A Family For Keeps

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Gemma returned next morning, and Vincenzo walked home with Julia. Rosa would have come with them, but Vincenzo gently discouraged her. This was their first chance for a private conversation since the events of the night before.

She had remained with Rosa a long time, emerging to find that Vincenzo had gone to his room. That had been a kind of relief. What would they have said to each other?

Now they walked in silence until Julia said, 'I feel as if I'd got to know Bianca, with Rosa's help. I'm glad. She's real now. And I have to deal with her.'

'Deal with her? How?'

'By accepting her. I suppose I had some idea of driving her out because she was usurping my place, but I can't do that. There has to be room for all of us. Rosa will only turn to me if she can bring Bianca with her.'

'Does that make you hate my sister?' Vincenzo asked in a low voice.

'No, I'm grateful to her. She did me no wrong. She looked after my child, and made her happy. Rosa says that Bianca actually defended me when her father tried to wipe me out. She wouldn't let him do it.'

'She was the most generous woman alive,' Vincenzo said sadly.

'Yes, I know that now. She tried to do me justice, and I'll do her justice.'

'And in the end Rosa will turn to you,' Vincenzo said. 'And you'll take her away.'

'Are you saying you'd just stand back and let me?'

'I won't stop her being with her mother, if that's what you mean. It has to be her choice, but you're going to win. We both know that. The affinity is there. She feels it. Deep down inside that child knows who you are. She doesn't understand what she knows, but it's there, and sooner or later it will come to the surface.'

'It nearly happened last night,' Julia said. 'She was crying out in English.'

'How can you tell? No is the same in both languages.'

'But she cried "Mummy" not "Mamma".'

'Yes,' he said heavily. 'She was reliving that moment, but when she woke up she didn't remember. Next time-'

'It's a lot for her to take in,' she said placatingly. 'It might be a while yet.'

She wondered at herself for denying the very thing she most longed for, but, intentionally or not, he'd reminded her that they were on opposite sides, and she wanted to comfort him for the loss he was facing.

As the restaurant came in sight, still closed up, they saw a young man standing outside, trying to peer through the windows.

'Hallo,' Vincenzo called.

The young man jumped. He was thin, fair-haired and awkward-looking.

'Hallo?' he said. 'I'm Terry Dale. I work for Simon and Son. I'm looking for Mrs Haydon.'

'That's me,' Julia said at once. To Vincenzo she added, 'They're my lawyers in England. I called them when I moved in here.'

'Let's go inside,' Vincenzo said, opening the door to the restaurant and ushering them both in.

'I came because I've got good news about your compensation,' Terry Dale said when he was inside.

'I thought it was far too soon for the compensation to be settled,' Julia said.

'Normally, yes, but now that the conviction's been quashed, they want this one off their plate fast. They've made a generous offer.' Conscious of Vincenzo's un-moving presence, he scribbled something on a scrap of paper and thrust it at her. 'How about that?'

Julia's eyes opened wide at the sum.

'Are you sure you didn't add on an extra nought by mistake?' she asked.

'Good, isn't it? But that's not all. Everyone knows you've been looking for your husband, and if you've got any leads-well-'

'It's been years,' Julia said carefully. 'He may not even be alive any more.'

'That doesn't matter. Even if he were dead the police could track back and find out who he's been associated with, interview anyone he's known, that kind of thing. It could be worth quite a bit more to you.'

'I didn't know it worked like that.'

'Officially it doesn't, but this kind of information can help-'

Terry Dale was scribbling more figures, showing them to her like a puppy appealing for a pat.

'I don't like this,' she said. 'It looks like some people still think I'm in cahoots with him.'

'Oh, no, but they know you're looking for your daughter, and when you find her it'll help us get onto his trail. Like I say, it could be worth a lot of money to you.'

'That's too bad, because there's no help I can give,' she said firmly. 'I can't point you in the direction of my husband, and you can take that as final. The lesser compensation will have to do.'

'Well, it's a pity because-'

Julia picked up the paper with the figures and tore it again and again.

'Goodbye, Mr Dale. Please thank your boss for his efforts and ask him to finalise matters.'

She saw him out and turned to find Vincenzo regarding her with a look that was half appreciation, half suspicion.

'I didn't see the figures,' he said now, 'but it must have been tempting.'

'Oh, yes? And have police swarming all over the place, upsetting Rosa? No way.'

Inwardly she was cursing Bruce. Was his malign influence going to spread over the whole of the rest of her life, blighting everything?

'I've made my decision,' she said, 'and now I know where I'm going from here.'

A light had come on inside her. Vincenzo was reminded of the night she'd returned from Murano, ablaze with confidence and decision.

'What are you going to do?'

'First, give up my job as soon as you can do without me.'

'Right now if you like. Celia's due back from honeymoon.'

'Can I stay in the apartment for a while?'

'Sure. She won't be moving back in. But what are you going to do?'

'Get in practice at my job. Hone my skills again before I start on your place.'

She thought for a moment before adding, 'There's one thing I'm grateful for, and that's that the Montressis were away. If they'd been there I might have stirred things up in a way I'd be regretting now.'

'He's lucky they never bumped into him,' Vincenzo observed. 'They might have recognised him.'

'Not really. I don't think he'd seen them for years. They were only very distant relatives, but I pinned everything on them because they were all I had. Well, I won't need to bother them now. I'm just going to get to work.'

In prison she'd done some drawing, and even taken an art class for other prisoners, but now she needed sustained work to bring herself back up to standard.

Taking sketch books and charcoal, she began to walk around Venice the next day, making rapid strokes, creating life on the paper.

At first she took in the showplaces, St Mark's, the Rialto Bridge, but then she turned away into the little canals, the calles with washing strung overhead, the empty boats bobbing in the water. The outlines were easy, but when she'd mastered them there was the more tantalising task of evoking the atmosphere of those mysterious little places.

Absorbed in this challenge, she took a while to realise that she wasn't alone. A small but determined ghost was flitting just behind her, always vanishing if she turned her head, but then emerging again in determined pursuit.

'All right,' she called at last. 'Come out where I can see you.'

A figure, swathed up to the eyebrows in scarves, and down to the ears in a thick woolly hat, emerged from around a corner and presented herself. Julia folded her arms, regarding her wryly. The figure immediately folded her own arms.

'Are you following me?' Julia asked.

A nod.

'Is anyone with you?'

A shake of the head.

'You've run away on your own?'

The eyes were as mischievous as the voice. 'I'm not on my own. I'm with you.'

Rosa pulled down the scarf, revealing a cheeky grin.

'Uncle Vincenzo let me come to the restaurant with him today. He said you were upstairs so I was going to go up, but then I saw you leaving by the side door. So I followed.'

'Does anyone know where you are?'

'Yes. You do.'

'I don't think that's quite enough,' Julia said, trying not to laugh, and pulling out her cell phone. In a moment she was through to the restaurant.

'Vincenzo? I've someone here who needs to talk to you.' She held out the phone to Rosa. 'Talk.'

Rosa giggled and began her persuasion.

'I ran after Julia, and she says I can spend the day with her-'

'I said no such thing.'

'But you were just going to, weren't you? I can, can't I, Uncle?'

'Give that to me before you land me in trouble,' Julia said, hastily seizing the phone. 'Vincenzo?'

'I'd only just discovered that you're both gone,' came his harassed voice.

'Vincenzo, if you're thinking what I think you are, I'll never forgive you.'

There was a silence.

'I wasn't thinking that.'

'Really?'

'I wasn't thinking that you'd run off with her,' he said tensely.

'You'd better be sure about that.'

'Is she all right?'

'Of course she is. She's having the time of her life laughing at both of us. You'd better let her stay with me officially, otherwise she'll just creep after me at a distance. Don't worry, she's safe with me.'

She couldn't resist adding, 'Whether I'm safe with her is another matter.'

At this Rosa gave a giggle that clearly reached Vincenzo down the line.

'I'll say yes-having no choice. But you'd better put yourself in her hands. She knows Venice better than you do.'

Julia hung up and turned to her daughter. 'We're going to have a great time.'

Rosa gave a brilliant smile, took her hand, and they wandered on together.

'What did you think Uncle Vincenzo was thinking?' Rosa asked.

'It's a long, complicated story,' Julia said hastily. 'I'll tell you another time.'

After that the child said little, simply seeming to be content to be in Julia's company. And it was she who chose the next object to draw, pointing at an ornate bridge.

Julia promptly took out her sketch book, sat on a small flight of steps, and began to work rapidly. When she'd finished she showed the result to Rosa, who gave her an impish look, took the book, flipped over a page, and began to make a sketch of her own.

With disbelieving pleasure Julia looked at the result.

'You can draw,' she breathed.

Another page, another rapid sketch, drawn with an inexperienced but confident hand. Beneath a quiet surface Rosa was already a boldly confident artist. This was truly her daughter.

'Papa didn't like me drawing,' she confided. 'He said it was a waste of time. But Mamma said I should do it if I wanted to. It was our secret.'

'She was-' Julia checked herself and started again. 'Your mother was right.'

The words were hard to say, but she felt she owed Bianca that much.

After that, wherever they stopped, they shared the drawing. Julia showed the little girl some new strokes, and had the delight of discovering a responsive pupil'. It was a perfect day.

But then something happened that was like the sun going in.

As they moved closer to the glamorous heart of the city she noticed that almost every street had a shop that sold wild, colourful masks for the coming Carnival. Several times she would have stopped to look closely, but Rosa always pulled her on.

'Hey, stop a minute,' Julia begged at last.

Rosa stopped obediently and stood beside her, looking into the window. But she said nothing.

'They're for the Carnival, aren't they?' Julia said.

'That's right.' Just the two short words, almost snapped out.

'It's quite soon, isn't it?'

'Next month.'

'I've seen pictures, of course-people in those incredible costumes-it must be so exciting.'

'Yes, it is.'

Julia turned her head uneasily to look at the child, conscious of something strange in her replies. Her delight of only a few minutes ago had been abruptly quenched. Now she spoke like a robot, and her face was stiff.

Then Julia remembered Vincenzo saying, 'Last year she had a wonderful time at Carnival with James and Bianca, but this year she refuses to think of it.'

Silently calling herself a fool, she said, 'Why don't we go and have something to eat?'

Rosa nodded and followed her to a little cafe. When they were seated with milk shakes she said, 'I'm sorry. I didn't think. It's your parents, isn't it?'

Rosa nodded. After a moment she said, 'I had a costume with lots and lots of colours last year, but this year I wanted a pink satin one. So Mamma bought it for me last July. She said we'd keep it for the next Carnival. Only then-'

She stopped. She was controlling herself almost fiercely, but her lips trembled.

'And you don't want to go without her?' Julia asked gently.

'I won't ever go again,' Rosa said, calming herself at last. Now her voice was too controlled, too unyielding. Julia took a risk.

'I think you're wrong,' she said. 'If Mamma bought that lovely pink dress for you, then she'd want you to wear it, for her sake.'

'But she won't be there.'

'No, but you can think about her, and you'll know that you're doing it for her.'

'But that won't bring her back, will it?'

'It'll bring her back in your heart, which is where it really matters.'

Rosa didn't answer this, but she shook her head stubbornly. The impish confidence was gone, replaced by a stark misery that was all the worse because she felt that nobody really understood.

'Let's go back,' Julia said gently. 'Vincenzo will be worrying about us.'

The sun had gone from the day and a dreary rain had begun to fall. They found Vincenzo at the door, looking for them.

'What is it?' he asked as soon as he saw Rosa's face.

In a quiet voice Julia explained. Instantly Vincenzo put his hands on the little girl's shoulders, searching her face tenderly.

'Hey there, piccina,' he said. 'Have you been crying?'

She shook her head. 'I just remembered what you said-about how everyone leaves you.'

'What?' he said, aghast. 'Rosa, I never said that.'

'Yes, you did. You said it to someone at Mamma and Papa's funeral. I overheard.'

'But I-' Vincenzo checked. What use was it to say that he hadn't known she was listening? 'Cara, I was feeling terrible, and that's the sort of thing people say when-when-I didn't mean it.'

'Yes, you did,' she said quietly, looking him straight in the eye. 'And it's true. People leave you even when you plead and plead with them not to.'

Her voice faded. She was staring into the distance.

'Darling-' Julia put a hand on the child's shoulder, but Rosa didn't seem to notice. She was lost in an unhappy dream.

'Even if it's the most important thing in the whole world,' she said, 'and you're trying to make them understand and begging and begging them not to go-they still go-and they don't come back.'

Suddenly she looked straight at Julia, who drew in her breath. Did she imagine that those childish eyes contained a hint of accusation?

Then the moment was gone, and Rosa was looking bewildered. 'I think we should go straight up into the warm,' Julia

Upstairs they thawed out with the help of hot drinks sent up from the restaurant. Rosa began to seem more cheerful.

'Do you live here alone?'

'That's right.'

'Can I come and visit you?'

'Whenever you like.' She noticed Rosa's eyes closing. 'We walked a long way today. Why don't you take a nap?'

She tucked the child up in her own bed, where she fell asleep almost at once. Julia sat beside her for a while, free at last to watch over her with loving possessiveness. You're mine, she thought. If only I could tell you.

Terry Dale called her a week later. Things were moving fast.

'The sooner you can get over here to sign the papers, the sooner you'll have the money,' he said.

'Fine, I'll be right there.'

'What about Rosa?' Vincenzo asked when she told him. 'Have you thought that your going away might worry her?'

'Yes, and I've got a plan. If I'm quick she need not even know I've gone. She's back at school now, and you said she has a good friend who often invites her for sleep-overs. If you can get her invited for a couple of nights I can be there and back before she knows it.'

A few days later he told her the plan was in progress.

'She'll go home from school with Tanya tomorrow,' he said, 'and stay for two nights. Can you be back by then?'

'I'll manage it.'

'I've promised her you'll have dinner with us tonight.'

It was a good evening spent eating, laughing and watching television. The shadow had gone from Rosa's manner and she seemed free from the ghost that had briefly haunted her.

Julia promised to come to dinner again when Rosa returned from her visit, and the child went to bed, content.

'And what about me?' Vincenzo asked as he walked home with her. 'Do you promise me that you'll come back?'

'Don't be silly. You know I'm coming back.'

'Sure, you'll return for Rosa's sake. You heard what she said. Everyone leaves you in the end.'

'But that's what you believe,' she reminded him. 'Only because I've been proved right so often.'

'Trust me,' she said, echoing the words that he had said to her so many times.

'Shall I take you to the airport tomorrow?' Vincenzo asked.

. 'No, thank you. I have something else to do first.'

She refused to tell him any more. Next day she left, heading, not for the airport, but for San Michele. Before boarding the boat she bought flowers.

In the cemetery she went first to Piero's grave, and used half of the flowers to refill his urn.

Then she went to find Bianca. Pushing the steps into place, she climbed up, removed the wilting flowers from the urn, and replaced them with fresh ones. For a long time she looked at the sweet face of the woman her daughter called Mamma. Then she touched it gently. 'I just wanted to say thank you,' she said.

Julia's trip went well. She signed papers and received a cheque for the first part of her compensation, the rest to follow soon.

There were more questions about her husband, but she smiled and played dumb, and in the end her inquisitors gave up.

On the day of her return to Venice she was at the airport long before she needed to be, only to find it shrouded in fog. Passengers were allowed to board, pending an improvement in the weather, but it did not happen and they were requested to leave the aircraft.

Two hours later she called Vincenzo on her cell phone.

'I'm going to be late for dinner tonight,' she said. 'There's a thick fog and the planes are grounded.'

'There's no fog at this end,' he said, frowning.

'Well, it's a pea-souper over here.'

'How do I explain to Rosa? She doesn't know you're in England.'

'Make some excuse. Say I'm not well. Say anything-'

There was a whistling sound in her ear as the line went dead. The phone needed a top-up. While she was looking around for somewhere to do it a voice came over the tannoy.

'Will passengers for Venice please start boarding-?'

'Thank goodness,' she breathed. 'Oh, why did this have to happen?'

Vincenzo turned to see Rosa watching him, very pale. 'She's not coming, is she?'

'Cara-

'I heard you say she was in England. She's gone right away and she's not coming home.'

'Yes, she is coming home, but her plane's been delayed by fog. She'll be here as soon as she can.'

'You didn't say she was going away to England.'

The sight of her rigid face shocked him. This wasn't simply childish disappointment. She was reliving an old nightmare.

He dropped down so that their eyes were on a level, trying desperately to find a way past her defences. It was like trying to communicate with someone behind bars.

He was assailed by a feeling of danger. If he couldn't reach her, and get her to reach out to him, she might be behind those bars for ever.

'Julia only went for a couple of days, to get things sorted out in England so that she can come here for good. We didn't tell you in case you were upset, and she's coming home quickly.'

Rosa shook her head. Her eyes were blank.

'No, she isn't,' she said.

He could have wept. If the child had been upset he'd have managed to cope, but her calm acceptance was ominous.

'You'd better talk to her yourself,' he said, hoping the noise he'd heard on Julia's phone didn't mean what he feared. But when he dialled he heard the same noise again and ground his teeth.

'She needs to top it up,' he said in despair.

'Perhaps she won't bother,' Rosa said.

'Of course she will. Why wouldn't she?'

She didn't reply, but her eyes revealed what she really believed: that Julia had blanked them out, and it was convenient for her phone not to work.

'She's probably boarding the plane right now,' he insisted. 'That's why she can't do anything about her phone. We'll hear from her when she lands.'

There was a touch of pity in the little girl's eyes. Why couldn't he face facts?

'Can we have dinner?' she asked. 'I'm hungry.'

'She'll be here,' he said, despairing.

'It's all right, Uncle. Honestly. You were right. People always leave you.'

'Cara, I wish you'd forget I ever said that'

'But it's true.' Then, in a strange voice, she said, 'I begged her not to go-but she did-and she never came back.'

It was as though a phantom had flitted past, chilling the air for a moment before it vanished.

'Who are you talking about?' he asked, barely able to speak.

'Let's have something to eat,' she repeated.

'Rosa, who were you-?'

But it was useless. The phantom had gone. He let the subject drop, fearful of doing damage if he persisted.

For the rest of that evening she behaved normally, even cheerfully. You had to know the truth, he thought, to recognise the storm she was suppressing. Nor could he help her, because she wouldn't let him.

He kept hoping that Julia would find a way to call them soon. But the evening passed with no word from her, and at last it was time to go to bed.

He was awoken in the morning by Gemma, shaking him urgently.

'I can't find Rosa,' she said.

He threw on his clothes and checked every room in the apartment, but it was a formality. In his heart he knew where she had gone. 'Has the phone rung?'

Gemma shook her head.

'All right, I'll be back soon.'

He called for a water taxi and reached the nearest landing stage just as it arrived.

'The airport, as fast as you can,' he said tersely.

He entered the terminal at a run and kept on running until he saw Rosa sitting, watching the arrival doors with terrible intensity.

She glanced at him as he sat beside her, and something in her face silenced all words of reproach.

'How long have you been here?' he asked quietly.

'A couple of hours.'

He looked up at the board. It showed two planes landed from England, but he didn't know if either of them was Julia's.

'She'll be here,' he said. 'She promised.'

There was no reply, but he felt a small hand creep into his and grip it so tightly that he winced with pain.

The doors slid open. Passengers were beginning to stream out. Rosa's gaze became fixed again, as if her whole life depended on this moment. Vincenzo too watched, trying to distinguish one figure from the many others.

But it was Rosa who saw her. Leaping up with a sudden shriek, she began to run.

'Mummy-Mummy-Mummy!'

Heads turned as the child darted through the crowd to throw herself into a pair of open arms. With a heart overflowing with relief, Vincenzo followed her until he was a few feet away from Julia, and was in time to see Rosa draw back to look her radiantly in the face and say, 'You came back.'