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CHAPTER SIX

Elizabeth was surprised when Lord Hadleigh began to make himself useful around the vicarage over the next several days. Despite her protestations, he insisted on helping.

He was assisting her with hanging laundry on the line to dry when she tried once again to dissuade him.

He frowned at her, but the smile tugging at his lips ruined the effect. “It’s the least I could do to thank you for saving my life.”

“Anyone would have done so, my lord.”

There were a few beats of silence.

“Not my life,” he said. His words were quiet, and she caught her breath at his disconsolate expression. “I’ve spent far too much of it immersed in the unsavory.”

“I’m sure that’s not true. You’re a good man, and your life is as worthy as anyone’s.”

He picked up a shirt. “Do you know why I was attacked?”

“I assumed you were set upon by footpads.”

The earl’s smile was bitter. “I wish it were that simple. It was a message from the husband of one of my paramours.”

Her face went hot all over. “You…slept with a married woman?”

His expression turned sardonic. “There was no sleeping involved, and she was far from the only married woman I had. I’ve bedded dozens of women—hundreds, perhaps—some of them married, some not. I never bothered to ask, and I didn’t care either way.

“I’ve visited gambling hells and brothels. I’ve had enough alcohol to fill a distillery. I’ve cheated at cards, and I’ve neglected my estate, simply because I didn’t wish to put in the work required to ensure it prospered.

“To put it plainly, I’ve been an unrepentant, debauched libertine.”

She listened with growing shock to his recitation. Her pulse galloped in her throat as she scrambled for something to say. Her hands were clumsy when she tried to pin up another shirt to dry.

“Please excuse me.” Picking up her skirts, she fled indoors.

Matthew continued to hang up the laundry as he cursed himself. He’d been needlessly crude with a vicar’s daughter, of all people. One had been so kind. Hot shame coursed through him.

Elizabeth, as he was coming to think of her, returned minutes later, carrying a glass of lemonade she extended to him. He took it from her, careful not to brush her fingers with his own; he didn’t want to sully her with his touch.

“I’m sorry I ran. It was impolite of me.”

He choked on a sip as he coughed, caught off guard. “You shouldn’t be apologizing to me. I was thoughtless and inappropriate, sharing things with you that you never should have heard. I beg your forgiveness.”

She squared her shoulders and faced him directly, and he was impressed by her equanimity. “Living in a vicarage, one often encounters people who have done questionable, even reprehensible, things. I should have listened to you with compassion and understanding, rather than running like a coward.

“You don’t require my forgiveness, but you have it if you wish.”

He stared at her, unblinking, until her face grew uncertain. “You are a remarkable woman.”

Her cheeks pinkened. “I’m not, but thank you.”

Matthew set down his glass on a nearby table and took hold of her shoulders, looking into her eyes. “You are. And someone should tell you that every day of your life. If no one has before now, that’s criminal.

“You are one of the kindest people I’ve ever met. You’re brave and strong, and you’ve somehow retained a sense of joy and optimism, despite being faced with tough circumstances from a young age.

“You. Are. Remarkable.”

Elizabeth’s eyes shone at his praise, and he felt a compulsion to kiss her rosy lips. Letting go, he stepped back from her.

“I…have overexerted myself. Please excuse me.” He retreated into the house and upstairs to his room, hiding there while he tried to understand what just happened between them.