Possible Clues:

• Item valued in retirement I wondered possibly
• But soft! The duck has landed on the bed
• Duck down to let the bird land? That's just soft
• But soft! The bird has alighted on the bed
• Bed cover
• But soft! The bird has now landed on the bed
• But soft! The bird has landed, ducky
• On the bed, but not landed there, ducky (9)
• I had earmarked the lady, as a Londoner might say, for cover
• Getting down form it, ducky!