Chapter 381: Secrets revealed (3)
Edgar arrived at the home he hadn’t visited in years.
While William wasn’t someone Edgar thought of in recent years, he could never forget his former enemy.
What made William someone to remember wasn’t due to how much Edgar bumped heads with him in the past, but rather due to his interest in Alessandra.
It would be hard to forget William’s interest in Alessandra, which stemmed from her mask and the fact that she bore a resemblance to her mother.
With Tobias by his side, Edgar was granted permission to set foot on the old Lancaster grounds.
"Someone has been tidying it up. Now we know who it was. Why didn’t the court inform me of this?" Tobias wondered.
Tobias expected the land to stay vacant for many years, just like with the land Simon once had.
"They were too busy focusing on Tyrion. He would have needed someone in the court to help him get ownership of the land. He has ties there," Edgar said, but this wasn’t any surprise to him.
Quinn might have been working in silence before he made his presence known in Lockwood alongside his brother.
"This one is dangerous. He’s careful," said Edgar.
Quinn appeared to be someone who planned. It made him dangerous compared to others who solely relied on their wealth or power to make them untouchable.
"Search every corner of the grounds, but be careful. There might be a trap," Tobias said, ordering his guards to go forward.
"We’re not going to find anything here either," Edgar said, after looking around the outside.
"Edgar, can you stop? You’re making me lose hope," Tobias said, wanting the negativity to wait. "We need to find something. If it is him, we need to find his victims here."
"I feel the same way as Edgar. He was smiling like he knew for certain that we would go right back to him. It would be too easy for us to find them here. He was toying with Edgar, but he wanted us to realise who his father was," said Rafael.
Rafael had a feeling that Quinn knew they would end up here.
"We need to be careful. Go back, Tobias," Edgar said, guiding his horse to turn. "Go back to the palace. Rafael and I will take care of this."
"This is an important matter of the town-"
"It is, and we will solve it for you. If he’s crazy enough to have a trap waiting for us here, we can’t have something happen to the king. Go back and make sure that he is held captive. Don’t let him out," Edgar ordered Tobias.
"If there’s a trap here, something can’t happen to the duke or you. How would I face your wives if something bad were to happen and I were the only one to live? You know I don’t want to face your wife," Tobias said to Rafael.
"I am not leaving. This concerns my people and my daughter," Rafael replied. "Go back. One of us needs to keep an eye on him."
"We don’t have time for this. Go back to the palace and keep an eye on him. If he gets out and vanishes, we’re right back at the start. We’ll send guards to inform you of what we find," Edgar promised.
Tobias gritted his teeth. He wanted to stay, but he understood the need to return to keep an eye on Quinn.
No one could let Quinn free without his order, especially if he was near to see that Quinn wouldn’t be secretly released.
"Let that bastard have you walk into a trap, and I will kill you both," Tobias said, wishing the pair well. "I’d better see you both by nightfall."
"Go, you fool," Edgar said, not interested in Tobias’s speech.
Tobias shook his head at Edgar. "One day, I hope you can express that you’re grateful I care."
Rafael looked to the right to hide his smile.
"I can see you," Edgar said, staring right at Rafael. "You’re too big to try to be secretive."
Rafael cleared his throat. "Come closer, Edgar. I’ll protect you so Tobias won’t be worried so much."
Edgar glared at Rafael. "You’re not too special to not get shot. I’m not the one who is afraid of Annalise."
Rafael chuckled, believing what Edgar spoke. "I’ll behave so you two don’t have any reason to bicker. I’ve warned you enough that if there’s anyone good enough to kill you, it would be my wife."
"The only ones I trust could kill me are Alessandra and those children."
"Those children? Weren’t they called your precious little angels at one point?" Rafael asked.
"That was the calm before the storm. I thought they were like their mother, but they are something else," said Edgar.
"So, are they more like you? You are lucky that they aren’t raising the same hell you did. Making tutors faint by collecting animals they were terrified of, taking me from school without my mother’s-"
"You willingly followed me from school because you didn’t want to be there, and I had Alfred’s permission to take you along. I wasn’t as bad as these little monsters. I was devious while they looked to stress me at each corner," said Edgar.
"The price you must pay for what you put your family through. Your father has approached me again about dinner," Rafael shared. "I declined since we were never close."
"He’s on a mission to speak to everyone around me, so I may sit with him and his wife. I’m going to kill him. What?" Edgar asked as Rafael started to laugh.
"You told me that you hated your father during the early days of our friendship. You’ve been plotting to kill him for most of our lives," said Rafael.
"Well, it’s going to happen now. He’s well within his rights to remarry as my mother did, but I don’t want to be around that woman. I warned him, but for some reason, he thinks the threat no longer holds."
"Duke Edgar!"
Edgar’s attention went to the door where a guard ran out holding a portrait. He didn’t have much interest in it until it was turned around to reveal the painting.
Rafael immediately felt Edgar’s anger. "Is this an old painting of Alessandra?"
"No," Edgar said, his hands gripping the reins of his horse.
Everything about the painting screamed Alessandra’s younger days just after she was freed from her father’s hold, but the painting wasn’t of her.
Others didn’t see it, but Edgar knew his family better than anyone else.
"It’s a portrait of Penelope done like how Alessandra was in the past," Edgar corrected Rafael.
Rafael opened his mouth, ready to question Edgar, but before he could, more portraits came out, and it was here that it became obvious that the paintings weren’t of Alessandra. There was one for each of Edgar’s daughters.