Chapter 3
Summary
While looking for his watch in his desk, Jonathan sees Dio out of the corner of his eye, who has stolen the watch and plans to use it for the day. Jonathan feels uneasy, and surmises that he will never see that watch again. Dio notices a Stone Mask hanging on the wall and takes it down to get a closer look. Upon seeing this, George explains that it had supposedly originated from the Aztec culture, and that he had bought the mask at a gallery in London not long after Jonathan was born. The carriage accident occurred on the way back from that same gallery, and George keeps it on the wall in place of his wife's portrait. George wonders whether Dio is interested in the mask, but Dio dismisses it.
In the surrounding countryside, Jonathan is playing with Danny while smoking a pipe in a large tree. When a group of local boys passes by, he calls out to them and invites them to join him because there are no adults around but they pass him by, claiming that JoJo would rat out all of their plans. Jonathan concludes that Dio has been spreading rumors about him so that no one would want to make friends with him. Jonathan reflects on how he is always being compared to Dio and that his life had fallen to pieces as soon as he arrived at their house. He pets Danny, grateful that he will remain with him no matter what Dio does. Suddenly, Jonathan sees a girl looking at him from behind a nearby tree; she runs away, leaving a basket of grapes on one of the branches. Jonathan recognizes her as the girl who had been bullied a mere few days ago. JoJo sees that she had cleaned his handkerchief as well, and wonders who she is.
The girl's name is Erina Pendleton, and Jonathan quickly finds himself falling for her. The two of them begin to spend time together; and on one occasion Jonathan invites Erina to the river to swim. While they relax at the riverbank JoJo takes out a knife and carves something into the nearby tree, albeit attempting to hide it shortly afterwards. Curious, Erina manages to get a peek at the tree and sees her and Jonathan's names surrounded by a heart. She blushes and calls JoJo a scoundrel, but before long the two begin playing again. After happily parting ways that evening , Erina is abruptly confronted by Dio who notes that she must be the reason Jonathan has been happier than normal in recent days. Dio grabs Erina and forcibly kisses her; the two youths who had accompanied him awe at Dio's boldness.
