Read Online My Name Is Rose by Sally Grindley - Free Book Online Page B

plastic carrier bags.
    â€˜She’ll only have herself to blame if they don’t,’ said Victoria.
    She disappeared into the first hall, and by the time Rose and Mrs Luca went back through, she had already picked out two blouses and two jumpers that she wanted her mother to buy her.
    â€˜It’s only fair,’ she said, ‘and you promised if I helped Anna I could have something too.’
    â€˜Just don’t tell your father, that’s all,’ sighed Mrs Luca. ‘Things are a little tight at the moment.’
    â€˜Daddy won’t mind,’ Victoria replied, and plucked a necklace from a stand to add to her selection, despite her mother’s protestations.
    Rose felt exhausted when they left the store. She wasn’t as strong as she thought, but she had no intention of letting Mrs Luca know, because this would only lead to more unwanted fussing and pampering. She hoped they would soon be returning to the house, but her guardian turned into another enormous store.
    â€˜Here we are,’ Mrs Luca said. ‘Just what we need.’
    Rose stared at the thousands of books and magazines that were stacked high everywhere she turned. So many words , she thought, none of which would make any sense to me, even if they were written in my own language . And there were pens and pencils and crayons in hundreds of different colours, shapes and sizes. Mrs Luca selected a variety of them before going to the checkout to pay.
    â€˜Why can’t you talk, then?’ Victoria asked Rose out of the blue, while they were waiting for her to return. Her question wasn’t voiced unkindly. She was curious. ‘Are you sure you’re not pretending because you’re scared?’ she continued. She looked penetratingly at Rose, who blushed with discomfort. ‘Just try saying “hello”,’ Victoria persisted.
    Rose shook her head and moved closer to Mrs Luca.
    â€˜I bet I can catch you out one day,’ said Victoria. ‘And once I’ve done that we’ll be able to find out a lot more about you, especially all your little secrets.’

Chapter 14
    Mrs Luca scarcely left Rose alone during the next few weeks. She was determined that Rose should understand what she could and couldn’t do. She enforced strict routines for mealtimes, lessons and bedtime, all of which were flouted regularly by Victoria, who only had to enlist her father’s support in order to get her own way. Rose was amazed at how the girl could manipulate her father against her mother. She and Rani had been brought up to do as they were told, and Esme and Nicu formed a united front if ever there was any attempt at disobedience.
    The rules of the house, and those that were specific to Rose, were many and comprehensive. Rose was convinced she would break several inadvertently. The main rules were that the kitchen, library and Mr Luca’s office were out of bounds to her, as were all of the upstairs rooms apart from her bedroom. If she wanted a book to read, she must ask permission to go into the library.
    â€˜We don’t want to discourage you from reading – on the contrary – but the library is Mr Luca’s pride and joy. Everything is precisely catalogued, so we don’t want to undo all of my husband’s hard work.’
    Rose was forbidden from passing time with the servants, and on no account was she to do any of the servants’ work. She would be allowed to watch tele­vision for a maximum of six hours in a week and not after seven o’clock in the evening. That’s no hardship , Rose thought to herself, since we didn’t have a television in our wagon and only ever watched it at Uncle Aleksandar’s . She would be permitted to go riding, but only accompanied by Mrs Luca or Victoria. She would be expected to maintain a respectful silence around Mr Luca’s office whenever he was working from home. ‘Well, that’ll apply when you regain your power