The Duke's Masked Wife 2: The Prince's Outcast Bride-Chapter 160: Dangerous stranger (1)

"You did well, Penelope. You stood your ground without needing to go down to her level. This is not the end, but it is a good start to defending yourself. I will end all this talk about a curse and about your marriage," Priscilla offered.

Penelope was not the first lady to run off with the man she loved amid the night to wed, and she wouldn’t be the last.

Priscilla had also been unfortunate to miss Edgar and Alessandra’s marriage. Fortunately for the couple, Priscilla’s not being invited allowed for the wedding to go smoothly.

"This won’t be the last time you see her, even if you reject her invitations. She’s a Castro like you, so expect to be in the same rooms. You can leave it to your husband to deal with her in your place," Priscilla advised Penelope.

Priscilla wished her former husband had done it when she had trouble with his mother, but she wasn’t so lucky.

"Tyrion doesn’t want me to meet with Tabitha, and from what we have spoken about, he might not meet with her. This could have been avoided had she dropped this matter and supported Teo. I hope others are celebrating this time for Teo," said Penelope.

Teo was excited to become king, so Penelope wanted the focus to be on him instead of everyone continuing to speak about Tyrion leaving the palace. The light should be on Teo.

"I am sure there are many flocking to the crown prince’s side to shower him with love and promises of loyalty. Once Prince Teo has been crowned king, Tabitha will have to put this matter to rest, but it might be too late for her," said Priscilla.

"Will you tell mother or father about this?" Lily inquired.

"No," Penelope shook her head. "There is much on their minds, so I don’t want to add to my troubles with Tabitha. I truly believe that I can handle Tabitha myself."

"I was worried at first," Penelope admitted. "But after sitting before her today, I have come to realise that she is not a woman I must fear. She was setting up for the other ladies to question me. I have dealt with my peers who are like this. I will not be weak now with Tabitha."

"You’ve spoken like a true princess. Since there is a lot of time left before nightfall, I want you two to come with me. I will spoil you with some new dresses. Both of you," Priscilla said, so Lily wouldn’t be left out. "I will miss dressing you alike."

"We can still do it. We have always bothered Elijah by acting alike. It has been so long since we bothered him. Will you join me at the estate to do it?" Lily asked.

"I will," Penelope agreed. "I’ve been away from the estate too long."

"Then it is decided," Priscilla clapped her hands. "We will go in my carriage only because it is prettier."

Penelope walked with Lily to follow Priscilla to the carriage.

Meanwhile, Tyrion was at home looking over the details of the case sent by the court.

Along with finding clues with Edgar and Elijah, Tyrion did his own search for the culprit.

Tyrion wanted it dealt with quickly, so each time Penelope left his sight, he did not need to worry about some crazy bastard taking her away from him.

A knock on the door broke his distraction.

The door opening caused him to look up.

"Unless there is an urgent matter concerning my wife, mother, or sister, I said I didn’t want to be disturbed," Tyrion said, looking at the butler.

Wintson bowed his head, apologetic for the disturbance. "My apologies, Prince Tyrion. There is a guest from the court here to speak with you. He presented himself as Mark Wilkerson."

"Mark? Allow him in," Tyrion replied.

Tyrion remembered the man from court who left years ago. Mark was a man Tyrion could stomach and perhaps leave to take over the court when the others were killed.

Tyrion continued to look at the papers with details about the two women who died. Both came from families who had financial struggles. Their parents weren’t anywhere around the town, which explained why the young ladies weren’t reported missing.

The question remained if the parents were also dead, or had they used their daughters to repay their debts and got far out of town?

Tyrion wanted to find the parents first to question them, but the town guards were more focused on roaming the town to stop other ladies from being taken.

’They should announce it,’ Tyrion thought.

The town needed to know there was a killer around who was taking young ladies, but the court and town guards wanted to keep the matter a secret for now.

Luckily, Tobias was going against their wishes and planned on announcing it by night. They had gathered enough knowledge about the victims and their families to release the news.

"Prince Tyrion," Mark said as he entered the room. "It feels like I am staring at your father. You surprised me."

’How so?" Tyrion replied.

"You had the guts to leave the palace behind to be with the woman you love. The court was in a mess because of it, but thanks to your father’s threat, they have stopped. Still, I don’t like what I have returned to. The court has gotten worse," said Mark.

"It has always been bad. Your return should be permanent. Luckily for you, the others who have made it bad won’t be there for long," said Tyrion.

"So I have heard. They will not leave peacefully when they find out the king is getting rid of the court. Well, some of it," Mark said, since he was meant to say.

"Then they will die in the palace they love so much," Tyrion replied. "The palace doesn’t need a large court anymore."

"I agree. Many of the men I could trust have left. You must be careful around Solomon. He acts as though he is the king."

"I have always paid attention to Solomon. Winston," Tyrion said, distracted by the butler once more. "What is with the box? Your hand is bleeding," he noticed.

Winston didn’t know what to make of the box the three maids came to him with when he had stepped out of the room.

Mark looked closely to see that it wasn’t Winston’s hand bleeding. "It’s the box that is dripping blood. For your sake, I hope it is something other than blood"

Tyrion ignored Mark and took the box from Wintson’s hands.

When Tyrion opened the box, he was met by a head. Not just any head, but the head of one of the men Damien picked to be sent after Cassius.

"There are two more," Winston revealed.

Tyriion stared at the head a little more before closing the box. "Have the knights bury them where they can’t be disturbed."

Wintson took the box from Tyrion and exited the room to do as he was told.

Tyrion stared at the blood on his hands. "Have you ever heard the name Cassius Monroe?"

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