The Duke's Bed Warmer

Maren called Austin the next day before breakfast. Austin had been in his study, reviewing the garrison reports, when a servant tapped at the door twice.

"She wants to see you now," the servant said.

Austin immediately knew it was Maren and headed to the intelligence room. He stepped inside and saw her standing in front of her desk, arms crossed, her eyes colder than usual.

"The intelligence report from the previous briefing...the one we discussed with Alina...someone leaked them."

Austin froze.

"What?"

Maren stepped aside and pointed at the documents spread across the desk. They were the same ones from their previous conversation, but now they were marked. Next to them, lay a new document containing a list of countermoves.

"The changes were made overnight. The shipping routes we identified are empty, the deposits we traced are rerouted, and the families we flagged were warned. Someone got to them before we could."

He walked to the desk and examined the documents.

"Who could have done this?" he asked.

Maren didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she walked to the map on the wall and put her fingers on a pin marking the southern port.

"Only three people knew about this briefing," she said. "You, me and her."

He stared at her.

"You’re accusing Alina?"

"I’m just stating facts."

"She wouldn’t..."

"You don’t know what she would or wouldn’t do. I’ve been running intelligence networks for twenty years and I know that the person with access to information is always the first suspect."

"But why would she do that? She is not a spy."

"She decoded a cipher in ten minutes that my agent missed for weeks. Intelligence is about capability, not loyalty, Austin."

Austin didn’t say anything. He looked at the documents once again and left.

Meanwhile, Alina was having the best time of her life in the east garden, working with her circle. Their energy was different now.

Marguerite was sketching designs on a piece of parchment, Lady Brennan was cutting fabric with full concentration, Lady Talbot was calculating yardage, and Evelyn was stitching. She had received permission from the head cook, surprisingly.

They were all excited and determined to create something new and beautiful.

Alina was sitting in the center with thread and needle in her hand, almost glowing with happiness.

"Miss Ashworth."

She looked up and found Mr. Harrington standing in front of them.

"Yes?"

"His Grace requests your presence," he said.

"I’m working right now. I’ll come when I.."

"He said now."

His tone surprised everyone. Alina set down her needle and stood up.

"I’ll be back," she said.

The women nodded, watching as she walked towards his study with the steward beside her.

When she entered the study, she found Austin pacing back and forth across the rug with his hands clasped behind his back. He stopped the moment she stepped inside and shut the door loudly behind her, making her startle.

"You..."

"Who did you share the information from the intelligence briefing?"

She furrowed her eyebrows.

"What do you mean?"

"Who did you share the information with?" He repeated. "Emeric? Marguerite? One of the women in your sewing circle?"

She tried to process his words as he took a step forward.

"Someone leaked that information and the network is already moving."

She shook her head.

"I didn’t tell anyone."

"Only three people had that information."

She took a step back.

"You’re accusing me," she said.

"I want you to admit that you made a mistake."

"I didn’t..."

"You talk to everyone. You trust everyone. That’s not a flaw...it’s who you are. But it’s also how information gets out."

"So that makes me a traitor?"

"I didn’t say that."

"You’re saying I leaked intelligence to an enemy network that destroyed my own family. Does that even make sense?"

He didn’t deny it, and that hurt her more than the accusation itself.

"I didn’t do it," she said again. "I would never do that."

He stared at her for a moment, then turned away. He walked to the window and stood with his back to her, looking out at the courtyard.

"Alina...accept that you made a mistake and tell me who you shared the information with...even accidentally, even a tiny fragment."

"I didn’t do it," she shouted. "You can believe me or not."

Then she walked to the door and left.

Austin spent the rest of the day with Maren, discussing future plans and how to manage the the damage the leak had caused while Alina spent her day with the sewing circle, though her mind was elsewhere. Everyone noticed but no one asked her.

They knew it had something to do with the duke and they didn’t want to insert themselves into their personal matters.

At night, he came to the room later than usual. She was already lying down, facing the wall. She felt him lying on his side of the bed. The distance between them was the same, but tonight it felt wider and colder.

She was almost asleep when she heard the sound of footsteps stopping outside the door. She turned around and saw Austin was already asleep.

She got out of the bed and walked towards the door. She hesitated for a moment, then slowly opened it, but no one was there. She was about to close it when she noticed a folded piece of paper on the floor.

She picked it up and opened it.

THE LEAK DIDN’T COME FROM THE BRIEFING ROOM. CHECK WHO ELSE KNEW YOU WERE BROUGHT IN.

She read it twice.

Someone knows about the leak. Someone knows I’m innocent and is helping me. But who?

She held the note in the dark and turned around. Austin was deep in sleep. Her first instinct was to show the note to Austin and prove her innocence but she stopped herself.

No. Not now. I need something solid than this vague note. Moreover, he doesn’t deserve to know about this after how he accused me in the afternoon.

She folded the paper and tucked it into the pocket of her dress. Then she walked back to the bed and lay down, thinking about what to do next.

She wanted to prove her innocence for herself. Because if she let even a shadow of doubt remain, then she would always be labelled as a traitor when she wasn’t. She finally had something to look forward to in her life, and she didn’t want it to be ruined by a false accusation... especially when it involved others as well.

"I can’t just sit here and wait," she whispered. "I need to do something."