She nudged him with her shoulder. “I hope you hit him really, really hard.”
“I did.”
“That pleases me,” she responded, her smile broadening into a grin. “Did you knock some sense into him?”
“I doubt it, but it is a pleasant thought.”
She glanced over at him. “Thank you for standing up for me.”
“That is the job of any good fiancé.”
“But we both know that you are not truly my fiancé.”
Roswell reached over and encompassed her hand. “That doesn’t mean I would let anyone make disparaging comments about you,” he said. “You must know that.”
Ellie turned her attention towards their entwined hands. “I am grateful for all that you have done for me.”
“You don’t have to keep thanking me.”
“But I feel as if I must.”
“I am not doing these things so you can become indebted to me,” he said, his voice low. “I’m doing these things because I care about you.”
“As a friend,” she rushed to add.
“Yes, because I’m afraid that is all I can give you right now.”
She met his gaze, her green eyes holding him transfixed. “But what if I want more from you?”
“You don’t know what you are asking of me,” he replied as he drew closer to her. “I am not the man you think I am.”
“I can’t imagine that to be true,” she murmured.
He sighed and leaned back. “I have done something terrible, and I fear you will judge me harshly after I tell you the truth of it all.”
“Why is that?”
“Because,” he hesitated, “I killed a man.”
The moment the words left Lord Bideford’s mouth, Ellie knew there was more to the story than what he had just said. He stared at her with such anguish in his eyes.
“Perhaps you should start from the beginning,” she encouraged.
He released her hand and rose, walking a short distance away. “It is a night I have tried to forget, but I’m afraid it is imprinted on my very soul.”
She remained silent, not wanting to rush him.
Lord Bideford turned back to face her with a pained look. “It was a little over three years ago,” he started, “and I was residing at our country estate. I had gone into the village to drink at the pub with a few friends, and I’m afraid to admit that I drank much more than I had intended.”
He hung his head as he continued. “As I stumbled home, I heard a woman’s cry for help, coming from inside a barn just off the main road,” he said. “I ran inside to assist her and found a man forcing himself on her.”
“How awful,” she murmured.
Lord Bideford’s jaw clenched. “I felt rage building up inside of me, and I ran towards them. I grabbed the man by the shoulders and dragged him off her.” He paused. “A fight ensued, and I rammed my shoulder into his stomach, and he fell backwards.”
He grew silent and looked away for a long moment. Finally, he spoke, but his words were filled with anguish. “When the man fell, he hit the back of his head on an anvil stored in the barn. He died instantly.”
Ellie let out a gasp as she brought her hand up to cover her mouth.
