Chapter 275 - 275 Another one (1)
The Duke's Masked Wife
275 Another one (1)
âWhy is it that every time I invite you to the palace you take it upon yourself to lay on my couch and go to sleep? Edgar!â Tobias exclaimed.
Edgar continued to rest, secretly wishing there was silence but after years of dealing with Tobias he had learned to tune the man out.
âWhy do we like him, Rafael?â Tobias asked, sitting back down in his chair.
âI find him to be cool,â Rafael replied.
When he was much younger in the school his mother placed him in, there were all sorts of young boys there but none of them had been more fun to be around than Edgar Collins. Edgar had always been the one to come up with a troublesome plan and Rafael being the quiet one, would silently follow behind what Edgar was doing.
Edgar would put together some crazy adventure plan to get out of school while Rafael enjoyed the crazy things he got to do. Like searching the bushes for a snake to put in the seat of a teacher who was always nasty to fighting against boys jealous of their parentâs status. Edgar helped to bring out a new side of him that spoke more and got into trouble. Many called him Edgarâs puppet but for the two of them, it was like a little brother following his big brother.
âSomeone gets it,â Edgar said in response to Rafaelâs words. âIf you are upset with me using your precious couch, I shall buy one and send it to the palace. This one seems to be of low quality.â
âYou are the only person bold enough to enter the palace and insult the fucking furniture. You had this wonderful glow to you so I thought it was a sign you would be nice today but it must be something else. Tell me,â Tobias smiled as he had an answer for Edgarâs sudden glow. âDid the Duchess reward you last night for sticking up to William?â
Rafael cringed at the sight of Tobias wiggling his brows. âIs there nothing else for the king to do other than gossip?â
.....
âNot at the moment and why canât I gossip? I am starting to see why women enjoy it so much. Do not act like you do not enjoy the letters I send you giving updates about all our lives. I have to do it since you live so far away. Any thoughts on moving to Lockwood?â Tobias asked.
âTo be near a pain in the ass? No,â Rafael replied, earning a snicker from Edgar.
âI hate both of you. You are like the white version of Edgar. The good side of him, I mean but you can still be cruel at times-â
The door of Tobiasâs study opened, interrupting the conversation as Dominic walked in. âGood. You are all here,â he closed the door.
Edgar sat up, confused as to why Dominic was in town. âWhy are you in Lockwood?â He asked.
âBecause of you,â Dominic pointed at Edgar. âI told you now that you are married my mother would be on my ass. Everywhere I turn there is some young lady at my door. I am finally moving into my new estate so I thought Iâd stop in Lockwood for a few days. I will strangle the person who tells my mother where I am. Get up, Edgar. Stop hogging up the chair.â
Edgar sat up to give Dominic some room as he pitied the poor soul. With the ongoing competition between the Carsons and Collins, it was no surprise Dominicâs mother now wanted him to be married to be on par with Edgar. âNot like that will ever happen,â he thought.
âAt this big age, you are still running from your mother?â Tobias chuckled.
The other three men in the room looked at Tobias.
âLetâs move on,â Tobias said, clearing his throat. âWe were just talking about the Duchess giving Edgar the time of his life. Doesnât he look different today?â
âOh, I am not entering this conversation. My brother has a permanent reminder of why no one should talk about Edgarâs wife. Poor thing canât smile anymore or he gets questioned about his missing tooth. I almost pity him. Almost but I have been enjoying the silence. You need to watch out, Edgar. Daniel is furious and looking to get back at you. Someone might show up trying to kill you,â said Dominic.
âLet them come,â Edgar replied, not afraid of Daniel sending someone to harm him. He would get rid of that person and send someone capable of doing the job to get rid of Daniel. âYou should talk some sense into him if you wish to continue having a younger brother.â
âMy days without him around were honestly better. I suppose to be a good person I should have a talk with him. Whatâs going on with you, Rafael? Any trouble lately?â Dominic asked, pretending to be unaware of the woman trouble Rafael was having. Rafael should blame the little birdie named Tobias. Why anyone would tell Tobias their business was beyond him.
Rafael glared at Tobias knowing where this conversation was heading.
âHey! Edgar told me about it,â Tobias said, shifting the blame to Edgar.
âI did,â Edgar admitted to it.
âWeâre losing another good fellow to love. Whatever happened to none of us will get married? I didnât believe Tobias would keep his word since the king needs a queen but Edgar and Rafael? Come on,â said Dominic, disappointed by the two. âIâm still trying to wrap my head around how Edgar married Desmondâs daughter when you hated the very existence of the man. How did you even meet again?â
âThatâs easy. I sent him-wait,â Tobias sat up, realizing he was meant to bring up to Edgar. âWhere are my gifts or thanks for sending you to the Baronâs home? Isnât that where this whole love story started?â
Edgar sighed. He had been hoping Tobias would never bring up that it was thanks to him, he had met and fallen for Alessandra. âWe are here to talk about the border and William-â
âHa!â Tobias cut off Edgar. âLook at how he is deflecting! I am the one who set him up with his wife. I successfully meddled in his love life.â
Rafael scooted down to another chair to get out of Edgarâs way in case he wanted to throw something at Tobias to shut him up.
âSo really, I should be blaming you,â Dominic realized. âThanks to you, I am stuck with my mother forcing me to have a wife.â
âListen, the solution to your troubles is obvious. Find a girl you can pretend like you are courting and thinking of marrying so your mother will back off. Keep dragging it out saying this girl wants to take things slow. Boom,â Tobias smacked his hand on the table because of the brilliant idea.
âNot bad,â Dominic shook his head. âYouâre not as foolish as you look.â
âThank-Hey!â Tobias exclaimed. âI am the smartest out of the four of us. Rafael is the best at fighting, Edgar is the most wealthy, and Dominic is just Dominic.â
âWhat the fuck kind of list is this?â Dominic cursed.
âI donât mind it,â Rafael muttered.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Tobias had another bright idea so he suggested, âWhy donât we have a little test?â