“Well!”

It wasn’t what Elviria meant to say. Or even what she thought she should say. It was just all she could get out at the moment.

She was certain that later on, the perfect words would come to her. Sadly, they always did.

Harriet’s face flooded bright red as she struggled to push herself back into a standing position, but it was difficult given the softness of the bed and the fact that the patient, though watching calmly, did nothing to help. Harriet twisted this way and that, a huge thunk echoing as she scrambled to her feet, followed by a muffled exclamation.

Elviria wasn’t certain, but she thought perhaps that Harriet had uttered a rather colorful comment. Goodness, but Harriet was getting more like her father every day.

Finally back on her feet, Harriet glared down at the patient. “Oh! You made that as difficult as you could, didn’t you?”

He crossed his arms over his broad chest and grinned. “If you’d wanted help, all you had to do was ask.”

Harriet muttered something incomprehensible, then turned to face her mother. Elviria had never seen Harriet’s face quite that shade of red.

“Mother, I know how this must look, but we didn’t—that is, I was only—”

“Miss Ward fell across the bed, and I caught her,” the patient said, a slightly imperious air to him even though he was dressed in one of Stephen’s nightshirts, his head wrapped in a bandage. He did not appear the least bit regretful for what Elviria was certain must have been a gross impertinence of some sort.

She glanced at her daughter. Or had it been a gross impertinence? Harriet seemed flustered, but not precisely angry. Just irritated and infuriated and outraged.

How…unusual.

The patient slanted a lazy smile at Harriet, and Elviria’s brows rose. Heavens! Even her heart stuttered a bit at such a smile. Poor Harriet’s must be galloping like a hound-chased fox.

“Miss Ward,” he said, a devilish glint in his blue eyes, “I hope you’re not injured.”

“Injured?” Harriet said stiffly. “Of course I’m not injured.”

“Didn’t you bump your elbow?”

Harriet’s red cheeks puffed out a moment in pure indignation. “I didn’t bump anything, thank you.”

Frost chilled each word, though the air between Elviria’s normally staid daughter and the handsome stranger hummed with definite heat. My, but this was interesting! Harriet never let her temper get the better of her. Even when she’d been a wee thing, unable to climb into a chair on her own, she’d never shown anything but calm good sense and reasoned judgment.

Which was why Elviria could only stare at her eldest daughter.

Harriet caught her mother’s glance and colored even deeper.

Elviria’s gaze drifted back to the patient. “I must apologize for not introducing myself. I am Elviria Ward, and you must be…”

No answer was forthcoming. Elviria glanced from the patient, to her daughter, and back. Neither one moved.

Finally, the patient sighed. “I’m afraid I cannot remember.”

Elviria blinked. “You can’t remember?”