The Duke's Bed Warmer-Chapter 33: Watching Her

The next morning, Alina saw Marguerite at breakfast again. But this time, she wasn’t crying. A cup of tea sat beside her plate, slightly pushed towards the empty chair next to her.

"Sit here," she said.

She had saved Alina a seat. Alina walked over and took the seat. The tea was still warm when she picked it up.

"My sister used to make tea like this," Marguerite said. "Strong, with a lot of sugar. I think about her every morning when I drink."

"What else do you think about?"

Marguerite’s smile widened.

"Our garden at home. It wasn’t grand like the one here but I knew every flower. I knew when they’d bloom, when they’d die, and which ones would come back the next year. Here...I don’t know anything. I don’t even know the names of half the flowers."

Alina let out a small laugh before she could stop herself.

"That happened to me as well," she said. "During my first week, I stood staring at a bunch of blue flowers for ten minutes. Later, I found out there are seventeen types of roses in the east garden alone. I didn’t even know roses came in that many colours."

Marguerite laughed softly.

"Did anyone help you?"

"No. They didn’t even acknowledge my presence."

Marguerite’s expression softened.

"That’s what they do," she murmured. "They look at you like you’re not supposed to be here and then they wait for you to prove them right."

They talked again and discovered they both sewed. Marguerite embroidered small, delicate patterns that took hours but looked effortless. She showed Alina her sleeve where she had sewn tiny flowers.

"I do it when I can’t sleep," she said. "My husband paces, and I embroider."

"Elspeth taught me a gold-thread technique. It catches the light differently depending on how you stitch it. I’ll show you sometime." Alina said.

Marguerite’s eyes lit up.

"Lord Whitmore," Alina added casually. "What is he like?"

Marguerite’s hands froze on her cup.

"He comes to the room exhausted. He argues with someone named Lord Hargrove about something I don’t understand and he complains that the duke is....difficult."

Alina nodded, gathering the information.

That afternoon, Alina was in the library when Audrey came to her carrying a bundle of blue fabric.

"I need your help," Audrey said.

Alina closed her book.

"With what?"

Audrey walked to her and put the fabric on the table. It was fine silk, one of the most expensive fabrics.

"My friend is getting married," Audrey said. "She was my lady-in-waiting before I came here. I can’t go to the wedding due to some political reasons. But I want to send her something perfect. I’ve seen what you do with fabric. How beautifully you altered one of your dresses. I can’t do that alone."

Alina gave a small nod.

"I’ll help."

"Great. Let’s go to my room," Audrey said, already turning.

Audrey’s room had been transformed into a workspace. Bolts of fabric in different shades of blue lay everywhere. Trays of stones, beads and threads were spread across her writing desk, the dressing table, and the chair by the window. A dress form stood at the centre of the room, already draped in silk.

Audrey immediately rolled up her sleeves, pinned her hair back and started working. She didn’t look like a woman who ordered others to make things for her. She looked like someone who knew how to make things herself.

"You’re good at this," Alina said, genuinely surprised.

"My mother trained me. She taught me that the wife of a powerful man isn’t just his decoration. She is his support system," she smiled. "I’ve been Austin’s support system since I was fourteen."

Alina didn’t answer. They worked in silence for a while. Alina cut and Audrey pinned. Then Audrey spoke, casually.

"Lord Calder’s estate has a lovely garden. I’ve heard from Lady Whitmore, Marguerite’s mother-in-law, that the eastern territories are very beautiful in late spring."

Alina’s scissors paused.

"Lady Whitmore?" Alina repeated. "Marguerite’s mother-in-law?"

"Yes. She visits often. She says the roses there are exceptional. You’ll have a chance to see them yourself, if..." She let the sentence hang in the air.

"And did I tell you...the man Austin mentioned from the eastern territories...is Lord Calder." She laughed. "Can you imagine? How similar is our thought process? How in sync we are."

Alina picked up her scissors and resumed cutting without answering. By evening, when the dress was finished, Alina went to the kitchen.

The dinner rush was over. The pots were scrubbed, and the tables were wiped clean. Evelyn sat on a stool by the back door, holding a steaming cup.

Alina sat on the stool beside her. Evelyn smiled and handed her a pastry.

"My feet hurt," Evelyn said eventually.

Alina smiled.

"Mine too. And I just sat in a room cutting fabric."

"Lucky you," Evelyn muttered. "I scrubbed pots for three hours this morning. The cook said they weren’t clean enough and made me do it again."

"Were they clean enough the first time?"

"Of course they were," Evelyn rolled her eyes. "But the cook was angry about something else and I’m the one who had to pay for it."

"That’s the way it works. Someone above you is angry, so they take it out on someone below them."

Evelyn huffed in agreement.

"Anyway," she said, lowering her voice. "The new maid on the third floor, the one Audrey’s lady-in-waiting hired."

"What about her?" Alina asked, curious.

"She has been asking questions about your schedule, your habits, and where you usually go in the castle."

Alina froze.

She didn’t know whether Audrey had ordered it or her lady-in-waiting had taken the initiative herself but someone was carefully cataloguing her life and that made her uncomfortable.

That night, Alina asked Austin the same question again.

"Tell me about the trade council today."

"You asked me that yesterday as well."

"Yes, and I’m asking again. Is there a problem?"

"Problem?" He repeated and smiled. "Marguerite is Whitmore’s wife, right?"

"Yes. But why are you asking?"

"You’ve been talking with her at breakfast for two days now."

"She was lonely."

"And she happens to be married to one of my advisors."

Alina sighed in disbelief.

"So what? Are you saying I befriended Marguerite because her husband is useful?"

He didn’t reply.

"Let me make it clear to you... I spoke to her because she was crying and no one else noticed."

"Fine," he said. "If you say so. But remember, I’ve eyes on you. Don’t think you can do something here without me knowing." He said and closed his eyes.

Alina lay beside him.

Good. Watch me.