New Beginnings Spring 20 Book Box Set

by Hope Sinclair

  “I’m going to go clean myself up,” Camilla added, looking up at Mrs. Norton again. “Then, I’m going to rest until dinner time, if it’s alright with you. My nerves are shot from today.”

  Mrs. Norton sighed and nodded. “Very well, my dear,” she said. She picked up her book and buried her nose in it again, though her thoughts remained on the conversation they’d just had.

  Camilla went off to her room, where she changed her clothing, wiped the filling from her skin, and laid down for a nap. It took Camilla a great while to fall asleep, as she kept replaying the events of the afternoon in her head. She was full of mixed emotions. She felt a sense of joy over her brief interaction with the stranger; a sense of embarrassment over having the pie splattered all over her, and an anger toward something for splattering it; and a sense of confusion over what Mrs. Norton had said about being forthright with the stranger and pursuing a future with him.

  Camilla only managed to sleep for an hour or so before Mrs. Norton called her to dinner. Their dinner, as usual, was very delicious, but the dinnertime discussion was subpar. Camilla still felt too conflicted to talk openly, and Mrs. Norton didn’t want to say anything that would upset or unnerve her pregnant ward.

  After dinner, the women retired to the living room to enjoy their respective leisure activities. Mrs. Norton sat on the couch and returned to reading her book, and Camilla sat on one of the two chairs and pulled out her needles and yarn to continue her work on the baby blanket she’d been knitting over the past few days.

  About an hour or so into their evening, the women were roused by an unexpected knock on the door. The simple sound caused Camilla to become quite nervous, considering her past experiences with unexpected visitors, and she clutched her knitting work close to her chest as Mrs. Norton went to answer the door.

  EIGHT

  Camilla watched as Mrs. Norton stood by the door talking to whoever was calling. She couldn’t see who the older woman was chatting with, but she got the impression that, whoever it was, it was no one to be worried about, and she let go of her tight hold on the blanket.

  A split-second later, Mrs. Norton turned around and smiled. “Camilla,” she said, “you’ve got a caller.”

  With that, a man stepped into the house, and Camilla’s eyes widened.

  “Good evening,” the ruggedly good-looking stranger said. He tipped his head at Camilla, and she gave him the sweetest smile.

  “How did you—” Camilla began to ask, searching for the right words.

  “I hope you don’t mind,” the stranger said. “But, after what happened today at the bakery, I was very upset. I couldn’t stop thinking about what that other girl had done to you… So, later in the afternoon, I returned to the bakery and asked your boss how I could find you. Once he was sure my intentions were good, he told me your address.”

  Camilla felt a tickling in her tummy, and she perched up in her seat to listen as the man went on.

  “I got this for you,” the man added, holding out a large box. Camilla had been so preoccupied with staring at his handsome face that she hadn’t even noticed the box until that moment, despite its size.

  The stranger walked over to Camilla and handed her the box. She slowly opened it, and smiled when she saw what was inside.

  “I hope it fits,” the stranger said. “I know nothing about women’s dresses. But, I told the woman at the clothing shop that it was for you, and she said this would be appropriate. Apparently, she knows you from the bakery.”

  Camilla reached into the box and pulled out the gift the man had given her. It was a very lovely, obviously very expensive dress, and it was much nicer than anything she already owned.

  “I figure this can make up for the dress your coworker destroyer earlier,” the stranger smiled. “And, given its dark color, it should resist staining should she decided to be so brazen again.”

  Camilla couldn’t help but giggle, and she heard Mrs. Norton chuckle from the other side of the room.

  “Thank you very much,” Camilla said, easing her hold on the dress so that it gently fell back into the box. She gazed down at it and sighed. “But, I can’t accept a gift like this from a stranger,” she added with a bit of a frown.

  “Then, let’s fix that!” the stranger said in an eager voice. “My name is Henry Brown, and I’ve recently arrived here from Ruby, Arizona.” He arched his eyebrows and grinned from ear to ear. “Now, we are strangers no more,” he added.

  Camilla giggled again. She opened her mouth to speak, but, before she could get a word out, Mrs. Norton approached. “I’ll go sit in the dining room and let the two of you talk for a bit,” the older woman said. Both Camilla and Henry smiled and nodded at her as she walked into the adjacent room.

  “I am Camilla Parker,” Camilla said once Mrs. Norton was seated at the table, still in earshot. “But, I guess you already knew that.”

  “Yes,” Henry laughed.

  Camilla stared at the man, and he stared back. There was a moment of silence—but, during that moment, something unspoken was shared between them.

  “Oh dear, where are my manners?” Camilla said a few seconds later. “Please, have a seat.”

  Henry sat down in the chair beside Camilla’s and leaned his body toward her, so that the two of them could face each other as they spoke. Camilla looked down at the garment box that was still on her lap, and, then, she put the lid back on it and set it down on the floor in front of her.

  “Thank you again for this lovely dress,” she smiled, sitting up straight again.

  “I’m sure you’ll look quite beautiful in it,” Henry replied. He blushed no sooner than he finished his statement.

  “Thank you,” Camilla answered, blushing as well. “Though, I doubt I’ll wear such a fancy piece to work. Even if I can manage to escape Samantha’s aggressions, I’d still have to worry about soiling it during my work.”

  “Well, I hope you’ll be able to get some use out of it,” Henry remarked.

  “I’m certain I will,” Camilla smiled. “Our spring festival is coming up next month. I’ve heard it’s a great event. So, I’ll wear it then.”

  “Ah,” Henry sighed. “Pity I won’t get to see you in it.”

  Camilla looked at Henry curiously.

  “I’m only slated to stay here in Sun Crest for another 10 days or so,” Henry explained. “I’m here on personal business, and it should be settled then.”

  “Oh,” Camilla replied, somewhat deflated.

  Henry leaned back in his chair and bowed his head. He remained silent for a few seconds before speaking again.

  “I’ve come to Sun Crest to claim my inheritance,” he noted. “My parents died several months ago, and their lawyer called me here to claim what they left behind.”

  Camilla’s heart fluttered, and she was reminded again of the feelings she felt when she’d first seen Henry walk into the bakery.

  “I’m very sorry for your loss,” Camilla said, repeating the same words others had said to her over the last three weeks or so.

  “Eh,” Henry replied in a tone that caught Camilla off guard. “It wasn’t really much of a loss.”

  Camilla was a bit shocked at Henry’s response.

  “I never knew my parents,” Henry clarified, sensing Camilla’s surprise. “I was surrendered to an orphanage at my birth, and remained there until the age of 16. I guess my parents must have felt some sense of guilt over it though, because, apparently, they kept tabs on me over the years—and, they did so so efficiently that their lawyer was able to find me once they passed.

  “You’re… you’re… you’re an orphan?” Camilla stuttered.

  “Yes,” Henry replied, bowing his head.

  “I am too,” Camilla chimed back. Henry looked up at Camilla again, and, when their eyes met, Camilla finally understood the unexplainable thing she’d felt when she first saw him—and, Henry felt the brunt of it too.

  The pair went on to discuss their backgrounds. They talked about the trials and tribulation
s of growing up in an orphanage—from the meager institutions they lived in and the friends they made, and lost, during their stay to the feelings of hopeless and abandonment and the dreams they both had of finding an adoptive family. They also talked about how the difficult experiences they endured had given them each a sense of strength and an ability to confront challenges, as well as a strong desire to help others and the dream to one day have families of their own.

  As Camilla and Henry’s conversation progressed, they both nearly forgot about the situations they were each in, and they took comfort in their similarities. They both felt a sense of kinship with each other that neither had ever felt with another person before, and an undeniable bond was forged between them.

  But, just as their conversation progressed, so, too, did time. Camilla and Henry were both so engaged in their conversation that neither realized that nearly three hours had passed since Henry knocked on the door. Mrs. Norton, however, was well aware of this fact, and she returned to the living room to alert her ward and her guest.

  “Camilla,” Mrs. Norton said, entering the living room again, “I hate to interrupt you. But, it’s nearly 10 at night now… So, you and Mr. Brown should call it a night.”

  “Oh dear,” Camilla giggled. “I didn’t realize it was so late.”

  “Me either,” Henry added. He stood up from his chair and nodded at Mrs. Norton. “Thank you for allowing me to visit,” he told the old woman.

  Henry looked over to Camilla again, and Camilla stood up as well.

  “I had a wonderful time talking with you tonight,” Henry said, gazing at Camilla adoringly.

  “As did I,” Camilla replied.

  “I know my stay here in Sun Crest is to be short-lived,” Henry went on. “But, if it suits you, perhaps we can get together again? I can think of no better way to spend my time here than to spend it with you.”

  Camilla blushed and bowed her head. “I’d like that very much,” she answered.

  Henry turned to Mrs. Norton once more. “Thanks again for your hospitality, ma’am,” he said politely.

  Camilla walked Henry to the door and watched as he left. Once he was on his steed, she turned around and shut the door, too starry-eyed to notice Mrs. Norton standing there, shaking her head.

  “What have you done, my dear child?” Mrs. Norton asked in a concerned voice.

  “What do you mean?” Camilla inquired, stirred from her daze.

  “I overheard your discussion as I sat in the dining room,” Mrs. Norton answered. “You had every opportunity to tell that young man about your situation. Yet, you did not… And, in the end, you agreed to meet up with him again. Don’t you think he deserves to know the truth if the two of you are to court? Don’t you think you are leading him on, down a crooked path, by not telling him you are with child?”

  Camilla closed her eyes and weighed her thoughts carefully.

  “If you overheard our discussion,” she replied, opening her eyes again, “then you heard that Henry will only be in town for 10 days. So, I would hardly call my spending time with him during his stay ‘courting.’ And, I don’t think what time we do spend together needs to be muddled with talk of my situation.

  “In telling him that I am pregnant, I’d also have to tell him about my marriage to Leslie, and explain why I am entertaining him so shortly after my husband’s death. But, why should I go through the agony of all that? Is it really necessary for me to recount my wretched life with Leslie just for the sake of revealing the truth?

  “You, yourself, said I deserve happiness in my life. So, why can’t I just enjoy happiness for these next 10 days? Henry’s business in Sun Crest will be done then, and, then, he’ll be on his way. He’ll be gone from this town, and gone from my life. When he returns to Ruby, should he return with the burden of concern over me for my pregnancy and tortured life with Leslie?”

  Mrs. Norton shook her head from side to side. “Camilla, you are dealing with matters of the heart here,” she said in a soft voice. “Things aren’t that cut and dry.”

  “Yes, they are,” Camilla fired back in a somewhat harsh voice. “Henry will only be here for 10 more days. It’d do more damage than good to reveal my secrets to him.”

  Mrs. Norton shook her head again, and Camilla huffed a deep breath.

  “I’m going to my room now,” the younger woman said. “Good night.” She walked over to the chair, picked up the garment box, and went to her bedroom.

  Once she was in her room, Camilla felt guilty over how briskly she’d treated Mrs. Norton. But, regardless, she felt confident in what she’d said. She didn’t want to ruin what limited time she had with Henry by telling him of her troubling past, or have him treat her differently because she was with child. She knew that, maybe, she was being a bit selfish—but, she figured, in the long run, it’d be okay.

  Camilla tried to shake away her thoughts by reexamining the dress Henry had given her. She withdrew it from the box and held it up in front of her body in front of the mirror affixed to her dresser. Indeed, it was a splendid piece of clothing, and she’d look quite spiffy in it, she thought. She envisioned herself wearing it at the upcoming spring festival and smiled.

  But, then, Camilla set the dress down and looked at her form in the mirror. And, she was reminded that, in a month, when the spring festival occurred, the dress probably wouldn’t fit her, as her belly would likely be much bigger then.

  NINE

  Over the next several days, Camilla and Henry spent a great deal of time together. He came to visit her during her shift on the days that she worked, and saw her outside of work every chance he got.

  The pair shared lunch during Camilla’s lunch breaks during the week. They went for a stroll through town one evening, and had dinner in the town restaurant the next. Henry came to Mrs. Norton’s for an evening call on another night; and he took her to a jamboree at the church at the end of the week.

  On the weekend, Henry and Camilla went fishing on Saturday afternoon. And, on Sunday, after church, he took her and Mrs. Norton to his later parents’ ranch to show them around.

  During their time together, naturally, the bond that had formed between Camilla and Henry only grew stronger, and their affinity for each became all the more intense. An outsider looking in might have very well thought they were a couple who’d been together for years.

  And, as per the actual outsiders to their relationship, rather than the hypothetical ones, for the most part, the townsfolk of Sun Crest thought nothing of the relationship between Camilla and Henry. As Mrs. Norton had suggested, many of them weren’t even aware that Camilla was Leslie’s widow, and those who were weren’t alarmed to see her in the company of another man, as they knew too well what kind of man Leslie really was.

  But, there was one resident of Sun Crest who didn’t like what she saw as far as Camilla and Henry were concerned. Samantha was still interested in Henry herself, even though she’d learned he was only to be in Sun Crest for a limited time, and, as she saw Henry and Camilla going about town together in such a friendly way, her jealousy intensified. Plus, Samantha also harbored a resentment against Camilla because of the consequences that resulted from the incident with the pie. After that awful afternoon, Mr. Jenkins did not ask Samantha to work at the bakery again. She was basically “fired” from her job, and she blamed Camilla for it, not herself.

  Samantha was filled with envy and anger, and these emotions gave way to rage. She went out of her way to spy on Camilla and Henry, and she began plotting her revenge. Somehow—one way or another—she was determined to destroy what had developed between them. She was just waiting for the right moment, when things fell into place.

  And, sure enough, things fell into place one weekday morning, when Camilla took a break from work to run an important “errand.”

  Samantha had been spying on Camilla from the general store, when she saw Camilla walk out of the bakery and head off toward the far end of town. She followed Camilla, keeping herself several yards behind, un
til Camilla ended up at the doctor’s house. She waited outside for a few minutes after Camilla went in, and looked in through the window as Camilla was ushered back into the examination room.

  A minute or so later, Samantha went into the doctor’s house as well. She told the nurse that greeted her that she had leg pains and needed to be seen by the doctor. The nurse informed her that the doctor was with another patient, but that he’d see her when he was done.

  The nurse took Samantha to the waiting area that was just outside of the examination room, then returned to her desk, at the front of the house, to take care of some matters. Once the nurse was out of the waiting area, Samantha jumped up and pressed her ear against the door. The voices on the other side sounded a bit muffled, but Samantha was able to understand them enough.

  “Are you experiencing sickness in the mornings?” Samantha heard the doctor ask Camilla.

  “A bit,” Camilla replied.

  “That’s to be expected,” the doctor said. “Just take a few drops of peppermint oil if it gets too bad... You’ve put on a bit of weight. But, I’d like to see you put on more.”

  Samantha’s interests were piqued. The same doctor had told her, on numerous occasions, that excess weight was a bad thing, so she was curious as to why he’d tell Camilla the opposite.

  “My appetite has been weak these past couple weeks,” Camilla told the doctor. “And, sometimes I feel sickness after I eat.”

  “That’s to be expected too,” the doctor answered. “But, try to eat more… Your baby needs the nutrition.”

  Samantha’s heart beat rapidly inside her chest, and she felt a sinister joy. Camilla is pregnant! she thought. I bet Henry is not aware of that! She must be keeping it a secret!

  Samantha was always on the cutting edge of gossip in Sun Crest, and she knew that, if she hadn’t heard news of Camilla’s pregnancy, no one else had either, including Henry. And, she knew that this was her ticket. This type of information was exactly what she needed to destroy what had developed between the “couple” she envied so much.