Page 106 of Historical Hotties
And the crowd knew it. The same situation played out at almost every de Wolfe wedding. Blayth would sing, usually accompanied by a loud-mouthed de Norville, and his mother would go after him to box his ears. However, this time, knowing she wasn’t fast enough to catch him, she had made other arrangements. Her daughters, and Blayth’s sisters, had smuggled in a switch. And when she went after Blayth, it was with a big willow switch in her hand.
The crowd loved it.
There was much yelling and cheering and laughing going on as Jordan went after Blayth, who wasn’t running away from her as fast as he used to. She was slower, and he was slower, so it was like watching a slow chase. But he was still taunting her.
“You’ll have to catch me if you want to beat me, old girl,” he called merrily. “I’ll not make an easy target.”
So, she chased him around the hall, much to the delight of the crowd. At one point, she lost sight of Blayth only to have him come up behind her and kiss her on the cheek. He thought he was moving fast enough to get away from her, but like any good Scots mother, she swung that switch with lightning speed and caught him on the buttocks.
The crowd roared.
The bride and groom were part of that cheering. Cassius was yelling encouragement to his uncle while his wife was calling to Jordan, advising her of her wily son’s movements.
“I think your grandmother is winning,” Dacia said.
Cassius chuckled at his sly uncle. “Not if Uncle Blayth has anything to say about it,” he said. “He does this at every single wedding and, every time, she takes the bait. It has become a tradition.”
Dacia shook her head at the exploits going on. “I think she must enjoy this as much as he does,” she said. Then, she looked out over the warm, fragrant, and crowded hall. “So many wonderful friends and family are here with us, but I am sorry that Rhori and Bose had to miss this. I feel as if they have been on this journey with us every step of the way. I’m sorry they had to miss the wedding.”
Cassius sat back in his chair, cup in one hand and caressing her fingers with the other. “As am I, but Edward wanted them returned,” he said. “He wants me returned, too, so when this is finished, I will go to London to formally retire my post.”
“And you’ll take Magnus with you?”
Cassius glanced at his younger brothers, down the table, and at one in particular. “My brother will make a wonderful Lord Protector. Not as wonderful as me, but good enough.” He smiled fondly at Magnus and Titus, who lifted their cups to him. “I forgot how much I missed those dolts. And I’m quite sorry that my grandfather, Magnus, was unable to attend. The feast is not the same without him.”
Dacia looked at him, giggling. “But he sent the name we are to use for our first-born son,” she said. Then, she gestured to her grandfather, in a serious conversation with Cassius’ Uncle Scott, head of the de Wolfe family. “My grandfather seems to be having a wonderful time. I am so glad he was able to make the journey. But I am also sad that Darian did not.”
Cassius shrugged. “I think it would be too much to expect for Darian to attend the wedding of the woman he wanted to marry,” he said, noticing that Blayth and his grandmother were all the way across the hall at that point. He tugged on her arm. “Come. Let us hurry and get away from the crowd while they are distracted with my uncle and grandmother. Shall we?”
Dacia nodded quickly, gathering her beautiful pink skirts and following her husband from the hall in their quest to finally be alone and away from the hundreds of guests that had attended their wedding mass and the dozens of de Wolfe family members who were so overbearingly happy for them.
It was their break for freedom.
Unfortunately, they were seen by none other than Blayth himself as he darted away from his mother. He captured Cassius’ father’s attention and pointed frantically to the stairwell where the couple had disappeared. Patrick de Wolfe, or Atty as he was known to the family, was quite drunk from the fine wine his son’s grandfather-in-law had supplied, but he wasn’t so drunk that he didn’t understand his brother’s gestures.
With that in mind, he called forth the de Wolfe Pack.
They went on the hunt.
Scott de Wolfe, Earl of Warenton, was still speaking to Doncaster when he was tapped by Patrick. The eldest de Wolfe brother, he was a gregarious man when the mood struck him, and he casually excused himself from the duke. Down the table, he thumped on his twin, Troy de Wolfe, who lurched to his feet. With the twins on the move, Patrick continued down the table to brothers Edward de Wolfe and Thomas de Wolfe. Edward was the diplomat of the family and the only one who wasn’t terribly drunk, and he tried to talk some sense into his older brothers to at least give the couple an hour or two alone.
But his pleas fell on deaf ears.
Thomas de Wolfe, the Earl of Northumbria and a man who liked a good party, pushed Edward aside as he followed Patrick and Blayth. Not wanting to be left behind and also thinking there needed to be one sober man in that group, Edward pursued.
So did various sons of the de Wolfe brothers, including Cassius’ older brother, Markus, and younger brothers, Titus and Magnus. All of them moved after the couple, carrying pitchers of wine with them. They were prepared to take the party wherever it was necessary, even if that meant invading the marital bedchamber.
But Cassius and Dacia didn’t know that. They thought they’d gotten out of the hall without being seen and only found out too late that they had a herd of stampeding cattle behind them. Cassius saw them coming and grabbed his wife, who shrieked and giggled as they ran all the way to their chamber. Cassius managed to shove her inside, but he was caught up when his father and uncles grabbed him.
“Cass!” Uncle Troy said as he threw an arm around the man’s neck and pulled him close. “Cass, listen. You are a boy now, but you shall emerge from that chamber a man. A husband. It is very important that you…”
Patrick yanked his son from Troy’s grasp. “My son,” he said, putting his enormous hands on Cassius’ face. “I knew this moment would come. I thought that your grandfather would be here, but alas, he is only here in spirit. He was very proud of you, Cass. We are all very proud of you. If your grandfather was here, he would tell you to…”
“Give her what she wants!” Blayth and Thomas finished for him, shoving Patrick out of the way. Blayth grabbed his nephew by the arm. “Papa would say to treat her like a lady, but make sure she enjoys tonight.”
“And if she doesn’t weep with pleasure when you take her, you’re not doing it right!” Thomas elaborated loudly. “And no spanking. Women do not appreciate that!”
They were laughing, having a great time at Cassius’ expense, when all the man wanted to do was get to his wife. He was pushing his uncles away, trying to get to the door.
