Alina was in her room, mending a small tear in the sleeve of her dress, when someone knocked at the door.
She opened it to find an unfamiliar maid standing outside.
"Miss Ashworth." The maid curtsied, unlike the others. "Her Highness, Princess Audrey requests the pleasure of your company for a walk in the garden this morning, if you're available."
Alina blinked, surprised.
"Is something wrong?" she asked cautiously.
"Not at all, miss." The maids smiled warmly. "Her Highness just wishes to meet you. She often does this with new members of the household."
Alina didn't know what to say. Her suspicion battled with curiosity, and fear mingled with loneliness, longing for someone to speak to her like a normal person.
"I'll come," she said.
The maid nodded and led the way.
Alina followed the familiar path through the garden, past the hedges and flower beds, until she reached the rose garden. She had never explored this part of the garden before.
And there, standing among the flowers was Audrey.
It was the first time Alina had seen her from so close, and she had to admit Audrey was the most beautiful woman she had ever seen.
Audrey held a single rose, turning it slowly between her fingers. When she noticed Alina, she smiled.
"Miss Ashworth." Her voice was warm, and welcoming, and without the sharpness Alina had expected. "Thank you for coming. I wasn't sure you would."
"I was curious," Alina replied, stopping a few steps away. "Your Highness."
Audrey laughed softly.
"Please, call me Audrey. We're not at court, and I'm quite tired of being 'Your Highness' all the time." She gestured towards a nearby bench. "Will you sit with me?"
Alina nodded and sat. Audrey joined her.
"I wanted to meet you properly," Audrey said, still turning the rose in her hands. "Not as the girl everyone whispers about. Just as yourself." She then looked at Alina with kind eyes.
"Tell me about yourself. What do you love? What do you miss?"
Alina was caught off guard.
No one had asked her that since she had arrived at Ravenmoor. Lord Ashby asked about books. Lady Talbot asked about dresses, and Austin… didn't ask about anything at all. He even answered her questions with silence.
"I like to read poetry mostly." She said slowly. "And sometimes military history." She waited for her polite smile that meant how strange her interests were.
Instead, Audrey's face lit up.
"Military history? How fascinating." She leaned in slightly, genuinely interested. "I've never been able to understand battles, strategies and maps. My tutors tried, but I was hopeless." She laughed at herself.
"I like poetry as well. Have you read Harwick's sonnets?"
"They're my favourite," Alina replied immediately.
"Mine too!" Audrey's eyes brightened. "The way he writes about love, as something messy and confusing…it's extraordinary. Most poets try to make love look simple. But Harwick understands it."
They talked about books, gardens, and the strange loneliness of being a woman in a world built by men.
Audrey shared stories of her own childhood. The pressure of being a princess, the endless lessons, and how people saw her title before they saw her.
She was warm, funny, and self-aware.
"You're very easy to talk to," Alina said, surprising herself.
Audrey smiled.
"So are you. Most people here are always pretending. They say what they think I want to hear." She shook her head. "But it's refreshing to finally talk to someone who says what she actually wants."
Before Alina could answer, servants appeared, carrying a tea set, and plates of cakes and sandwiches.
A table for two had already been set up beneath a shade of roses. Servants put the plates and tea set on the table and disappeared as quietly as they had come.
"I thought we might have tea," Audrey said, standing up. "Unless you have somewhere else to be?"
"No, I don't."
They sat at the small table, served themselves, enjoying the tea and the garden.
"I want to tell you about Austin and me," Audrey said, suddenly.
Alina's cup paused halfway to her lips.
"I know it may seem strange," Audrey continued. "Telling you about the man whose bed you share. But I think you deserve to know about us."
Alina put her cup down carefully.
"We've known each other since we were children," Audrey said, her gaze drifting somewhere distant. "Our mothers were close friends. We grew up together, spending summers at Aldmere and winters here at Ravenmoor." She smiled faintly.
"He taught me to ride and I taught him to dance. He was always terrible at dancing. Still is, honestly. I have to remind him of the steps every time."
Alina found herself smiling as well.
"He does seem like the type to step on toes."
"Oh, he does," Audrey said with amusement. "He once stepped on the Duchess of Valdene's foot so badly she limped for a week. His mother was furious." Audrey laughed.
"He was eighteen and already intimidating, but when he apologized…you could see how embarrassed he was. He hates being bad at anything."
"He is very good at everything else," Alina said quietly.
"He is," Audrey agreed. "He is the best swordsman, the best rider, and the best strategist. He was meant to be a duke." She paused.
"But beneath all that…he is still the boy who used to sneak me extra desserts when my governess wasn't looking. The boy who held my hand at my mother's funeral."
Alina could almost imagine a young Austin, already carrying the weight of his title.
"We got engaged three years ago," Audrey continued. "Our families had planned it since we were children. But for me...it was never political. I've loved him for as long as I can remember. I can't imagine my life without him."
She sipped her tea.
"And now finally, we'll marry soon."
"Soon?" Alina whispered.
Audrey nodded.
"My father has been pressing for a date. Austin will visit him soon to discuss it."
"Doesn't it bother you that he keeps…I mean that I'm here?" Alina couldn't help but ask.
"To be honest…it's not something we talk about. He has never brought it up, and I've never asked." Audrey's fingers traced the rim of her cup. "But I know it is a part of his life, but when I become his wife, things will be different."
Audrey smiled.
"I've never held it against him. It's just how things are for men like him." She said, without flinching. "These arrangements have always existed. I'd be a fool to pretend otherwise."
"Then…what will happen to me? When you marry?"
Audrey's expression softened.
"That's up to Austin. He may either choose to keep you, or he may find you a suitable match. The others before you…he ensured they were all married to good men and houses." She reached across the table and touched Alina's hand.
"I think he'd do the same for you."
Finding a suitable match for me?? Like a property transferred from one owner to another.
"Don't worry," She squeezed her hand. "He isn't cruel. Whatever he decides, it will be with your well-being in mind."
Alina stared at their hands.
She was already sold once and now she will apparently be married off to some random man.
Am I even a person anymore? Or just something to be managed, placed and transferred?
"I'm so glad we did this." Audrey stood up. "I'd like to do it again, only if you'd like."
"I would," Alina replied.
"When the time comes," Audrey added gently, "I will make sure you are cared for. I promise."
Audrey thought she was doing Alina a favour. Only if she knew.
But she was a princess. How could she understand what it meant to be sold? Especially by her own father as a bed warmer.
"Thank you," Alina said.
Alina walked back to the castle alone. The garden blurred around her.
I don't want this. I don't want to be married off to a stranger. I don't want to be transferred from one man to another.
For once in my life, I want to choose and decide.