She made straight for her mother with something grasped in her little dimpled fist; but half-way across the room she seemed to have become suddenly aware of the presence of a stranger, and she stopped short, fixing her serious eyes full on Mrs.Brunton, as if to take in her appearance, nay, as if to penetrate down into her very real self, and then, stretching out her disengaged hand, the baby spoke out the words that had been hovering about her mother's lips for an hour past.
'Do away!' said Bella, decisively.
'What a perfect love!' said Mrs.Brunton, half in real admiration, half in patronage.

As she spoke, she got up and went towards the child, as if to take her up.
'Do away! do away!' cried Bella, in shrill affright at this movement.
'Dunnot,' said Sylvia; 'she's shy; she doesn't know strangers.' But Mrs.Brunton had grasped the struggling, kicking child by this time, and her reward for this was a vehement little slap in the face.
'Yo' naughty little spoilt thing!' said she, setting Bella down in a hurry.

'Yo' deserve a good whipping, yo' do, and if yo' were mine yo' should have it.' Sylvia had no need to stand up for the baby who had run to her arms, and was soothing herself with sobbing on her mother's breast; for Alice took up the defence.
'The child said, as plain as words could say, "go away," and if thou wouldst follow thine own will instead of heeding her wish, thou mun put up with the wilfulness of the old Adam, of which it seems to me thee hast getten thy share at thirty as well as little Bella at two.' 'Thirty!' said Mrs.Brunton, now fairly affronted.

'Thirty! why, Sylvia, yo' know I'm but two years older than yo'; speak to that woman an' tell her as I'm only four-and-twenty.

Thirty, indeed!' 'Molly's but four-and-twenty,' said Sylvia, in a pacificatory tone.
'Whether she be twenty, or thirty, or forty, is alike to me,' said Alice.