The Duke's Bed Warmer

Chapter 106: Rumours And Cycle

When Alina walked to the great hall, the next morning, everything looked normal but something felt off.

A maid who used to nod and smile every day avoided her gaze as if she was uncomfortable.

Even the great hall’s atmosphere was different. Conversations didn’t stop when she entered. Instead, voices lowered and heads tilted slightly.

They had been talking about her.

She sat in her usual seat and picked up and apple. Two seats away, Lady Pemberton was speaking with Lady Hargrove. They kept glancing at Alina and Dorian.

When Lady Pemberton caught Alina looking at them, she mouthed a word Alina couldn’t hear from this distance but could lip-read it.

Pregnant.

The apple slipped down from her hand.

"Something is wrong," Marguerite whispered. "The servants have been talking since this morning."

"About what?"

Marguerite hesitated.

"They’re saying... you’re sleeping with Prince Dorian. They’re saying you’ve been meeting him privately at night in his room and..."

"And what?" she asked, anger simmering inside her.

"They’re saying you’re pregnant."

The word made her feel dizzy.

"There’s more," Marguerite added. "Lady Harding is telling people that she saw you leaving Princess Audrey’s room with a jewellery box. The implication being..."

"I’m a thief?"

Three rumors were spread at the same time. All different kinds of scandal—sexual, physical, and criminal. Each one designed to attack a different part of her reputation. It didn’t matter whether it was true or not, because rumors don’t need to be true to do their work. They only need to be repeated.

This was Audrey’s next phase.

Alina picked up her apple again and finished it despite everything.

In the east garden, the sewing circle gathered around her at once.

"Tell me everything," Alina said. "Every rumor, every source and every version."

They told her everything they knew after doing their own little investigation.

Rumor one: Alina and Dorian.

Source: Audrey’s lady-in-waiting mentioned it to two maids who spread it further.

"Evelyn, find out which servants were on duty in the guest wing corridor at night this week," Alina said.

"I know all of them," Evelyn replied.

"Get a statement from every servant who can confirm I never once went to the guest wing."

Evelyn nodded.

Rumor two: pregnancy.

Source: Lady Pemberton, saying Alina skipped dinner last night and said she had morning sickness.

"I skipped dinner because I was reading in the library, even Lord Ashby was there. I’ll get Lord Ashby’s statement."

Rumor three: Jewellery theft from Audrey’s room.

Source: Lady Harding.

"Lady Talbot, every piece of the princess’s jewellery is catalogued, right?"

Lady Talbot nodded.

"Request her jewellery inventory through the steward. If nothing is missing, the rumour will be crushed."

The women moved quickly. By midday, the evidence was ready.

Evelyn returned with six signed statements from guest-wing corridor servants. None of them had ever seen Alina anywhere near Dorian’s room.

Lord Ashby sent a short written note confirming Alina had been in the library from approximately eight until past ten, reading with him.

Lady Talbot delivered the jewellery inventory. And it confirmed that no piece was missing from her collection.

Alina took the four documents and presented them during the dinner. She entered the hall, sat in her seat, and ate. Then, before last course was served, she stood up.

"Lady Pemberton," she said calmly. " I hear congratulations are in order."

Lady Pemberton froze mid-sip.

"I beg your pardon?"

"You announced this morning that I’m pregnant. But I want to tell you and anyone else concerned, that I skipped dinner last night because I was in the library until ten with Lord Ashby. I apologize if my absence caused alarm."

The hall went quiet. Pemberton’s face turned red with humiliation.

"Also," Alina continued, "Lady Harding reported that I was seen leaving the princess’s room with a jewellery box. But the household inventory has confirmed that no piece is missing from the princess’s collection."

She looked at Lady Harding who was looking at the floor in embarrassment.

"Also, guest wing servants have given statements that they never once saw me there."

Silence spread across the hall.

"I’m not saying all this to embarrass anyone," Alina said politely. "But rumors in this castle become dangerous if left unaddressed. And I prefer to address things directly with evidence."

She picked up her wine, took a sip, and sat back in her chair.

But it didn’t help. The next day brought new rumors.

Alina had stolen documents from Austin’s study. Alina mistreated a servant.

Alina’s sewing circle was being investigated for financial irregularities.

Alina’s mother had been a foreign spy.

For every rumor she stopped, two more appeared. This was what a systemic attack looked like. Alina fought each rumour with evidence but it wasn’t enough.

Most of the courtiers didn’t believe any single rumor. But there was noise everywhere. Every person was whispering the same thing. Eventually, they were exhausted by listening to new rumours about Alina again and again.

Audrey’s strategy was simple: to make the castle tired of Alina, to make her presence itself a problem.

At the end of the second day, Alina sat in the sewing circle exhausted.

"This isn’t working," Lady Talbot said. "You’re defending against something that never stops. You can’t win like this."

"Then what do I do?" Alina asked.

"Stop fighting the rumors."

"Stop?"

"Stop individually disproving each one. Let them circulate," Lady Talbot advised. "Keep working and let the work speak for you. The woman who is too busy working to respond to baseless rumours is more convincing than the woman who responds to every rumour with a file."

"The rumors will become truth if I don’t answer them."

"Then let them. The people who are on your side won’t be affected by it. Why care about the haters? Get back to work."

Alina looked at Lady Talbot and nodded in understanding,

"You’re right. Let’s get back to work," she said, then looked at the evidence file. "Discard this. I don’t need this anymore."

At night, Austin arrived much later than usual. Alina was already in bed, reading a poetry book. He lay on his side and looked at her.

"The rumors have been..."

"I stopped fighting them."

"You stopped?" He asked, surprised.

"On Lady Talbot’s advice. The fighting was the trap. Audrey wanted me spending every hour chasing lies instead of working."

He went quiet, processing her words. She could see him come to the same conclusion Lady Talbot had reached.

"Lady Talbot is right," he said and took her hand.

"I know, right? It took me so much time to understand Audrey’s trap," Alina said, annoyed at herself. "And the rumours... they were laughable. Who would even believe them?"

"Especially the pregnancy rumor," he said, nonchalantly. "When your monthly cycle was just a few days ago..."

He stopped realizing what he had just blurted out. Alina couldn’t believe her ears.

"Austin...you keep track of my monthly cycle??" she asked, bewildered.

His ears turned red, like always as he turned to the other side.

"This conversation is over," he said.

"How do you know? Tell me, please," she asked, still surprised.

"I’m going to sleep."

"Okay wait!," she said. "I’ll stop talking only when you tell me how do you know?"

He knew he couldn’t win this argument and to make her shut up, he would have to answer. He took a deep breath as if going to war before speaking.

"Because... because..." he stumbled. "Because you get cramps on the second day and steal the blanket."

Then he covered his face with the blanket. Alina laughed.

"You tracked my cycle, Austin."

"I tracked nothing," he said, from under the blanket. "I just observed. And this conversation is over now."

Alina laughed so hard that the bed was shaking with her laughter because Austin was blushing about knowing her menstrual cycle.

"Goodnight, Austin."

"Goodnight."

"I really like how attentive you are. Men who track your monthly cycle are rare."

"I DIDN’T..."

"Goodnight."