Clara's Mail Order Joy (Home for Christmas Book 5) by Dean Natalie

Author:Dean, Natalie [Dean, Natalie]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Kenzo Publishing
Published: 2019-11-17T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 11

Clara and Angel the camel had a mutual antipathy to one another, so much so that Peter tied the beast to the back of the house, or in the lean-to that he had built by the mine entrance, so that Clara need not set her eyes upon the creature she despised.

It was not merely that the two disliked one another. Angel disliked everyone except Peter and so her hostility to Peter’s wife was not remarkable. Clara was also bothered by the peculiar impulse, whatever it had been, that had driven her husband to decide that a camel was the perfect beast of burden for a miner.

As much as possible, Clara ignored the existence of Angel. But for others who lived in the nearby mining camp, having a camel in proximity was almost as fascinating as being in the same neighborhood as the spacious outhouse which Peter had built.

She had adjusted, with effort, to the occasional request from one of the miners in the camp to be allowed to see the outhouse for himself. Unfailingly, the miner had gone away impressed by the structure. It was, admittedly, roomier than the typical privy and had been designed to be more of a chamber than a box. Peter attended to its maintenance with diligence so that his wife need not be assaulted by the odors which one might expect to experience from a building dedicated to the natural functions of the body.

But one autumn day, as Clara was outside waiting for Peter to come home from for dinner after his work in the mine, she saw a man walking toward the Edwards home. He was a miner, plainly; she had reached the point where she knew by sight. And even if she hadn’t been able to guess, he was coming from the direction of the mining camp.

“Ma’am,’ he said, seeing her standing by the entrance to the house. “I’ve heard that this homestead has two remarkable attractions.”

“Oh? What might they be?” Clara asked in a cool voice which did not encourage familiarity.

“I should have said three,” the man said with a smile as he took off his hat. “There is a privy, the likes of which I am told have not been seen in any of the neighboring towns; there is a camel; and there is yourself, a lady of surpassing beauty.”

“I do not regard any of these as attractions, sir.”

“I do not mean to offend. But I have never seen a camel and I should like very much to do so.”

“My husband will be up from the mine very soon; perhaps he will be willing to show you the camel. As to the outhouse, it is located in a diagonal direction to the house. If you go over there and walk to the back, you will see it.”

“And yourself—"

“I am not on display,” she snapped.

“Of course, ma’am, I meant no harm.”

“Gus! What in tarnation are you doing here?”

Peter appeared, loping with a long-legged gait from the mine to where Clara and the visitor were standing.

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