The Duke's Masked Wife 2: The Prince's Outcast Bride-Chapter 38: Trap (2)

"It is nice to see you too," Alessandra replied, uncertain of who the man before her was.

"Arthur," Edgar said, addressing the man he greatly despised. "You know better than to approach my family."

"I do," Arthur answered, keeping his distance from Edgar. "I remember the threat you made toward my life. I shall never forget it. I am here because it is a good day, and since you are all together, I thought I should greet you."

’He doesn’t value his life,’ Penelope thought.

Her father’s threats were never something to ignore since he meant every word of what he said.

Penelope felt uneasy when Arthur turned to her. She knew he was a man of the court, but she never held any conversations with him.

’He is not going to ask me for a dance, is he?’ Penelope thought, hoping it wouldn’t be so.

It wasn’t uncommon for a man of Arthur’s age to be so bold as to dance with someone her age, but Penelope didn’t want to be asked for a dance.

"Miss Penelope Collins," Arthur addressed Penelope.

"Did you not hear what I said?" Edgar asked, stepping toward Arthur. The only thing keeping him calm was Alessandra’s hold on his hand. "Leave us."

"You must lose that temper, Duke Collins. You are no longer the young, hot-tempered man you were before. I have not come here to harm your family, but to share that I agree with you for once," Arthur said, backing away from Edgar as he spoke. "We can both agree that it is not right for Penelope to be with the prince."

Penelope frowned. Why did this need to be brought up now? Was it because Tyrion asked to dance with her before a crowd?

Still, Penelope found what Arthur said to be out of place, and it was the very reason her father’s hand was going toward Arthur’s throat.

"Careful with what you say," Edgar said, keeping a tight hold on Arthur. "I gave you the chance to walk away."

Arthur struggled to get out of Edgar’s hold. "D-Duke Collins, he stuttered. "I came here sharing the same thoughts as you. The court is against your daughter entering the palace to be queen. We know that it isn’t what you want."

Edgar tightened his hold on Arthur. If he had a sword, he would cut off Arthur’s tongue or, better yet, his head. It had been some time since he cut off someone’s head, and it was looking like it was time to start doing it again.

"We have cleared your daughter of any accusations concerning the death of Miss Sarah, but she is still being called a murderer by many. Cursed like they said about your wife. I recommend keeping her from the palace," Arthur quickly spoke and then tried to catch his breath.

How was it that Edgar managed to get even more dangerous at this age? He was no longer in his prime, yet he remained as dangerous as ever.

Penelope wasn’t happy to hear the court had decided that she shouldn’t be around Tyrion. How could they deem that she was innocent, but still want her to keep her distance because of what the town was saying?

How did that make any sense?

Arthur cursed the guards present for not coming to his side. They shouldn’t be afraid to fight Edgar when he was only one man.

Edgar released Arthur, though he wanted to kill him. "Leave us."

No matter what the court thought, Edgar would never openly agree with what they said about his daughter. None of them had any place to speak on Penelope.

Arthur touched his aching neck. He would never forgive the others for not joining him to go after Edgar. It was about time that someone killed Edgar or locked him away.

Arthur continued to walk away and said, "It is not a good look for the prince to be with your daughter with all that surrounds her. If you care for the prince, you will leave him since we shall never accept you."

"Just let me kill the bastard," Elijah said, going forward to finish what his father started.

"No," Penelope said, holding Elijah’s hand. "He is trying to create something for everyone to speak of. His purpose in approaching us was to get the guests talking about the court not accepting me. Do not give him any more reactions. Father as well," said Penelope.

Penelope didn’t like what was said, but she realised this was another trap. She would not carelessly walk right into this trap, and neither should her family.

Arthur smiled since it was too late. All he needed was a few people talking.

"You must forgive me, Miss Penelope. I meant no harm to your name," Arthur apologised.

"Don’t apologise," Penelope said, letting go of Elijah’s hand. "I think I might be so petty as to accept the prince’s advances. After all, the court might be against me, but the prince shall be the one to make the final choice."

Penelope’s mind was not yet changed about entering the palace, but if these were the games the court wanted to play, she was very open to showing how much the crown prince was asking for her hand.

Penelope also had games she could play. The court, as well as everyone else, would find that she was not someone they could trouble and get away with.

Arthur disliked the way Penelope spoke back to him. It was evident that the duchess had not taken proper care of raising Penelope to be a refined young woman who knew to only speak when spoken to.

It was another example of why the court did not want her around.

Arthur was quick to get away before Edgar got hold of him again. There were plenty of young women present whom the prince should give his time to instead of chasing Penelope.

’Where is that bastard?’ Arthur wondered, looking around for Zane.

Arthur spent a lot of money to convince Zane to court Penelope, yet he only spoke to her a little and then left her side. It had taken using a few favours to get Zane to attend this gathering, yet it wasn’t paying off.

"I am going to kill him," Arthur muttered.

"Kill who?"

Arthur flinched, startled by the sound of Tyrion’s voice. "Prince Tyrion. Why are you away from the safety of the palace guards? You must return to be with your family."

"If I had stayed with my family any longer, then I would have missed the little show you put on. I didn’t know you were a man who took part in acting. I wish to see more of your act. Come with me," Tyrion said, leading the way to a private room.

Arthur didn’t want to go at first, but then he didn’t want to miss the chance to speak about the women present, so he followed Tyrion inside.