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must be done to discover his identity. I’m sure his family is already frantically searching for him.”
    “Agreed,” stated Uncle David. “I shall send men to the neighboring villages to make inquiries.”
    Bella was only half listening to what the others were saying. She was preoccupied with worry over her patient.
    Seeing her niece’s tired features, Aunt Elizabeth took the situation in hand. “I can see that the other carriage has arrived,” she stated after looking out the front window. “We shall have the servants bring the hampers in, and see what Cook has prepared for us.”
    Bella met her aunt’s kind gaze with gratitude.
    At that moment Tommy came bounding into the house, disheveled and muddy.
    “Oh, what next?” Bella said, fed up at the sight of Tommy tracking mud onto her freshly scrubbed floors.
    “Where have you been, young man?” Papa had grabbed Tommy before he could go any farther.
    “I have been seeing to the man’s horse,” Tommy told them. “I took him over to the stables at the Park. He’s a prime piece of blood. The man must be as rich as a lord.”
    This last comment jogged Bella’s memory, causing her to jump to her feet quickly. “Oh, I am tired. I forgot the watch,” she said, and swiftly left the room, causing the others to look after her in confusion.
    Bella went back up to the room. Going to the foot of the bed, she lifted the beautiful, heavy woolen coat fromthe chest. Fumbling a moment, she pulled the watch from the pocket and returned to the sitting room.
    Handing the gold timepiece to her aunt, Bella said, “There is a crest on his watch, Aunt Elizabeth. Maybe you can recognize it.”
    Her aunt, with the rest them looking on curiously, took the watch and walked over to the window. She studied it closely for a few moments, before shaking her head and handing the object back to Bella.
    “I’ve rusticated too long to recognize a crest by sight. Certainly, though, this watch belongs to a nobleman.”
    “Oh, famous!” Beatrice said, “I
do
hope he lives. Your patient is either a nobleman or he stole that watch from one.”
    “And you, goose, think one scenario is as good as the other,” Bella said.
    “Absolutely,” Beatrice replied shamelessly.

Chapter Four
    D uring the days that followed, the normal routine of Bella’s well-ordered life ceased. The stranger’s care took all of her time. After only a day or so Bella began to find it curious that his presence, though he was barely conscious most of the time, filled the house.
    Bella pondered how best to care for the man, knowing she could not take on such a responsibility alone. But because of her father’s rather thrifty ways, he had never seen the need to have any live-in servants. So Bella approached Mrs. Ash about staying at the manor to help take care of the stranger. The good woman had shaken her head and pursed her lips. “I am sorry, Miss Bella, but Mr. Ash don’t like me gone from home at night. But I will come every day as long as you need me,” she offered.
    Mrs. Ash did come daily, partly to help look after the wounded man and give Bella a chance to rest, and partly to make tea for all the unexpected guests that suddenly started to appear on their doorstep.
    To Bella’s annoyance, the Tichleys were suddenly the most popular family in the village.
    Tommy and Papa speculated endlessly on the identity of the gentleman. There was much discussion at supper on how he came to be in Mabry Green and, most important, how he had gotten himself shot.
    The local constable came knocking on the front door bright and early the next morning. Bella had politely shownthe constable to her room, where he took a good, long look at the prone man. He harrumphed to himself and asked a few questions before he took himself off, muttering about how much bother this situation would be causing him.
    After the constable, the vicar and his wife knocked on the front door. They gave the excuse that it had been much too long since