The Duke's Bed Chapter 120: Fall From Grace

Chapter 120: Fall From Grace

The great hall was packed. Candlelight flickered across silverware, crystal glasses, and the flowers Audrey had chosen herself. It was her dinner and her night. Every detail was ant to remind the castle of her status as the future Duchess of Ravenmoor.

Alina sat at her usual seat, in a light blue dress. She did not want to be noticed tonight. She just wanted to eat her dinner, keep her head down, and get through the evening with no drama.

Then the doors opened, Austin and Audrey entered together. His hand rested lightly on her arm, but his expression remained neutral. He had no choice. The engagent wasn’t broken yet.

Alina watched them walk down the center of the hall. Audrey smiled at the guests as she passed and greeted the nobles with her perfect smile.

Austin looked at Alina, just for a mont. His expression didn’t change but sothing behind it shifted.

I have no choice. I’m sorry. Please understand.

She understood. Yet, she still felt upset. Jealousy surged through even though she knew it was irrational and he actually had no choice. But she couldn’t control her emotions. Alina felt a sharp sting watching him walk beside soone else.

Marguerite put her hand on Alina’s arm under the table and squeezed it gently, offering silent support. Alina decided to keep her eyes on her plate.

Austin led Audrey to her seat at the head table. He pulled out her chair, waited for her to sit, and took the seat beside her. They looked like the perfect couple.

Alina couldn’t help it. She looked up and noticed how Audrey leaned towards Austin while speaking, how her hand rested on his arm, and how she laughed at his comnts. She also observed how Austin held himself. He was physically next to Audrey, but ntally he was sowhere else.

Soon, the first course arrived. Alina, instead of eating, kept watching the head table. Austin too kept glancing back. He would look at her for a second or two, then move on.

But Audrey noticed everything. Her smile remained unchanged, but her hands, hidden in her lap, tightened into fists.

The food ca and went. Alina barely tasted anything. When the main course ended, Audrey stood up. She had been waiting for this mont for a long ti.

"I would like to offer a toast," she announced. "To the Duke of Ravenmoor. For his leadership, his strength, and his unwavering commitnt to the alliances that keep this kingdom safe."

Nobles lifted their glasses.

"To the crown," Austin said as he raised his glass. "And to those who serve it."

Glasses clinked, and laughter spread through the hall.

"I have been thinking," Audrey continued, scanning the hall, "about how quickly things can change."

The hall went silent.

"It’s easy to beco distracted," she went on. "To mistake sothing temporary for sothing important."

Her gaze flickered to Alina. Her words were diplomatic. Yet, the sharpness beneath them was clear.

"But ti has a way of restoring order," Audrey said. "Of reminding us where true loyalty lies and clarifying what is fleeting and what is lasting." She smiled warmly.

"To clarity," she said, raising her glass. "And to the future."

The nobles raised their glasses again as they murmured in agreent.

She didn’t na Alina, but everyone knew whom she ant. Lady Pemberton smirked while Lady Hargrove nodded. Alina sat still.

I’ve survived worse than this. I can survive this as well.

Alina raised her glass, and looked at Audrey across the hall. She did not smile or look away. Instead, she maintained the gaze with quiet determination and drank.

Audrey’s smile didn’t falter, but sothing shifted behind it. She had expected Alina to flinch or look away, to show that her words had affected her. But Alina didn’t give her the satisfaction of seeing that.

The dessert course was being served when the doors swung open again. Evelyn walked in, wearing her apron, and with flour on her sleeves. Behind her ca Mr. Harrington, holding a leather folder in his hands, looking serious.

The hall fell silent instantly.

"My apologies for the interruption," Harrington said. "But this cannot wait."

He approached the head table, opened the folder, and laid papers before Austin.

"What is this?" Audrey asked, still smiling, but her voice had lost its warmth.

"Evidence," Mr. Harrington replied, "That links your household to the poisoning of Miss Ashworth’s tea."

The silence beca palpable.

"The honey jar contained a botanical toxin," Harrington explained. "The toxin was added in the jar between the evening and morning services. Only soone with detailed knowledge of the kitchen’s routines could have done it." He paused.

"Soone who had been watching Evelyn prepare Miss Ashworth’s tea."

Lady Pemberton dropped her fork, and the clang echoed through the silent hall.

"The suspicious woman who pretended to be maid has been found," Harrington said. "And she has confessed."

Audrey’s smile didn’t fade. But her hands, resting on the table began to tremble slightly, just enough for everyone to see.

"Lady Talbot’s servants confessed seeing that woman with the honey jar that night" he added. The tiline aligns with the contamination window perfectly."

Audrey didn’t move. The words seed to pass through her, as if her mind had refused to accept them. Then, slowly, her fingers curled against the table.

"That’s absurd," she said as her gaze flickered to Harrington. "You’re accusing my household based on the word of a servant?"

"The woman nad you in her confession, Your Highness," Harrington said. "She said the order ca from you to contaminate the honey, through your lady-in- waiting, promising her paynt and protection in return. She had a written docunt with your personal seal on it."

The hall erupted in chaos. Austin stood up and the hall fell silent again. Whispers stopped and everyone turned to listen to him.

"Audrey," he said, calmly. "The poisoning was not a mistake or an accident. It was a calculated attempt to harm soone under my protection."

"Austin, I..."

"The evidence will be sent to your father. It will be up to him to decide what to do with you." He turned to the court.

Whispers began imdiately. The princess who had been gracious and superior was now seen as petty, vindictive, and desperate. The sa people who admired her were now watching with sharp, curious, assessing eyes.

Audrey’s composure broke and her face crumpled. She looked at Austin, the man she had waited for god knows how many years, the man she had manipulated, sched, and poisoned for and saw only anger in his eyes for her.

She turned her gaze to Alina, the woman who had taken everything from her.

Then she looked around, at the people who had bowed to her for years, and had now turned against her in an instant.

She stood up and walked out of the door without looking back.

Alina watched her leave and knew this wasn’t over yet.