Not until he’d had his say.
“She was supposed to marry Beckett,” he said, in great pain as his mother tugged. “Uncle Roi has no claim to her. She was supposed to bear Beckett’s sons, and our sons were all going to grow up together. Don’t you see? It’s just not right!”
Dustin reached him and grabbed him by the hair. Between Dustin and Honey, Tiberius was in a world of hurt.
“So you called her a whore?” Dustin said angrily. “How could you do such a thing? You’re a silly, foolish, stupid boy, Tiberius. Can you not see how happy she makes your uncle? That should be your only concern!”
Tiberius was fighting a losing battle. “But she belonged to Beckett!”
“Beckett never wanted her to begin with!”
Dustin hadn’t meant to say that, even if it was the truth. Most of the family already knew it. She immediately looked to Roi apologetically as a gasp went up, mostly from the women at the table, and all eyes turned to Diara, who was viewing the entire scene with a good deal of horror. She was living her worst nightmare, slanderous rumors now being brought to light, but Roi had taken charge. He’d told her that he’d always protect her.
Now was his chance to prove it.
Before Diara could react in any way, Roi spoke.
“Beckett was unhappy with the betrothal, Ty, and since you were close to him, you know that,” he said. “Why you should continue to state that Lady Diara belongs to him is beyond my comprehension. The truth is that Beckett was very displeased with the contract and had no interest in marrying at all. Stop acting like there was a love match, because there was mostcertainly not. Moreover, I fail to see how any of this is your concern. You have not only put your nose into business that did not involve you, but you spoke most unkindly of a woman who had never done you any harm. Is that the kind of man you are, Tiberius? A man who harms others and cares not for their feelings? Because if that is who you truly are, then I want no part of you. You are dead to me if that is the kind of man you are at heart.”
Tiberius was feeling quite punished, literally, from all sides. His mother, his grandmother, and his uncle had publicly taken him to task. Arrogant as he was, he wasn’t as stupid as his grandmother accused him of being. His brothers were virtually ignoring him, and Westley had already told him what he thought of him.
He knew he was done for.
He looked at Roi.
“I… I apologize,” he finally said. “I suppose… I suppose things are changing, and I do not like it. Beckett is gone. He was the only one who understood me. And she… she was betrothed to him, and that means she belongs to him and I don’t care what you say. But I’m sorry I said terrible things. I… I did not mean it.”
Dustin let go of his hair, but Honey didn’t let go of his ear. She dragged him over to where Diara was standing with Dorian cowering behind her.
“Apologize to her,” Honey demanded. “You will never again shame me like this, Tiberius. Do you hear me? Apologize to this gentle woman.”
Tiberius looked at Diara with a mixture of resignation and defiance. He hated apologizing. But he knew he had no choice.
“I apologize, my lady,” he said quietly.
Diara gazed into the face of the young knight who hadn’t been particularly kind to her since she’d known him. She couldhave been gracious about it, but she didn’t feel particularly gracious at the moment. This entire situation had her about as worked up as Roi was, but unlike him, she wasn’t going to jump on the table and shout about it.
She was simply hurt.
“Words,” she finally said. “Mere words, Sir Tiberius. You have been using them against me since we met, so you have simply uttered more words that mean nothing to me. Do you want to know where the source of those rumors came from? Mayhap Westley would like to know, since he has been spreading them so freely. You see, I fostered at Carisbrooke Castle. There were two unhappy and unattractive de Redvers daughters who were jealous of me, and they were the ones who started the rumors, rumors that have spread from soldier to soldier because they like to gossip about the nobles. I never did anything wrong. I was never unchaste. I was pious and obedient, but that did not matter to Lady de Redvers. She spread those rumors happily, hoping it would deter men from me and turn them towards her daughters. Now you know. You have continued a petty woman’s petty scheme.”
Most of the table heard her. That caused Dustin to grab Tiberius’ hair again and swat him on the behind.
“Out of my sight,” she hissed. “Get out of my sight. I do not want to see your face again until my anger has cooled.Go.”
The last word was spoken imperiously, and Tiberius left the dais, followed by his mother for good measure. Humiliated that his mummy was escorting him from the hall, Tiberius fled quickly. Before he was even out of the hall, Roi turned to the table, but mostly, he turned to Westley.
“You are my brother and I love you, but repeating that gossip against a kind and decent woman makes me ashamed of you.” He turned to the table at large. “And I am ashamed of anyone who listened to it and did not immediately dismiss it. You haveall spent some time around Lady Diara, and I know you have seen what a fine, noble woman she is. She would make any man proud, and I must say, I feel wholly unworthy of her, and especially after this nonsense, she has every right to look at all of you as an undesirable group of in-laws. She has told me that because of your behavior, she wants to go home. She does not want to marry me. But I have begged her to reconsider because I have fallen in love with the woman and would be crushed if she were to leave. Mayhap you all can make up for your horrible behavior and plead on my behalf.”
Dustin was the first one to step up, taking Diara’s hands and looking her in the eye. “We are not such a terrible family, my lady,” she said sincerely. “I am so sorry that your experience with us has proven otherwise. We are decent and kind, and we love one another deeply. I would like to think that was where Tiberius was coming from—a place of love for Beckett and Roi. A need to protect him against harm. He simply didn’t go about it the right way. Mayhap in time you will forgive Tiberius, though I would not blame you if you did not. But do not punish Roi for a foolish nephew’s loose tongue.”
Diara smiled faintly, feeling the woman’s genuine heart. And Dustin had a big one. But suddenly, there were two big bodies in front of her, gently pushing Dustin aside, and Diara looked up to see Christopher and Curtis standing there.
Christopher took her hand and held it.
“I am so very sorry,” he said in a deep, quiet tone. “Please do not judge the entire family by the actions of a few. Westley is a good man. He is loyal to the bone. But he is very protective of his brothers, so I believe it when I say that he was concerned for the woman Roi was to marry. He heard the rumors, and naturally, he should be concerned. But he should not have repeated them the way he did. I hope you can forgive him.”
Diara wasn’t one to hold a grudge by nature, but she was still upset after the events of the day. She’d been wounded before by gossip, so she wasn’t too keen to trust or forgive those who had tried to hurt her. Still, she was faced with Dustin and Christopher and Curtis, with Roi still standing on the table and looking at her anxiously. She knew none of this was his doing, and the fact that he’d stood up to his entire family, just for her, spoke volumes.
