The Toll {Book 2}

7. At Home With The Lephards- Nadia

Hannabella set her empty mug down on the table and clapped her hands. "I've had a brilliant idea, and I won't hear any refusals because I've already decided that it shall happen. I want you both to move out of the refugee housing and come to live with me and my husband in our home."

"Oh, Hannabella, that's-" I began, but Hannabella held up one hand.

"What did I say about refusals? Ferdinand, did I not just expressly forbid Nadia from trying to squirm out of my ingenious scheme?"

Ferdinand shrugged helplessly at me. "She did, Nadia. I don't think we can argue with a celebrity."

"But your poor husband. He just got you back, and I'm sure he wouldn't want two strangers lurking around," I said.

Hannabella waved her hand to dismiss this. "Martin loves company. He'd probably wilt away if our home wasn't bursting to the gills with our friends," she said. "Besides, you'd be opening up a spot for other refugees if you came with me. So, you see, there's no reason you shouldn't come and give us the joy of having friends close."

I glanced at Ferdinand and he smiled. Hannabella took this as a yes.

"Excellent! We'll head over there right now." She held up a hand to catch the waiter's attention, and when he came to our side she paid him. She also requested to use the telephone. He spirited her off to some back corner, and she was gone for a few minutes.

"Do you think it's really all right to impose on them like this?" I asked Ferdinand.

"Of course, Nadia. She wants us to stay with them."

"But what if she just feels sorry for us, and it's an obligation that she wishes she-"

"Nadia." He reached out and placed his hand over mine. "You need to learn that friends care about you. She wants you to be safe and happy and comfortable, and you need to let her do that. You deserve a friend like her, and she deserves you being a friend enough to her that you won't push her away."

"I suppose." I shifted, uncomfortable. There had been no one to offer me anything when I had lived with the corps. The girls kept their distance, and Mr. Lennox... well, he only ever wanted, and never gave.

Hannabella reappeared with her bag over her arm and a determined look in her eye. "I telephoned the Committee and let them know you'll be coming home with me."

"They won't be annoyed that we've left after eating their food and taking their clothing?" I asked.

"Of course not. They're just glad to have the beds open for new refugees. Besides, I'm one of the board members, so I doubt they'd want to argue with me."

Ferdinand held the door open for us as we stepped out onto the pavement. "That seems to be a reoccurring theme with you, Hannabella."

She grinned as we walked to the carriage. "I'm a good arguer. It's not my fault everyone's too afraid to test their mettle to mine. But, I must admit, it's delightfully delicious to always get what you want."

Hannabella's dwelling sat in one of the nicer parts of town, nestled between other pastel homes. I was absorbed in staring at the three story building, wondering how in heaven's name such a beautiful place could exist. Each story boasted three sets of windows, except the first, which only had two that sat on either side of the powder pink door, which matched the facade of the house perfectly. Lilacs ran over an arch at the base of the steps and then up the side of the house, curving over the windows and drooping over the glass. An iron fence, the color of rain clouds, separated the miniature front lawn from the road.

The driver dropped us off at the front, and then drove around to the end of the row of houses to go behind them where I assumed the stable was. Hannabella walked through the gate and up the steps, taking off her gloves as she did so. She pushed right into the house, letting us follow behind her.