The pot scrubbing was the most difficult task of all. Alina had realized that three years ago, when the last kitchen maid packed her things and left without looking back. She wasn't even mad at her because she had watched five others do the same thing before her, because of their financial condition.
The water had gone cold some time ago, making her hands red but she didn't stop. This was her daily routine now.
"Alina." Her father called from his study.
She put the pot down, dried her hands on her apron, and walked to his study.
When she entered, she was him sitting behind his desk, looking at a document on the table and avoiding her gaze.
Her father, Baron Ashworth, had always looked people in the eye, even when the creditors used to come and humiliate him. But today he didn't.
"Read this." He said, pointing at the document still looking down.
Alina looked at the document lying on the desk, sealed with an unfamiliar wax of some flying bird. She picked it up and began reading.
The first clause defined the parties. The second defined the terms of residence. The third…her eyes widened and she read it again, the way one reads something when the mind refuses to accept what the eyes are seeing.
Bed warmer.
She looked up at her father.
"Bed warmer?" She said aloud.
He flinched but didn't say anything.
"I want to be sure I'm reading this correctly," She said calmly. "The third clause of this contract mentions me as a bed warmer?"
"Alina…"
"Does it say bed warmer?"
"This is…"
"DOES IT SAY BED WARMER?"
The silence was the answer itself.
"Who is he?"
"The Duke of Ravenmoor," Her father replied, now staring at the wall. "As far as I know… he is not a cruel man."
"As far as you know?" She snickered. "You didn't even try to be sure before you sold your daughter like a…" She stopped.
"How long have you been planning this?"
"It isn't planned…"
"How long?"
He finally looked at her, and she saw sadness on his face.
She loved her father. But after her mother passed away when she was four, her father had found comfort in alcohol bottles and card tables.
First they lost their servants, then their savings, and then their dignity.
"Tell me have you borrowed from him or did you gamble the money away and someone sold the debt to him?"
"Alina, it's not like that. You will be safe…"
"Safe?" Her voice cracked. "I will be fed and dressed in a stranger's house doing something I cannot even say out loud, and you're telling me I will be safe?"
"I had no other choice."
"You had dozens of them. You had choices every time you sat down at a card table and opened another bottle. You had choices when mother died and you ruined everything she left behind, including me." Her voice was shaking now.
"I have run this house for three years. I have cooked, cleaned and begged the creditors for more time because I thought one day you would…"
"The carriage will be here soon." Her father said, after a long hesitation.
She stared at him, unable to believe his audacity.
"You should get ready." He had already turned away from her. "I'm sorry, Alina."
"Of course, you should be for being a father."
She walked out of the study and went upstairs to her room.
She opened the trunk on the bed and stared at it for a moment, deciding what to take with her. There was no time for crying. The carriage would be there soon and, she wanted to leave with dignity, even as a bed warmer.
Moreover, crying or fighting wouldn't change anything, so why try?
She took out her mother's locket from her almost empty jewellery box which she had never worn because she was afraid of losing it and put it safely in the trunk.
Then she picked up her favourite poetry book, two dresses, the only ones that didn't look like rags, her sewing kit and put everything inside.
She turned around and saw Elspeth, her caretaker standing by the door. She had been in this house since before Alina was born and had refused to leave even when they could no longer pay her wages.
She was crying already. Alina ran to her and hugged her tightly. For a long moment, neither of them said anything.
"Listen to me," Elspeth said, pulling back to cup her face. "You are the sharpest, most stubborn, and most capable girl I have ever known. And you know I know a lot of girls."
"I'm twenty-two," Alina replied. "I'm not sure I'm still a girl."
"You will always be one to me," Elspeth said, kissing her forehead. "No matter what that house or that man is like, don't forget who you are."
"I'll try."
She brushed Alina's hair back from her face with a slightly shaking hand.
"Write to me whenever you can."
"I will."
Alina stepped back before her tears could fall.
"Take care of yourself. Eat properly. Don't let father convince you to stay if things get worse."
"Worse than this?"
"Elspeth…"
"Don't worry about me. Just take care of yourself."
Alina nodded and carried the trunk downstairs. Her father was waiting in the entrance hall. He reached for her hand as she passed him, but she stepped aside.
"You sold that right to someone else," She said and walked out of the door.
The black carriage was already waiting for her outside. The driver just gestured for her to sit inside without uttering a single word. She climbed in, placed her trunk beside her, and noticed a small lamp glowing near her seat. The carriage started moving immediately.
Perfect.
Instead of looking back at her home one more time, she took out the contract from her dress pocket and began reading it again, carefully this time. She had taken the contract with her when she had left the study.
She wasn't looking for hope. She was looking for loopholes.
There has to be something. Some clause, some condition or a mistake in the wording. If there is a flaw, I could use it to fight.
The Duke of Ravenmoor hadn't given her a title. The contract labelled her as just a bed warmer.
She has no refusal rights. No clause allowed her to object to any order. She was his exclusive property.
Outside, it was raining hard, pounding the carriage roof, and turning the road to mud. She folded the contract and tucked it back into her pocket.
Does the duke know what he's getting? Because I promise, he's not getting what he is expecting.
After four hours, they finally reached the castle. The rain had stopped. She had expected a dark and gothic place but Ravenmoor was different.
The castle was huge and beautiful. Through the carriage window, she could see the staff chatting and working happily. The place looked lively. The gardens were stunning, filled with flowers in full bloom.
The carriage stopped and the driver opened the door. She stepped out, and her slippers immediately soaked in mud. Ignoring her condition, she walked slowly towards the main gate.
The guard opened the front gate and stepped aside. A servant was waiting behind him.
"Miss Ashworth," He said. "The duke is unavailable tonight."
No greeting. No questions. Straight to the point.
"Unavailable," She repeated. "Is he busy or is he avoiding me?"
The servant's expression didn't change.
"Follow me." He said, ignoring her words.
She followed him through long and cold corridors lined with portraits of people with the same serious and unhappy expressions.
Two maids passed them going the other direction. One of them leaned towards the other.
"That's the new one," She whispered.
Alina stopped and turned around. Both maids immediately looked down at the floor.
"The new one," She said, "has a name." She waited until they looked up. "Alina Ashworth."
She turned back and followed the servant again, who hadn't stopped.
He halted outside a room and gestured for her to step inside. The chamber was five times the size of her old room.
She stood by the door for a moment and just looked at it. A large fireplace was on one side, a desk in the corner was stacked with papers and ledgers, and an enormous bed at the far end with beautiful curtains and a canopy.
She noticed a white and expensive nightgown lying on the bed. She walked towards it and picked it up. It was see-through.
"Subtle."
She turned to ask the servant about the duke, but he was already gone, closing the door.
Seriously!!
She looked down at her dress. The hem was covered in mud. Then she looked at the nightgown in her hands and decided to put it on.
She climbed into the bed, lay on her back and stared up at the canopy.
Where most women would be crying or scared, she was thinking about small loopholes she had already found in the contract.
"I won't be that easy, Austin Moore."