Free Lady In Distress (The Langley Sisters Book 3) by Wendy Vella Page B

eating his bun with one of his siblings. Bella remembered the little boy as being the youngest Fletcher, Graham. He was perched beside Luke, his little body leaning into his big brother while he, too, ate a bun. They looked comfortable sitting there in the cold, and Bella closed her eyes briefly, remembering how it felt to be pressed against Luke.  
    “I never liked that particular description,” Bella said, pulling her eyes from Luke’s. “I would be most grateful if you did not use it again, Mrs. Popplehinge, as it no longer applies to me, as you can see.”
    “Oh, well, of course I never meant to offend you—”
    “I know that you did not, Mrs. Popplehinge. You, of all people, have been kindness itself to my family. But there are others…” Bella let the words hang in the air between them. “And I know I can count on you to change the views of those who do not know better,” she said gently.
    Mrs. Popplehinge straightened, her thin shoulders now forming a line.  
    “Indeed, my dear Miss Langley, say no more. You leave it to me. I shall not allow another person to speak in such an insulting way about you again.”
    They watched as she hurried away, no doubt ready to slay anyone who said little lame Langley again.
    “You’ve changed,” Thea said when they started walking again.  
    “How so?” Bella ignored Luke, but waved to Graham, who returned her gesture.  
    “The old Bella would never have taken her to task over that horrid name; you would simply have shouldered it and walked away.”
    “I think the new Bella is here to stay now, Thea.”
    “Well, well, well. Did you grow a backbone in that clinic, too?”
    “Perhaps I did.”
    They walked out of the village towards the bridge, and Bella stopped before they made their way over. Looking down, she saw that the rest of Luke’s siblings skating on the ice.
    “Come on, let’s go down and watch for a while. Perhaps one of them will lend me their skates. We used to do this, Thea, before I hurt my leg.”
    “We’re not children anymore, Bella.” Thea laughed as Bella urged her along the grass and down the steps that had worn into the bank over the years. They were slippery, but with careful navigation, they made it down.  
    “It has been cold enough to freeze everything and the water down there is not overly deep, but still I should hate for it to crack and one of us fall in.”
    “Lady Althea, I do believe you are scared,” Bella taunted Thea.
    “I shall stop on this ledge for a moment, and watch you to see if it is safe.”
    Rolling her eyes, Bella continued the last few feet to the bottom alone. When she arrived, the Fletcher siblings all stopped skating and drew near in a line to watch her.
    “Hello,” Bella said. “You’re Luke’s siblings, aren’t you? Do you remember me?”
    “Miss Bella,” one of them mumbled.
    “That’s right,” she said closing the distance between them. “Now, let me see if I remember who you all are.”
    “Hello!”
    “Lady Althea is waving down to you all.” Bella laughed as they looked up to where Thea stood, calling out a greeting. They all waved dutifully back.  
    Bella studied them; all had Luke’s hair and eyes. “Tommy,” she said to the tallest boy,” who nodded back. “Alison,” she said to the girl to his right. “Michael.” The next boy was of a more solid build. “And you are Simon,” Bella added to the smallest of the group who was looking up at her with big eyes. “And finally, Rose,” she finished, looking at the eldest girl.
    “Did I get them all right?”
They nodded.
    “Why are you down here?”
“Well, Rose, I have just returned to Twoaks, from a clinic in Scotland as you know, because your brother brought me back. I used to walk with a limp but after being there, now I don’t.”  
    “You used to use a cane.”
    “Yes, Alison, I did, but now I have no cane, and I wanted to skate, but of course as you see I forgot my skates.  
    They all looked at her feet and