Crossword Genius

I doubt Conservative's bed is full of bugs (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

sceptic

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'i doubt' is the definition.
I know that 'doubt' relates to this answer. I also know that both the answer and definition are singular nouns

'conservative's bed is full of bugs' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'conservative' could be 'c' (UK political abbreviation) and 'c' is located in the answer.
The remaining letters 'septic' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for sceptic that I've seen before include "I may doubt that" , "Disbeliever" , "One might doubt it" , "One who doubts the truth of religions" , "One is inclined to doubt accepted opinions" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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