The Duke's Masked Wife

172 Student becomes the master (1)

“What’s wrong with you, Caleb?” Edgar inquired because of the sad state Caleb appeared to be in. He found the tall giant sitting by himself at the smaller bar in the dining room.

“Women, they are too complicated, aren’t they? I would say don’t get in a relationship but you’re already married. I hope your wife isn’t complicated,” Caleb raised his glass to wish Edgar well and drank all the alcohol he poured himself.

“Why are you wasting my good drink in such a pitiful state? I feel like I am going to regret caring about this but fine,” Edgar sat down beside Caleb. “I assume it is Sally you are having problems with. The same woman you claim to not be interested in. Has the denial gone away or is it something else?”

Caleb looked around to make sure there was no one to listen in to what he had to say. “I offered her my home for her and her family to stay in so they wouldn’t have to live with her aunt. She rejected my offer because she doesn’t want to feel indebted to me.”

“And?” Edgar said for him to continue as he didn’t see the issue. “Open your mouth and state the rest.”

“That’s it. She won’t accept my help,” said Caleb.

“You two barely know each other so why would she accept such a big gift from you? Have you always been this emotional, Caleb? I thought the women ripped your heart out after you confessed your feelings,” Edgar said while sliding the expensive bottle away from Caleb. It was bought for good occasions, not relationship problems.

Besides, if Caleb became too drunk Edgar had no plan of carrying the giant to his room.

“Didn’t you kill your wife’s father at the beginning of your relationship after she asked you to?” Caleb asked. “You hardly knew each other then.”

.....

“After I proposed to her, she said yes. Meanwhile, you and Sally are two people who met because you work aiding my wife. You’ve known each other for what? Two or three days? You’ve put the offer out there so all you can do is wait for the day she changes her mind or not. I just saw her and she doesn’t seem to be dwelling on it. You’re not even dating and this is already annoying,” Edgar sighed.

“I have always been nice enough to help anyone I like, as a friend,” he added before Edgar could comment on the word like. “I hope she does see I was trying to be nice. She might be mad at me for a while because I tried to blackmail her into accepting the deal.”

“You fool,” Edgar shook his head at Caleb’s stupidity. “I hope dinner goes by quickly so I don’t have to be around you sulking for much longer. I am in too much of a good mood to deal with your negativity.”

An hour passed by after their conversation and dinner had passed by smoothly. As the servants cleaned up before retiring to bed, everyone went their separate ways. Sally and Caleb went straight to their rooms while Alfred wanted to sit outside and enjoy the fresh air.

Alessandra and Edgar walked side by side going back to their bedroom.

“You were quiet tonight,” Edgar broke the silence. During their entire time at the table, Alessandra had been silent and seemed to be in deep thought about something. She wasn’t this way after they had lunch earlier and the time after that. ‘Could it be about the mask?’ He wondered.

“There’s nothing wrong,” Alessandra replied. She had been focused on how she would tease Edgar by touching him when they go to bed soon. “I cannot believe one whole day has passed by already. It felt like we just arrived a moment ago. How did time fly by so quickly after we were sitting in that water earlier?”

“You were relaxing so much that you hardly saw the day go by. We arrived here around noon so that explains how our time here has quickly gone by. I can always extend our trip to one more day if you want to make up for the time we lost today.”

“That sounds great but I know there are things you are needed for in Lockwood. I plan to get up early tomorrow and make great use of the entire day. Will we be visiting your grandmother tomorrow?” Alessandra looked to her side at Edgar.

“Most likely. I am not sure about the time but a message has been sent to inform her that we are in town. I’m surprised she has not sent a response yet unless she plans to visit us instead. That might be perfect so none of my relatives are around when you meet her for the first time.”

“I see,” Alessandra replied then went silent. She snuck a glance at Edgar’s hand by his side and wondered when was the best time to grab hold of his hand. ‘If I think about it too much, I will chicken out. I should just do it. In three, two, one...’

Her heart sank when he quickly moved it away after she tried to hold it.

“Were you going to grab my hand?” Edgar smiled, after moving his hand from by his side to fan his face. He had followed her gaze and realized how much she had been staring at his hand. “Here,” he placed it back at his side. “Hold it without having to pump yourself up.”

Alessandra wished he had let her hold it the first time but realized it might have hurt his feelings for her to have to mentally prepare herself to touch his hands like he was some kind of monster.

Once again she tried to hold Edgar’s hand and this time he let her. It wasn’t as bad as she thought. Edgar interlocked their fingers enjoying the moment.

“May I know why you are suddenly reaching out for my hand first?” Edgar asked right as they stopped in front of their room. It was a pleasant surprise for her to do something so small first. She was normally always shy when he was the one to hold her hand or she would swipe her hand away because she thought he was going to tease her about something.

“It’s part of me preparing myself to show you my face. I’m going to do simple things like this which should not be so hard in the first place. If it’s okay, I would like to touch you more often,” she requested.

Edgar licked his bottom lip, amused by her asking to touch him. Was this honestly the same woman who ran around a table to get away from him after he was hugging her to comfort her after her shoulder was hurt by his mother? Did someone make a switch when he was not looking? Then again, after what she let him do to her when they were alone, he had to admit she was becoming bold.

“You never had to ask,” Edgar lifted their entwined hands and kissed the back of her hand. He opened the door to their bedroom and walked inside while still holding her hand.

Alessandra released his hand right as they stepped inside because she needed to change into her nightwear. Besides, she had something more in store for Edgar. Now that hand-holding was out of the way, she would move on to the next step. “I will get changed quickly and join you in bed,” she informed him then left to go into the closet alone.

Edgar didn’t respond to her. He silently took off his shirt and pants leaving only his underwear on. He had a feeling Alessandra was up to something and he would most definitely enjoy it. He went to the bed and laid down to await what Alessandra was planning. He thought how nice it would be if she would walk out wearing a seductive nightwear but he knew not to get his hopes up.

He was right to not get his hope up as Alessandra left the closet minutes later with a simple night dress.

Alessandra walked straight to the bed and laid down on the right side where she normally slept each night. “Good night,” she said while facing Edgar.

“Good night,” Edgar replied, still finding something suspicious in her behavior. She was acting much differently now than how she would always go to bed.

First off, she wouldn’t come straight to bed and face him. Secondly, he could see that she was overthinking something just as she did when she wanted to hold his hand. Was it possible that she wanted to touch him again?

‘Impossible,’ Edgar thought. She stated she wanted to hold off kissing until he saw her entire face but now she was already willing to be more touchy with him. ‘Who knew vacations could be this entertaining?’

Alessandra on the other hand didn’t like the grin on Edgar’s face like he already knew what was going to happen. He had no idea how hard she was going to wipe that grin off his face.