The Duke's Bed Warmer

Austin came to bed late. He expected to find her on her side of the bed, already sleeping but instead, she was at his desk, writing.

He stood at the door and watched her for a moment. She was mumbling under her breath, her brows furrowed, as if recalling something and then penning it down. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"What are you doing?"

"Writing." She replied without stopping. "Everything Audrey and Emeric taught me. I don’t want to forget anything."

He walked into the room and stood beside her, close enough to see the page. She had written about different forms of address, bows, and the names of the king’s seven advisors.

"You’re thinking too much about this," he said. "You need to calm down."

She set down her pen and turned to look at him.

"Easy for you to say," she said. "You’re the duke and his future son-in-law. You don’t have to impress anyone."

He didn’t say anything, just crossed his arms, as if telling her to continue.

She stood and stepped closer to him.

"But who am I?" she asked. "The woman you bought and who will be married off to some random man when you marry his daughter."

He didn’t stop her.

"So yes, I need to write everything down. I’m memorizing everything because if I can impress him, maybe he’ll let me go."

Austin froze and uncrossed his arms.

"You still want to leave?"

"Yes."

He nodded and turned away, walking to the other side of the room. He sat on the edge of the bed and began to remove his boots with more force than necessary.

"Also stop disturbing my lessons with Emeric," she said from behind him.

He stopped with his hand on his second boot.

"What?"

"Emeric is a better teacher than Audrey. He actually tells me what I need to know instead of which fork to use."

He pulled off his second boot.

"You don’t know what people are whispering about you two," he said.

"I’ve had people whispering about me since I arrived. I don’t care about that anymore."

He stood and turned to her.

"But...the king will care," he said.

She went quiet.

"What do you think he’ll think when he hears that my bed warmer has been spending hours alone with a young lord in the library? Does she walk with him in the garden? That he touches her arm casually and she laughs at his jokes without thinking about the consequences?"

She had no answer because she hadn’t thought about it.

"I didn’t think about that," she said.

"Of course. You didn’t."

She looked down, tightening her fingers together.

"I just wanted to learn," she said. I didn’t want to give him a reason to..." She didn’t finish.

"To what?"

"To decide I’m not worth keeping around."

He almost smiled at her response but she didn’t see it.

"Keep your distance from Emeric," he said. "Until the king is gone. After that, you can do whatever you want. I don’t care."

She looked up at him.

"You don’t care?"

"No."

"Then stop acting like you do."

She turned and walked straight to the chair. She was so distracted by the conversation that didn’t notice it.

The chair tipped and the papers scattered. She caught the edge of the desk but her foot twisted under her and she fell screaming. Her knee hit the floor, and her hand slipped off the wood. The papers floated around her like leaves.

"Alina..."

He reached her before the papers touched the floor and knelt beside her. His hand immediately moved to her injured ankle.

"Let me see."

"It’s nothing..."

"Your ankle is swelling."

"I said it’s nothing."

"Alina..."

She stopped resisting. He pulled up the hem of her dress and saw her ankle already red and swelling. Her thumb was bleeding too.

He touched her ankle gently. She flinched, pain flickering on her face.

"You’re so careless,"

"I’m not careless." She pulled her foot away from his hands. "The chair was in the way."

"The chair has been there for weeks."

"I was distracted."

"By what?"

She looked at him.

"You." She pulled her dress down, covering her ankle. "Now, stop arguing and do something. I don’t want to stand in front of the king with a broken ankle."

"The physician is three floors away. By the time I bring him here, your ankle will be the size of your head."

"So..."

Then without warning, he lifted her. She gasped as her hands flew to his shoulders.

"What are you doing?"

"You asked me to do something."

"I meant to get a cloth or ice. Not this. Put me down."

"No. You asked for help. I’m helping."

He carried her to the bed and set her down.

For a second, neither of them moved. Her hands were still on his shoulders, her breath uneven from the sudden lift, his arm still behind her back as if he didn’t want to let go yet.

"Stay still,"

He straightened and walked to the door without waiting for her reply.

"What are..."

He had left before she could finish. She could hear him giving orders to servants outside.

"Bring ice and a clean cloth immediately."

By the time he returned, she had shifted slightly on the bed, testing her ankle. The moment her foot touched the floor, pain shot up her leg and she hissed.

"Didn’t I tell you not to move?" he said, as he walked towards her with a bowl of ice and a piece of cloth in his hands.

"I was just..."

"Keep quiet."

He set the bowl down and touched her ankle again. Then he dipped the cloth into the bowl, wrung it once, and wrapped it around ice. He then pressed it gently against her ankle.

She hissed.

"It’s cold."

"It’s supposed to be."

She glared at him, but didn’t pull away. He then tightened the wrap around her ankle.

"Keep this on," he said. "Don’t walk on it tonight. If the swelling worsens, I’ll send for the physician."

"Okay. But you think I’ll be fine when the king arrives?"

"Most likely. Fortunately, it wasn’t serious."

He stood, straightening slowly.

"You can sleep here today," he said.

"But this is your side of the bed."

"I know...but you shouldn’t move much," he replied. "I can manage for one night."

"Are you sure? I mean...I can move..."

"Is it necessary to always argue? Just say okay and sleep." he said as he removed his coat.

"Fine," she said and lay on his side.

He, too, walked to her side and lay down.

The mattress felt different on her side; softer and warmer, as if it held the shape of her even now. The sheets carried a faint trace of her. He tried to ignore it but couldn’t.