Wonderful. Not only had the unpleasant banker come to disrupt the entire family, but he was nibbling his way through their pantry like some huge, overstuffed mouse. Harriet wondered if perhaps that was why she always felt so uneasy around Mr. Gower—he seemed inordinately greedy. The man was a swine; there were times when he looked at Harriet in such a way that it made her feel as if she was a particularly fat acorn and he a huge pig.

“I’ll make certain he leaves soon,” Harriet said firmly, hoping it would be that easy. She smoothed her skirts and patted her collar back into place.

Mrs. Maple’s face softened, and she reached out to smooth a bit of Harriet’s hair from her forehead. “Ye look fine, Miss Harriet. Shall I announce ye?”

“No. I will announce myself.” She flashed a grin at the housekeeper. “It will save us at least half a minute of his time.”

The front door opened and a loud clomping sounded. Harriet turned to find her brother Stephen making his way through the front door. His left leg was heavily wrapped, his crutches barely long enough to allow his feet to clear. He came to a halt when he saw Harriet. A distinctly guilty look flashed across his face before he managed to clear it away. “Oh! There you are! How’s the patient?”

“He’s fine except that he says he doesn’t remember who he is.”

“Says?” Stephen’s brows shot up. “What do you mean ‘says’?”

“Just that I wonder about him. He seems far too at ease to have forgotten his identity.”

“You always did have a suspicious nature, Harri. The man’s head wound seemed rather grievous to me, so ’tis entirely possible he is telling the truth. Besides, what reason could he possibly have for telling such a whopper?”

Mrs. Maple sniffed. “Mayhap the man plans on dallyin’ about and eatin’ all our food, like Mr. Gower.”

Harriet shook her head. “His clothes are very well made and his horse alone is worth a fortune. He could afford more mutton than our entire flock could provide.”

Stephen brightened. “I just saw the horse. What a prime piece of blood and bones!”

Harriet had to smile at his excitement. Like Sophia, he had father’s more golden coloring, and his hair curled over his ears just the slightest bit. He was dressed in rough clothing, and Harriet suspected that he’d been working in the barn.

She glanced at his injured leg. “You aren’t supposed to be up on that leg more than a few moments at a time.”

Stephen gave an impatient shrug. “I’m fine. I just fixed the broken door on the grain bin.”

“If something needs done, have Jem do it.”

“He’s out with the cows. Sophia and Ophelia rode out in the cart with him.”

Mrs. Maple snorted. “If I know Jem, he’s fast asleep under a tree and the girls are doin’ all the work. If ye needed help, ye should have asked Master Derrick.”