The Duke's Bed Warmer

Chapter 89: A Date

The next morning when Alina woke up, her eyes snapped open. Austin stood near the wardrobe, fastening the cuffs of a plain coat. He wore simple clothes instead of his usual ducal attire.

She sat up and rubbed her eyes to clear her vision.

"Why are you dressed like that?"

He turned and took in her messy hair, rumpled nightgown and sleepy eyes looking at him in confusion.

"I’m going out."

"Out? Where?" she asked, curious.

"The market. I need to buy something."

"Buy something?" she sat up properly. "Since when do dukes buy things themselves?"

"I want to personally buy that item."

"What is it?"

"That’s not your concern," he said. "But...if you want to know, you can come with me."

She huffed.

"If you want me to come with you...just say it directly. You don’t need to talk in circles."

He didn’t reply. Instead, he looked at her, torn between irritation and amusement.

"Come with me to the market."

A huge smile tugged at her lips.

"Give me ten minutes to get ready," she said, already swinging her legs off the bed. "But I have a condition."

"A condition?" He frowned.

"I want to buy something for Elspeth. You’ll have to wait while I shop. I don’t know how long that will take."

"Okay. Fine," he agreed without hesitation.

She rushed to her room, washed up and quickly changed into a beautiful green dress. She put the blue pin in her hair, and ran towards the courtyard.

A carriage was already waiting. Austin stood near the carriage door, watching her running towards him.

"I’m on time," she said, almost breathless.

"Take a breath."

She took a few deep breaths to steady her racing heart. Austin then extended his hand to help her.

She didn’t need his help but she took his hand because she wanted to. He steadied her as she stepped up, then followed, sitting opposite her as the carriage rolled forward.

"I didn’t expect you to accept my hand," Austin said with a laugh.

"It would’ve been rude not to."

His smile lingered. The road to the market was lined with trees still filled with autumn leaves that hadn’t fallen yet. The sight was beautiful.

"What are you actually buying?" Alina asked.

"Something for my study."

"Why are you going yourself then if it’s not something personal?"

"Because I need to examine it. I can’t trust anyone else with it."

She narrowed her eyes slightly, but didn’t push further. Instead, she looked outside the window and enjoyed the view.

The moment they stepped out of the carriage, they were greeted by a chaotic blend of fragrances mingled in the air. There were all kind of stalls in front of them. Children were playing with each other, women were arguing over prices and stall owners were calling the passersby to come to them.

"Where to first?" she asked.

"You can get your gift first."

"Good."

She went straight to the fabric stall. Alina ran her hands over different kinds of fabric, testing thread quality, turning it to check the weave. Austin stood slightly behind her and watched her with a smile.

"This one," she said, picking up a bolt of blue wool. "Elspeth needs a new cloak. Her old one is thirteen years old."

"How much is it?" she asked the stall owner.

"Six crowns."

She glanced at him for a second. He was old and had a slight tremor in his hands. He looked very happy that someone was buying from him.

She paid him seven crowns instead.

"I’m paying you extra for the quality of the wool," she said gently.

"Thank you, miss," he replied with a big smile.

He wrapped the fabric carefully, and added an extra half yard to show his gratitude.

They walked on. Along the way, she kept buying small gifts for the others. A beautiful red ribbon for Marguerite, a small notebook for Evelyn because she had mentioned she wanted to write down her recipes, a bundle of dried lavender for Lady Brennan, who often used it for her headaches.

Austin watched her in awe. She was buying gifts for every person who had helped her survive in the castle. She didn’t have that much money to spend but she did it anyway, carefully choosing something meaningful for each of them.

"You know what everyone wants," he said.

"I pay attention."

Austin smiled.

They walked further into the market and came across a stall selling hot buns and cheese.

"Hungry?" he asked.

"Starving," she replied. "I skipped breakfast."

He bought for both of them. They stood at a wooden counter and began eating.

"This is better than anything the castle serves," she said with bun in her mouth.

"Much better."

Then suddenly a child ran past them, chasing a ball that rolled under their feet. The child stopped, and looked at them, scared.

Alina picked up the ball and handed it to him.

"Aim better next time."

The child grinned and ran off.

She turned back and caught Austin smiling.

"What?"

"It looks like you’ve handled children before."

"I had cousins. Before my father lost everything, I used to look after them in the summers."

"You liked them?"

"I loved them," she answered. "Though I haven’t seen them in years. They probably don’t even remember me now."

He fell quiet as she returned to her bun. She avoided looking at him, regretting that she had said more than she meant to.

"You’d be a good mother," he said suddenly.

She looked at him in surprise.

"That’s... a weird thing to say," she said.

"I just made an observation. What’s weird about it?"

"Because you never say such kind of things."

"Then maybe from now on, I will."

Her heart started pounding so loudly that she was afraid he might hear it. She pressed her hand on her heart to calm it while Austin was busy eating his bun, looking around.

After eating, they walked further. He stopped at a stall selling old books, and scanned the shelves.

"What are you looking for?" Alina asked.

"The thing I came for."

"Oh...so it’s a book," she said. "Which book?"

"I’ll tell you later."

He paid for a small poetry book and they moved forward. By the time they had walked through the whole market, it was already afternoon. Her hands were full of gifts and his bag was full of things he had bought without her noticing.

They were both tired on the ride back to the castle. But it was the pleasant fatigue of a morning spent having fun.

"Thank you," she said.

"For what?"

"For bringing me here. I had a lot of fun."

He looked out of the window as he answered.

"You made the day... even more beautiful just by being here with me."

Her cheeks suddenly felt warm. She was blushing. She turned away, pretending to focus on the passing trees, waiting for the warmth to fade before he noticed.

Thankfully, when Austin looked at her after a few minutes, she had composed herself, saving herself from the embarrassment.

Soon, they reached the castle. Austin offered her his hand again and she took it.

They walked into the castle together, holding hands, not worrying about the servants or guards who might see them.

"I have to see Harrington," Austin said as they reached their wing.

"Of course."

"I’ll see you at dinner."

"Okay."

He held her hand for one more second, then walked towards his study. She smiled as she watched him go before turning towards her room.

She pushed the door open and stepped inside. She put the gifts on the chair and walked to the bed....and stopped. There was a book on her pillow. She picked it up. It wasn’t hers.

The title was in eastern script. She turned the book and noticed there was a translation of the title at the back cover.

Arcasedia Genealogy.

She froze.

Arcasedia?

Arcasedia was an eastern kingdom. A kingdom her mother had mentioned once in her sleep which Alina had forgotten until now.

Alina stared at the book in her hands.

What is this book doing on my pillow?? Someone wants me to know about my mother!!