Page 135 of Heartbreaker of the Ton
“Perhaps, but she wanted the position—and how could I refuse the dear girl?”
He picked up a bandage and began winding it around her ankle, which was already swollen, and she flinched as he secured it with a knot.
“And Loveday?” he asked.
“Lady Arabella has employed her to help her housekeeper, who says Loveday is a very adept young woman. Which should come as no surprise, given what she’s achieved, taking care of her home and her children under such circumstances.”
Her expression darkened and she glanced toward the window, as if she feared the enemy outside.
“I only hope her husband doesn’t try to claim her,” she said, “but Mr. Baxter has assured me that he’ll protect her until I have found a home of my own.”
“And then?” Andrew asked.
“I shall be needing a housekeeper, shall I not?” she said. “I can think of none better.”
He rinsed the cloth and pressed it against a long scratch on her leg, soaking up the dried blood, and she grimaced.
“Does it pain you?”
“It’s a little sore, that is all,” she said. “Nothing the salve won’t fix.”
“Or perhaps…”
He dipped his head and brushed his lips against her reddened flesh. She stiffened for a moment, then relaxed as he placed a gentle kiss either side of the wound.
“Better?” he whispered.
“Mmm…” She leaned forward and placed a light hand on his head. “Is that your remedy for wounds?”
“Only for the woman I love.”
She leaned back. “I would never have imagined a viscount performing such a service,” she said. “Most men in Society, particularly those with titles, would consider it beneath them.”
“Ah, but you forget that, to you, I am merely a humble country vicar, dedicated to serving my flock.”
“Viscount Radham has no flock,” she said, her smile fading.
“Do you think that because I have lost my career, I’ve also lost my vocation?” He shook his head. “You’re wrong, Etty. My responsibilities have increased a thousandfold.”
“How so?”
“Instead of a village full of parishioners to serve, I now have an estate to run, with tenants and servants to care for.Theyare my flock. And though my life has changed in a manner that I could not have imagined, one constant remains. And that is you, my beloved Etty—you are the one whom I wish to serve the most.”
Her expression clouded with doubt.
“You are the most remarkable woman I have met,” he said.
She looked away. “You speak such nonsense sometimes, Andrew,” she said. “I’m nothing out of the ordinary. In fact—”
“Forgive me for contradicting you, my love, but that is one subject on which I must disagree. Consider what you have done for Frannie and Loveday.”
“That was nothing.”
His heart ached at the conviction in her tone. Did shestillbelieve she had no worth?
He took her hand and lifted it to his lips. “Was it nothing to take in Frannie Gadd—a young girl shrouded in scandal—into your home, merely at my recommendation?” He placed a kiss on the back of her hand. “Was it nothing to champion Loveday Smith and deliver her from her brutish husband when none else would come to her aid?”
“Andrew, I—”
