章節 2: Contract marriage (2)
"Did your father set this up?" It was the only plausible scenario for Edgar.
"My father has no idea that I am out here speaking to you, Duke Edgar. I have told you the party is on the inside. No one was supposed to see me passing by. My father won't be pleased to see you here with me," Alessandra replied with the honest truth.
Not many people could say they often saw the baron's daughter since Desmond kept his daughter out of sight. Alessandra wasn't of any use to him thanks to the mask she wore and the rumors surrounding her.
"Everything I say right now has nothing to do with my father. I leave it up to you to believe me. I am not interested in marrying anyone for love. I only wish to leave this place and never look back."
"What is it? Your father has plans to marry you off to a man far older than you or is he just shipping you off somewhere you do not wish to go? Has to be something drastic for you to ask a man you don't know to marry you," Edgar pressed his cigar against the stone wall to end it.
"It is suffocating to be here. I am forgotten by my own father. I do not care for your looks Duke Edgar nor your money or anything else others might want. Frankly, I only see you as an escape," she explained her reasoning for choosing him.
Their meeting was completely unexpected on her side, but Alessandra didn't want to leave without proposing what she had in mind.
"I've heard my family speak of how the king wishes for you to get married. For a man who does not wish to have any romantic relationships with anyone, I might be a good choice. I will live quietly like a ghost, taking care of what you want of me, and I shall never love you."
"Is that so?" For once in his life, Edgar did not find her words unbelievable. Still, he wasn't looking to entertain the idea of being married to her just yet. "It isn't hard for me to find an actress to play the role of my wife."
"If it was so easy you would have done so already," Alessandra said, seeing through his bluff. He most likely needed a wife who would make sense to the king. "If the king has done this to toy with you, choosing a wife like me will certainly make him regret this."
The corners of Edgar's mouth lifted. "You are quick on your feet. This is why I keep telling my peers not to believe rumors. It's been said countless times that Alessandra Barrett is just a timid girl who freaks out and runs away when spotted by someone."
"You are said to be a monster, but you sound human to me. I do what I must to survive here. If you do not wish to do a contract with me, I shall leave you be," Alessandra took one step forward and then waited for an answer.
When Edgar did not respond, she took another step thinking the man did not want any plans in what she was offering him but then, he surprised her.
"Meet me at my residence tomorrow. We will further discuss this there and then I will give you my answer."
Alessandra turned around in a haste, almost making herself fall. She was surprised because he was actually contemplating it, but was even more surprised Edgar wanted her to meet him at his residence. "I don't leave here."
"I gathered that from you sneaking around. It is a test for you. I want to see how determined you are. I'm sorry to end our conversation here but I have stayed at your home longer than I wanted to. It was nice chatting with you, Alessandra. Hopefully, we shall see each other soon," Edgar turned on his heel to go back inside to find her father.
Alessandra began to panic as she thought of how she would meet with the duke tomorrow. At least he seemed to be taking her seriously unless he would have a crowd waiting to laugh at her for believing he would marry her even with a contract. "We shall see each other tomorrow," she promised.
"Duke Edgar? Who are you speaking to?" Kate Barrett, the younger daughter of the baron stepped outside.
She heard the duke was all alone and thought to give him some company. Seeing the duke walking away while her father's daughter was standing outside made her blood boil.
Kate thought highly of herself. She used her looks to elevate her position amongst her peers. She was identical to her mother with blonde hair and blue eyes. Two things she believed made her more beautiful compared to everyone else.
Dressed like a doll, Kate was hoping to have a word with the duke and catch his interest. She begged her father to have a moment alone with the duke, but Alessandra had stolen it away from her.
"I hope she did not offend you, Duke Edgar. She was not meant to be out here," Kate glared at Alessandra, warning her to run away.
"Hmm," Edgar stopped right beside Kate. "She has not offended me. Not like your father has."
"Thank goodness. She-"
"It might be due to me being an only child, but shouldn't you be referring to her as your sister or at least by her name?" Edgar quickly picked up that the younger girl did not like the older one.
Seeing the duke speaking to her sister, Alessandra used this chance to run away before any of them would ask her to speak. She wished Kate would have stayed inside rather than come out.
Now that Kate knew she had spoken to the duke, all hell would break loose tomorrow.
Edgar listened quietly to the sound of Alessandra running away while Kate tried to think of a good answer to what he had asked her. He wondered what Alessandra was so afraid of when it came to Kate.
"You are correct, Duke Edgar. It has to do with you not having any siblings. When siblings argue, we tend to do petty things, but I love my older sister. As you can see, she is extremely shy and can be awkward. That is why I was concerned she might have offended you," Kate put on her mask of being a good sister.
She would do anything to make the duke see she was a good person. There was no one else she saw worthy of being her husband.
"If that makes you sleep better at night," Edgar proceeded to walk away after Alessandra had gotten far away. If only he was in her position and not the one stuck with Kate.
"You know, I was hoping for some alone time between the two of us. I wish to show you that I can be an excellent choice for your wife," Kate followed behind him, gripping his arm to slow him down.
Edgar sighed annoyed with Kate who could not take a hint. The baron and his wife raised her to be like a spoiled princess. Fortunately, he had experience with an actual spoiled princess to know how to handle Kate. "Is there some misconception that I am looking for a wife who can only please me in bed?" He smacked her hand away.
If anyone were to see them like this rumors would quickly spread. He did not feel the need to add another rumor to the long list he had.
"I'm sorry," Kate was caught off guard by him denying her advances. There were plenty of men who would jump at what she was doing for Edgar. "You visit the red light district."
Edgar shrugged his shoulders not seeing what that had to do with his future wife. "Who is to say I do not go there to read a book?"
"It is awfully loud there."
"I work better when there is a lot of noise around, but please enlighten me. What do you know of how loud it is?" Edgar grinned, enjoying the sight of Kate realizing her mistake. "What on earth would the baron's daughter be doing there unless you are listening to the gossip of what others do there?"
"N-No. You are misunderstanding," Kate tried to clear it up right away. She had never visited such a place.
"Understand this Kate. What you are doing will never entice me. Besides, I've received a better offer. Excuse me," Edgar stated before leaving Kate behind both utterly confused and embarrassed.
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章節 3: Determined (1)
"I got caught," Alessandra muttered, leaning up against a tree now that she was far out of sight from Kate and the duke.
She knew the affection Kate held for the duke and should have known Kate would have come looking for him. Alessandra hoped Kate heard nothing of what she spoke about with the duke.
Kate was evil enough to spread what she heard about the contract to her friends.
"Please don't let that be the case." Alessandra wished she could have stayed to hear what the duke and Kate were talking about. She had to consider the fact that Edgar could tell on her at any moment.
From what she heard about him thanks to Kate's big mouth, he didn't seem like a man to joke around and make a fool of someone. He would not have invited her to his home if he had not been serious about this. Alessandra could only hope she was right.
Before leaving for her destination, she took a deep breath, pushing any negative thoughts away. She would worry about everything else tomorrow, but as of right now, she was insanely hungry. Her food had not been delivered and by this time, she did not expect to receive it.
This was either Kate's or her mother's doing.
Alessandra stepped away from the tree, running towards the back door of the kitchen. She took a look behind her to make sure she wasn't followed this far before she opened the door.
What she heard when she opened the door was nothing but confusion. Servers running all around trying to get the food out to the guests. This was a whole other world compared to what everyone in her father's hall was experiencing.
"Mario," Alessandra called for the cook as she maneuvered her way through the chaos.
No one seemed to realize Alessandra was in the kitchen as they were lost in their job. Alessandra preferred that they did not notice her.
"It's a bit bland don't you think? Alessandra," Mario, one of the three cooks said upon laying eyes on her. "Cover for me. I won't be long," he told another cook.
"Follow me," he took Alessandra's hand to lead her back outside. The baron's wife had been popping into the kitchen once in a while to ensure everything was running smoothly. The last thing he wanted was for a member of the family to see Alessandra here.
"No one came to my room to deliver food," she told him the reason why she came here though knowing the risk.
Mario closed the door behind them, releasing Alessandra's hand now they were outside. "It's that witch's fault. Just a month ago they were laying off all the cooks and some of the other workers. Now they have this party and there's not enough of us to handle the job. What are they thinking?"
"Duke Collins is looking for a wife. Haven't you heard?"
Mario scoffed upon hearing this. "So that's the reason. Did they throw a party just for Kate to meet the man? I can only imagine she is like a fly bothering him right now."
"I've spoken to him," Alessandra spoke in a low tone.
"The duke? About what?" Mario did not see any reason for Alessandra to meet with such a man. He heard many stories concerning Edgar. "There are many bad stories about him."
"There are many stories about me and this mask. Do you believe them?" She asked although she knew the answer. She was in no position to listen to rumors about others when the ones about herself were false.
Mario went silent as he had most definitely heard what people said about Alessandra. He had not seen her face at all as she never took off her mask in front of him but he didn't believe she could cause anyone to die just by looking at her face. "Of course not."
"Then I shall give the duke a fair chance. I can't tell you what I spoke to him about but I will say I am hoping for some good news," Alessandra rested against a broken wall and looked out in the direction she had come from.
"Is this concerning your escape plan? I hope the duke can help you run far away. It's a shame you can't go on your own because of the young girls disappearing," Mario went to the wall to sit beside Alessandra.
"I hope the culprit is found and the girls are still alive," Alessandra said.
"I overheard your father claiming to know something about it when I went to deliver his coffee. I was hired to be a cook, but they have laid off so many people that I am now a maid. It would be good if they paid me for the extra work," Mario angrily kicked away a stone.
Alessandra watched as the stone rolled away. "When I leave you should come with me. You have always been kind to me and I wish to return the favor."
"That is nice of you, but I owe the baron for the money I borrowed. I have at least one year until it is paid off and then I will come to find you. You are the only Barrett I can stand. I don't know what went wrong with the others." If not for Alessandra, he would've thought the entire family was unbearable.
"I don't know what went wrong with my father. Mario, I need a favor. Well, two. I am not close to the coachman, but you are. Can you speak to him about taking me somewhere tomorrow without letting my family know about it? He might be scared of me and run away before I could speak to him," Alessandra said.
Mario was the only person she spoke to like this as he did not believe the rumors about her killing people after they saw her face or the rumors of her actually being a ghost.
"That won't be a problem. I take it this trip has something to do with the duke. I am wary of him, Alessandra. Even if you don't want to believe in rumors without knowing the person, there are some things you need to keep in mind and be cautious of," Mario was not a fan of Edgar.
"I will listen to your advice and be cautious. I always walk around with my trusted knife," she took a small knife out from the pocket of her dress. Mario had stolen it a while ago and given it to Alessandra as protection. "If he tries anything with me then bang!"
Mario stared unimpressed at the way Alessandra held the knife. "Be reminded you are holding a knife, not a gun. What is the second favor you need?"
"Mario!" Someone from inside the kitchen yelled.
"Food please," Alessandra innocently smiled.
"Right away. I must get it before they kill me for being away so long," he got off the stone wall, dusted off his pants, and then opened the door to go back inside.
While Alessandra patiently waited for him to bring some food, she tapped her finger following the rhythm of the faint music coming from inside the home. It was a song her father loved so much that he played it at every party he hosted.
She closed her eyes to imagine what it would be like dancing around to the music, having small talk with others, and enjoying the food prepared. If only she did not have to wear a mask and the rumors surrounding her didn't make everyone back away in fear when she showed herself.
After a good amount of time had passed, Mario returned with a plate of food and a jug of something to drink
"I got you a little bit of everything," Mario's voice interrupted the moment.
Opening her eyes, Alessandra was met with the reality that she would spend the night alone with a kitten she recently found. They would both listen to the music in the comfort of her room as they ate and then fell asleep.
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