Silently, he made his way toward her, coming to sit a few feet away from her, behind her, as she sniffled. He watched the back of her lowered head for a moment.
“Correct me if I am wrong,” he said after a moment. “But Essien was married yesterday. You are aware of that, are you not?”
She didn’t say anything until he asked her again, and then she simply nodded her head. “Aye,” she muttered.
Jonathan nodded in understanding. “Ah,” he said. “So you do know. Therefore, if you’ve spoken to him this morning, when I know he’s not yet emerged from the keep, that must mean you saw him inside the keep. Am I correct?”
Rebecca sighed sharply. “What is your point?”
Jonathan leaned in her direction, his eyes glimmering with mirth. “That means if you’ve seen him this morning, when I know he’s not come out of his chamber yet, then you must have gone to him,” he said. “Did you, perchance, knock on his door and interrupt him and he yelled at you for it?”
She looked at him in outrage, gasping. “I knew you would not understand!”
He was trying very hard to keep from laughing. “Idounderstand,” he said. “I understand very well. I understand that you, being quite spoiled and headstrong, thought you could convince him to leave his new wife for you. But what you do not realize is that he is already married. No one can break that marriage bond. Even if he did leave his wife for you, he could not marry you. Is that really what you want?”
She scowled at him. “You are ridiculous, Jonathan de Wolfe,” she spat. “You do not know my mind.”
“I am afraid I do.”
“I told you to go away. Why are you still here, talking to me?”
Jonathan let his smile break through, then. “Because I have something to tell you.”
“Then be quick about it and leave.”
She turned her back on him, furious, and he came up behind her, leaning over so he was close to her ear.
“I know that you are young and beautiful,” he said softly. “You have your entire life ahead of you. Do not waste your time on men who do not see that beauty or are occupied with someone else. How would you feel if you were Essien’s wife and some foolish girl was trying to take him away from you? Would you like that?”
She was losing some of her huffiness. “Well…”
“Of course you would not like it. You would think that the girl was showing incredible disrespect to you, and you would not like it at all.” At that point, all Rebecca would do was shrug, so he continued. “My dearest girl, someday you will find a man who cannot live without you. He will hang on your every word. He will live for the sound of your laughter. Every kiss you bestow upon him will be the best kiss he’s ever had. You will not have to work so hard for him as you have for Essien. It will simply happen and you will be so smitten that you will be walking on clouds. Nothing can bring you down. You will love him and he will love you, and all will be right in the world. So do not mourn the loss of Essien. He is not good enough for you. The right man will come, Rebecca. I promise he will.”
When he was finished, she turned to look at him. Her features were calm, her big eyes fixed on him. “Do you truly think so?”
He nodded sincerely. “Without question,” he said. “You are a magnificent beauty with much to give a man. Any man would consider himself fortunate. But do not be so impatient. A love worth waiting for is a love worth having.”
She smiled at him, though it was reluctantly. Then she chuckled. “You are wise, Wolfie,” she said. “How is it a man whospanked me last night is the same man who makes me feel better this morning?”
He grinned. “Because I am magic,” he said, holding out a hand to her. “Come along, lady. There is food in the great hall and I want some of it. Come with me and we shall speak of the kind of man you want to marry. I will see if I know of anyone who suits you.”
She put her hand in his. “Truly?” she said, hope in her voice. “Do you know of a rich prince who will take me to Rome?”
He led her down from the lists. “You want to go to Rome?”
“I do, very much,” she said. “The streets are paved with marble and every house has a golden roof.”
He eyed her as he tucked her hand into the crook of his elbow. “Is that so?” he said. “Interesting. I’ve not heard that. What else have you heard?”
Rebecca told him. He was able to get her off the subject of Essien and on to another subject that she seemed to have a passion for. Soon enough, she would forget about Essien altogether and move on to something else. That was the hope, anyway. As Christopher and Dustin saw Jonathan taking Rebecca into the hall, and she wasn’t weeping or carrying on, they both breathed a sigh of relief.
Perhaps the one thing to take a lady’s mind off a lost man was, in fact, another man.
Even if that man was the big brute called Wolfie.
Christopher thanked God for Wolfie.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
