Aurelian listened, sort of, he finished off his coffee, nodded a few times in fake comprehension then left the table, "Thank you Arabella, got some work to do now."

Arabella was pleased that Mr. Redmond had found her information so interesting and instructive. There was plenty more where that came from, and she imagined that in the future, when he looked back, her stay on his little farm would be a memory that would brighten his days.

“You are very welcome, Sir. And may I please say again how very grateful I am for you lookin’ after me and all. And when I’m all better and get out and find me a job, I’m going to save and save and, although I know you to be far too noble a gentleman to accept money, I would like to buy you and your family a little present to show my gratitude.” A happy thought lit up her face. “Oooh, maybe I could buy you Miss Hartley’s book of Ettiquette and Politeness for Young Ladies – that way you wouldn’t have to always be consultin’ me on what to do if a Grand Duke called, or what sort of shoes to wear fer a weddin’!” She nodded at the excellence of her own idea.

Clara gave Wyatt his marching orders - straight to the bath tub with him. The boy reluctantly gave in because he never won any contests of wills with his sister.

"Oh please!” Arabella spoke up “Can I help with any little thing? Maybe I could wash the dishes or milk a cow or something?”

"Why yes, you certainly could be of some use. Thank you for volunteering," Clara was clearly pleased.

“Well, course I volunteered. That’s what Jesus would have done.” Arabella informed her, somewhat smugly.

"You can wash the dishes then. Frees me up to start on the laundry then," she then grunted as she took the heated pot of water to dump into the bathtub.

“Oh sure! I’m the best washer upper in the whole o’ the Old Dominion, or so I’m told. Oooh,can I have a tad of that hot water fer my washing up? It helps git the grease off of the plates, you know.” She informed the other girl, as if she didn’t already know that.

"Oh, and when you do that laundry o' mine: give them gray-backs He.. Heck fer me! I owe them little buggers a good deal of trouble and bother the way they bit me on the wagon train!"

"Oh please no, child, don't go spending any of your hard earned money on us, we took you in not for profit but in Christian charity and besides, you weren't any real fuss," Aurelian hoped to discourage the waste of money for that book purchase. He doubted even Clara would read that one and she was voracious reader.

Then he was gone in as dignified a retreat as he could execute. That left Clara with their guest. On the bright side, Arabella volunteered to do some work, Clara was quick to take her up on that.

“Well, course I volunteered. That’s what Jesus would have done.” Arabella informed her, somewhat smugly.

Clara blinked, "Yes, I reckon so. " Then assigned her the dishes to wash.

“Oh sure! I’m the best washer upper in the whole o’ the Old Dominion, or so I’m told. Oooh,can I have a tad of that hot water fer my washing up? It helps git the grease off of the plates, you know.”

Clara nodded and paused to share a bit of the water, careful not to spill any, "Yes, of course I know that. I have washed dishes before .... you know."

Alright, the last part was a bit mocking but the girl brought out the worse in her, Clara reasoned in her defense. But Arabella was not done with requests yet, asking for Clara to 'give her graybacks ...heck'.

"I always do a thorough job when I do laundry, I will have you know. I expect you to do the same now with those dishes. No excuses later," she chided.

Determined not to give her time for a third request, Clara hustled into her room to dump the water into the tub, Wyatt was almost done undressing. That only took mere seconds and Clara told her brother, "Get in there and wash everywhere too. Do not be lazy."

Wyatt promised he wouldn't and she spun about and left again, this time planning on heading out of the house without interruptions. Well, hopefully.

Clara nodded and paused to share a bit of the water, careful not to spill any, "Yes, of course I know that. I have washed dishes before .... you know."

“Well, I reckoned you would know that, but still I said it ‘just in case’.” Arabella returned.

Alright, the last part was a bit mocking but the girl brought out the worse in her, Clara reasoned in her defense. But Arabella was not done with requests yet, asking for Clara to 'give her graybacks ...heck'.

"I always do a thorough job when I do laundry, I will have you know. I expect you to do the same now with those dishes. No excuses later," she chided.

“Oh don’t you fret about that none!” the other girl assured Clara “Why, I’ll get these dishes so clean that you’d be able to eat your dinner off of them!” she joked, and then laughed at her own joke because it was becoming increasingly clear that Clara never laughed at anything. Oh, but she would one day, Arabella was determined on that front. One day, she would discover a joke or do something so uproariously funny that even Clare Anne Redmond would have to laugh. And that thing would have to be so very funny, that laughing at it would probably kill Arabella herself, but that’d be worth it, just to see the serious girl chuckle for once.

Determined not to give her time for a third request, Clara hustled into her room to dump the water into the tub, Wyatt was almost done undressing. That only took mere seconds and Clara told her brother, "Get in there and wash everywhere too. Do not be lazy."

Wyatt promised he wouldn't and she spun about and left again, this time planning on heading out of the house without interruptions. Well, hopefully.

Arabella meanwhile got busy with the washing up, collecting up the plates and cups and putting them in the washing up basin. She started with the cleaner things, and ended with the dirtier and more greasy objects like the plates, and the combination of warm water and a flannel got them pretty clean.

“This won’t take but two shakes of a lamb’s tail” she announced as Clara re-entered the room. “What shall I do when it’s all washed and dried?” she asked, helpfully.

The girl declared she would get those dishes so clean one could eat dinner off of them then laughed heartily at her rather feeble attempt at humor.

"That is what we use dishes for," Clara pointed out the obvious, not even breaking into a hint of a smile.

It's not that - contrary to Arabella's thoughts - the older girl did not have a sense of humor. There were occasions (granted rare ones) when Clara both smiled and even laughed. But it took a lot to coax such reactions out of her.

“This won’t take but two shakes of a lamb’s tail” she announced as Clara re-entered the room. “What shall I do when it’s all washed and dried?”

Clara was surprised how fast the girl worked, she would have to inspect those dishes to see that Arabella had done a proper job of it in her haste.

"Just let me know so I can look them over. If they pass inspection, then you can....." she looked around the place for a few fleeting seconds before coming up with something, "You can sweep the floors. There is a broom and dustpan in the far corner."

If the girl wanted to work, then Clara would oblige her.

"Just let me know so I can look them over. If they pass inspection, then you can....." she looked around the place for a few fleeting seconds before coming up with something.

Meanwhile, Arabella shook her head with a blithe smile and rubbed her thumb against one of her washed plates so it made a high pitched little sound. “Squeeky clean!” she exclaimed.

"You can sweep the floors. There is a broom and dustpan in the far corner."

“Oh goody!” Arabella beamed and ran over to the big brush fashioned out of bundled bendy twigs. First of all she got astraddle the thing with a shout of “Hey, look Clara, I’m a witch!” but then she shuddered and got off quickly “Ohh, that reminded me of that horrible witch as was chasin’ me in my nightmares! Except now I say it out loud I remember, she weren’t no with, she was that old lady I woke up next to as was dead. Her name was Martha, she sure put the shivers up me!” the girl actually, and involuntarily shivered at the thought. “Oh well, dreams only come true if you tell ‘em before breakfast, so that’s all right.”

Breakfast! She had almost forgotten. Holding onto the broom and closing her eyes, she quickly and mechanically recited the after prayer. Then she looked about the room, planning her brushing route. She’d want to end up near the outside door, where she could corral the sweepings into a tight corner to get them into the dustpan. Once decided, she set to, and made up a sweeping song as she went.

“🎶 I went to dust the Redmond’s house

And tidy up the kitchen

I didn’t ride upon the broom

In case it was be-witchin’! 🎶”

She stopped to tell Clara that “I just made that up! I’m always making songs up. That’s one of my rare and unique gifts.” This important item of news imparted, she carried on.

“🎶 I dusted up the bits of egg

And all of Wyatt’s mess

And all them little bits and crumbs

That fell off Clara’s dress! 🎶”

She bobbed her head from side to side happily as she sang and dusted.

“🎶 Oh that girl, that pretty little girl, the girl I left behind me….🎶 Oh darn it!” she frowned, as she got to the chorus and realized it was just an old tune that’s she’d copied, so she stopped singing it. One day she'd properly make up a new tune.

“Did my dishes pass muster?” she asked Clara, instead of singing.

“Oh goody!” Arabella beamed and ran over to the big brush fashioned out of bundled bendy twigs. First of all she got astraddle the thing with a shout of “Hey, look Clara, I’m a witch!”

Oh Clara was so tempted but she simply gazed at the girl and said, "You cannot sweep a floor like that you know."

The girl then proceeded to talk about a dream only it wasn't, it had to do with her lying next to dead people. Land sakes, how does one even reply to that sort of thing? Clara was at a loss for words for one of the few times in her life. Fortunately Clara had realized by now that Arabella never really stayed on focus for very long with her constant topics of conversation - less conversation than one sided discourse. Sure enough as the girl began to sweep she started singing. Clara just glanced at each dish before putting them away in the proper shelf.

She stopped to tell Clara that “I just made that up! I’m always making songs up. That’s one of my rare and unique gifts.”

"I will agree it is ..... unique," Clara conceded, dripping with sarcasm.

The singing stopped so the girl could ask a question, "Did my dishes pass muster?"

For once Clara could be truly complimentary, "Yes, Arabella, you did an excellent job. I thank you."

She had to give child credit where credit was due.

The singing stopped so the girl could ask a question, "Did my dishes pass muster?"

For once Clara could be truly complimentary, "Yes, Arabella, you did an excellent job. I thank you."

She had to give child credit where credit was due.

“Sure I did! That’s one o’ my unique gifts, too. I can do chores quicky and do ‘em good and … this is the uniquey part, I like doin’ ‘em, even if they’re tedious. Do you know why that is, Clara?” she asked, as if she wasn’t going to tell her anyway.

“That’s because I use my imagination. Like right now, you think I‘m just plain old Arabella, a sweepin’ up your Pappy’s kitchen while good ol' Clara, her friend, stands there a watchin'? Lor’ no! ‘m minding that I’m Cinderella an’ that you’re my cruel, ugly stepsister, makin' me do all the dirty jobs in the cellar. An’ pretty soon some handsome ol’ Prince is gonna come a knockin’ at that there door and he’ll look like you-know-who and he’ll try a glass slipper on me and it’ll fit and we’ll get married and when he tried the slipper on you, why, your feet’ll be too big fer it and…” she peered down at Clara’s boots, sticking out from bellow her smock.

“Why, your feet are kinda big.” she frowned seriously “Or does your Pappy get you boots two sizes too big, fer you to grow into?”

Arabella cocked an ear. “Listen Clara, your Wyatt’s kinda quiet.” She suddenly gasped and dropped the broom “Oh no, what if he’s drowned!!!” and started to run for the door back to Clara’s room.

"Do them 'well', it is 'well' not 'good'," Clara mildly corrected her grammar but the girl kept going full throttle plowing on with her take on chores and imagination.

"Big feet? I do not!" Clara suddenly frowned at that completely incorrect observation by Arabella.

Before Clara could further sputter about the unfairness of that the girl now panicked at the silence coming from the room where Wyatt had been taking his bath. Drowning?

"Nonsense, Wyatt is even a better swimmer than I am. He is half fish it seems," Clara scoffed.

And just then the door opened and there was Wyatt, a towel wrapped around his waist but otherwise naked, bare feet leaving water on the room floor. Wyatt looked surprised to see Arabella standing right there but addressed his sister.

"So do I put on the clothes I was already wearin' or you want me to change?" was his solemn question.

Despite Arabella's opinion that Clara never laughed or smiled, the older girl actually was full on grin now as she declared, "So there's your Prince at the door!"

Wyatt did not get it. Girls...............

"Do them 'well', it is 'well' not 'good'," Clara mildly corrected her grammar but the girl kept going full throttle plowing on with her take on chores and imagination.

“Do them well” repeated Arabella. Clara sure knew her grammar! “Do them well. Got it.”

Clara didn’t seem to disbelieve the scientific fact that she was possessed of unnaturally enormous feet, and Arabella was just about to suggest that they both lie on their backs on the kitchen floor, toe to toe and see which pair of dogs stuck up the most but, unfortunately, exaggerated reports of Wyatt’s tragic death through drowning scuppered that idea.

"Nonsense, Wyatt is even a better swimmer than I am. He is half fish it seems," Clara scoffed.

“Ooooh, like a silky! That's like a mermaidman, and do you know if a mermaidman falls in love with a lady who ain’t a mermaid and’s got big feet like you instead of a tail, then…” this story was cut off by the appearance of the mermaidman himself.

And just then the door opened and there was Wyatt, a towel wrapped around his waist but otherwise naked, bare feet leaving water on the room floor. Wyatt looked surprised to see Arabella standing right there but addressed his sister.

A half naked Wyatt! Arabella gasped and put a hand to her eyes, so she could look through her fingers.

"So do I put on the clothes I was already wearin' or you want me to change?" was his solemn question.

Despite Arabella's opinion that Clara never laughed or smiled, the older girl actually was full on grin now as she declared, "So there's your Prince at the door!"

“Oh well, any old port in a storm” shrugged Arabella “But where the Dickens do you suppose he’s hidin’ the glass slipper?!” she wondered out loud, and then noticed that, for the first time that she’d met her, the girl was actually smiling!

“Oh Clara, you do smile!” she raved “An’ you look so extra pretty when you do, it does me ‘well’ to see it!”

“Oh well, any old port in a storm” shrugged Arabella “But where the Dickens do you suppose he’s hidin’ the glass slipper?!”

"I ain't hiding anything under here, especially not no glass slipper," Wyatt assured the girl as he tightened his hold on the towel, still not really sure what exactly their conversation was about. Mermaidmen and glass slippers, none of that was even real?

Before Clara could answer her younger brother's wardrobe inquiry, Arabella piped up ....again. The girl brought a whole new meaning to the old saying 'Silence is golden'.

“Oh Clara, you do smile!” she raved “An’ you look so extra pretty when you do, it does me ‘well’ to see it!”

The elusive smile instantly disappeared as Clara retorted, "Of course I can smile. When there is something worth smiling about. "

Arabella said she was 'extra pretty'? Now that was unexpectedly nice but she'd much rather hear such a thing from a nice looking young man. No luck there though.

"But... thank you for the kind words," she added then addressed her brother finally, "Not your underwear but keep the rest of the same outfit on. I am behind on laundry as it is. "

Fine with him, Wyatt nodded and padded straight for Arabella for a second it seemed then bypassed her to head to his own bedroom, such as it was. The fact he was half naked didn't phase him none, Indians did it all the time.