Sinful Duty (The Bentons and Northcutts 1) ✅

Epilogue

Gavin gave his horse to Diana and Henry to ride, and he walked alongside it guiding them home. They wrapped George's body in a blanket they had found in his cottage and draped him across Hugh's horse. Very few words were said.

Gavin was unafraid of the consequences for killing George. George had been a terror to his family since before Gavin was born. Not to mention he had tried to kill Diana, and had tried to rape her before. And he was going to kill Henry. Gavin knew that it had needed to be done because George was never going to stop. Not until he had full control over the family, and not until any family member he didn't like was dead.

Which would have been all of us, Gavin thought.

Gavin had done nothing to hide his affection for Diana and Henry in the presence of his brother, cousins, and Diana's cousin Jonathan. After nearly losing Diana and Henry he couldn't find it in himself to care to keep up pretenses. He had nearly lost the woman he loved and his son. Gavin knew then that he couldn't pretend that he felt nothing for Diana; that he felt nothing for Henry. He loved them both. He loved them, and he wanted to express the love he felt for them openly. Regardless of what his family said.

It was nightfall by the time they returned to Northcutt Castle. Rafe had ridden on ahead to tell them that they were coming, and so everyone had gathered in front of the ruins of the door of the Gatehouse to greet them. Cheers arose when the servants and family members saw Diana, and when Gavin helped her down from the saddle he was suddenly jostled aside by Diana's sisters, Rosamund and Arabella. Both were sobbing and clinging to her for dear life. Diana also shed tears when she saw them, and she stroked their cheeks and looked at them closely. "Are you all right? Where's Phoebe?"

"Here I am," Phoebe announced, coming forward. She had a strip of bandage wrap around her forehead and her left cheek was turning purple from bruising, but otherwise she looked healthy. Diana burst into even louder sobs and raced to her sister's side, hugging her tightly. "I was so scared, Phoebe! When you didn't wake up, I—!"

"I am woozy but alive," Phoebe reassured her. "Nothing that a few day's rest cannot cure."

Lord Tobias was brought forward by a servant pushing his chair. "Praise the Lord you are alive, Diana," he said, reaching for her. His face was so pale and his expression held none of his usual hardness. Diana gave her father a hug. "I am thankful that you have been brought home safe! Both my grandson and you!"

"Well done, gentlemen," Thomas praised them as they dismounted. "You have saved Lady Diana, and the future Earl of Emerson."

"We do not deserve the thanks, Lord Thomas," Jonathan said. "Mister Gavin was the one who found my cousin, and he alone saved her."

Thomas looked surprised and shifted his gaze to Gavin. "You alone, Gavin?"

"Aye, Father," Hugh announced. Two footmen carefully removed George's body from his horse. "Gavin found our diabolical uncle trying to choke the life out of Lady Diana. Gavin slew him to save Lady Diana's life."

Thomas stiffened, and William pushed himself forward to stand at his brother's side as George's body was carried over and laid upon the ground before them. Tobias grabbed Diana's collar and pulled it back, exposing her throat. A roar of outrage erupted from his throat. "There are finger marks on my daughter's neck!"

Murmurs of shock and alarm overtook the assembled group as Tobias glared towards the covered body on the ground. "Were I at peak health, I would have killed that bastard myself!"

Thomas dropped to his knees beside George's body. He carefully lifted the blanket away from George's face, hiding it from view for politeness sake. William leaned close to look at his eldest brother's face too. Gavin watched his father and uncle stare at their dead brother, and he saw the sorrow in their expressions. He knew that despite the fact that the brothers had been at odds for so long, Thomas and William had loved George dearly. Now that he was dead, they could have peace. But...it was still not easy for them.