The priests answer brought an annoyed frown to Arthur's face, but it was accompanied by a nod of understanding.  Anyone who'd never met him before, and whose first impression had been what Malachi's had been, wouldn't put it out of the realm of possibility that he'd hurt a little girl.

He wasn't offended, but he was... upset, slightly.  Not at Malachi, but - at himself, maybe?  For allowing such a foul perception of himself to linger for so long in the other man's mind.

"I'm capable of a lot of things," he said, watching Malachi watch the road.  "Murder, even if I haven't done it yet.  Blackmail, and I have done that.  But girls?  Young girls?"  Arthur made a face.  "Eugh."

He didn't say it to get praise from Malachi, or to seem like an upstanding man.  Arthur said it because he didn't want Malachi to think him the type of person to stoop so low.  Not that low, anyway.

Next, Arthur wanted to ask about Malachi's supposedly broken and bleeding heart, but he was hesitant to bring up anything along that topic.  They had just seemed to begin to get settled into - whatever this was.  He would hate to ruin it so quickly.

Instead, he asked, "those scars on your body, you did those to yourself?"