I've settled into life at Downton and know quite a bit about everyone thanks to Daryl. But I've learned very little about him or his work. He walks the grounds a good deal but I know he does much more than that. Daryl is reserved, which is an English trait, but he's Scottish and I understand they're fiery. I hope he won't mind that I come right out and ask him.

"How did you end up at Downton?" I joined him on his rounds today. He's more comfortable talking as we wander through the woods.

"Merle and me came here after the Armistice. I was in the trenches with Captain Crawley during the war. He was a good commander, got to know his men. He wasn't always heir to Grantham, he was born middle class. He said to look him up after the war if I had no better prospect in mind."

"You didn't want to go back to Scotland?"

"Wasn't much left there. Our folks passed young. We're not highland, we're lowland Scots from just over the border and we spent time in north England when we were young. The Earl took us on as groundskeepers. There's a shortage of fit men and an estate like this needs labour."

"Were you wounded at all?"

"Nah, I was one of the lucky few. Merle didn't fare so well. He lost a hand and gained a liking for the morphine given to him for pain. Morphine's not so easy to come by now but Merle is flexible. He visits an opium den in London every so often and brings some back. He might sell a little to one or two hereabouts but I don't inquire too close."

"Merle told me he'd never met a Chinaman! But he must have in an opium den."

Daryl snorts. "He probably meant here, or he might have just said it because he wanted to. Merle does that."

Yes, I'm beginning to know Merle. I'd wager Daryl puts up with him not only because they're family but because he feels guilty that Merle lost a hand and Daryl himself came through the war unscathed and then got promoted to a plum position.

"There can be other injuries not so visible." I hope Daryl doesn't think I'm prying. He's quiet for a moment before speaking:

"I've changed in my head some but not like the ones that can't do a job anymore. There was a fellow called Lang up at the Abbey for awhile so shell shocked he couldn't dress the Earl or wait at table. Reckon I got lucky with that, too. Maybe being Scottish helped. Dixon's are part of Clan Keith and the clans have been warring for centuries, sometimes with each other but more often against Roman or Viking invaders. I got blood in my history but I've seen enough spilled. I came through this war but I hope not to press my luck with another."

Before I can speak again, Daryl asks me a question.

Daryl had always considered himself more of a listener than a talker and his first impression of Glenn was that he might be the opposite. But the nature of their relationship so far had turned that around. Glenn wanted to know about his new surroundings and Daryl was happy to help. Then Glenn's questions took a personal turn and Daryl was pleased that this kid might be interested in him since Daryl was definitely interested in Glenn. Now Daryl realized that he had uncharacteristically bared his soul to Glenn but learned nothing about him in return.

"What about you?" Daryl asked. "Where are you from besides America?"

"I was born in Korea. My family went to America 10 years ago with Sir Malcolm Hendridge. He was an English diplomat posted in Seoul and reassigned to the District of Columbia."

"Is he why you wanted to come to England?"

"Partly. He liked to talk about the British empire. And I like to move around and see new things."

So this kid wouldn't be staying. That shouldn't matter to Daryl as much as it did. "Where will you go next?"

"Maybe back to America. It's a big country and I've only seen the east coast. But I'll stay in England for now. I'd like to see Scotland and Wales and Ireland. I like to travel but I speak only English and Korean. I don't think I'm brave enough to go alone to a country where I don't know the language. Sometimes it's difficult to understand the dialects in America and England."

Daryl felt better knowing Glenn would be around for awhile. But what he said made Daryl think about the world opening up for him. Downton had had its share of financial crises and might not survive another one. Daryl was careful about saving for the future. Maybe he would go to America someday. Land of opportunity. And warmer, at least in the south. Something to think about.

Constable Grimes is back from the dead!

At one of the stops he stepped off the far side of the train to stretch his legs and was attacked and robbed. No one on the train knew he was missing and it went on without him. He was found and taken to hospital but his memory was lost from a blow to the head and without identification no one could be notified. He wasn't wearing a uniform so they didn't know he was a constable. It was a small village in the midlands without local police and they just waited to see if he would recover.

Constable Grimes is popular and everyone is glad to have him home safe and sound except perhaps his friend Deputy Walsh. Shane has been looking out for Rick's wife and son, maybe too closely. He also expected to be promoted to Chief Constable. It's as if he thought he could just take over his friend's job and family.

Soon after Rick's return, Hershel's assistant Otis accidentally shot Carl Grimes. It was a flesh wound and Carl will be fine but Otis felt terrible. It sounded as if it was as much Carl's fault for being careless. A few days later Shane and Otis went hunting together and Shane came back alone saying Otis fell over a cliff and broke his leg. Shane couldn't reach him so he came back for help. Otis was dead when the rescue party found him, apparently from a head wound while falling.

Someone else has died because of Shane, a young local lad called Randall who has been in trouble with the law. Shane followed him one night and caught him poaching. Randall turned on Shane and Shane broke Randall's neck trying to subdue him.

The story almost hangs together but people are suspicious because Shane hasn't been the same since Rick came home. He's been involved in two accidents that were fatal to others. Daryl is furious because Randall was found on the Downton estate and Shane had no right to follow him there. If he suspected Randall of poaching he should have reported it to Daryl or to the Earl. Shane has been suspended from his duties pending an inquest.

But Shane is dead before the inquiry into Randall's death can take place. He confronted Rick, raving about Lori and Carl being his responsibility. Rick tried to reason with him but Shane had a knife. Rick got it away but Shane wouldn't stop and Rick ended up killing his friend. Afterward we hear that Shane had a hard time during the war. He was grasping for something to hold onto and when Rick returned to claim his family, something broke in Shane and he became unstable and violent. During the inquest into Shane's death we learn that the inquiries he made about Rick were only to the railroad. He never checked the stops between London and Yorkshire.

Another tragedy linked to the war that ended two years ago but the effects are still being felt and three more men are dead.

It's open season and Daryl is busy with shooting parties but we find time for another evening at the Grantham Arms. It's a good opportunity to ask what his job entails and it's more than I imagined. I had no idea how much is expected of a gamekeeper. Besides stocking streams for fishing and managing the game and wildlife populations, he organizes shooting parties, keeps the firearms clean and in working order, and trains gun dogs.

The salary for all that would normally be about the same as a ploughman earns but the Earl is more generous to his staff. And there are other compensations. Room and board are free for unmarried live-in staff; outdoor and married staff gets rent-free cottages along with coal and firewood. They have meat, vegetables, fruit, eggs, milk and butter from the home farm. And of course as gamekeeper he can take a certain number of fish, rabbits and birds. The Dixon brothers also keep a few chickens, pigs and a cow of their own.

I know that Daryl doesn't have a great deal of formal education – he left school at 13 – but he knows so much about the world he lives in. Not society stuff but nature. He grew up fishing and stalking and shooting. He knows trees and flowers, roots, plants and berries, and if they're edible or poisonous.

My position is a combination of footman and butler because the Dower House is a small household and doesn't need both but still, my duties seem light in comparison. I open doors, deliver messages, clean the silver, decant and filter wine, serve at table, lift heavy things, move furniture, and do anything else the Dowager requires. Daryl says I earn my wage for that last item but I haven't found the Dowager overly demanding.

Autumn turns damp and chilly and illness strikes in the form of pneumonia. The estate escapes death but there are several in the village. Andrea's sister Amy succumbs, then Carol's husband Ed and Theodore the barkeep. Patricia follows; she never really recovered from Otis' death. Jim the mechanic loses his entire family – wife, son and daughter – and hangs himself a month later.

All this loss and sadness makes me realize how much Daryl means to me.