The Duke's Masked Wife 2: The Prince's Outcast Bride-Chapter 105: Visitors from the palace (1)

In the Castro mansion, Tyrion sat in a room with Damien at his side.

"Didn’t I order you to guard my wife?" Tyrion asked, staring at the man who shouldn’t be next to him. "Don’t anger me so early in the day."

"Lady Castro sent me from her side and ordered me not to return unless her maid approaches me. So, I am here with you," Damien answered. "Should I return to her? I don’t want to."

Tyrion closed the book he was reading. "And why is that? You don’t like my wife?"

"I like your wife, but her maid glares at me when she thinks I have messed up. It is her maid I want to stay away from, even if it is just for one day," Damien revealed.

Tyrion did not believe the story Damien told. "You are afraid of her maid? Her sweet little maid?"

’Sweet?’ Damien raised his brow.

"Matilda is only sweet to her lady and perhaps you. I’m sure if I asked her to speak freely, she would scold me for what I have done wrong in her eyes. You should consider making her a knight," Damien suggested.

"It bothers me that I am paying someone as scared as you are of a maid to watch my wife. I am reconsidering my decision. Matilda has been at Penelope’s side since they were children. She has low tolerance for anyone troubling Penelope," Tyrion said.

This is why Tyrion liked Matilda and was pleased to see that she had followed Penelope instead of staying with Lily.

"Perhaps I should pay her even more to report to me what the other servants are doing. No one is free from punishment. Have you dealt with the maid snooping around?" Tyrion asked.

"Not yet. I am hoping she will lead me back to who set her up to this, or I will find out if she accepted the work to find gossip. I’ve paid a maid I can trust to watch her. She will not be allowed to leave," Damien promised.

"Is she one of the Collins maids or one of the new ones?" Tyrion asked, hoping it was the latter. He hated to think Edgar would have spies amongst his servants.

"It seems to be one of the newly hired maids. I do not think the duchess or duke has left maids here to spy on you."

"I believe the duchess wouldn’t, but I am not so certain about the duke. He says he doesn’t dislike me, but I trust he will have someone here to keep an eye on Penelope. He will send men and money to aid me," Tyrion shared.

"It will be hard to shift their loyalty from the duke to you," Damien said, but he still liked that Tyrion’s army was growing.

"They will always be loyal to him, and I do not mind it. Since they are so loyal to Edgar, they will not let anything happen to his daughter. I’ll let one of them take charge with training, but one of our own must stand beside him," Tyrion said, wanting to create a bridge for the two sides.

"I know of someone who would be suited for the job if you do not have anyone in mind. He has been around some of Edgar’s guards in the past," said Damien.

"Bring him to me later today. I need the training grounds and the living quarters for the knights to be done with soon. I need to see the progress, and this is a good time to see my wife, isn’t it?" Tyrion asked, standing up.

Tyrion gave Penelope space to plan what she was preparing tonight, but he wanted to see her.

It was wrong of him to go for so many hours without teasing her.

"Come along with me, Damien. I will protect you from Matilda," Tyrion said, leading the way to find his wife.

Tyrion exited his study and went in search of Penelope. He eventually found her in a room she claimed as her own.

"Tyrion!" Penelope exclaimed, turning to Matilda, who was already putting away the book. "What are you doing here?"

"This is my home, and I wanted to see my wife. Am I not allowed to set foot in this room? I can leave," Tyrion offered, turning slightly to pretend he was leaving.

"That wasn’t what I meant, and you know it. I thought you were busy, so I did not expect to see you here. Don’t you need to go to the palace?" Penelope asked, hoping she would have more time alone to prepare.

"No, I promised to stay with you today. It is a little concerning when my wife wants me to be out of our home. Matilda, can you take Damien out for a moment? Since you two work together, keep in mind that you may speak freely to him," said Tyrion.

Damien closed his eyes, mentally preparing himself for the worst. Why did Tyrion like to torture him like this?

Matilda looked at the guard. She had nothing to say to him, therefore, she didn’t need to speak comfortably with him. Still, she walked with him outside to leave the couple alone. ƒreewebηoveℓ.com

"Why are you smiling like you have done something wrong?" Penelope asked, suspicious.

"Damien is afraid of Matilda. Part of me is annoyed that he feels that way, but the other half wants to enjoy him panicking," Tyrion shared.

"He is scared of Matilda? Why?" Penelope asked, finding it hard to imagine. "Matilda wouldn’t hurt a - No, I cannot say that. Other than that, Matilda isn’t someone to be afraid of. He misunderstands her."

"You must admit that when she is not by your side, she rarely smiles. Consider that, and Damien can be a fool at times," said Tyrion.

"A lady doesn’t need to smile at all times, and wouldn’t you consider yourself a fool for hiring Damien when he is so easy to scare? You are cruel to send him with Matilda after what he told you," Penelope said, realising the reason behind his smile.

It was now that Penelope realised that she wasn’t the only one subjected to his teasing.

"I know you have come not because you missed me, but for snooping around. There is nothing for you to see," Penelope said, lucky she had not laid anything out.

"Your guess is wrong," Tyrion replied.

Penelope did not believe him. "I am not wrong."

"I have come because I missed you and to see what you are planning. Your guess wasn’t completely right. What are you planning that you must be in the room all day? You don’t need to do too much," Tyrion advised Penelope. "You standing naked before me is enough."

Penelope placed her hand to cover Tyrion’s foul mouth. "I have had enough of you. You must go now."