The Duke's Masked Wife

"My lady!"

Alessandra's eyes slowly opened as the faint sound of someone's voice could be heard in the distance. "Why is someone here so early?" She muttered, drifting back to sleep.

"My lady!"

"Yes?" Alessandra replied, opening her eyes once again at the sound of someone's voice. "They don't normally come so early. Where," she paused as the unfamiliar sight of furniture greeted her.

Alessandra sat up to look around the room she was in. "Oh," her memory of last night suddenly came back to her. "I am at the Duke's home. My new home."

"My lady?"

"Right. Give me one moment," Alessandra said to the person at the door.

She had to crawl to the edge of Edgar's massive bed. It was another thing she did not understand why one person needed it. An entire family could sleep on the bed and have space.

'Does Edgar sleep in some kind of weird position for him to need so much space?' She wondered.

After a small exercise to get off the bed, Alessandra rushed to the door to open it for whoever had paid her a visit but stopped before she could touch the door handle as she remembered her veil.

Alessandra made a quick run back to the bathroom where she had taken off the veil and then returned to open the door.

"My lady," a young girl said. As she took in Alessandra's appearance her cheeks started to turn red and her eyes avoided Alessandra.

Confused, Alessandra looked down at her attire, and only now did she realize she had gone to sleep in one of Edgar's shirts as she had no clothes here. The young girl must have misunderstood it but Alessandra was not going to correct her. It wasn't wrong for anyone to think she and Edgar slept together on their wedding night.

Still, Alessandra couldn't help pulling the shirt to hide her legs and exposed chest where the buttons had come undone as she slept. She had never been dressed this way infront of of anyone before.

"Is there a reason you were calling for me?" Alessandra asked in an attempt to switch the conversation to something else.

"Yes, the Duke tasked me with getting you ready for breakfast. He has also sent these for you," the young maid pushed a basket towards Alessandra.

Alessandra first laid eyes on a blue mask. It was elegant with the design of swirls and small crystals encrusted around the edges. Along with the mask was a blue dress to match. It was obvious the Duke had spent a good amount of money on the two.

"There is also matching jewelry and shoes underneath. After breakfast, the dressmaker will come with dresses for you to pick out. The Duke has a craftsman at hand to create masks to match the dresses you like. Can I come inside to start your bath, Duchess?"

"What?" Alessandra asked as she was focusing more on the gifts Edgar sent than what the girl was saying. "Oh, come inside. What is your name? I should have asked first."

"It is Jennifer, Duchess. I have worked for the Duke for a year now. I am happy to be serving you," Jennifer bowed, showing respect to the new Duchess.

"I hope we can get along," Alessandra smiled. As Jennifer stepped inside, she noted that the young brunette girl must be around her age or perhaps, just a little bit older. Their closeness should hopefully allow them to get along well.

Another thing Alessandra noted was Jennifer's lack of reaction to her presence. She had a feeling Edgar had an early morning talk with his workers.

Alessandra closed the bedroom door, then took the basket to a table for after she would be finished with her bath. While Jennifer had gone to the bathroom to start filling the tub with warm water, Alessandra took off the veil to replace it with the new mask.

The mask Edgar sent was more luxurious than she needed it to be but she wasn't going to turn it down. Her life was no longer going to be simple therefore she needed to get used to these kinds of things. She needed to act and dress like a Duchess.

"Duchess, the water has started to fill the tub and the soaps have been dropped into the water. Do you need my help to get undressed?" Jennifer asked as soon as she exited the bathroom.

"No, it is only a shirt I have on," Alessandra replied as she was more than capable of getting undressed on her own. She did it for many years.

"I will make up the bed while you get undressed and sit in the tub. If you need anything, please call me right away," said Jennifer. She kept a pleasant smile on her face until the moment Alessandra passed by her and went into the bathroom. With Alessandra out of sight, she frowned. "Why did the Duke marry such a woman?"

Jennifer could not believe the rumors passing around the other servants about Edgar bringing home a wife last night. It was only when Edgar gathered the entire servants early in the morning and confirmed his marriage that she believed it. However, when Edgar said the name of his wife, Jennifer thought he was pranking his servants.

If not for the Duke giving them a warning not to harm his wife and bring any lies about her into his home, Jennifer would not have been so kind to Alessandra when they first met.

'Why isn't the Duke concerned about being cursed?' Jennifer thought.

"A man with the status Edgar has should not be married to a woman like this. Let me check," Jennifer hurried to search the bed sheets for signs of their wedding night. "There's no blood!" She gasped, realizing Alessandra was not a virgin on their wedding night.

"She must have been seeing other men before getting with the Duke. That witch! She must have placed a spell over the Duke. I must inform his mother of this," Jennifer concluded.

She was not going to allow Alessandra to ruin the Duke's reputation. If they stand by and do nothing, the Duke would soon die at the hands of Alessandra. "I hope Edgar has not seen her awful face. I have chills just from looking at it," she shivered.

"Jennifer, how do you turn off the water before it flows over?" Alessandra asked from inside the bathroom.

Jennifer rolled her eyes, finding Alessandra to be annoying but of course, someone like Alessandra wouldn't know how to work the advanced things Edgar had throughout his home. The Baron's house could not compare.

"I am coming, Duchess," Jennifer forced her sweetest smile before going to the bathroom. "It is right here," she turned off the pipe from behind the tub.

"Thank you. The tub I have back at home was not like this. The handle to stop the water sat right above the tub."

"You'll get used to the Duke's home soon. Shall I brush your hair?" Jennifer asked only to use it as an opportunity to take her anger out on Alessandra. She disliked how Alessandra had looked when she opened the door wearing nothing but Edgar's shirt. Did she want to show off that she slept with the Duke? "I can use the Duke's brush," she spoke sweetly.

"Yes, please. I fell last night and there might be a few pieces of grass or twigs in my hair. I tried to get them out but-Oww," Alessandra winced the moment Jennifer brushed her hair.

"I'm so sorry Duchess. Please forgive me. There is a knot in your hair. I should have noticed it," Jennifer quickly apologized. She grinned, taking pleasure in Alessandra's pain.

"It's okay," Alessandra replied. She took it as a mistake but when it happened a second time, Alessandra knew she would not be getting along with Jennifer.