“Duchess, you seem to be lost in your thoughts. What is on your mind?” Sally asked since a couple of minutes had passed without Alessandra saying anything while she just stared at a wall.
Alessandra snapped out of her thoughts and replied, “I’m thinking about my next move. By now I should be mingling with other women in society right? I passed the timeline for me to present myself to the social world as the Duchess.”
“Kind of. As the Duchess, you should start socializing with women whose husbands are close to the Duke. You were also not present at parties to get to know other young women before you were the Duchess so all everyone knows about you are lies. It would be best for you to start socializing instead of staying here but I get danger from all around is keeping you inside.”
“Winter is full of parties that Edgar and I can attend. I can use those to introduce myself as the Duchess and start to wipe away rumors about me being cursed. What do you think of me holding a party here for women in Lockwood? None that would cause trouble of course. Only those I can build a genuine friendship with,” Alessandra suggested.
It wouldn’t be long before Priscilla started to send more of her minions to attack Alessandra or more of her friends being outcasted by her enemies like what happened with Erin. Alessandra needed to increase her friend group to have allies against Katrina, Kate, and Priscilla.
Sally found that to be a wonderful idea since regardless of the rumors there are plenty of families who would love their daughters close to the Duke and Duchess. “You should hold a party. Edgar’s home does not seem to get a lot of guests so many women would be excited to visit and get to see the woman he has married.”
“I don’t know much about the young women in Lockwood so I am depending on you to help me with the names. I do not want anyone who is close to Kate, Katrina, or Priscilla to attend. I do not need any spies to ruin the day,” said Alessandra.
“Perhaps you should have a spy. If you plan this party carefully, the spy will make the person they were close to know that you’ve managed to pull the women you’ve invited over to your side. It will make Katrina, Kate, or the Duke’s mother furious to learn they have underestimated you. What about the girl who came with the Duke’s mother? She seems like someone you can handle.”
“Heather? That is true but it feels like a recipe for disaster if I invite someone who clearly likes Edgar and his mother wishes he was married to instead of me. I will have to think about that. For certain I would invite Erin, Hazel, and her friend Linda whom I met at the palace. Edgar once told me I should become close to the women who are not close to his mother. Alfred should know who they are. Let us find him-Oh,” Alessandra now remembered she had not told Alfred about the broken plate.
…..
Sally inspected Alessandra’s body to make sure she was not hurt. “What is it?” She asked.
“I have to face a dragon,” Alessandra muttered. After her run-in with Katrina and her grandmother, she had not left her bedroom. “You said Edgar gave you a message for Alfred, right? When you saw Alfred, how did he look?”
Sally didn’t understand the sudden concern about Alfred. Nothing about the butler seemed different from this morning. “He seemed angry about your grandmother not having manners but then calmed down. He was humming a tune when I left him.”
“Good,” Alessandra sighed in relief. It was best to talk to him when he was in a good mood. Since the house was quiet, she assumed he had not found out that a plate was missing yet. “We need to look for him quickly.”‘
Best
“He will be in the dining room. He mentioned having plates to put up in cabinets.”
Alessandra almost tripped though nothing was in front of her. “Sally, if Alfred can scare a man like Edgar, do you think I will be able to survive him?” She asked before she walked off to her doom. She always thought either Katrina would try killing her or her heart would give up after how Edgar teased her but never did she expect Alfred to be the one she felt would end her.
“Let’s get this over with-Alfred,” Alessandra squeaked when she opened the door to find Alfred standing there. She hiccuped out of fright and clasped her hands over her mouth as she wished it would stop.
“Duchess,” Alfred forced the sweetest smile as he stood with his hands behind his back. “Did you see Edgar in the dining room before he left? Something has gone missing and I have spoken with most of the servants who denied being in there.”
“H-He,” Alessandra hiccupped once more. “He was there with me after I came in from playing in the snow. I have been meaning to tell you that I broke one of the plates I saw on the table. I didn’t know there were special ones and accidentally dropped one. I won’t do it again. I am sorry,” she sincerely apologized with her hand covering her mouth. She was too afraid to notice she was still covering her mouth. “I was going to find you but we had guests and we became distracted.”
“Oh,” Alfred’s mood changed now that he knew Alessandra was behind the missing plate. “That is alright, Alessandra. You did not know about them and were curious. Why does it seem like you are scared of me? I suspected it to be Edgar, not you.”
Alessandra removed her hand from her mouth carefully to make sure her mask would not come off and said, “Because Edgar made me scared of your reaction. Truthfully, we were going to bury it but then I realized that was wrong. Are you truly not angry? I can take it if you are. You seemed angry a moment ago when you thought it was Edgar.”
“That is because he has taunted me with those plates before. He grabbed a couple of them to juggle before me. You are not like that little demon I have raised. You are a saint which makes it hard for me to be angry with you but please, do not touch those plates once again,” Alfred stated with a forced smile. It was hard to swallow the anger that such a beautiful plate was gone.
“Trust me, I won’t. Now that you are here, there is something important to discuss. Please come inside,” Alessandra made way for him to enter the bedroom.
