The Duke's Masked Wife



"They are beautiful," Alessandra said, complimenting the flowers in Lucina's garden. Seeing all the different colors and sizes come together to create one big, beautiful painting made her want to start working on her garden once the repairs were finished.

Instead of inviting women over, Alessandra wanted to lay around on the grass with Edgar and eat there. She could use the distraction of gardening to ignore everything else in town.

'I need to see what the budget for the garden is once the repairs are finished,' Alessandra noted for later.

Alessandra walked behind Thea and Wren, who had became talkative as they walked around the garden. It was like they had never hid in a corner a moment ago.

"Duchess."

Alessandra looked away from the flowers to the right of her, where Erin stood. After two weeks of Erin having someone else come to measure her or dropping off the dresses before Alessandra could come out to greet her, seeing Erin here was a sight for sore eyes. 

"Hello," Alessandra said, feeling a bit awkward with the greeting. She remembered seeing Erin in town and Erin avoiding her.

"It is good to see. I made Lady Lucina's dress, so she gave me an invite. I was happy to hear that you would be here. Can we please talk about why I have not been around? Alone," Erin added, as there were two young girls by Alessandra's side. During their time apart, Alessandra seemed to become a different person. Her name was constantly brought up by her customers.

"Excuse me for a moment," Alessandra said to Thea and Wren. 

Erin watched the young ladies walk off a little bit, where they would still be in sight when Alessandra was finished. "First off, I apologise for avoiding you. It had nothing to do with you. I was just going through a lot with my engagement to Dale. I felt embarrassed about what happened with his parents because I had been speaking so highly about our relationship, but his parents were angry and chased me away. I hope you didn't think that I used you for your connections and then turned my back on you."

"I didn't," Alessandra replied. Once again, Eleanor informed her about what happened with Erin and Dale. She looked at Erin's finger, where a ring was shown off. "It was odd, but you needed your space, and I was fine with that. However, I wonder what you thought of me back then when you had to avoid me. I would have comforted you."

"I know. That is what fills me with guilt. I was hoping you would push your way into asking me what was wrong," said Erin.

"I've played peacemaker far too long. Sometimes it is nice for others to approach me to make things right. I am not angry with you, Erin. You avoiding me because of your troubles is not something that upsets me. I knew in time you would come to me. I knew that it was nothing I had done since you were still sending me dresses. Congratulations on your marriage, Erin," Alessandra said, as Erin had longed for this moment since they met.

"Thank you. You would have been invited, but it was a quick wedding at the church with just Dale and me. We decided to get it over with so our parents could just shut up. Dale's family has some wealth, so my mother isn't too upset, and with my growing business, Dale's parents are starting to open up to me. We could have avoided all that drama if we had made our relationship known from the beginning," Erin said.

Alessandra was glad everything worked out for Erin in the end. She had been so suspicious of this Dale Scott she had never met, since everything about him was a mystery and he was not walking around with Erin. If not for Simon being found to be the person the guards were looking for, she would have pointed Edgar to Dale for the sake of making sure Erin was safe.

"So, everything is fine between us?" Erin asked, still feeling like there was more for her to explain or apologise for. 

"Erin, I don't know what else to say to convince you that I am not angry with you. Here," Alessandra said, taking hold of Erin's left hand so they could walk together. 

Erin jumped on the spot one time and then looked around to see if anyone had noticed it. "It is good to be back by your side. I am sure the Duke enjoyed not seeing me around," she said.

"Honestly, I don't think Edgar thought of you or noticed that you weren't around," Alessandra honestly answered. "He will realise it when you come to our home. His ability to ignore someone or not notice when they aren't around is out of this world. I am lucky to be his wife, or I would be forgotten. Though there are times when I wish he would forget that I am home and find someone else to torture."

"Then I can't wait to see his face when I visit to deliver your new dresses. I wanted to see you today to see how you are doing with everything that has happened to your family. I know you weren't close to your stepmother, but how are you taking her death? Do you feel relieved now that the town knows about her and Kate? You must have had so many people giving their apologies to you," Erin said, walking with Alessandra to catch up with the young ladies who were patiently waiting.

"Apologies for the way anyone treated me? No, and I don't need them. No one wants to acknowledge they were wrong for believing I was cursed and for the things they said. They've just turned to talking about Katrina and Kate. I hear what the town is saying from the maids, and I am not surprised that I am said to be a curse that caused the baron's home to fall. They are expecting it to happen to Edgar," Alessandra shook her head as the town reached a new level of ridiculousness. 

"I am satisfied with it being out in the open, and I don't have to explain what life was like with my father to anyone," she added.

"Will you be going to the festival to celebrate the queen's blessing? I heard that many of the Collins are now in town. Everyone is hoping you will hold a ball to start off the season earlier than planned. Balls mean good business for me. Dale has created a space in our home to act as my dress shop. I hope to see you tonight so I can let you see what he is like," Erin said.

"Unfortunately, I won't be attending the festival tonight. I will be staying home with Edgar. I would love to enjoy the night walking around, but there will be too many people looking for news about Kate, and I do not want to be bothered with it. I wouldn't say no if you wanted to invite Edgar and me over to your home to meet Dale," Alessandra replied. 

"Deal," Erin said, pulling Alessandra closer as they walked. 

"I'm sorry I kept you two waiting," Alessandra said to Thea and Wren when she caught up with them. It was good to have Erin around again, and now she had these two young ladies to get to know. 

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