171 Offer (3)

"Why are you smiling so much, Sally?" Alessandra asked after looking in the mirror and found Sally to be smiling while brushing her hair. It looked like Sally's cheeks would hurt from how hard she was smiling. "Did something good happen to you while I was not around?"

"Everyone in this house has heard you and the Duke were alone in a room together for quite a long time. It's good the room didn't seem to let noise escape to the outside. It would have given the maids something to talk about," Sally's smile widened.

"What?" Alessandra did not understand a word of what Sally was saying.

"They think we were having sex," Edgar said as he exited their closet.

Sally felt her heart drop as Edgar heard what she said. She didn't think he would hear her from inside the closet.

"We were not!" Alessandra turned around to face Sally.

Sally jumped and stepped back because of how loud Alessandra denied the claim. "I-I see. That's not a bad thing if you were."

"But we weren't and why is it anyone's business what we were doing while we were alone? It's nothing to gossip about," Alessandra turned around to hide her blush.

"I will let them know not to talk about it," said Sally.

"I won't give them anything to talk about," Alessandra muttered.

"Wonderful," Edgar said in a sarcastic tone. All because of the maids and Sally being nosey it would now be harder for him to gain any form of pleasure out of this trip. "I should fire all of them," he seriously considered it. "I am going to leave now so that the two of you can talk about me. I will see you at lunch, Alessandra."

"Okay."

Sally silently watched Edgar leave the room, patiently waiting for when she could talk about him. As soon as the door closed she said, "Did you surprise him well with the basket?"

"Not exactly. He gave me a bigger surprise in the end. Our plan failed," Alessandra said with a hint of disappointment in her voice.

"We still have a lot of time for you to try surprising him. Excuse me for being nosey but did you and the Duke truly not do anything while you were alone? I heard that the room has an excellent pool of water. I imagine that…" Sally started to say what she thought they would have been doing but then stopped herself.

"You imagine what? Sally, I'm starting to think that Erin has started to rub off on you. Nothing happened between the two of us when we were alone. Sure I sat on his lap," Alessandra's face became even redder when she revealed this. "And things were said but that was all."

"Duchess, forgive me for saying this but you are aware of how good-looking well-built your husband is, right?"

"How can I not notice it?" Alessandra muttered. Each time she looked at Edgar she found it hard to believe she married such a man.

"But nothing happened? I am finding this odd." Sally didn't see why Alessandra wouldn't jump at the chance to be pleasured by such a man. "Did you not think of, you know, having sex with him while you sat on his lap? Pardon me, I should use the term making love."

"Something would have happened between us but I stopped it. I made an offer to take off my mask for Edgar by the end of this trip."

"Really?" Sally exclaimed. "Okay, that is far better than the two of you not using that time to be intimate. The Duke must be ecstatic that you are taking such a big step with him. I hope one day you can trust me enough to do the same to me. I don't believe in those ridiculous rumors anymore."

"Thank you. For now, I will just work on opening up and revealing my face to Edgar. My husband is deserving of getting to see what my face looks like. He has waited long enough. I can do this," Alessandra pumped herself up.

"I will help you as much as I can, Duchess. This will be the surprise we will work on to knock the Duke off his feet. He is deserving of it as you said. I have to say, he is more loving than I imagined him to be," said Sally.

"What do you mean?" Alessandra looked over her shoulder while Sally brushed her hair.

"Well, he was never one to show much emotion and when I first arrived he scared me. I kept thinking how could two people with such different personalities fall in love but day by day I see how loving he is towards you. For example, I thought his love language was just buying you a ridiculous amount of things to please you but then I noticed how much he enjoys touching you. I never thought he would be a needy person," Sally explained.

Now that Sally mentioned it, Alessandra realized how much Edgar had been touching her these days. Whether it be how much he held her when they slept, or when he just wanted to tease her, and just fool around with her hair. He had been doing it quite often. He was honest enough each time in telling her that she should enjoy his body. He was inviting her to touch him.

"Should I also touch him more?" Alessandra accidentally spoke out loud.

"You should," Sally agreed with this. "It is always the Duke reaching out to touch you and I've watched you walk away from him many times. If you start being the one to initiate things, he will certainly enjoy it. Start small by reaching out for his hand or rubbing your hand over his chest as he sleeps. I honestly don't think you should take advice from me considering I have never been with a man."

"No, your advice is wonderful," Alessandra stood up with a plan in mind. One, it would help her become more confident and closer to Edgar. Two, she was going to use it to tease him just as he always did to her. "I will start later on tonight. I am going to make Edgar know what it is like to be in my position."

"Ugh, that's not where I was going with this," Sally replied, worried about what would happen between the couple later. She was more worried for Alessandra as anything she did, Edgar would find entertainment in it.