The Duke's Masked Wife

"All I am saying is that you are blessed, Alessandra. You are surrounded by handsome men from your husband, his family, and his guards. Not that you are looking to have an affair but you have a look of good things to look at. The maids must get distracted from time to time," said Erin.

"They are patiently awaiting summer because Edgar and the men train shirtless outside the house. They absolutely hate winter," Sally said, sitting down on the floor to join Alessandra and Erin in playing with the kittens. "Don't worry. I will get a broom to sweep away anyone who looks at Edgar."

"You don't have to. I will never be able to stop someone from ogling at Edgar and I just might join them in watching him train," Alessandra replied. Contrary to what the other two thought, she was actually interested in watching Edgar show off the skills she heard of.

"I suggest you take that broom to ward off the women eyeing Caleb," Erin winked at Sally. She was not convinced there wasn't something going on between the two.

"You and Alfred are no different. I won't be stopping anyone from looking at Caleb. I would like to stop hearing about him so regularly. The other girls are losing their minds when they see Caleb and his brother walking around together. The things I have heard," Sally said, wishing to clean out her ears.

"Oh yes, twins. They are two identical big burly men walking around this place. Sally, I say you find yourself having some fun and take the two of them for yourself. One to show in society, two at night," Erin suggested doing a dance with her shoulders.

"Should we call for the doctor?" Sally commented on Erin's terrible dance. It reminded her of what someone did before they fainted. "I don't think I missed how you are with your mouth, Erin. I don't want the two of them, let alone one."

"Fine. Lose out on having the time of your life. I am going to make a bet that you are going to eat your words. This town could do with the women becoming a little bit more adventurous in satisfying their desires.  The men don't hold back on it," Erin muttered.

"Speaking of men, why don't you tell us more about the man you are going to marry?" Sally asked, shifting the conversation to Erin.

"I am also curious about him," said Alessandra. She worried about all the secrecy.

"Fine, fine. His name is Dale Scott. That is all I will say for now. It won't be hard for the two of you to find out about him but I want to wait until you two meet him to tell you more. Just know that he is the sweetest man you will ever meet," Erin said, touching her chest as just thinking about him made her heart rush.

"Dale Scott? I think I know who that is. He has a brother right? What was his name?" Sally asked, trying to think of it.

"Troublesome Kyle," Erin rolled her eyes. "I swear there are days I like his brother but then there are others that make me just want to strangle him. He's the only person in Dale's family that knows we are together because he went to his brother's home uninvited while I was there."

"So, is he a good person?" Alessandra asked Sally.

"Of course, he is," Erin answered in place of Sally. She was a tad bit hurt by Alessandra questioning the man she picked to spend the rest of her life with. "I wouldn't be marrying him if he wasn't a good person."

"I know. I can't help but be concerned since I have never met him. When you introduce him to us, my worries should go away," Alessandra replied, genuinely not meaning to hurt Erin. It was hard not to be suspicious of a lot of the people in Lockwood whom she had never met. At least they had a name for this mystery man.

"I suppose it is normal for you to be worried when you have never met him. You can ask your husband about him. I am certain they have already met each other," Erin replied. She heard him speak about Edgar at least once.

"I will wait until the day I meet him face to face. I think we should talk about what is important. You and your mother. Do you think there is a chance for the two of you to put this behind you and work together making dresses? You have a lot to offer her business," Alessandra said, wishing Erin's mother would help Erin become a part of her famous business.

Erin shook her head. She knew her mother better than anyone and considering her mother has never taken her designs seriously for years, nothing was going to change now. "She's never going to let me sell my dresses in her shop. I really wanted to work with my mother since she inspired me but I have to think about myself and start my own dress shop," Erin replied.

After her mother presented her with the option to get married or leave, Erin finally made the decision to move on from working with her mother and start her own business where she would make all the rules. She already had the attention thanks to the favor Alessandra did for her.

"I am going to start looking for empty spaces for my own dress shop. I would like for it to be ready to open by summer since that is when business is best for dressmakers. I have the money saved over from making your dresses and from all the new orders. Then there will be my inheritance. I thought of asking Dale for money but it is something I want to do on my own. I just need to come up with a little bit more," said Erin.

"I will be happy to invest in it. It wasn't long ago I was thinking of ways for myself to make money. I believe you will become the best dressmaker in this town so it won't be a bad investment," Alessandra said.

"It would make sense for the two of you to become owners. Thanks to Edgar, Alessandra would have the resources to find you a place to set up your business here and out of town. You can make dresses for her and send them out to other towns. Create a better business than what anyone in this town has thought of," Sally added an idea.

"I'm not against this," Erin replied, liking the idea of Alessandra and her working together. "I will be the talent in making dresses and you can be the one dealing with locations and stuff I don't know about. You are married to a good businessman who can offer good ideas. We only have one problem. Would your husband let you invest in this?"

"She only needs to ask and he will do it," Sally said, one hundred percent sure there wouldn't be an issue. It was time that everyone caught on to how Edgar could not say no to Alessandra. She was his weakness along with Alfred. 'Never thought there would be a day a wife competes with the butler,' she thought.

"We should ask him right now so we can start creating a business plan. It will help clear my depressed mood," Erin said, getting to her feet.

"You were depressed?" Sally asked in a confused tone. She looked at Alessandra to see if she thought the same. "You sounded quite happy talking about sleeping with two men and finally introducing your future husband."

"I was depressed on the inside," Erin touched her chest. "Come on. Move quickly."

Alessandra tried to get up quickly before Erin would take it upon herself to pull her up. "Erin, I need to warn you that you shouldn't be so excited to speak with Edgar. Why aren't you getting up, Sally?" Alessandra questioned when she noticed Sally had not moved an inch.

"It is only you two who need to speak with your husband and honestly, he never looks happy to have Erin around so I will stay here and take care of the kittens for a while before checking on Alfred," Sally answered. She wanted to stay clear of when Edgar and Erin would clash.

"I'm sure he'll love me after I become business partners with his wife. Do you know where he would be now, Alessandra?" Erin asked as she walked to the door with Alessandra.

"Most likely hiding from you, Dominic, and Caleb. I would say he is in his study and we will be met by a locked door," Alessandra replied. A man that wanted peace and quiet was bound to find a hole and hide in it. "If he is not there, we should check with Alfred."

"That reminds me," Erin said, only now noticing what was odd. "Why wasn't your butler at the door? He greeted me at the door on my past visits and then we would speak of what dresses would suit you as he took me to you.  I knew something was missing but I couldn't place what it was. Is he sick?"

"I forgot no one outside this house other than the guards knows about it. Alfred was attacked by a group of men and was injured-"

"What?" Erin gripped Alessandra's shoulders. "Who the hell hurt such a good man?"