Sinful Duty (The Bentons and Northcutts 1) ✅

Chapter Fourteen

April 29th, 1666

Gavin wasn't so naïve to believe that his sanctuary with Diana would last forever. The horse that Gilly had prepared for Diana had a bag of linens in it, but they had run out of them. In addition, Diana was far along in her pregnancy. They could not stay hidden for the safety of their child.

But when he woke up that morning and ventured into the kitchenette—and saw Thomas, William, and Lionel sitting there, he still couldn't help but feel disappointed that his time with Diana was at an end.

"Have a seat, Gavin," Thomas said curtly. His complexion was still pale and he looked sweaty, but otherwise he seemed to be doing well for a man who had been stabbed during an ambush.

Gavin sat down beside Lionel at the table. "What do you know?" Gavin asked his cousin.

"Enough," Lionel responded stoically.

"Is she upstairs?" Thomas asked.

Gavin nodded mutely. "Who else knows that we are here?"

"No one but us," William said. "And it must stay that way for her safety. Some...unfortunate things have come to light."

"Do you know that uncle tried to rape her?" Gavin asked sharply.

Lionel flinched in shock but Thomas raised his hand. "Hush! You know that nothing will come of it, especially not after the King's decree!"

"'Decree'?"

"George petitioned His Majesty for Lady Diana's mourning period to be ended early," William said. "He made a bid to court her and the King accepted his bid. We are bound to return Lady Diana to Northcutt Castle, where...she will be courted by George."

Gavin gaped at his father and uncle in shock. "Y-You...You cannot allow this!"

"We have no choice," Thomas said. "The King felt that it was fair to give George this chance as he was disinherited from my father's estate by the Usurper. His Majesty very much wants to act in opposite of the man who killed his own father. And with the fires in the capital and our current stalemate with the Dutch, the conflict within this family isn't uppermost in the King's mind. He wants us to resolve this ourselves but he also wants this to be fair. So...he is giving George the first chance to court Lady Diana. It is his right as the technical next Earl of Emerson."

"If Diana gives birth to a boy, then our son will become the Earl of Emerson," Gavin pointed out.

"Uncle Edmund's son would become the Earl of Emerson," William corrected him sharply. "And if the Countess has a girl, then George becomes the next Earl regardless. George can only court her during this period, he is not allowed to marry her until after she gives birth."

"He's going to kill my child!" Gavin hissed. He couldn't hide the desperation from his tone, but he kept his voice low so that Diana couldn't hear him. "Male or female he will kill my baby! You realize that, don't you Father?!"

"That is not your baby," Thomas retorted, glaring at him. "I will repeat it until you understand, but the baby Lady Diana is carrying is Uncle Edmund's. Not yours. It will never be your child, Gavin. You need to accept it and move on! If you want to protect that baby, then you will keep your mouth shut and duck your head! Because if you keep acting like this child is yours, then everyone will believe it! Then where will we all be, Gavin?!"

Gavin said nothing because he didn't know what to say. "I do not like this either," Thomas said. "He's been drugging my wife in my absence. Are you aware, Gavin?"

"Mother?!" Gavin jumped straight out of his chair. "George poisoned my mother?!"

"We cannot prove it, but hops was discovered in her tea. A servant has been blamed for it but we all know that George arranged it. For Florence's safety we have sent her home, and I must also stay away from Northcutt Castle for my own health. But Lady Diana must go back."