clothes.â
âHow dare you, Victoria! Donât you ever call Anna a Gypsy again,â Mrs Luca said angrily. âAnd this has nothing to do with you.â
âI only live here, thatâs all! Youâre supposed to be my mother, but youâre only concerned about Anna, or whatever her real name is,â shouted Victoria.
âDarling, you know thatâs not true, and Iâll thank you to treat Anna with respect. She doesnât deserve the cut of your tongue.â Mrs Luca adopted a more conciliatory tone.
âAnd I donât deserve to be sidelined while you wrap yourself round someone elseâs child,â retorted Victoria.
âItâs not like that, you know itâs not. Iâll just make sure Annaâs settled in, then weâll have some proper time together.â
âYouâve gone too far this time, Mummy. You know you have, and Daddy thinks so too,â Victoria said coolly, then hurried away.
âI seem to be upsetting everyone today,â Mrs Luca said with a false lightness. âThings will soon settle down, youâll see, and weâll be one big happy family together.â
Chapter 13
Rose had never been on a shopping spree such as the one Mrs Luca took her on the moment she was fit enough. The only shops she had ever visited were small village stores selling bread and milk or needles and cottons. She always loved looking at the shelves loaded with foodstuffs and the bottles filled with colourful sweets. If she and Rani had been good, Esme allowed them to pick their favourites, and they would watch the shopkeeper unscrew the lids of the bottles, pour some of the sweets out on to a set of scales and tip them carefully into small white bags. Rose could have spent all day in the drapersâ shops, where Esme took her to choose materials for her dresses. She liked to run her fingers over the different fabrics, especially the silks and satins.
Mrs Luca, Victoria and Rose drove into a big city and parked in a concrete building full of nothing but cars. Then they walked through some huge glass doors that led into what seemed to Rose like a glass palace full of shops, so brightly lit that it hurt her eyes. Crowds of people bustled about, many loaded down with bags but still searching for more things to buy. Rose had to stop herself gawping as Mrs Luca led her past one shop after another, each with its windows full of goods, while Victoria dragged along behind, not wishing, it seemed, to be associated with either her mother or Rose.
Rose had never seen so many handbags and shoes and dresses and coats and pieces of jewellery and scarves and soaps and creams and books and ornaments. It was as if every single item from every single small shop she had ever been in during her lifetime had been gathered together in one place and magic dust thrown around to make everything seem bigger and better and more beautiful. One store was selling nothing but chocolates, some decorated with tiny pink and purple flowers, others individually wrapped in silver and gold, or set in gold boxes tied with gossamer ribbons. How Esme would have loved to go in there! Esme adored chocolate and couldnât resist buying some whenever they went into a village, though she always complained that her waistline was expanding because of it.
Seeing the glint in Roseâs eyes, Mrs Luca led her into the store and demanded a chocolate for her to sample. Rose could have died with embarrassment when the shop assistant held out a small plate with a chocolate sitting in the middle.
âGo on, try it,â urged Mrs Luca.
Rose took the chocolate and bit into it. She didnât enjoy it because everyone was staring at her, but she nodded her head as if to say it was delicious. Encouraged, Mrs Luca ordered a large box to be filled with dark and white chocolates. Rose watched as the assistant picked up one chocolate after another with metal tongs and placed them carefully in the box,
âHow dare you, Victoria! Donât you ever call Anna a Gypsy again,â Mrs Luca said angrily. âAnd this has nothing to do with you.â
âI only live here, thatâs all! Youâre supposed to be my mother, but youâre only concerned about Anna, or whatever her real name is,â shouted Victoria.
âDarling, you know thatâs not true, and Iâll thank you to treat Anna with respect. She doesnât deserve the cut of your tongue.â Mrs Luca adopted a more conciliatory tone.
âAnd I donât deserve to be sidelined while you wrap yourself round someone elseâs child,â retorted Victoria.
âItâs not like that, you know itâs not. Iâll just make sure Annaâs settled in, then weâll have some proper time together.â
âYouâve gone too far this time, Mummy. You know you have, and Daddy thinks so too,â Victoria said coolly, then hurried away.
âI seem to be upsetting everyone today,â Mrs Luca said with a false lightness. âThings will soon settle down, youâll see, and weâll be one big happy family together.â
Chapter 13
Rose had never been on a shopping spree such as the one Mrs Luca took her on the moment she was fit enough. The only shops she had ever visited were small village stores selling bread and milk or needles and cottons. She always loved looking at the shelves loaded with foodstuffs and the bottles filled with colourful sweets. If she and Rani had been good, Esme allowed them to pick their favourites, and they would watch the shopkeeper unscrew the lids of the bottles, pour some of the sweets out on to a set of scales and tip them carefully into small white bags. Rose could have spent all day in the drapersâ shops, where Esme took her to choose materials for her dresses. She liked to run her fingers over the different fabrics, especially the silks and satins.
Mrs Luca, Victoria and Rose drove into a big city and parked in a concrete building full of nothing but cars. Then they walked through some huge glass doors that led into what seemed to Rose like a glass palace full of shops, so brightly lit that it hurt her eyes. Crowds of people bustled about, many loaded down with bags but still searching for more things to buy. Rose had to stop herself gawping as Mrs Luca led her past one shop after another, each with its windows full of goods, while Victoria dragged along behind, not wishing, it seemed, to be associated with either her mother or Rose.
Rose had never seen so many handbags and shoes and dresses and coats and pieces of jewellery and scarves and soaps and creams and books and ornaments. It was as if every single item from every single small shop she had ever been in during her lifetime had been gathered together in one place and magic dust thrown around to make everything seem bigger and better and more beautiful. One store was selling nothing but chocolates, some decorated with tiny pink and purple flowers, others individually wrapped in silver and gold, or set in gold boxes tied with gossamer ribbons. How Esme would have loved to go in there! Esme adored chocolate and couldnât resist buying some whenever they went into a village, though she always complained that her waistline was expanding because of it.
Seeing the glint in Roseâs eyes, Mrs Luca led her into the store and demanded a chocolate for her to sample. Rose could have died with embarrassment when the shop assistant held out a small plate with a chocolate sitting in the middle.
âGo on, try it,â urged Mrs Luca.
Rose took the chocolate and bit into it. She didnât enjoy it because everyone was staring at her, but she nodded her head as if to say it was delicious. Encouraged, Mrs Luca ordered a large box to be filled with dark and white chocolates. Rose watched as the assistant picked up one chocolate after another with metal tongs and placed them carefully in the box,
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