He surprised her by giving her cheek a light caress. “Ah, Temple. Without a title, I am no one special. But you are quite something. I’m sorry if I am sometimes difficult with you. I’ll try to be on better behavior, knowing now how much you have lost.”
“Others have been through worse. I count my blessings, for I had many pleasant years growing up with the love of a good family. I appreciate what I have been given. And even now, I have an uncle who loves me and has treated me kindly. I have made a nice life for myself here in Broadmoor, helping him out with the vicarage duties. When that comes to an end, as it inevitably must, I will still be able to take care of myself.”
“How so?” he asked, frowning.
“I was left a small inheritance that I have yet to touch because my uncle insists upon providing everything for me.”
“And why should he not? You do so much to assist him in his parish duties.” His expression softened. “Including reaping inthe donations. They must have tripled since you arrived. No man is going to resist your smile or the sparkle of your eyes.”
“Actually, they have increasedfour-fold.”
“Ah, Temple. This does not surprise me. But what does surprise me is the fact that you are not married yet. Surely you must have had offers.”
“I did,” she said quietly, not wishing to think of the past. “I was even betrothed once.”
He appeared startled by the notion. “You were betrothed?”
“Yes.”
“But you never made it to the altar.”
She sighed. “No, never was a blushing bride.”
His stare was intense, as though he were hoping to read her mind. “What happened to end it?”
Chapter Four
“What happened toend your betrothal?” Jonas repeated when she hesitated to respond. He was not certain why Ailis’s having a beau should affect him as it did. Nor did he understand how she could have had a beau and still never been kissed.
He was merely curious and not judging her.
After all,histwo kisses would not have been nearly as special if others had come before them. But having been the first and only man to kiss her had left a searing impression on his heart.
“It was a mistake,” Ailis said with a hint of defiance in her otherwise gentle voice. “One I’ll readily admit was partly my fault. I thought if I accepted one of the gentlemen who offered for my hand, my parents might be cheered in the planning of the wedding or the prospect of their having grandchildren.”
“But?”
She crumbled before him. “They did not care at all. It was at that moment I realized how irrelevant I had become to them. They did not love me enough to want to live for me.”
Jonas suppressed the urge to reach out and put his arms around her, although he dearly ached to do so.
How could anyonenotappreciate Ailis?
“They must have been in so much pain after losing your brothers,” he said, noting the hurt she was still feeling after all these years, “that it just blinded them.”
“I was in pain, too.”
“But you never lost hope. That is the difference, I think. They had lost the will to live, yet you retained your hope throughout your struggle. In truth, you shine with your lovely strength. Why do you think everyone smiles when they see you? You are a ray of sunlight to brighten their day.”
“I am going to swoon if you continue to pay me compliments,” she said with a sweet but fragile smile.
“Ah, then I shall make every effort to remain cantankerous,” he teased.
“You are the nicest cantankerous person I have ever met.”
He laughed.
“And I shall forgive you even though you never smile when you see me. I suppose it is because I only ever approach you to ask for donations. But I’ve never dared come up to you simply to start a casual conversation.”
