The Duke's Masked Wife

161 Trip (2)

Morning came quickly as Alessandra wanted and unlike other days, she had woken up at the brink of dawn to start packing on her own. This annoyed Edgar who wished to stay in bed longer but Alessandra pushed for him to start packing.

She also wanted him to help her pick out clothes that would be to his grandmother’s liking so now they were both in the room assigned to be her closet.

“You should know the carriages and the land aren’t going anywhere. What is it with you and Alfred waking so early to start packing?” Edgar yawned, still tired and desperately yearning to go back to bed. “I’m starting to regret this trip and we’re still here.”

“You just need to have your coffee to stop complaining, Edgar. Alfred said it would be a six-hour ride if we have no stops. Therefore it’s best we set out early so there’s enough time for me to make use of our first day there. Four days will fly by sooner than you think. What do you think about this,” she held up a dress for Edgar to see.

“It is blue,” he commented on the dress. “What more is there for me to say?”

“You are no help. If this wasn’t such a rash decision, Erin could have paid a visit to help me pick out dresses. I have no sense of style nor any clue what I should wear while meeting your grandmother for the first time. Why couldn’t you have mentioned a trip when you let me off the carriage before you went to the Baroness? There would have been enough time for me to plan instead of sitting around on a bed waiting for you.”

“My mistake,” Edgar apologized. “There are plenty of servants to pack for you. Call Sally to do this. She is the one that dresses you after all.”

“Sally has her own bags to pack and she is writing a note to send to her family that she will be out of time. Can you have the messenger deliver her message along with the one for Tobias?”

“Yes. Alessandra, now that we have clearly established I am of no use to you, can I go back to sleep until it is time for us to leave?” Edgar asked.

.....

“Go on you grumpy man. Besides, you won’t have any time to rest while we are on our trip,” Alessandra stated and as her back was turned to Edgar, she wouldn’t see the devious smile on his lips.

“And why is that?” He teasingly asked, waiting for her to realize how he had taken her words.

“If your grandmother lives there, you must have visited the area many times. I will need you to show me around,” Alessandra replied.

“Is that all?”

Alessandra slowly turned around to face Edgar. She didn’t see what else she was meant to say. Judging by the sly smile and how much he was staring at her, it was something sexual. “Nothing more than that, Edgar. Whatever you are imagining is not happening.”

“This trip is meant to be our honeymoon. We did not have one after our wedding.”

“There was no need for us to have one. Surely you have not forgotten how our marriage started. We are in no need of a honeymoon. You, who have always been against marriage, have no need for a honeymoon. This is simply a trip to get away from the people in Lockwood,” Alessandra shot down whatever he was considering.

Edgar stood up from his seat. “I’ve started to see the bright side of having a honeymoon. That’s why Caleb, Alfred, and Sally will stay in one wing of the house while we have the other all to ourselves. Depending on how my experiment goes, we may need to move them to another house. Do you wish to know why?”

“No,” Alessandra quickly replied. She had no intention of taking part in whatever experiment Edgar meant. “You can go back to sleep as you wanted.”

“No, I think I will stay and annoy you for keeping me up while I was begging to return to bed. I’ll tell you why we would have to move them to another house. It’s-”

“Alfred!” Alessandra called, making Edgar look at the closed door. With her successful distraction, she made a dash for the door to escape Edgar’s lecture.

“We’re going to be in a carriage for six or seven hours. You can’t escape hearing what I have to say,” he informed Alessandra while she ran away.

One thing for certain, it wouldn’t be a boring trip.

Two hours passed by and to Edgar’s dismay, he wasn’t able to go back to sleep. Everyone stood outside the front door while two carriages pulled up to take them out of town.

“Why aren’t we traveling together?” Sally asked. What if Alessandra would need her for something?

Caleb playfully patted her shoulder and said, “Read the room, you single woman. The married folks will want time alone to fool around in the carriage. You and I will have fun with Alfred.”

“Fun with the butler?” Sally looked at Alfred. Alfred was fun at times but she didn’t see him being fun to be around for such a long ride. For heaven’s sake, he prepared a bottle of tea and a book to read on the road.

“I want silence in the carriage. If the two of you are going to do anything funny we should get a divider. Should we?” Alfred gave Caleb and Sally a suspicious look.

“What?” Sally almost choked on her spit. “There is nothing going on between Caleb and me. There is no need for a divider. I just want this ride to be over with quickly,” Sally sobbed on the inside. If only men and women could ride separately.

“When were the bags packed on the carriages?” Alessandra asked as she had not seen when anyone passed by with them.

“When we were eating. We have a carriage all to ourselves, Alessandra. Let’s make these long hours entertaining. Ladies first,” Edgar held the door open for her while Alessandra thought of ways to travel in the other carriage instead of with Edgar and his teasing behavior.

“It will be entertaining as I plan to draw the scenery we pass by,” she showed him the paper and pen in her hands. “I’m sure you will find something to entertain yourself with,” she chuckled, enjoying his smile slowly being replaced with a frown.

Alessandra was starting to consider keeping track of the many times she won against Edgar.