Alina spent the rest of the day lost in a fog of unanswered questions.
Both.
The word circled in her mind like a hawk over its prey. She sat in the library with a book open in her lap, but stared out the window at the garden and wandered through the corridors aimlessly.
Her mind spun through countless scenarios, each more confusing than the other.
Maybe he is cruel and was showing off what he had bought.
But cruel men didn't argue about poetry in the dark with the women they owned.
Maybe he was protecting me by keeping his distance at night and not touching me. Maybe he acted that way in public to stop others from mistreating her. Maybe he was being kind.
But kindness wasn't purchased in contracts.
By evening, she had considered every possibility and arrived at nothing. She had no idea what he wanted from her.
But she was sure of one thing now, she wasn't just a bed warmer. Bed warmers didn't get argued with. Bed warmers didn't make a duke's knife pause on his plate.
She was something more and she was determined to find out what.
That night, she waited for him in bed. Time passed. It was almost midnight, but he didn't come.
Alina stared at the door, her frustration increasing with every passing minute but he didn't come. And she didn't know why.
Is he busy with something or is he avoiding me?
Eventually, she lay down, still frustrated and angry, staring at the ceiling until sleep took her.
In the morning, after eating breakfast in the kitchen, she went to the library.
She was deep in the stacks, hidden behind a shelf of philosophy, when she heard voices from the partially open window.
"Ask the seamstress."
Alina froze. It was Austin's voice.
"The dark colours, Your Grace? Nothing else?" It was his steward's voice.
"Yes, but they shouldn't be vulgar," Austin replied.
"Shall I ask Miss Ashworth about her preferences? Some women are particular about…"
"There is no need," Austin cut him off. "She has a sewing kit. She can alter them herself the way she wants. Choose fabrics that will be easy for her to work with."
"How do you know about her sewing kit? Did you visit her room?"
"I know everything about my things." Austin replied.
She then heard the footsteps moving away. Alina stood behind the bookshelf, her heart pounding in her chest.
He knew about the sewing kit? He has ordered dresses for me and that too in dark colours. Is it because he noticed they suited me? Was he paying attention?
Alina leaned against the bookshelf, even more confused than she already was. She didn't understand him at all.
In the afternoon, hoping to calm her mind, she went to the garden and sat on a bench near the fountain. She was thinking about Austin again when a few female voices interrupted her thoughts.
She looked up and saw Lady Pemberton walking around the hedge with two other ladies, whose names she didn't know.
"I can't believe she wore that blue rag to breakfast."
"Did you see the way His Grace paraded her? Steering her around like a new horse. It was too embarrassing."
"And what she said about him falling asleep…I nearly choked on my eggs. The audacity of the bed warmer."
They stopped immediately when they saw her sitting on the bench. Instead of looking embarrassed, knowing that she had heard everything, they smiled.
"Oh! The bed warmer. Enjoying the garden?"
Alina didn't reply. Instead, she stood up.
"Ladies," Alina said with her fakest smile. "I couldn't help but overhear you, and I have a few corrections, if you don't mind."
They froze, clearly not expecting this response from her.
"The dress I wore yesterday was a wool-silk blend, not a rag. The duke does fall asleep quickly. But honestly, so would you if you would spent the day working like him instead of walking in gardens and discussing other women's clothing. And the word you're looking for isn't audacity, it's honesty. You should try it sometime. I hear it's in fashion."
She waited for them to respond but no one said a word. She snickered, walked to the nearest flower bed, plucked a rose, and tucked it behind her ear.
Then she walked away, leaving the three of them in the garden completely speechless.
In the evening, when she was in her room, another maid arrived carrying a stack of dresses over her arm. She laid them on the bed without a word and left.
Alina looked at each dress. The colours were stunning; dark blue, forest green, burgundy rest and two blacks.
She picked up the red one and studied it. The fabric was very good and expensive. She then sat on the edge of the bed with the red dress in her lap, running her fingers over the fabric, and thought about Austin again.
What does he want from me?
At night, she was already in his bed when he arrived, lying on her side. But this time, she was facing him. She watched him as he removed his boots and coat. She saw how he extinguished the lamp before lying down.
"Turn around," He said. "Go to sleep."
She didn't.
"You told the steward to send me the dresses that I could alter."
"So you eavesdrop?"
"And you pay attention?"
He didn't answer.
"Yesterday, at breakfast, you said our arrangement is a lie, both in public and in private. What did you mean by that?"
Still no answer. Then suddenly, after a minute, he spoke.
"Go to sleep, Alina."
Not again!!
She wanted to kick him, turn him over, and demand answers but she wasn't in a position to do so. She was his bed warmer, after all.
"You keep saying that," She whispered. "Go to sleep. Turn around. Stop asking questions. What will you do if I don't?"
Still no answer. But she continued.
"What will you do if I keep talking? Keep asking?"
"I won't need to do anything. You'll learn things you might not want to know on your own."