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dolls—my dolls are very special dolls. The type which are delicious to bears.”
    He heaved a huge regretful sigh. “Oh, very well, you have caught me there. I solemnly promise never to eat Princess Amy’s Very Special Dolls.”
    “Good.” She snuggled closer to him, pulled the box on to his knees and began to introduce her dolls to him.
    The cheese box was a home-made dolls’ house, he realised. Everything in it was made by clumsy small fingers or her mother’s neat touch. And some of her dolls were made of acorns, with cradles and all sorts of miniature items made of acorn caps and walnut shells.
    He smiled to himself. Delicious to bears, indeed. She was a delightful child. Her eyes were such a bright blue…almost the exact same colour as his. It was a most discomforting thought. He hoped Ellie had not lied about Amy’s parentage. If he had created this charming childth Ellie…and left her to grow up without his name, in what looked to him a lot like poverty…then he didn’t much like himself.
    All thoughts led to the same question—who the devil was he? And was he already married?

    * * *

    “He was so badly hurt he now cannot remember a thing,” explained Ellie to the one person who could be trusted not to tell the squire of her unexpected houseguest.
    “It’s an absolute disgrace!” The vicar paced the floor in agitation. “That gang of robbers is getting bolder and bolder and will the squire do a thing about it? No—he is much too indolent to bother! He ought to close down the Angel. I’m sure that den of iniquity is their headquarters. Can your fellow identify any of the miscreants?”
    “No, he doesn’t even know his own name, let alone anything that happened.”
    The elderly vicar pursed his lips thoughtfully. “And there was nothing on his person to indicate his identity?”
    Ellie shook her head. “Nothing. Whoever robbed him had stripped him of even his coat and shoes. I thought you may have heard something.”
    “No. No one has made enquiries. Er…he is not causing you any, er, difficulty?”
    “No, he has been a gentleman the entire time…” Except for where his hands had roamed this morning, she thought, fighting the blush. The vicar had no idea of the sleeping arrangements at her cottage, otherwise he wouldn’t have countenanced it for a moment.
    The vicar frowned suddenly and glanced around. “Where is little Miss Amy?”
    “I left her at the cottage. It is very bitter out and she had a bad cold which she has only just recovered from. It…it was only for a few minutes…” Her voice trailed off.
    “You left her alone with this stranger?” He sounded incredulous.
    Ellie felt suddenly foolish. Criminally foolish. “I didn’t think…I don’t feel as though he would hurt Amy—or me.” She bit her lip in distress. “But… you’re right. He could be a murderer, for all I know.”
    The vicar said doubtfully. “I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about. If you’d had doubts about this fellow, you’d have brought Amy with you. You have good instincts.”
    With every comforting word, Ellie’s doubts grew. As did her anxiety.
    He nodded. “You are having second thoughts. Leave this matter in my hands. If a man has gone missing, we shall eventually hear something. Go home, my dear. See to your child.”
    “Oh, yes. Yes, I will. Thank you for the loan of these items, Vicar.” She lifted the small packet in her hand. “I shall return them shortly.”
    Ellie ran most of the way home, her fears growing by the minute. How could she have let her…her feelings, outweigh her common sense! LeavngAmy behind, just because it was cold and damp outside! Taking a man’s word for it that he recalled nothing. Assuming that simply because she liked him—liked him far too much, in fact—that he was therefore trustworthy. For all she knew, he could be the veriest villain!
    It was all very well for the vicar to talk of her instincts being sound, but he didn’t know of the mess she