My Name Is Rose (12 page)

Rose moved to the door.

‘Don't worry, though, Anna. It can be our big secret, can't it?'

Rose fled to her bedroom. She still couldn't understand why Victoria was always so obnoxious to her, though she could appreciate that it must be difficult suddenly having to share her life with a new ‘sister'. ‘
I didn't ask to be here, either
,' Rose wanted to tell her. ‘
If I had a choice, I'd be back home with my family in Romania
.' The older girl seemed to go out of her way to goad her, yet Rose did nothing to encourage it. It made Rose more determined not to allow Victoria to ruin the few opportunities that came her way to enjoy herself. Tomorrow was her treat and she was going to make the most of it, even if she wasn't sure how she would react to being turned upside down high up in the air.

Now, as she walked back towards the house, Crumble scampering at her heels, Rose remembered what Victoria had said about nothing ever making Mrs Luca feel better.
What does that mean? What's wrong with Mrs Luca?
she wondered. There were so many things about this family that perplexed her. Perhaps this was always the way with gadje families.

Rose pushed it out of her mind, went through the back door of the house, dried Crumble's feet and poured some biscuits into his bowl. She was about to go from the utility room into the hall, when Mrs Luca appeared.

‘Ah, there you are, Anna. Goodness me, child, you're soaked through. Why didn't you put on a coat?'

She didn't wait for a reply, but continued, ‘I'm afraid it's bad news. Victoria has an upset tummy, so we won't be able to go to the theme park today. I can't possibly abandon her when she's feeling so unwell. You do understand, don't you? And judging by the weather, it wouldn't have been ideal anyway. But we'll celebrate your birthday here and I know you'll love the present we've got you.'

Her words came out unnaturally fast and Rose could tell that Mrs Luca was as disappointed as she was.

‘Victoria is very sorry to have spoilt your treat, of course, and I know she was looking forward to it too. I'm sure we can rearrange it for another day. Now, go and get some dry clothes on and then come and see what we've bought you. And if the weather clears, perhaps you and I could take the horses out later.'

Rose trudged upstairs. It was never going to be a perfect day, but anything would have been better than staying in the house and trying to look as though she was enjoying herself. She might have guessed Victoria would find a way to ruin things for her. She wanted to lock herself in her bedroom and stay there until the next morning. She didn't want this birthday. It wasn't real, and now it would be worse than a normal day. Reluctantly, she dried her hair and changed her clothes. She took as long as she could, until she heard Mrs Luca calling her and braved herself to go back downstairs.

Mr and Mrs Luca were waiting for her in the dining room. Mr Luca wished her a happy birthday over the top of his newspaper. Mrs Luca ushered her to a chair at the top of the table and called for Marina, who appeared with a mountainous breakfast of cold meats and cheeses and fruit and pastries.

‘Tuck in, Anna,' said Mrs Luca. ‘And a very happy birthday to you – the first of many with us.'

Rose attempted a smile, but felt so awkward that her appetite deserted her. Mrs Luca urged her to take more than she wanted, and encouraged her to clear her plate.

‘Go on, enjoy every last mouthful,' she said. ‘I want this to be a very special day!'

Mr Luca raised his eyebrows and tutted, but Mrs Luca ignored him.

‘As soon as you've finished, you can open your present. I'm so excited for you to see it.'

Rose forced down the last piece of cheese and wiped her hands on her napkin.

‘I do so wish I knew what you were thinking,' Mrs Luca sighed. ‘I suppose it's too much to expect you to carry a notepad around with you.'

‘She's probably wishing you'd stop clucking over her,' Mr Luca observed. ‘Can't we just get this present thing out of the way so that I can get on with my work?'

‘Close your eyes, then, Anna,' said Mrs Luca.

Rose did as she was told, though it made her feel vulnerable. She heard a cupboard door being opened and closed and a rustling of paper.

‘You can open them again.'

Mrs Luca was standing behind a huge rectangular parcel wrapped in gaily coloured paper. Half a dozen smaller parcels were on the side table next to her.

‘Happy birthday again, Anna. We hope you'll have hours of fun playing with this.'

Rose stood rooted to the spot, not daring to move forward and take possession of the proffered gifts.

‘Well, if you don't want it, we'll give it to somebody else,' Mr Luca blustered.

‘Shhh, darling. Come, Anna, I'll help you unwrap it.' Mrs Luca beckoned her closer and pointed to the top corner of the large parcel.

Rose took hold of the paper and began to undo it very carefully.

‘Give it a jolly good pull,' Mrs Luca urged.

Rose stared at her as though she were mad – Esme would have been appalled at such waste – then tore into the paper, now eager herself to discover what it concealed. What looked like a roof appeared first, followed by a wall with windows and a door. Rose stepped back, puzzled.

‘Do you see what it is, Anna?' asked Mrs Luca.

Rose shook her head.

‘It's the front wall of a doll's house – your doll's house. Look, behind it are three more outside walls.'

Mrs Luca pulled the first wall aside to reveal one of the side walls. She pulled that aside to reveal a further wall inset with a back door and another side wall.

‘Do you see it now?' she asked, her voice full of excitement.

Rose nodded, though she had no idea what she was supposed to do with it. She tried to look pleased.

‘Well, that went down like a lead balloon, didn't it?' muttered Mr Luca. ‘Can I go now?' He headed for the door. ‘Enjoy your day,' he aimed at Rose and managed a smile.

‘Open the other boxes, Anna.' Mrs Luca pressed on, anxious for her excitement to be shared.

Rose opened one box after another. There were more walls – smaller ones – and flooring and doors. There were beds and cupboards, chairs and tables, appliances for the kitchen, baths and showers, all of them needing to be assembled. One box contained grass and plants and paving; another was filled with people; yet another contained animals.

‘There are lots more things we can buy for the house as well, once we've put all the pieces together,' purred Mrs Luca.

Rose opened the last box. Inside were a cot and baby toys and even a baby with miniature clothes to dress it in.

‘That's so sweet, isn't it?' said Mrs Luca. ‘So sweet.'

Rose noted a catch in her voice and looked up at her. Her eyes were misty and watery.
She must be remembering the time when Victoria was born
, Rose thought. And then, without any forethought, she put her arms around Mrs Luca's waist and hugged her. She felt Mrs Luca relax and respond, and suddenly found herself holding on to her, not wanting to let go. Esme's face flashed in front of her. She could almost feel her mother's presence.

‘There, there, child,' Mrs Luca murmured. ‘I'm so glad you like it.'

Rose pulled away again, embarrassed and perturbed.

She didn't really know if she liked the doll's house or not. She had never seen anything like it in her life. She allowed herself to be led by Mrs Luca, who suggested that they spend the morning constructing the shell of it.

‘There's no better project for a rainy day!'

Chapter 21

The doll's house stood one metre tall when they had finished constructing the outer walls. It was in the style of a mansion, like the Lucas' own house. Rose walked round it and felt quite proprietorial. She was enjoying herself and Mrs Luca seemed to be enjoying herself too, chattering away about how they could buy wallpaper and paint to decorate each of the rooms, how they could put curtains at the windows and make blankets for the beds. Mrs Luca went upstairs from time to time to check on Victoria, and came back down full of how the poor child was really not well and saying that a doctor might need to be called.

Victoria herself appeared just before lunch, complaining that she was hungry and would die of boredom if she had to stay in her room any longer. Rose was annoyed at her emergence, especially when she kept stealing Mrs Luca's attention by moaning and groaning about pains in her stomach – though they didn't stop her from demolishing a sandwich and a chocolate bar. Rose was pleasantly surprised then when Victoria gave her a neatly wrapped parcel, only to find that it was a book about England, written in English.

‘I bought it with my allowance. I know it'll be a while before you can read it,' she said pointedly, ‘but the pictures are nice.'

‘It's such a thoughtful present, isn't it?' Mrs Luca said, beaming. ‘And haven't we done well with Anna's doll's house?'

‘Lovely,' smirked Victoria. ‘As long as you don't expect me to play happy families with it too.'

‘Talking of happy families, we must take some photos to remind Anna of her birthday. I'll fetch the camera.'

Mrs Luca swept out of the room. Victoria waited for a moment, before announcing to Rose that she had no intention of staying to have her photograph taken. Rose watched her go, wishing she could follow. Mrs Luca returned a few seconds later with Marina, and quickly masked her disappointment over her daughter's disappearance.

‘We have all the time in the world to organise some family portraits,' she said, ‘but we mustn't miss this special day.'

She passed the camera to Marina and went to stand with Rose.

‘Smile, miss,' Marina encouraged Rose, adopting a big smile herself and winking at her.

‘Take several shots,' said Mrs Luca, ‘then we can choose the best.' She stood Rose in front of her and placed her hands on her shoulders. ‘Big cheese,' she said brightly.

Rose smiled, but she couldn't have felt more uncomfortable. She sighed inwardly when at last Mrs Luca declared herself satisfied and dismissed Marina.
Thank goodness that's over!

After lunch, Victoria announced that she was well enough to join them in taking the horses out. She galloped ahead on Griffin, while Mrs Luca still insisted that Rose should attempt nothing more than a slow canter. Rose tried to show she was capable of greater things by speeding up every so often, but Mrs Luca always called her back. She took some comfort from being outside and away from the playroom where they had set up her doll's house, which had lost its charm once Victoria had joined them. Now that the rain had stopped, it was a beautiful, crisp afternoon, the sky a crystal blue broken only by a few languid white clouds. Rose breathed in the fresh air and took pleasure in the parade of autumn colours that passed by. She smiled at Mrs Luca, who showed her delight by throwing her head back and laughing out loud.

‘We're having such a good day, aren't we, Anna?'

Rose nodded, and she meant it.

‘There's another surprise to come when we get home,' Mrs Luca added.

The surprise was a chocolate birthday cake in the shape of a castle, complete with a princess on top.

‘We had this made specially by the best baker in town,' Mrs Luca purred.

‘And it was my idea,' Victoria crowed, taking a large spoonful from her plate.

Mr Luca came to join them.

‘Daddy's a chocoholic, aren't you, Daddy?' Victoria said, putting her arms around him.

He nodded gruffly. ‘Has it been a good day?' he asked, not addressing the question to anyone in particular.

‘Perfect,' said Mrs Luca. ‘Hasn't it, Anna?'

Rose nodded again, licking her lips clean. The cake was the best she had ever tasted.

‘I'm glad to hear it. It cost me enough,' Mr Luca stated, as he cut himself a large piece of cake.

‘And it was worth every penny to see Anna looking so happy,' Mrs Luca said sharply. ‘It won't be long before she rediscovers her voice, and then she'll be able to express her gratitude to you fully.'

‘Hmmph. Much good that will do me,' Mr Luca muttered.

Rose was gratified to see that he had a dollop of chocolate clinging to his moustache, which made him look slightly ridiculous. She treasured the image a little while later, when she had gone to bed and was reflecting on the day. It didn't matter how obnoxious Mr Luca might be to her now, because whenever he was, she would switch on that image to cut him down to size.
Why is he so horrid?
she wondered.
And what was he like before I arrived?
She couldn't have failed to notice that he was worried about money, and that Mrs Luca and Victoria carried on spending regardless. Was that the reason? And did he dislike her simply because she was costing him more money? Or was there a deeper reason?