The Duke's Bed Warmer-Chapter 59: The Ball

The ballroom had been completely transformed. Alina had been working since dawn: directing servants, adjusting details, fixing anything that felt out of place.

Emeric had become her logistics partner. He was cheerful, energetic, and unbothered by the chaos. He moved tables, adjusted candles, gave instructions to servants and somehow still found time to interfere where he wasn’t needed.

He even lifted Alina to help her reach a banner that was hanging crooked.

"Put me down!" she shrieked, grabbing his shoulder.

"You were taking too long."

She hit his shoulder but he didn’t put her down. He instead carried her to the other side to fix the banner, then set her down as if she weighed nothing. She smoothed her dress and glared at him, but then laughed.

"You’re impossible."

"You’ve told me that before. I’ve decided to take it as a compliment."

She pretended to be annoyed but failed.

"Come...we have a lot to do," Emeric said and she followed.

Austin entered the hall sometime later, for an inspection. He saw the musician placement, and the seating chart posted near the entrance.

He read it. She had corrected everything he had told her.

He looked around and saw her arguing with a servant about tablecloth placement. Her hair was undone, and her dress was smudged with dust. No one could say she had planned the ball by looking at her, and yet she held the entire room together.

Meanwhile, Emeric had gone outside to fetch some supplies when Alina noticed a few candles placed too high on the wall. With Emeric not there to help her, she climbed a small ladder to adjust the candles.

She stretched on her toes, trying to straighten the last one when the ladder wobbled beneath her. Before she could lose her balance and fall, someone caught her by the waist, steadying her immediately. She froze for a second before looking down. It was Austin.

"You don’t need to do everything yourself," he said, still gripping her waist.

"It needed to be fixed," she replied.

His gaze lingered on her for a brief moment, then he stepped back and walked away. Alina steadied herself, calmed her racing heart and climbed down the ladder.

Focus on work!

Finally, hours later, satisfied with the preparations, Alina went to her room to get dressed.

The dress fit her perfectly, as if it had been made only for her. She left her hair loose and touched up a little. Satisfied, she took a deep breath and walked downstairs.

The ball opened and it was beautiful. Alina’s instincts were right, the music at the centre created a warmth that pulled guests inwards instead of pushing them to the corners. The room felt alive.

Alina stood at the entrance greeting guests as the organizer while Audrey stood beside her as the hostess. People noticed and praised her.

"The flowers are lovely, Miss Ashworth."

"Thank you, Lady Mason."

"The food is exceptional. Who created the menu?"

"Evelyn. She is the kitchen maid. I’ll send her your regards."

After a while, Audrey excused herself.

"You’ve done an amazing job," she said. "Stay here. I’ll circulate."

Then Lord Prescott arrived. He bowed to Alina and greeted her with his charming words and smile.

"Miss Ashworth. You planned everything?"

"With help."

"It’s extraordinary."

Austin entered the hall behind Prescott’s shoulder and saw them laughing together in the doorway.

And his hand, reaching for a glass from a passing servant, grabbed air. The servant had already passed. He moved, then took a glass from the next tray and finished it in one sip.

The evening was perfect. Casual dances began. Alina first dances with Emeric, who was as careless on the dance floor as he was everywhere else.

"You’re stepping on my feet," she said. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

"I’m not stepping. I’m gliding."

She laughed as he spun her. When she steadied, she saw Austin over Emeric’s shoulder watching them with a neutral expression but his grip on his wine glass told a different story.

She looked away and then danced with Lord Ashby, who was a terrible dancer.

"You’ve made this old man’s evening, my dear," he said, stepping on her foot for the third time. "The last ball I attended, a woman stepped on my foot and broke my toe. But you haven’t. I’m lucky."

"I’m honoured."

He stepped on her foot again but she laughed instead of complaining.

Then came the official dance. The opening dance was performed by Lord Prescott and Audrey. They danced for only a few minutes, but it was graceful. When they finished, applause echoed throughout the hall.

Then came the second dance. According to Emeric, it was supposed to be performed by Austin and his companion, whom he thought was Alina.

But he was wrong. "Companion" in formal protocol meant fiancée. The second dance was reserved for the duke and his betrothed. By assigning it to herself, Alina had publicly taken Audrey’s position.

But Alina didn’t know. The musicians played the opening notes of the second dance and she stepped forward, expecting Austin to come to her.

"She can’t be serious."

"Does she not know?"

"Someone should stop her."

Only then did she realize something was wrong. She stood on the edge of the dance floor with her pounding heart.

She looked for Austin and saw him across the room with Audrey. He stood there, just watching her.

Lord Asherton stepped forward who seemed to be drunk.

"Are we really going to watch the duke’s whore take the fiancée’s dance?"

The room shattered into silence. Every conversation stopped and every head turned. Even the musicians’ hands froze above their instruments.

"Someone should remind the girl what she is." Lord Asherton stepped forward. "She is supposed to warm the duke’s bed, not dance with him publicly."

The silence was suffocating. Alina stood frozen, the weight of every gaze pressing down on her. All of them were waiting to see what she would do.

But she didn’t look at Asherton. She looked at Austin who was still standing with Audrey.