The Duke's Masked Wife

The next day, Alessandra arrived in town before noon when it would be the busiest. As always, Sally was by her side and as if she was the queen, there were four men protecting her. Two on each side to stop anyone from getting close.

Seeing the Duchess highly guard created a lot of chatter among the people passing by but Alessandra did not let it ruin the moment. If she was walking with only one guard, others would still find something to talk about.

"Where do you want to go first? Your husband ordered me to buy whatever you look at," said Sally. Edgar gave her a bag of money, which she handed to Caleb to carry around, so she would buy what Alessandra liked but didn't want to waste money on.

It was always fun for Sally to watch Alessandra go on a shopping trip and not worry about money. She was living her fantasies through Alessandra.

"The purpose of this trip is to buy gifts for Alfred. I think we should buy plates and cups for him last since they can break if we walk around with them. That should be our last stop so we can look around for now. Where do you want to get your gifts?" Alessandra asked the group.

She witnessed many of the servants and guards paying Alfred a visit to bring him gifts. It was then she realized Alfred wasn't just a father figure to her and Edgar but to the entire estate.

"I wanted to find him a good book to read. He is just one chapter away from finishing the book he started. He told me of a new release he would love to buy. I will have to visit the bookshops," said Sally.

"What about the rest of you?" Alessandra asked, looking to her right where Caleb and Reed walked beside her.

"Alcohol," Reed and Caleb replied in unison.

"We've joined in with some of the other guards to write a get-well letter. It's a good thing he loves reading because it is around five pages already and all of the guards have not written their parts yet," Clyde answered. They all thought it would be best for Alfred to read how much they cared for him and wanted him to be well.

"That is a nice gift. You might make him cry. So, we need to visit a bookshop, buy alcohol and then find some plates, cups, or both for Alfred. We can look around a bit more. Here," Alessandra randomly pointed at a shop. She had not visited here the last time she came to town with Erin, Sally, and Caleb.

"This place is famous for its bags. You will love the bags, Duchess. Instead of having one color or a flower pattern, the bags here have many colors in different designs like the art I saw you make," Sally said, excited for Alessandra to visit here first.

Alessandra had an entire room full of bags and accessories she did not go in often because it wasn't her style. She needed items that showed off her artsy side. Sally wanted Alessandra to use her talent as an artist to help her stand out when it came to how she dressed.

If done right, Alessandra could set a new trend for other women to follow. They would keep an eye on Alessandra to mimic what she was wearing.

Sally's evident excitement made Alessandra want to visit the shop even more. She had enough bags at home but she was interested in seeing how these ones resembled art.

As Alessandra walked to the shop, Caleb tapped Reed on his shoulder and said, "Trouble is not too far away behind us."

Reed looked over his shoulder at two young women who were walking in their direction. "Have the owner make the shop private for only the Duchess to use,"  he ordered his brother.

Caleb nodded, going ahead of the group to tell the shop owner. They would not allow something bad to happen to Alessandra while in their care. It was only two young women not too far behind them but considering Alessandra was recently hit in the head by another young woman, they weren't taking any chances.

Alessandra noticed the way Caleb hurried in front of her like something was wrong. She looked at Reed who only shrugged his shoulders in response. "You know, keeping me unaware of something you noticed will only lead to trouble in the future," she warned him. "Thank you," she thanked Clyde after he opened the door for her.

All five of them entered the shop not long after Caleb.

"You were not pulling my arm. The Duchess really is here," a woman standing beside Caleb said. Her eyes lit up as soon as Alessandra entered. It would be good business for her if she could have the Duchess as a regular customer. "Ladies," she clapped her hands to gather her employee's attention. "Change the sign. The Duchess will be-"

"This is it," Grace said as she entered the shop with Kate. "Oh," her mouth fell open but her shock was far from being real. She spotted Alessandra a moment ago but Kate did not so she led her friend here to witness the two sisters arguing. She was tired of Kate rubbing it in her face how she would soon marry Simon.

"Clyde, Andre. The fucking door," Reed glared at the two. It was their job to take positions by all doors. They literally had one task aside from guarding Alessandra. They'll be fired if they mess up guarding Alessandra on their first day.

"He told me you were watching the doors," Clyde whispered to Andre as they walked to the door.

Andre shook his head. "No, he told me you were watching the doors. I am to stand behind the Duchess. Should we tell him it is him who messed this up?"

"If the Duke finds out, we should," Clyde replied. He and Andre nodded their heads as they both agreed on that.

Kate wasn't pleased by the sight of Alessandra. She was angered when Alessandra had the nerve to look away from her as if she didn't matter. 'Why does one person need so many guards? No one cares about her,' Kate thought. Alessandra was acting like she was someone important.

Jeanette, the shop owner, was the first person to approach Kate. "I am sorry but my shop is closed for a private showing. Please come back in fifteen minutes. I'm sorry for-"

"She is my sister," Kate interrupted Jeanette before she could be escorted out.

"Oh," Jeanette replied, turning around to see if Alessandra would like for her sister to stay. If they were sisters, why was one side of the room glaring at the other side?

"We are?" Alessandra chuckled because of Kate's words. Since when did Kate claim her as a sister? "She is mistaken," she added.

Jeanette was now more confused. Did a crazy young woman just enter her shop or were the two really sisters but at odds? Maybe one was an illegitimate child.

"We are sisters. We share the same father. Don't abuse your power and hog the shop all to yourself. I need to buy a bag," said Kate.

Alessandra wondered where Kate was getting the money to go shopping when it wasn't too long ago their house was in debt.

"Give us a moment for us to chat in private," Kate ordered everyone in the room.

Alessandra wasn't in the mood to go back and forth with Kate, stating the obvious that they do not care for each other. She had the means to remove Kate from before her so why stand here and argue? She had the perfect plan to make Kate angry and get rid of her.

"This will go on far longer than it needs to at this rate. I don't want to be in town for so long. Would you love for me to leave so you can tend to your customer?" Alessandra asked Jeneatte.

Her words were a nice way of asking which of the two customers was more important.