The Duke's Bed Warmer-Chapter 57: The Sleeve

Austin sat on his desk and stared at the papers spread before him in the dim light.

He wasn’t reading. His thoughts kept going back to the moment when her voice broke.

You had the power but you chose not to use it.

What affected him the most was that she hadn’t said it in anger. She had simply stated it as a fact.

Austin wasn’t a man who revisited his decisions. He made choices and moved forward. That was how he had survived for so long on his own.

But tonight, he couldn’t move forward.

He opened the drawer where declined petitions were stored. Marta’s petition was at the top. He had reviewed it three days ago, signed the denial, and put it away.

But tonight, for the first time, he pulled out a petition he has already signed and read it again.

Marta, twenty-four, had been sold as a debt wife to Lord Durnham of the northern estates three years ago. The debt was her dead father’s. Durnham had broken her two ribs, dislocated her shoulder, and confined her to a single room for months. The petition had been filed by a local cleric on her behalf because Marta couldn’t write.

He set the file down, remembering why he had declined it before. Lord Durnham was part of the Northern Compact, a group of five lords whose votes he needed for an upcoming tariff reform to fund Ravenmoor’s coastal defenses.

Approving this petition meant publicly overruling a lord within that group. It wasn’t just one man; it was the alliance.

He picked up the file again and read the closing line.

She asked me to write that she does not wish to die in that house.

He signed the reversal order without hesitation.

Then rang for Harrington. It was past midnight, but he arrived within minutes, as he always did.

"Riders should leave before dawn," Austin said. "Intercept Marta before she reaches the northern estate, dissolve the debt contract under ducal authority, and put her under crown protection in the river town until permanent arrangements could be made."

Harrington didn’t ask any questions but he hesitated.

"Is there a problem?"

"No, Your Grace."

He turned to leave.

"And make sure no one in the castle knows about this. If anyone asks, just say new evidence surfaced during the routine review."

"Yes, Your Grace," he replied and left.

Austin stayed at his desk and focused on other papers, working through the rest of the night.

Alina woke to an empty bed and lay still for a moment, replaying the argument from last night.

She didn’t regret what she had said. But now there was a new feeling sitting beside her anger. She realized she had spoken to a duke in a way no one in this castle would dare. She had pushed him and he without saying anything...had just left.

She skipped breakfast, not in the mood to eat, and stayed in her room until afternoon. Then she want to the garden to the sewing circle. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"A few riders left from the castle before dawn towards the north," Lady Brennan said as she arrived.

The other ladies looked up.

"North?"

"Mr. Harrington looked grim," Lady Brennan added. "Looks like...there is some serious problem."

Speculation began immediately. Border trouble, a message to the northern lords, taxes. The ladies discussed a lot of theories but none of them knew the right one.

Alina had a theory as well but she kept it to herself and focused on her stitching.

Across the castle, Audrey sat in the sunroom with one of her maids, reviewing letters holding a warm cup of tea.

"A few riders left for the north before dawn today. Mr. Harrington led them himself," the maid mentioned casually.

"North?" Audrey asked, setting down her teacup.

"Yes, Your Highness."

Unlike everyone else in the castle, she didn’t need to speculate. She had been there when Marta knelt before Austin and Alina spoke in her favour in front of everyone. And now, in less than twelve hours, riders were heading towards north.

It was obvious.

Austin has made a decision that can cost him politically. He knew the consequences but did it anyway.

And she knew exactly why.

In the evening, Alina was walking through the corridor, returning from the kitchen. Austin was coming from the opposite direction speaking to his steward.

They saw each other and stopped. Mr. Harrington understood immediately.

"I’ll get those figures from the accountant," he said, and excused himself.

The corridor was empty. Neither of them talked about the last night.

"Is your room warm enough? It’s getting colder," he said, because he had nothing else to say.

"It’s fine."

He nodded.

"The head cook is preparing lamb tonight. If you prefer something else, tell Mrs. Calloway."

She stared at him. He had never talked about such things before. So why now?

Probably because he wanted to have a conversation with her without making it awkward after the last night. He wanted to make things normal between them again.

"I will."

He nodded and walked away.

Later, in her room, Alina was preparing for the night, when Marguerite came to talk to her. They talked about useless things first but then she came to the real conversation.

"They’re saying His Grace reversed the petition of the debt wife from yesterday. Riders were sent to take her to a safe place before she reached the northern estate."

"When?"

"Last night."

"Who... requested the reversal?"

"No one knows. Mr. Harrington said new evidence came through during routine review."

But Alina knew exactly what had happened.

Marguerite after chatting for some more time, left.

At night, Alina was lying awake when he walked in. She felt him lie on his side and fall asleep after a few minutes.

Then she turned and looked at him. Slowly, her hand crossed the space between them and reached for the edge of his shirt sleeve. She gripped it between her fingers just as he had gripped hers.

"Thank you," she whispered and smiled.