Page 75 of A Duke's Lustful Riddle
And what a creative way to bring his son together with the lovely Lady Gemma. Gabriel was proud to be the new Duke of Ashbourne, and he was even more proud to have Gemma by his side. He would spend every waking moment of his life proving his love to her and making up for all his antics.
He could finally break free of Lily’s betrayal. He realized, through this whole up and down business with Gemma, that one failed relationship did not mean he would fail again. His heart and his mind were in sync now. That was what he needed to be able to love Gemma the way she deserved to be loved.
Chapter 30
“Constable Taylor has arrived, Your Grace,” Kingsley interrupted the tea that Gemma and Gabriel were sharing in the drawing room.
“Send him in,” Gabriel said.
Gemma was wary about the constable but hoped he had more information about her parents' investigation.
“Your Grace, Lady Gemma, I do hope I am not interrupting,” Constable Taylor said.
Gemma noticed that his arms were full of documents.
“You are always welcome, Constable. To what do we owe this visit?” Gabriel asked.
“Well,” Constable Taylor set the documents on the table. “I come bearing more news. We searched Sagewood Manor, and we found a cache of Lady Sagewood’s personal letters and journals. Included in these documents were undelivered letters, written to Gemma’s father, Richard Whitmore, in which Cressida threatened to reveal her pregnancy, and diary entries confessing to her parents’ banishment and the fatal tampering of the Lord and Lady Whitestone’s carriage.”
Gemma gasped.
“Pregnancy?”
“Yes, it seems that Lady Sagewood became with child by your father and that Lady Vivienne is your half-sister. We did question her, and she knew nothing of what her mother had done,” the constable explained.
Gemma was shocked and overwhelmed. Her stomach felt rather unwell.
“What will become of countess?” Gabriel asked.
“She will be admitted to Bedlam for an evaluation as she has been exhibiting strange behavior,” Constable Taylor said. “She clearly needs to be observed closely, and this will be put into place for her safety and treatment. Bedlam will aid her in every way that she needs, rest assured.”
Gemma nodded and the constable left, taking the evidence with him. Gemma was overwhelmed by the revelations. She thought she had no family left but it seemed that Lady Vivienne was her half-sister.
“What is going through your mind, my sweet?” Gabriel asked as he comforted Gemma, pulling her into his embrace.
“I have a sister and my parents really were murdered,” Gemma said as tears leaked from her eyes. “This is a bit more than I wanted to deal with at this time. It is simply too much to digest all at once, in fact.”
“I will be by your side throughout this, my love” Gabriel insisted.
Gemma let Gabriel squeeze her arms as she tried to take in all the information that she was given.
***
The news of her mother being a murderer was not something that Vivienne was taking lightly. Scandal was surrounding her family, and she was at a loss.
The only positive was that she found out who her father was, the late Lord Whitestone, Richard Whitmore.
“Lady Gemma is here to see you, Lady Vivienne,” Miss Martha spoke as she entered the drawing room.
Vivienne sat up straight at this news. She thought she would never have another visitor but was stunned even more that her visitor was Gemma.
“Please, let her in.”
Lady Gemma was dressed to impress in a royal blue dress. Her hair was down around her shoulders and Vivienne couldn’t think of any resemblance between them.
“Hello, Lady Gemma. I was not expecting a visit from you,” Vivienne said.
“I was not planning on visiting but as we are related, I figured we should have a conversation,” Gemma explained.
