The Duke's Masked Wife

205 The benefits of a wealthy husband (3)

Sally was ecstatic to be receiving a gift from Edgar alongside Alessandra. She was already more than happy for Alessandra to be receiving the queen’s heart. Sally could not wait to see the reactions of the young women in Lockwood as they burned with jealousy.

Caleb poked Sally’s cheek after he found her to be grinning like a madman. “What is going on in that head?’

Sally swapped his hand away as she would do with an annoying fly. “Don’t bother me, Caleb. I am having happy thoughts.”

“I see. Do you want me to buy you something? Girls always get excited when they see something shiny,” said Caleb.

Sally started to judge him because she heard something about him recently. “Of course, you would know that. A playboy like you must have bought many women jewelry to woe their hearts. I don’t need anything for you as the Duke is already buying something.”

“Doesn’t hurt to have more than one.”

Sally started to walk around to get a good look at the jewelry Benjamin had in his shop and said, “It does when it is coming from you. I already said I want nothing from you and the things here are certainly too expensive if his family were the ones to make the queen’s heart. The Duke spending money is fine enough.”

“Wait a second. Do you perhaps think that I am broke because I work as a guard for the Duchess? Love to break it to you that I have money at my disposal. I have a life outside of the Duke and even my life surrounding the Duke keeps my pockets full. My parents have money but when I joined the battlefield, I chose to follow the Duke.”

“Okay,” Sally replied, not caring about his life story. She didn’t think he did not have money but he may not be in a position like the Duke to spend so much money on jewelry.

.....

“Edgar, do you think Sally and Caleb will end up together?” Alessandra whispered to Edgar as she watched the other two bicker.

“I don’t know and I hardly care,” Edgar bluntly replied. The only relationship that interests him was the one he had with Alessandra. Sally and Caleb’s back and forth was proving to be as annoying as he expected it to be. “Focus less on them and more on what you want.”

“So wouldn’t mind if I wanted to buy out this entire shop,” Alessandra said to put Edgar to the test. For as long she had been living with him, she had not found out where all of Edgar’s money came from. For all she knew, he could be doing something illegal.

As Alessandra expected, Edgar was not bothered by the fact she wanted to buy out the shop. Since they had nothing other to do than wait for Benjamin to pick out something else for her and something for Sally, Alessandra decided to ask, “How do you make most of your money, Edgar? What businesses do you have or are you just sitting on a mountain of money from inheritance? Does the king pay you for taking on the case of the missing girls?”

Edgar motioned for her to be closer as what he had to say was a secret. “Listen closely,” he whispered into her ear after she took the bait to be closer to him. Alessandra had started to predict his actions well but he still had a lot of tricks under his sleeves. “I kill people and steal their wealth. That is why you do not have access to the dungeon.”

Alessandra stepped back and looked up at Edgar because of their slight height difference. “Normally, I would take this as a joke but there is a little voice in my head telling me to believe a part of it. Not that you steal but you have killed people and placed them in the dungeon. You did not need to ban me from going there as I do not want to see how you have tortured any of your enemies.”

“It would be fun if you join in on torturing our enemies. We would be a couple unlike what anyone has ever seen. Burying dead bodies together,” Edgar said, intrigued by the idea but he would never bring Alessandra into the dark side of his life. He wanted her hands to always remain clean while he would get rid of her enemies.

“Nothing about that seems like it would be fun for me, Edgar. I do not want to end up on the kingdom’s wanted list. Since Oliver is always watching you, I take it that the people you have killed are bad. Even so, why are you keeping them in your dungeon instead of handing them over to the town guards? Does Tobias know about it?”

“Tobias is well aware there are some people you cannot catch with the law and though the town guards are meant to protect the people, there are men within the guards who work for crooked men. They help people get away from being punished for their crimes. I view the town guards to be pointless sometimes. That is why I had always planned to kill your father as they would have let him get away,” Edgar explained.

“So you are like a night hero who goes around killing anyone who can get away from the town guards. Yet the people call you a monster. If only they could know how much you are keeping the kingdom safe. With that, I have never brought up something Hazel told me when we visited the palace. Is it true there is trouble at the borders and you have to leave to help protect it?” Alessandra asked, worried for Edgar’s safety.

Edgar rolled his eyes, annoyed that this was brought up to Alessandra. He had no desire to fight for the kingdom once again and leave Alessandra alone. “There is no need for you to be worried about it. I have already told Tobias I am not leaving. There are many skilled men he can ask to deal with the problems there.”

“But he wants you because there is no one he trusts like you,” Alessandra replied, knowing this was the reason. She did not want Edgar to leave but knew he had to. She also knew he was not leaving because of her. With him gone, her enemies would use this as a chance to mess with her.

“It does not matter what he wants as I am not going and you will not make me change my mind. It is not like there is war at the border. It is bandits and gangs who have formed together to go against Tobias as king. He destroyed many of their hideouts because they were taking people to be sold outside of the kingdom. Tobias is more than able to take care of it. Do you wish for your husband to ride off into danger?” He played with her hand as he awaited the answer.

“No,” Alessandra honestly replied. She would rather have Edgar nearby than far away where she could not see that he is safe. “But if Tobias were to ever need you-”

“Tobias has been my friend for many years. If trouble at the borders becomes more than he can handle, I would join him. I have no intention of letting my friend and king be hurt. As of right now, he can handle the border on his own. He has to learn to trust others and not just me. I have a new life I cannot simply run away from whenever he calls. Should we change this?” Edgar twirled around the ring on her finger.

Alessandra looked down at her engagement and wedding ring. Edgar had the engagement ring made to her liking and the wedding band was simple. “No, I like both of them. Honestly, I would not have minded wearing the wire ring you made but others would judge me.”

The wire ring Edgar made in the church had more sentiment than the ring she received days later to replace it.

“Screw what they think.”

“I cannot do that all the time because I worry how my actions will affect your reputation. You do not worry about it but I do. I am striving for my reputation to reach where you are,” said Alessandra.

“That would take you many years, wouldn’t it?” Edgar stated due to the fact that although he did not care for his reputation, he was quite popular and rose to a point where it was hard for anyone else to reach him.

Alessandra glared at Edgar for ruining her moment. “Thank you for that,” she sarcastically said. It motivated her to not only surprise everyone else but also Edgar. She wanted to step out of her shell to the point she would not recognize the girl who used to run and hide in her room to avoid Kate’s games. Her personality would remain the same but her confidence would change.

“Since you wish for it to happen, I will play the role of a spoiled wife. Benjamin!” Alessandra called to get the owner’s attention. Edgar wished to spoil her with many things and as a Duchess, there was a certain look she needed to have whether she liked it or not. “Please give me everything from here to here,” she pointed at the large counter.

It felt odd to do but satisfying at the same time.

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