A Place to Belong (West Meets East Book 2) by Merry Farmer

Author:Merry Farmer
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Published: 2017-07-27T18:30:00+00:00

CHAPTER 6

C lara suspected there was something unusual in Mrs. Musgrave’s leniency when it came to allowing her to spend the better part of her afternoons helping Arthur care for baby James. It couldn’t possibly be a normal thing for a maid in a large, country house to only do morning chores and then leave the house. Mary and Martha looked downright rebellious at first, until the evening that Clara returned to join the rest of the household for supper with spit-up stains on her bodice and suspicious brown smudge on her apron. Neither of them so much as looked at Clara resentfully after that.

But it wasn’t until several days after her first visit to the vicarage that Clara suspected Mrs. Musgrave had some ulterior motive in mind by shooing Clara out of the house.

“Are you still here?” she asked with a start when she walked in on Clara attempting to polish a set of porcelain figurines in the morning parlor. “And what in heaven’s name are you doing?”

Clara blinked up from her attempts to rub linseed oil on the face of a jolly shepherdess. “Mary insisted that these figurines needed the shine put back on them.”

Mrs. Musgrave sighed and rolled her eyes. She marched over to the cabinet where Clara was working and plucked the polishing rag out of her hands. “Those two are having a laugh at your expense. Porcelain isn’t polished, merely dusted. And you’re needed far more down at the vicarage than you are here.”

Shame for being so gullible made Clara’s cheeks burn hot, but a relieved smile tugged at the corners of her mouth all the same. “Yes, Mrs. Musgrave,” she said with a quick nod.

“Well, what are you waiting for?” Mrs. Musgrave went on, gathering up the polishing things Clara had left scattered throughout the cabinet where the porcelain was on display.

“Don’t you want me to clean up here?” Clara asked.

“Good heavens, no. There’s no telling what sort of damage you would do.” The housekeeper made a horrified face. “Be gone with you.”

“Yes, Mrs. Musgrave.” Clara fumbled through a curtsy, then turned and left the room. She was tempted to feel upset that Mrs. Musgrave had so little faith in her abilities as a maid that she was trying to get rid of her, but as long as it got her out of the house and someplace where she could do some actual good, she wasn’t about to complain.

By the time she made it down to the vicarage, whatever curiosity or suspicion she had about the reasons Mrs. Musgrave let her go had given way to a deep happiness. The very sight of the vicarage’s cozy ivy-covered stone walls and slate roof made her heart light. She let herself into the yard by the gate, but instead of knocking at the door or walking straight into the house, she followed the sound of James crying and Arthur trying to soothe him around the side of the unkempt yard and into the back garden.

The sight she was met with had her heart flipping in her chest.

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