Only For Love (A Novella)

Only For Love - Chapter Three

Another storm was on its way.

Clara kept one eye on the dark clouds rolling across the sky as she hammered the shingles on the roof of the barn into place. She was almost done, she just had to get the last few into place before the rain came. 

The sound of hoofbeats floated up to her from the distance. From her vantage point on the roof, she could see the road from town clearly. Three riders were coming. She easily recognized Sarah, and her father, but the third was a stranger. 

The first drop of rain hit her arm as she nailed the final board into place. Dropping the hammer into the wooden tool box, she reached down to pick it up when it slipped from her hand and slid down the arched roof, "Look out!" She cried. A moment later a crash below indicated the tool box had hit the ground. 

"Clara, are you alright?" 

Before she could answer, the sky opened up and the rain began to pour down drenching them in a second. "Great!" Clara exclaimed. Very little had gone well over the last few days, every since the banker had visited her, and informed her of the mortgage he claimed her father had signed. 

Though she was sure her father had not borrowed the money, there was little she could do. She did not have the money to repay the loan, and the banker would auction her family farm in the morning. 

To make things worse, the men who had been assisting in rebuilding the barn had decided not to finish the work leaving the roof unfinished. She had worked from dawn until dusk for two days to finish it. 

With the rain pouring down on her, she sat on the edge of the sloped roof next to the ladder, her legs hanging over. Below, the three visitors stood watching her, "Clara!" Sarah called to her, "Are you coming down?" 

"I suppose, if I must." With a deep sigh, Clara began to get to her feet so she could move to the ladder. 

"Be careful, Miss Clara." Frank called up to her, "The rain is going to make it very slippery." 

Just as the words crossed the blacksmiths lips, Clara felt her feet slip out from under her. She landed hard on her backside. Before she could right herself, she slipped over the edge, barely able to catch the top rung of the ladder with one hand. 

As she hung there, trying to gather her wits, she felt the ladder shudder. The stranger was climbing towards her. Her fingers began to slip on the rung, she struggled to grab hold with her other hand. 

As her fingers slipped from the rung, a hand grabbed ahold of her wrist, "Easy there." The heavy British accent distracted her as he pulled her around to grab the ladder. 

With his help, she pulled herself up in front of him, "Oh, thank goodness." She murmured. With the rain still pouring down on them, he guided her to the ground where they immediately sprinted across the yard to the front porch of the house. 

"That was too close, Miss Clara," Frank folded his massive arms and scowled at her, "what were you doing up there?" 

"I thought I had enough time." Clara pulled open the door to the house, "But thankfully you were here, Mr..." She gave the stranger a questioning look. 

"I am Lord Richard Grossmont, the fifth Duke of Lancaster." He bowed elegantly. 

They entered the house where Clara stoked the fire in the small sitting room. Aunt Audrey hurried in, "Oh, goodness, you all got caught in the rain, let me get some clothes for you to dry off with." 

"So," Clara lifted her hands towards the blazing fire to warm herself, keeping her back to the room, "you are a British Lord, what are you doing here on the prairie of Kansas?" She glanced back over her shoulder, "Don't tell me my grandmother sent you."