Remembering Rose (Mapleby Memories Book 1) Page 12

  Pushing the photos back into to their envelope I lingered over the one that had so transfixed Robbie, and studied the people sitting directly behind Rose. There were three men and two women, all laughing, and standing to one side, behind Arthur and out of his line of vision, was another man. He was tall and dark and vaguely familiar. He was the only one not laughing. Instead he was looking directly at Rose with what I can only describe as a look of longing. I stared at him for ages wishing that the photo was just a little less faded because then I would be able to tell if she was returning his gaze.

  Feeling more troubled than I had any right to be, I decided it would be a good day to visit Grandma again. Small babies need a daily dose of fresh air, and with so few distractions in Mapleby, taking Leah to the nursing home almost every day wasn’t anything to be remarked upon.

  * * *

  If anything, the weather was hotter than ever, which meant Robbie was stripped to the waist again when I walked past next door pushing Leah in her pram. Fortunately for my peace of mind, he was too busy directing the contractors to see me, although the lorry driver looked me up and down and whistled long and low under his breath.

  Secretly I was flattered. Now I spent most of every day in the cottage on my own, I was prepared to take any compliments I could get. I pretended I hadn’t heard him though, the same as I pretended I hadn’t noticed that Robbie was bare to the waist again. I couldn’t ignore how I felt about Daniel’s behavior however, or mine either, even though I tried my hardest, and my walk to the nursing home was miserable.

  When I got there and peeped in on Grandma, she was asleep. “I’m not in a hurry so I’ll take Leah to sit the garden for half-an-hour,” I told the nurse on duty.

  Nodding her approval, she said that Grandma would probably be awake by then and left me to it. I opened the glass doors that led out to the small formal garden and unstrapping Leah, I picked her up and walked towards the small bronze sundial in the centre. Just before I reached it I heard laughter from beyond the retaining wall, and the shrieking of excited children. Changing direction, I peered over the top.

  Below the wall, grass sloped away in a rolling lawn until, in the far distance, it was stopped abruptly by a river bank thick with reeds. I blinked. Where was the car park and the narrow approach road with its exit and entry signs?

  Then I saw the children. There were at least five of them of varying ages and they were playing tag. Two women sat on a seat nearby. Closer to my vantage point a man dressed in what appeared to be evening dress was supervising two young girls as they set dishes on a long table. It wasn’t until he approached the women and spoke to one of them in a deferential tone that I realized he was a butler and that the girls dressed in black were maids.

  Although I strained my ears I couldn’t hear their conversation but I understood the body language, so I wasn’t really surprised when, moments later, a woman dressed somberly in brown appeared from somewhere behind me, and called to the children. She was obviously the nanny, and although they protested and carried on pushing one another, they obeyed her summons. Within minutes they were sitting around the table, quieter now except for an occasional outbreak of giggles.

  The two women joined them. I could see them more clearly now they were closer to the wall, and with a shock I recognized a very different Rose. She was pale and the expression on her face could only be described as haunted. She was also plumper than I remembered, and when she reached across the table to wipe a smudge from a child’s nose I realized she was pregnant. I stared at her, taking in the dark circles under her eyes and the new lines at the corner of her mouth. Was she ill? Was her pregnancy too much for her?

  “May I have more lemonade?” One of the children, a girl of about eight years old, spoke to her.

  Half rising to reach for the jug, Rose was interrupted by the nanny beckoning to one of the maids. With remarkable promptness she filled the little girl’s glass and then walked around the table checking on the needs of the rest of the children. When she had finished Rose gave her a weak smile and thanked her. The other woman, who hadn’t spoken until then, frowned at her.

  “You’re here for a rest, Rose, not to pander to the children.”

  Looking a picture of embarrassed misery, Rose shook her head. “You know it takes me a day or two to get used to it, May.”

  May’s expression softened. “I know, but you must. And you must have a nap after lunch as well, and enjoy breakfast in bed. The doctor says you need complete rest so that’s what you’re going to have.”

  I thought for a moment that Rose was going to cry but she didn’t. Instead she gave her sister a look that was a mixture of gratitude and resignation, and returned to her lunch. She only picked at her food though and soon May was scolding her again.

  “Eat up, do. You’re setting the children a bad example by pushing food around your plate like that.”

  Her comment made Rose laugh and the laughter brought a tinge of pink to her cheeks as she gestured towards the children. “Nothing is going to stop mine from eating. Look how they are tucking in. You would think they hadn’t been fed for a week.”

  “That’s because Auntie May has better cakes than us, and softer bread,” the girl who had asked for more lemonade told her.

  “And she always has peaches and cream,” a younger girl added, spooning up a last mouthful from the bowl in front of her. “Why don’t we have peaches, Mama? Is it because they are too expensive?”

  “It’s because Uncle Archie has a hot house,” Rose told her. “And a gardener who knows how to grow peaches as well.”

  “And I’m lucky enough to have a cook who knows how to preserve them too so we can eat them all year round,” May added. “Now if you’ve all finished you can go indoors with Nanny to wash your hands and faces and then you may play with the dressing up clothes in the attic until bedtime.”

  “The attic, the attic, we love the attic,” the children chanted as they tumbled off their chairs and raced towards the house with the long suffering nanny following behind.

  “I should have made them say thank you but I don’t seem to have the energy for anything these days,” Rose sighed as she watched them disappear into the house.

  May waited until the maid had refilled their teacups and then waved her away, saying she could come back later to clear the table. She didn’t speak again until the girl was out of earshot, then she turned to her sister with a frown. “This has to stop Rose. You need to pull yourself together before questions are asked.”

  This time the tears that had been brimming in Rose’s eyes spilled over. “I wish I could but I don’t know how.”

  “You just need to set your mind to it,” May said, her sympathetic expression at odds with the harshness of her voice. “At the very least there are the children to think of, but there’s Arthur too. When I asked you what he’s done to deserve this, your answer made no sense. How can somebody be too kind?”

  “I…I can’t explain,” Rose was really sobbing now. “Besides, even if I could you would just tell me to stop being so silly.”

  “Not necessarily, not if it’s to do with him giving away money again. Is it to do with money?”

  “Yes. He still gives away every spare penny we have. I try not to begrudge helping his sisters because they are both spinsters and they find life hard, but I get angry when he mends people’s shoes for free or tells them to pay when they can. He even patched up a pair of boots in exchange for a dozen eggs last week, all the time knowing full well that we have plenty of laying hens of our own. If you didn’t give me the clothes your children have grown out of I don’t know how we would manage.”

  “Well, they are no good to me as I certainly don’t intend to have another baby. I’ve told Archie very firmly that that bit of our life is over.”

  Rose stared at her, her own woes forgotten for a moment. “You never have. Whatever did he say?”

  Her sister shrugged. “Nothing. He was too busy checking his accounts. I knew what he was like
when I married him though, so I can hardly complain when he mostly ignores me. Besides he is very generous and he fully expects to keep me in the manner to which I have become very accustomed.”

  “I do admire your pragmatism May. I wish I could be the same. Instead I was so determined to marry for love that I never gave money a thought, and look where it’s got me,” Rose’s sigh came from somewhere deep inside her. “And now this. If we could even afford just a little bit of luxury, I might not have had my head turned. And now I’m going to break Arthur’s heart, which he doesn’t deserve even if he gives all our money away.”

  With a sharp intake of breath May leaned across the table and took her sister’s hands. “Now listen to me Rose, and listen carefully. You are not going to break Arthur’s heart because he is never going to know the truth. This baby you are expecting is a blessing, not a punishment, because it’s brought you to your senses. Arthur will love it just the same as he loves Joyce and Molly, so why upset him? You know you and the children are his whole world, so to destroy it would be the worst cruelty.”

  Rose started to cry again. “But what if he finds out?”

  “He’s not going to, is he, not unless you tell him, because I’m certainly not going to, and the only other person who might suspect is long gone from your life, back to his tea plantation in India.”

  “But it means living a lie for the rest of my life.”

  “I know but surely that’s better than…

  * * *

  “She’s awake now.” Behind me I could hear the nurse calling. I half turned to let her know I’d heard her, and when I next looked over the wall all I could see was a row of neatly parked cars, a couple of wheelie bins and a large exit sign.

  * * *

  Grandma was sitting in a chair by the window when Leah and I joined her. She patted Leah’s chubby hand and then spoke to me as if we were already in the middle of a conversation.

  “It was a boy and she called him Robert. May told her not to. She said it would be better if she severed all ties, but Rose insisted. She said his father’s name was the only bit of truth she could give him.”

  “And what about Arthur? Was he happy with the name?”

  “Anything Rose wanted was fine with Arthur. She was the sun, the moon and the stars to him. Besides, he was glad to have a son after two girls.”

  “And Rose never told him?”

  Gran shook her head. “Never. The deceit destroyed her, though. She was never the same after Robert was born and Arthur knew it, he just didn’t know why.”

  I spread Leah’s blanket on the floor and plonked her down, scattering some of her toys around her so she had something to aim for when she started squirming forward. Gran watched, smiling, and didn’t speak again until I asked her a question that was puzzling me.

  “When did it stop being a secret?”

  She shook her head so hard that the wispy curls on her forehead quivered. “Rose never told anyone.”

  “May then?”

  “No. The secret died with them.”

  “So how come you know?”

  But Gran’s lucid moment had gone and in another minute she had nodded off to sleep again. I sat there, playing with Leah, until the care assistant arrived with two cups of tea, closely followed by the nurse. She raised her eyebrows in surprise.

  “I was sure she was awake when I called you. I hope she hasn’t been asleep all this time?”

  I shook my head. “No, only for the last ten minutes or so. She was quite good before that.”

  Satisfied, she busied herself sorting through the various bottles of pills until she found the ones Grandma needed to take with her tea. I waited until she had counted them out before asking her a question

  “Who owned this building before it became a nursing home?”

  Even as I said it, I knew I was being stupid. A quick glance around was all that was needed for anyone to see that it was purpose built, with long straight corridors for wheelchairs, big, airy modern windows for light and sunshine, and extra wide doorways with automatic doors to make things easier for everyone.

  “What I mean is, who did the land belong to before it was built?” I bent down and tickled Leah to hide my embarrassment.

  “The local council as far as I know.”

  “Before that it belonged to the Trayner family,” the care assistant said as she gently coaxed Gran awake. “They lived in a big house here for years and years until old Mr Trayner sold the whole estate to the council and the house was turned into offices.”

  The nurse joined in. “Of course, I remember now. It was ever so grand with columns and high windows and all sorts of carving.”

  The care assistant nodded. “The councilors liked it because sitting in an office overlooking the gardens made them feel important, but in the end it cost too much to run so they sold it to the highest bidder.”

  “And I suppose the gardens were where the car park is now?” I picked up Leah and carried her to the window.

  “Yes, they were beautiful, and when Mr Trayner lived here they were ever so well cared for. He even grew peaches and pineapples in his greenhouse until he fell and broke his hip. After that it was all downhill, and it wasn’t long before his son came down from London and took him away. Then the next thing we knew he’d sold the whole lot to the council.”

  I stored the name Trayner for future reference and turned to where Grandma was just waking up. She peered at me and then at Leah. “Is that you Rose, and little Robert?”

  “No Gran, it’s Rachel and Leah, and we’re going to leave you to drink your tea in peace. We’ll be back though.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  I was very thoughtful on my journey home. I had no idea why I was able to see through the mesh of time to where Rose still seemed to live but it didn’t frighten me. Far more worrying was the thought that I would inadvertently blurt out what was happening to Daniel or Ma, or one of my sisters, and they would drag me kicking and screaming back to Doctor Gove. I was so busy with my thoughts that I didn’t notice the white van until it pulled up just ahead of me.

  “Penny for them?” Robbie was sitting in the driving seat with the window wound down when I caught up with it.

  “Not worth it,” I said.

  “What about a lift then? I’m going past your place and Leah’s stroller will fit inside the van.”

  I shook my head. “No thanks, the walking is good for me. Besides you don’t have a baby seat.”

  “Well spotted.” The grin he gave me turned me gooey inside despite having promised myself that it wasn’t going to happen again. He knew it and his eyes twinkled.

  In an effort to distract myself I said the first thing that came into my head. “You’re interested in Mapleby’s local history aren’t you? Well here’s something for you. I learned today that there used to be a grand house where the nursing home is now.”

  He looked interested enough for me to continue, so I told him about the council offices and the lawns and the river. “They’re not there now, not even the river. It’s just a car park. I think the council must have built over it or something.”

  “Probably. I always think it’s a shame when something like that happens. Did you learn anything about the family who lived there?”

  “Only that they were called Trayner,” I was going to keep everything I had learned about Rose and her sister very firmly to myself.

  “Are you sure it was Trayner?” his sudden enthusiasm surprised me.

  “Yes, I am, but as I’ve never heard of anyone called Trayner living in Mapleby I guess the whole family moved away years ago.”

  “Well guess what, they’re coming back. The Americans are called Trayner…Linda and Bob Trayner.”

  “You mean the people who own the house next to ours?” My voice rose a couple of octaves I was so excited.

  He nodded. “And something even more weird has happened. My mother called me last night but she was so excited I could barely understand a word she said. Apparently she’s
found a family link with Mapleby. You remember I told you she was keen on genealogy, well now she wants me to do some digging for her. It seems she’s discovered a letter to my great-great-grandfather from someone living here.”

  I stared at him. “You’re kidding. What did it say?”

  “I don’t know because my cell battery ran out before she finished talking. I’ll call her tonight to find out though, and I’ll tell you tomorrow.”

  I watched him drive away, my mind in a turmoil. Rose, May, the Trayners, and now Robbie’s great-great-grandfather. The past was beginning to take over the present. I wondered what Daniel would make of it and the thought made me quicken my step, eager to get home so I could tell him. Then I remembered that we still weren’t speaking and decided I wouldn’t tell him anything at all.

  * * *

  As it happened, talking to him wasn’t a problem because when I reached home the note he had left on the table made it clear he had already been and gone. I screwed it up and threw it in the trash. If he wanted to spend the evening helping Robbie to paint the flat so Millie Carter could move in even sooner than planned, then that was up to him. For my part I was going to search through Rose’s diaries once Leah was in bed, to find out what had happened to her.

  I started reading hunched over my solitary ready-meal, another one of Daniel’s past the sell-by-date gifts that I had stuffed into the freezer in a fit of pique. Now though, it was useful, and if I’m honest, it was quite nice too. The mashed potato was topped with cheese, and the creamy sauce was full of tasty chunks of fish. I boiled a few peas and tipped them onto the plate beside it and then ate one-handed, turning the pages of Rose’s diaries with my free hand.

  I was still reading when I heard Daniel slam the car door and crunch his way across the gravel path. Despite behaving as if I was cramming for an exam I still hadn’t discovered a single thing that my unplanned journeys into the past hadn’t already shown me when, bingo, I saw something so unexpected it took my breath away. A reference to a Robert Parker.