Bella's Vineyard Read Online Free PDF Page B

wrong.”
    “Oh, I do things
wrong,” said Bella. “I was wrong to ever believe that I could change you by
coming here. I should have made you face your problems.”
    “Good lord,
Bella, you’re not my wife. Now stop nagging me and get me some food. I’m
starving.”
    “You don’t speak
to your sister like that, young man.”
    “Who are you and
what in damnation has it got to do with you?” asked Andrew, his eyes widening
at the sight of the woman dressed in men’s clothes standing in the kitchen
doorway.
    “This is May
Tucker,” said Bella. “She’s aunt Bella’s friend and at the moment she’s taking
care of us, despite the fact we are not her problem. So I suggest you treat her
with a little more respect.”
    Andrew paused
near the foot of the stairs, sizing May Tucker up. His high-pitched tones
became soft and contrite, and Bella knew by his eyes that he was already
working out how he could bring May onto his side. “Bella, dearest I’m sorry,
I’m very tired. Miss Tucker, please accept my apologies for my rudeness.” He
tipped his hat to her. “Any friend of our aunt’s is a friend of ours, and I’m
very pleased to make your acquaintance.”
    “Just don’t let
me hear you talk to Miss Bella like that again.”
    “No, of course I
won’t. It’s been a long trip, as I’m sure Bella will have told you.
Unfortunately I managed to leave my manners somewhere along the way, for which
I apologise. Now if you ladies will point me in the direction of a bedroom,
I’ll keep out of your way until I’ve regained them.”
    “He soon changed
his mood,” said May, once Andrew was upstairs fast asleep. The two women sat on
the porch together, as fireflies danced around them. May had found a bottle of
wine in the cellar, a deep red that tasted to Bella of raspberries and the
earthy flavour of fresh vegetables. Along with the gentle sway of the porch
swing, it calmed her nerves. It would be too easy to let go, and allow the wine
to ease her into oblivion. But one of her family had to be strong, and even
though Bella sometimes felt her back would break under the strain, she was
determined to be the one.
    “That’s Andrew’s
way, I’m afraid,” said Bella. “My father said that my mother indulged him too
much when he was younger, and he’d throw these awful tantrums one moment, then
when he realised he was in the wrong, he’d suddenly become contrite and boyish.
My mother fell for it every time. As have many of the women he’s managed to
persuade to give him money.”
    “And you?”
    “Not anymore,”
said Bella. She thought of Vance Eagleson. How self-assured and calm he was.
That, to her, was how a man should behave. With courage and dignity. If only
her brother Andrew could develop some of the maturity her father used to
promise he would achieve one day. “Anyway,” said Bella, taking another
fortifying sip of wine, “let’s forget him for a while. We’ll have his hangover
to deal with in the morning. Did you manage to speak to Shen?”
    “Yes, and he’s
agreed to our terms. I offered him and his men the bunkhouse. They can eat with
us in the kitchen, if you have no objections.”
    “None at all. It
will be nice to know that your pile of pancakes won’t be wasted in future. How
many workers will we have?”
    “About ten to
start with. There’s Shen, his two sons, a few brothers or brothers-in-law. Or
both. They’re a tightly knit group and I forget how they’re related to each
other. Then there’s me, you and your brother.”
    “I think … I
think it will just be me and you,” said Bella. “But I’ll pay you back for
whatever Andrew has.”
    “Miss Bella,
you’re a kind, proud girl, but don’t you think you should let your brother
stand on his own two feet? You say you don’t give in to his bad mood, which is
fine, but you do seem to forgive him for all his other transgressions. One day,
you’ll meet a man you want to marry and your brother will have to sort his