The Duke's Masked Wife

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"What is your father like? I heard I would get along with him well," Alessandra switched to Edmund.

"You heard right. Contrary to what many think, my father is more of a laid-back kind of man especially now that he has retired from getting involved in any type of politics. He had picked up gardening for some strange reason. Buy him a flower and call it a day. Let's move from me to you. Are there any relatives you actually care for?" Edgar asked.

Alessandra didn't have to think long and hard about the answer. "No. I don't remember anyone from my father's side coming to see me whenever they visited. I can't remember what my mother's relatives look like as they stopped coming around after my mother ran away."

"Have you heard from your mother since she left? Surely, she would want to keep in touch with her daughter."

"I haven't and I do not know if my father knew where she had run off to all this while. I am waiting for her to return with some wonderful excuse for leaving me behind. One day she might show up at your doorstep and I might not even recognize her. Or maybe, she has long passed away. Who knows," Alessandra shrugged. She didn't hear not one ounce of news concerning her mother.

"Do you want me to search for her? If she is alive in the kingdom, it wouldn't be hard to find her as long as there is a portrait of her. I can still find her even if she is dead. Someone had to have seen her. Do you even care to find her?" Edgar didn't mean to be rude but if it were him, he wouldn't care about the woman.

"After many years of wondering where she is and if I should also run away to find her, I have long come to the decision that she should come to find me instead. I am the daughter she left behind after all. I don't wish to seek out someone who might not care for me. Why else has she never returned?"

"Hmm, you are no longer hidden from the world, therefore, if your mother is anywhere in the kingdom still, she will one day hear your name. It is up to her if she wishes to seek you out as you said. Let's move away from depressing things. What is your favorite color?" Edgar asked a more harmless question.

"I love all shades of blue. What about you?" Alessandra asked. It felt like they had done everything backward. Most people got to know each and then got married but they did it the opposite way.

"Red."

Alessandra wanted to comment on the fact it was the color of blood but decided to just let it go.  She wouldn't be surprised if his favorite color had something to do with blood.

Edgar's lips curled into a smile as he found Alessandra easy to read even though a mask covered half of her face. She made it too easy for him to mess with her.

"Breakfast is served," Alfred said as a line of servants entered the dining room with different kinds of food as Edgar requested.

"Are you having guests?" Alessandra failed to believe the ten servants she counted were holding trays of food meant for her and Edgar.

"No," Edgar shook his head. The reason behind the large amount of food was obvious but he was going to join Alessandra's game to act like it wasn't all for her. Her weight was something he first noticed about her but he did not comment on it.

"Do you eat with your servants?" She asked another question.

Edgar's sudden laughter was enough to tell Alessandra that was not the case.

"I am not going to eat all of that Edgar. I hope you normally have a big appetite and that is for yourself."

"It is for you, Alessandra. I normally eat something light elsewhere but now that I am married, it is one of Alfred's lessons that we eat together. You are thinner than you should be and I already have an idea why. Eat as much as you like today. It wouldn't be this much each day but I let the cook prepare this as it is the morning after our wedding. Alfred, have them serve her first," Edgar gave an order.

Alessandra couldn't argue with Edgar when it came to her weight. Her eating schedule was completely controlled by Katrina over the years. What time she ate depended on whenever Katrina was in the mood or remembered she was meant to send a maid to Alessandra's room.

Sometimes, the portions were small which meant Alessandra hardly got the nutrition she needed. Mario had always been the one to sneak her some leftover food to help make up for what she was lacking.

"Oh, yes. It appears you had a friendship with the family cook. He was concerned that you have married me and probably thinks I will harm you. He is irritating in my eyes," Edgar grumbled. A cook had no place to question him about his wife.

"Mario," Alessandra's eyes lit up as she suddenly remembered her friend.

"Wow," Edgar commented on her reaction in a dull tone. "To think you did not even greet your husband with such emotion. I am starting to think I was wrong. Was the cook your secret lover?"

"What?" Alessandra almost choked on her spit. "That is far from the relationship I have with Mario. He is just a good friend and I view him as an older brother. He would save some food for me and give it to me behind the Baroness's back."

"Older brother? How awful of you to make me pity the poor man," Edgar chuckled. He imagined the pain the cook must have felt when hearing Alessandra refer to him as an older brother.

"Edgar, I do not understand what you are trying to say. I told you there was nothing between me and Mario. In fact, he has referred to me as being like his little sister. Not every situation where there is a man and a woman means feelings are involved. Mario and I are just friends," Alessandra cringed at the mere thought of her and Mario liking each other.

"I pray he does not have a sister as I am concerned about him calling you his little sister. He might be in denial about his feelings but I am sure each time he called you his sister he should have felt a weird feeling as he knew he shouldn't be calling you that."

"You think Mario likes me?" It now dawned on Alessandra what was happening. "You do not know him well enough to make that judgment."

"I don't think, Alessandra. I know for a fact he has feelings for you. It is not hard for a man to tell when another man has their eye on his woman. Of course, I encouraged him to let go of those silly little feelings he has been denying. I don't mind you continuing your friendship with him as I am not the jealous type-"

"Achoo! Forgive me," Alfred apologized for sneezing while they were conversing. He didn't react when Edgar glared at him as they both knew what Alfred was trying to insinuate.

"You can speak with the cook if you wish but should he try making a move on my wife, I will see to it he has no fingers to continue his line of work," Edgar finished his sentence without interruption this time.