Chapter 1.
“I’m sorry, Claire, we simply don’t need your services anymore.”
Claire’s mouth fell open. She blinked hard at Mrs. Wallen, closed her mouth then licked her lips. “Oh.”
“It’s not that you weren’t good. You were marvelous. That’s why we took the liberty of recommending you to Mrs. Billings who runs a B&B.”
Claire looked down at her clasped hands and nodded. She knew of Mrs. Billings from her friend Jessie who had just left her employment. Claire looked up at the elderly Mrs. Wallen. It wasn’t her fault her daughter-in-law was insisting on doing the work for her. “Thank you for recommending me.”
“My pleasure. I’ll miss you. Mrs. Billings said you can go by any time today and see her.”
Claire nodded. “I know where Mrs. Billings’ bed-and-breakfast is. One of my friends used to work for her.”
“Excellent. I am sorry I can’t keep you on any longer, but Trudy’s insisting she do everything. I think it’s too much for her with all she’s got to do, but she says she can.”
“I understand, Mrs. Wallen, truly I do. It’s perfectly all right. I’ve enjoyed working here even though it was only for a short time. I’ll miss you too.”
“Goodbye, Claire.”
She leaned over and hugged Mrs. Wallen. “Bye.”
“Can I call you if things don’t work out?”
“Yes. Please do. Our phone’s in the barn, but we do have a message service, and I’ll call you right back as soon as I'm able.”
Mrs. Wallen smiled and nodded.
Claire walked away from the house and took hold of the handlebars of her bike. She didn’t want to work for Mrs. Billings. The woman sounded horrid. From what Jessie had said, it wasn’t a nice place to work, but neither did she want to stay home all day and work on the farm. Besides, she liked to have her own money rather than be totally dependent on her familye.
“Oh, Claire.”
Claire was just outside the gate when she heard Mrs. Wallen’s voice. She spun around. “Yes, Mrs. Wallen?”
“Douglas said he’d take you to see Mrs. Billings right away if you wish. He’s going into town.”
“Thank you, but I’ve got my bike.”
“It’ll fit in his truck.”
“Yes then, thank you. I’ll take up the offer.”
Douglas, Mrs. Wallen’s gardener, was very quiet on the drive to the B&B, but that was typical for him, and that gave Claire time to think. She knew Mrs. Billings was strict and finicky. She also had heard about Donovan, the son, a dreadful womanizer and not to be trusted. Claire bit her lip. Once again, she told herself jobs weren’t easy to come by.
“There you go, Miss,” Douglas said, when he stopped outside the B&B. He opened his door, jumped out of the truck and took Claire’s bike out of the back.
“Thank you, Douglas.”
Douglas nodded a goodbye, and Claire did the same; then he drove away and she wheeled her bike to the side of the building and leaned it against the wall. After a deep breath, she walked to the front and entered the double doors. She had not been inside the place before, but it was familiar thanks to the detailed description she’d gotten from Jessie on their many girlfriends' get-togethers at the coffee shop.
Claire approached the girl behind the desk, who she knew was most likely Yvonne because Jessie had talked about everyone who worked there. “Hello, I’m here to see Mrs. Billings.”
The young woman smiled up at her. “Do you have an appointment?”
Claire frowned. “No, I don’t think so, but she is expecting me.”
“What’s your name?”
“Claire Schoneberger.”
The receptionist pressed a few buttons on her phone after she directed Claire to have a seat.
“Claire, is it?”
Claire rose to her feet when she saw an attractive, light-haired older woman walking toward her. “Yes, Claire Schoneberger.”
“I’m Mrs. Billings. Come this way.”
Claire followed the well-dressed Mrs. Billings into a small room to the left of the reception area. She didn’t seem as scary as Jessie had said. Perhaps everything Jessie had told them had been an exaggeration.
“Have a seat.” Mrs. Billings sat behind a white desk and Claire sat opposite. “You’ve come highly recommended by some very good friends. I don’t mind telling you I’ve had problems with staff turnover lately. If I give you the job, I would like your personal guarantee you’ll stay at least twelve months.” Mrs. Billings eyed Claire carefully.
Claire stared into Mrs. Billings pale brown eyes searching her head for something to say. Anything could happen in twelve months. Was Mrs. Billings being reasonable to ask such a thing of her? Her upbringing had taught her a verbal promise was binding, as though she'd signed papers. What if she suddenly met the perfect man, got married, and the man wanted to move away?
After Claire had taken a while to answer, Mrs. Billings said, “I’m sure you wouldn’t be here to waste my time. You wouldn’t be here for a job if you only intended to stay a few months; would that be correct, Miss Schoneberger?” Without waiting even a moment for her to reply, Mrs. Billings stood. “Young lady, I take it from your tardy response that you’re wasting my time.”
“No, wait. Yes, I will stay at least twelve months. As long as you’re also happy with my work.”
Mrs. Billings smiled and sat back down. She placed thin-rimmed glasses on the end of her nose and looked down at a short stack of papers on her desk. “I pay all my staff quite well, better than the mandated minimum wage.” She handed Claire a few sheets of paper as she named a starting wage that raised Claire's eyebrows. Looking down, Claire saw a list of rules and a code of conduct for the staff. “But I also expect a lot. Study those completely. That will save me having to tell you everything. Time is money. I assume you can start tomorrow?”
“Yes, I can start tomorrow.” Claire smiled and was pleased to have a job so soon, right away after losing the last one so suddenly.
“Nine sharp. Yvonne will have all the necessary forms for you to fill out. Do that before you leave. Good day, Miss Schoneberger.”
Claire stood and nodded. “Good day and thank you.”
She hurried out of the office and once she’d filled out two forms giving all her details, she walked out of the building wondering how she would get home. She’d completely forgotten about her bike and decided to walk to the main road to call the familye phone from a pay phone.
Just as she stepped onto the side of the road, she heard horse’s hooves. She turned to see an Amish buggy leaving the building. Once she squinted hard, she saw it was Olive's bruder, Elijah, and his Onkel Henry. A smile of relief broke out on her face at the realization they’d be able to take her home.
The buggy stopped by her. “Can we take you somewhere, Claire?” Elijah asked her.
“Jah, are you going near my haus?”
Elijah looked at his Onkel Henry, who gave a quick nod. “We can take you,” Henry said.
Once she was in the buggy, Elijah asked her, “What are you doing out this way?”
“I’ve just got a job here. I might have gotten Jessie’s old job.”
Elijah scratched his chin. “I’m pretty sure they’ve got someone else doing her job.”
Claire shrugged. “Jessie said you were doing some building work here.”
“That’s right. We should be finished tomorrow or the day after. Just watch yourself while you’re there, Claire. I didn’t want Jessie working there around bad influences.”
“I will.” Claire knew the bad influences he was talking about came in the form of one man, Donovan Billings, her new employer's son.
“Don’t tell Jessie about my new job if you see her today. I want to tell all the girls together. We’re meeting late this afternoon at the coffee shop.”
“Okay,” Elijah agreed. “I won’t say a word.”
She hoped Jessie would not mind her working at her old job. Hopefully, she’d have some tips for her.
When they were a mile from her haus, Claire said, “Just let me out here, denke.” Claire wanted to have time to think before she saw her parents. They hadn't been very happy about her first job with Englischers, but it was made a little easier because they’d known old Mr. and Mrs. Wallen. They did not know Mrs. Billings and if they learned of Donovan Billings and his exploits they would certainly never allow her to work anywhere near the Billingses' place.
Claire looked up at the overhead tree branches as she walked, and it was only then she remembered she’d ridden the bike that day. She’d left it leaning against the side wall at the B&B. She shook her head at her own forgetfulness. Maybe her older schweschder, Sally, would drive her to work tomorrow—if she could talk her into it.
Claire was the youngest of five children. The oldest child was a boy, Nathan, who was married, and her sister May, who was only two years older and in between Sally and herself, had married young. There were three of them left at home, herself and her bruder Elias and Sally, the eldest sister.
At times, Sally acted like she was the mother. Except she was bossy and cross whereas their mother was kind and sweet. Claire knew Sally was angry because she had no husband of her own and May already had kinner.
The farm had been in Claire’s family for five generations, and one of her brothers would take it over when the time came for their father to retire. Convincing their father to retire any time soon wasn’t going to be easy.
Although Claire had loved growing up on the farm, she envisioned a different life for her adult self. Her sister’s husband owned a construction company, and May didn’t have all the hard farm work to contend with that the farmers’ wives had. All May did was keep house and raise her kinner. She had no worry about the weather and how it would affect the crops. All Claire hoped was that she didn’t fall in love with a farmer.
Like all Amish girls, Claire had been taught how to run a household. Her hope was she would find the right man soon because she wanted children of her own while she was still young. She’d always been good with children, even when she was young, but she could never be a nanny like her friend, Olive had been. She wanted to save looking after children until she had her own. For now, cleaning was the ideal way to pass the days until God found her a man. Besides helping her parents and getting herself a little pocket money, she got away from Sally and her increasingly bad moods.
Kicking a pebble ahead of her as she walked along the driveway, Claire wondered how to tell her parents she was working at the B&B. Maybe they wouldn’t mind so much because Mrs. Wallen knew Mrs. Billings. There was only one thing for it, she would tell her mudder first, as soon as she got into the haus, and if it was all right with Mamm, it would be all right with her vadder.
Claire pushed the front door open and walked into the kitchen. Her mudder was in the middle of canning preserves with her older schweschder, Sally.
“What are you doing home so early?” Sally asked turning her chin up and looking down her nose, fixing her beady brown eyes on Claire.
When Claire had thought about telling her parents, she had forgotten all about her schweschder, who would most likely make a fuss of her news and not in a good way. Claire sat down at the kitchen table. “Mr. and Mrs. Wallen have their dochder-in-law insisting on doing their chores for them.”
Her mudder raised her eyebrows and pinched her lips together.
“Gut,” Sally said with a sharp nod of her head. “It was a silly idea for you five girls to do maids' work.”
Claire and her four friends had all wanted to work, so they had taken out a stall some weeks ago at the farmers’ markets to display their resumes—and they had all found employment.
“Does that mean you’ll be helping us again?” Her mudder smiled, ignoring her oldest dochder’s remarks.
“Nee, Mamm, I’ve got another job. Mrs. Wallen recommended me to someone who owns a B&B. I went there today for an interview, and I start right away tomorrow.”
Her mudder nodded. “That’s gut. If Mrs. Wallen thinks they’re okay, that’s all right.”
“You don’t mind?” Claire asked.
She shook her head. “Nee, not if Mrs. Wallen knows them.”
Sally stepped closer. “Does Mrs. Wallen know them or are you just making it up?”
“Jah, Sally, she does.” She tried not to let any trace of irritation slip into her voice.
Sometimes their mother took a stall at the farmers’ markets, and that was how Mamm had come to know Mr. and Mrs. Wallen; they always bought her mother’s preserves and jams.
“What are the people like at your new job?” Sally asked.
“Jah, tell us about it.”
Claire told her mother and sister as much as she knew about the B&B and everyone who worked there, leaving out the part about the owner’s son.
“One job is as gut as another, I reckon,” Mamm said.
“I think you should be home helping us,” Sally said.
Claire hung her head hoping her mudder would not agree.
“Hush now.” Mamm frowned at Sally.
Claire was pleased with what her mother said, but dared not look her schweschder in the eye.
“Was that the place Jessie was working?” Sally asked.
“Jah, that’s the one.” Claire nodded.
Sally was not going to drop the subject. “Why did she leave?”
“I couldn’t be sure. She doesn’t want to work now she’s got her mind on marrying Elijah.” Claire rose to her feet. “I’m meeting the girls later at the coffee shop. Can I do anything before I go?”
Her mudder looked around the kitchen then said, “Jah, you can get the washing off the line.”
Claire walked out of the kitchen and into the yard.
“Be back in time to help with the dinner,” Sally said.
“I was hoping you’d drive me to see the girls this afternoon.”
Sally sighed. “All right, if I have to I will.”
