“Didn’t you love Beckett?” Tiberius asked seriously. “How could you even think of marrying someone else, much less his father?”
“That is none of your affair, Tiberius.”
Roi was suddenly in the doorway, looking at Tiberius in a decidedly unfriendly fashion. Behind Tiberius, his brothers stood up and came forward, rallying around their brother now that their uncle, and Beckett’s father, was in the room. They all had a healthy fear of Uncle Roi, and for good reason.
“He did not mean any disrespect, Uncle Roi,” Gallus, the eldest, said quietly. “But it’s what we’re all thinking. I am sorry if that is upsetting, but it is.”
Roi’s piercing gaze moved to his sister’s eldest boy. “So you think to corner her and interrogate her?” he said. “Over something that is none of your affair? How rude and arrogant ofyou to assume she owes you any answers at all. She doesn’t owe you a thing, and I am ashamed that you should think so.”
“But… but she belongs to Beckett,” Tiberius said before Gallus could stop him. “How could you…Whydid you… She belongs to your son!”
Roi would have been extremely angry except for one thing—he knew that Beckett and Tiberius had been close. He’d seen Tiberius weeping at the funeral, heartbroken by the loss of his cousin. Taking that into account, he went to Tiberius and put his hand on the young man’s shoulder.
“Ty,” he said, considerably softer. “I know you are overwrought with Beckett’s death. I understand that completely. But your grief is making you lash out at someone who does not deserve it. Lady Diara was indeed pledged to Beckett, but she is not his widow. She was never married to him at all. With Beckett dead, surely you cannot expect her never to marry at all. But there is indeed a marriage contract, and her father asked if another de Lohr male would fulfill it. Since I am Beckett’s father, it is my duty to marry her in my son’s stead. But let me be clear—she had nothing to do with my decision. She is innocent in all of this, so you will treat her with all due respect. For my sake.”
Tiberius had backed down considerably. After a moment, he hung his head and nodded. Roi patted him on the cheek before looking to his brothers behind him.
“That goes for all of you,” he said. “Lady Diara is worthy of our respect and love. If you spend any time around her, I think you will see why.”
Gallus and the middle brother, Maximus, simply nodded, looking to Diara, who was standing there with an anxious expression on her face. Gallus looked at Maximus, feeling that perhaps they should apologize to the lady, when Vaughn, who was still in the chamber, came up behind Roi and tugged on his tunic. Roi looked down to see his nephew pulling on him.
“What do you want?” he asked. “And why are you in the ladies’ solar?”
Vaughn held up the wooden sword in his hand. “We came to find money,” he said. “Do you have money?”
Roi took the sword out of the child’s hand, turned him for the door, and spanked him right on the buttocks with his big, hard hand.
“Not for you,” he said as Vaughn yelped. “Get out of here before I beat you, you little thief. And I’d better not catch you trying to steal money anymore. Do you hear me?”
Vaughn fled the chamber in tears with James on his tail, but not before he handed the spool of thread back to Diara. They could hear the boys wailing as they ran down the hall, which brought giggles from Tiberius and Gallus. They were always in approval of anything that made the younger boys weep. But Roi looked at them, and their smiles instantly vanished.
“As for the rest of you,” he said, “unless you have any further business here, leave the ladies’ solar. You do not belong here.”
Properly rebuked, the three of them departed the solar without another glance to Diara. Once they were gone, their footsteps fading away, Roi finally turned his attention to Diara.
“I do apologize,” he said, smiling weakly. “They were attached to Beckett, particularly Tiberius. I had a feeling they might say something to you.”
Diara shook her head. “They are grieving,” she said. “I know that.”
“You are gracious, my lady.”
“It is simply a matter of understanding why they are asking such questions,” she said. “It is not because they are wicked. It is because they loved your son. I understand that.”
She smiled, and Roi felt himself grow weak in the knees. Every day that passed saw him drawn more and more to Diara until he couldn’t think of anything else. It had been a verystrange week, burying his son and preparing for a wedding. Part of him grieved Beckett’s loss on an hourly basis, but part of him was also excited for the coming nuptials to a woman who seemed to occupy his thoughts constantly. With his mother planning everything, a wedding of vast proportions was coming together at the end of the week. Cheltenham had been notified and invited, but he had yet to arrive. He even had yet to respond. But Roi wasn’t going to let that put a damper on things.
He hadn’t been this happy in years.
“Ty and Beckett were very much alike,” he said, moving in her direction. “I know Ty did not mean to be disrespectful, but I could not let him speak to you like that. I hope you understand.”
Diara’s smile grew as he drew closer. “I do,” she said. “But I was not offended. Thank you for coming to my rescue, however. It was quite noble of you.”
Roi reached out and took her hand as he came near, bringing it to his lips for a gentle kiss. “I told you that I would defend you to the death,” he said. “I meant it. Even against nosy nephews.”
Diara let herself feel the thrill of his lips against her hand, something she’d been indulging in since he’d done it the first time back at Cicadia. He never went any further, however, though the pull between them was more than either one of them could bear. In fact, at this very moment, that magnetism was causing Diara’s breathing to come in unsteady gasps. She was focused on his soft lips, wondering what they would feel like against hers.
“Roi?” she said softly.
His lips were still against her hand. “What is it, angel?”
