there was about to be a heavy shower of rain so everyone would have to stay inside. This was another opportunity for him and Alessandra to be confined in a room together. "All I need to do is wait."

"Edgar, you returned earlier than I expected. Normally your grandmother likes to make you stay with her long enough to sleep over," Alfred said as he returned to the home with an umbrella in his hands.

"She's hellbent on getting her great-grandchildren so she sent us away. What is it with you and not staying still? I brought you along to rest, Alfred," said Edgar.

"I am resting but there is nothing like a good walk to enjoy the fresh air. I have to do it more often back at home to stretch my feet. I've already tended to the garden and inspected the house so there is nothing left for me to do now. I am going to take a nap now that the rain seems to be preparing to fall. I spoke to a person on the street and they said there is a good place at night for couples to eat at. Please take the Duchess out tonight."

"Hmm. I suppose I've grown tired of seeing everyone else at dinner," Edgar joked. "Have the butler make reservations for us while you go to bed, Alfred. Next time I will send you away to an inn so you cannot inspect what their servants are doing or play around with their flowers."

"You worry too much," Alfred patted Edgar's back. "I don't like sitting around doing nothing at this age. Time is counting down for me so I have to do everything I love before it hits zero."

"When that time comes I will hunt down your soul and bring you back to my side," Edgar said as he could not imagine life without Alfred . Alfred had always taken care of him and wherever he went, Alfred was not far behind.

Alfred found the words to be sweet but at some point, he needed to get away from Edgar. "Please refrain from doing that, young master. Let's not talk about that anymore. You should find the Duchess and tell her of your-oh!" Alfred quickly opened the umbrella as the heavy rain suddenly fell onto the land. "Good thing I had my umbrella," Alfred said and held it over Edgar's head to make sure he wouldn't get sick.

"But there is someone without it in the backyard," Edgar muttered and left Alfred's side to search for Alessandra. He was certain she already ventured too far without keeping an eye on the dark clouds and would end up getting soaked.

"Oh to be young and not afraid of catching a cold," Alfred muttered a bit jealous of the relationship Edgar and Alessandra had. "Perhaps it is time I look to spend my time with someone."

Meanwhile,

Edgar completely disregarded the heavy rain beating his body and walked around the side of the house where Alessandra had run off to take a quick look at the backyard. He knew it wasn't a good idea for her to venture off outside but she had been meaning to look at the backyard. It was unfortunate the rain had to fall each time she tried to.

Just as he went around the home, he saw her running towards the house. Her dress and hair were starting to stick to her body and she held onto her mask to keep it from falling.

"Alessandra!" Edgar called out to her as he marched out to where she was.

"Edgar-wait," Alessandra gasped as she found herself swooping off her feet and into Edgar's arms. "Why did you come out into the rain?"

"There's an obvious answer to that question and I don't feel the need to say it," Edgar replied. He felt like the answer would be cheesy as it was clear as the day he came out for her. He was thankful she was not asking him to play around in the rain.

Alessandra didn't ask that question to receive a sweet reply. She did not need nor want Edgar to come out to her to be drowned in rainwater. Now both of them were wet and could potentially catch a cold. She wanted to tell Edgar to put her down as she might be heavy but decided against it as she was certain he would not listen to her.

"Oh no," Calvin came to the back door and was horrified by the sight of them both drenched and the spotless floor becoming wet. "I will have hot water prepared for the two of you in your bedroom."

Edgar walked past Calvin with Alessandra still in his arms. Edgar took her straight up to their bedroom and placed her on the floor in front of the fireplace. He tossed a few planks of wood into the fireplace and then created a fire to keep Alessandra warm until the warm water was ready.

"I didn't mean to," Alessandra began to apologize for making the two of them get wet. "I thought I could run back inside when the rain started to drizzle but it came down all at once."

"I know so there's no need to apologize. It's not like you went out and got lost," Edgar came back by her side with a towel to start drying her hair. "I hope you do not get sick or we will have to cancel our plans to go out for dinner."

"We're going out again? Where? I think we'd hardly be able to have a peaceful dinner with others curious about my mask. I can already feel the stares," said Alessandra. She did not want others' countless questions to ruin the night.

"I will take care of it."