The Duke's Masked Wife

"There is nothing for you to say to her and you won't get the satisfaction you desire from seeing her in my dungeon. Continue as you were with taking care of Alfred and forget that she is here. Nothing will come of you speaking with her," Edgar added when Rose opened her mouth to disagree with him.

He wasn't able to get a word out of his mother so with the bad blood Priscilla and Rose had, there wasn't a response Rose would get from Priscilla. It was like talking to a wall at this point.

"I want to see with my own eyes the state she is in," said Rose, not changing her mind.

"Grandmother, there is no hope for me to have a better relationship with my mother after this but if you wish to have a relationship with your son who cares for his wife, you should not visit her," Edgar offered a bit of advice in effort for his father and grandmother to not have a strained relationship.

"It is about time your father and mother separated but your father has been holding on. It is not like he loved her in the first place-"

"He was forced into a marriage he wanted no part of just like my mother was trying to do with me. My mother has her flaws but it was wrong of you to chastise her when my father had another woman during the early years of their marriage. She did not deserve any insults. My father did.  I will never forgive his affairs even though he was pushed to be with my mother and could not let the other woman go," Edgar said, as his father's affair was part of why they did not get along.

It was the one thing he sympathized with his mother on. He witnessed the few times it was tossed back into her face to ridicule her when she did not deserve it.

"You know that I was not the one who wanted Edmund to marry Priscilla. It was your grandfather because of a deal he had with an old friend. I did Priscilla a favor by helping to get rid of that woman and even before the wedding, I asked if she wanted to get out of it. In return for my efforts, she called me a fool. I no longer try to understand her and I do not care if your father will never speak with me again. Let me see her," Rose said in a demanding tone.

Rose continued to say, "It is your mother who wronged you. Aren't you afraid your father will not speak to you after this? I know the two of you have been trying to fix your relationship."

"I hope that he distances himself from me and leaves town with my mother. I won't convince you to stay away from her any longer but I am not going to visit her with you. I am looking forward to my birthday and I do not need my mood soured by seeing the two of you arguing. I need to get back to work if you do not mind," Edgar patted the papers on his desk to show that he was busy.

"Suit yourself. I will have a word with your mother alone. I cannot make any promises that I will not try reaching through the cell to strangle her. You are not the only one who cares for Alfred," Rose said to remind Edgar that she also formed a bond with Alfred over the years.

Rose allowed Alfred to get closer to her than any of her relatives could, whether it be from her side of the family or from her husband's side. She did not care if  Edmund would get angry with her for getting involved in the matter. He should keep quiet and look back on his actions as he did not get involved to stop Priscilla's bad actions he knew about.

Rose left Edgar alone and went down to the dungeon she had only visited once before this house was given to Edgar. When she reached the dungeon, there was a guard blocking the door but he stepped to the side to let her pass. The guard knew she would not have made it this far unless Edgar wanted her to.

Rose covered her nose when she walked into the dungeon and got a whiff of the aftermath of whoever was tortured there or was still here. She had just arrived but wanted to turn back because of the pungent scent. Priscilla, who was born with a silver spoon in her mouth, would not be doing well here.

Rose followed the noise of something shuffling around in what sounded to be wood, figuring it might be Priscilla, while the guard walked around lighting up the lanterns to give the dungeon some light. To her surprise, Priscilla was curled up in one of the cells, hugging her legs.

"Of course, he would send you here to see me in this state. I guess it is better than speaking with Edgar. Where is your son?" Priscilla asked, desperately wanting to know what Edmund was doing to get her out of there.

"I have not spoken to my son but I know if he wanted you out of here, he would have made a move to get you out. Edgar might be a Duke but Edmund has enough resources to save you. What is this?" Rose kicked the box where the noise was coming from.

Priscilla covered her ears to block out the noise from the rats running around in the box. She didn't understand how there were still some alive after days passed without being fed unless they were eating each other now.

"Rats?  I see why he thinks this is a good punishment for you. I wanted to kill you instead," said Rose.

Priscilla already knew that Rose would want her dead. Rose was always waiting for the moment she would mess up. Priscilla had nothing more to say to Rose. Rose could take the satisfaction of seeing her like this and then leave.

"Why? I could understand if you wanted to kill me, Edmund, the woman he had in the early years, or a few of your peers but not Alfred.  He raised your son in your place. Loved Edgar like his own from the moment he started to work for you. How could you be so evil to try taking that away from him? This is not enough," Rose confirmed now that she looked at Priscilla.

Priscilla's current state was terrible but it wasn't enough to calm Rose's anger. Priscilla should pay with her life for Alfred's injuries and Timothy's death.

"A family is mourning their son who died all because of your jealousy toward the man who raised your son. I will not be as kind as Edgar is to you now. If you so much as whisper Edgar or Alfred's name, I will see to it that your head is sent to your father's home. When you get out of here, live quietly or die," Rose kicked the box with the rats, somewhat satisfied with how Priscilla flinched and covered her ears.