The Duke's Bed Warmer

"You were in the market to buy a book...then what is this?" she asked.

"A hairpin."

"Why is it on the desk?"

"I don’t know," he replied, taking off his coat. "Perhaps one of the servants found it."

"Found it where?"

"I don’t keep track of the servants’ discoveries, Alina."

Her fingers tightened around the pin.

"This is the same hairpin I noticed in the market today."

"It’s not some exclusive hairpin," he replied. "There are a ton of hairpins like this. You’re reading too much into it."

"And you’re terrible at lying," she replied. "How can a servant find this in your room? It isn’t mine, and as far as I know, no other woman is allowed here, not even Audrey."

"Ask these questions to the servant who cleaned the room," he said. "Stop pestering me."

He sat at the desk and started reading a letter, indicating the conversation was over. But his eyes were fixed on one spot because he was pretending to read.

She looked at him in disbelief, slid the hairpin into her hair, and walked to the bed.

Fine. Don’t accept that you bought it. Behave like a coward, like always.

He glanced at the hairpin in her hair for a second, then back at the letter he wasn’t reading.

In the morning, the great hall was humming with the breakfast chatter as usual. But when Austin suddenly stood up, the noise dimmed instantly.

"Ravenmoor’s military troops require new uniforms," he began. "We need two hundred sets. The contract is being given to an internal workshop this time. The workshop will operate from the east garden pavilion and will employ skilled seamstresses from the castle. They will be paid for their work according to the wages law." he announced.

The hall fell silent. Military uniforms contract meant substantial money, and months of steady work. Even before he could sit back down, whispers had already begun to ripple through the room.

Marguerite grabbed Alina’s arm under the table.

"Did he just mention the sewing circle?"

"He didn’t specifically say the sewing circle."

"But he said skilled seamstresses operating from the east garden pavilion. That’s us." She smiled.

By afternoon, the east garden was no longer a place for quiet stitching. It was buzzing with excitement. The sewing circle gathered not with threads and fabrics but with disbelief.

Lady Brennan was so overwhelmed that she started crying. She had never earned a coin in her life. The idea of money that was truly hers had made her overly emotional.

"We’ll be paid for our work," she said.

"Yes," Lady Talbot said. "We’ll get wages according to the official law."

Marguerite was already planning.

"If we divide into teams for cutting, stitching, and finishing, we can produce twenty sets a week. That would take ten weeks to complete the full order. We’ll need more thread, better needles, and a proper cutting table."

Evelyn came running into the garden after hearing the news.

"Is it true?" she asked. "He is paying you all for the military uniform contract?"

"Yes," Alina replied. "You can also join us, if you want to."

Evelyn shook her head.

"I’m kitchen staff."

"But you can sew. I’ve seen you mend aprons faster than anyone in this castle."

Evelyn thought for a second.

"Fine. I’ll talk to the head cook," she replied.

Alina watched the women in her circle with pride. They had joined the circle out of loneliness and their love of sewing, and were now being given something none of them had ever expected.

She had a lot of questions about this sudden announcement, and only Austin could answer them. Without waiting, she headed straight to his study.

"Why did you give the uniform commission to the sewing circle?" she asked directly.

"I gave it to a group of skilled seamstresses operating within the castle. It’s cost-efficient. The previous seamster used to charge thirty percent above market rate and delivered late. Internal production eliminates the markup and the delay," he said without looking up.

"Seriously? You gave such a big contract to the sewing circle, and now you are pretending this is about cost efficiency?"

He finally looked up.

"The decision was made on skills and economics."

"You went to the market and bought me a hairpin because you noticed I couldn’t afford one. And now you’ve created an entire paid workshop for my sewing circle. Stop pretending this is about economics. You did this because..."

"Because the previous..."

"You did this because you realized the contract gives me dresses and food, but not coins. And you couldn’t fix it for me without it looking like what it is. So you gave the whole circle work so that I could earn money without it being a gift from the duke to his bed warmer..."

"The commission is for the troops," he replied firmly. "The internalworkshop was the most efficient solution. If the women in your sewing circle benefit, that’s a secondary outcome."

She stared at him and knew what exactly he was doing. He was wrapping a gift in bureaucracy so the gift couldn’t be refused, acknowledged or traced back to him.

"Fine," she said. "If that’s what you want others to believe."

Then she walked out.

Alina didn’t know what happened after. But apparently Audrey had gone to Austin’s study shortly after she had left.

The servants outside didn’t know what they were talking about, but after a few minutes, they heard Austin shouting at Audrey.

"The sewing circle is a castle workshop now. It operates under my authority and you have no say in castle operations until you are the duchess."

There was a complete silence after that. Then Audrey walked out of his study, looking perfectly calm and composed as if nothing was wrong.

Alina heard about the conversation that evening from Evelyn in the kitchen, over tea.

"What did he exactly say to her?" Alina asked.

"That she has no say in castle operations until they’re married."

Alina fell silent, the words settling slowly in her mind. It wasn’t just an argument, Austin had finally drawn a a line between Audrey and power.

He was choosing...not with words... but with actions.