That was when things began to change.
Jonathan had the dark de Wolfe looks, and hazel eyes that were gold in a certain light, but he was taller and wider than his sublimely beautiful younger brother.Beastlywas how some people described him. Wolfie, as he was called, was a follower, not a leader, a man with more brawn than brains, but he was hell on a tournament field. He was one of the competitors to beat, much like his brother, and a de Wolfe-against-de Wolfe bout was highly prized by tournament fans. While William had a sensual male beauty, Jonathan’s was more rugged. He was glorious to some and inglorious to others. Unfortunately, to Rebecca, it was the latter. The moment he walked in, the pebbles began to fly.
Jonathan came to a halt, turning with confusion to the jeering women, as a pebble hit him straight in the eye. He hissed, lowering his head and rubbing the eye that had been offended.
“What was that for?” he demanded, still rubbing.
Rebecca was quite imperious about it. “For being an eyesore,” she said, pointing toward the main area of the hall. “Keep moving. Your presence here is not required.”
He stopped rubbing and looked at her, frowning. “What are you talking about?”
Rebecca had a mischievous gleam to her eye. “Just what I said,” she said. “We do not wish to look at you. Keep moving so someone more pleasing to the eye can take your place and entertain us.”
As he stood there, trying to figure out what in the hell she meant, Cassian and Ashton came in behind him. When they saw Jonathan stopped in the middle of the entryway, they came to a pause next to the man.
“What ails you, Wolfie?” Ashton said, pointing toward the enormous feasting table against the far wall that was heavy with food and drink and where William, Paris, and Kieran were now standing. “Let us get to that table before your brother and his friends strip it of everything good to drink.”
Jonathan waved him off. “In a moment,” he said. “Lady Rebecca seems to think we are not worth looking at. She nearly blinded me with a pebble to prove her point.”
That had Cassian and Ashton looking at Rebecca. Cassian, being her brother-in-law, knew she could be a handful. “Bebe,” he said in a low voice, “behave yourself or I shall summon your sister. Keep on the path you have chosen and I’ll even summon your father.”
Given that he was family, Cassian could not only address her by the family nickname of “Bebe,” but he could also threaten her. However, Rebecca was defiant.
“Summon Brie,” she said, chin thrust into the air. “I do not care. My sister cannot stop me from having my fun, nor can my father, so your threats are empty.”
“Mine aren’t,” Jonathan said, moving purposefully toward the table where Rebecca and her court were sitting. “The palm of my hand will fit quite nicely across your buttocks.”
The women screamed and fled, and that included Rebecca. Jonathan went in pursuit as Rebecca tried to retain her decorum while fleeing an angry man. She ran around tables, leapt over chairs, and threw anything she could get her hands on at him. But Jonathan was undeterred. As the entire hall erupted in laughter at Rebecca’s expense, Jonathan continued to pursue her.
“Leave me alone!” Rebecca commanded, throwing a hunk of cheese at him because it was the only thing she could grasp as she ran past a table. “Touch me and there will be consequences! My father will punish you!”
“Your father will thank me,” Jonathan said, cutting her off as she tried to run around another table. “You have been rude and insolent since I arrived and now you must pay the price.”
Rebecca shrieked and headed in the other direction with Jonathan on her tail. As this was going on and the room full of men were now trying to herd Rebecca in his direction, Essien and Addax entered the hall. They could see the commotion. Noticing that Ashton and Cassian were standing near the entry, watching everything, they went to stand with them.
“What’s amiss?” Essien asked. “Why is Wolfie chasing Rebecca?”
Cassian shook his head at the antics. “Because Bebe and her friends were throwing things at the men who entered the hall, evidently, and Wolfie is going to teach her a lesson,” he said. “This is one time her behavior will not be rewarded.”
The four of them watched as Jonathan nearly got a hold of her, but she darted off once again. “Should you save her?” Essien asked. “Wolfie is frightening when he’s not a happy man.”
Cassian sighed heavily. “Truly, she deserves it,” he said. “But Hereford probably would not take kindly to his daughter being spanked.”
“By Wolfie?”
“By anyone.”
Essien glanced at him. “WhereisHereford?”
Cassian shook his head. “In the keep, I suppose,” he said. Then he sighed again. “Mayhap I should put an end to this before there are tears or more eyes gouged out.”
Ashton bumped him in a gesture meant to get his attention. “Not right now,” he said. “I want to see Wolfie put a good scare into her. Mayhap she will stop being such a tyrant.”
Cassian cocked his head. “True,” he said. Then he shouted out to Jonathan, “If you catch her, leave no marks, Wolfie. Do you hear me?”
Jonathan simply growled and tossed a chair that was in his way. Rebecca was running for a servants’ alcove, but she was blocked by grinning knights. She tried to push her way between them but they wouldn’t move. By the time she turned around, Jonathan was on her and she screamed in terror as he grabbed her, heaving her up over one enormous shoulder.
“Ha!” he said triumphantly. “I have the prize!”
