Replacement Baby

by Mary Ann Smart

  “So what should I do?” Rose asked. “Lionel is my friend. I really enjoy talking to him and spending time with him. I don’t want to lose our friendship, but I also don’t want to give him any wrong ideas.”

  “You shouldn’t have to do anything different,” Julie reassured her. “He knows he needs to give it up. Lionel knows he doesn’t have a chance with you. Not even close, especially with Rodney around. You just do whatever it is you want to do and don’t worry about Lionel.”

  “Okay,” Rose said. It doesn’t matter, anyway, Rose thought. I like Rodney. I can’t wait to see him. I’ll kiss him and hold him and we can talk for hours. I’ll also ask for his insight about the robbery at the jewelry store.

  * * *

  At around three ‘o clock, Rose and Julie began getting ready for the big party. Julie curled Rose’s hair and pinned it up, with a few stray curls framing her face. She put several small crystal hairclips in her cluster of curls. Rose helped Julie curl her hair and pin half of it up. Then they fixed each other’s make-up.

  “We look smashing, as the Brits would say,” Julie whispered with a laugh as they stood together, looking in the mirror.

  “Oh, I agree.” Rose blew a kiss. “We are going to have the guys down there lining up to dance with us.”

  “I like the sound of that. But I refuse to try that waltz stuff. I still can’t believe my mother chose all that old stuff. I hope the party won’t be too boring.”

  Rose shrugged. “I’ll try it. It sounds interesting and different. And the party will be fun, no matter what.”

  Julie raised her eyebrows. “Suit yourself. It’s your choice. I’m sure Lionel will try the waltz, too. He likes history and stuff.”

  “You should give it a try,” Rose suggested.

  “I’ll dance when the DJ comes out,” Julie told her. “Oh, did I tell you? I did convince my mom to hire a DJ for later on in the evening. So that’ll be cool.”

  They continued to talk as they got ready. Rose wore pearls, which Julie let her borrow. Julie wore a matching emerald necklace and earring set, which she had borrowed from her mother. The friends helped each other get into their dresses. Then they secured their masks, which Rose and picked up at the shop the day before.

  “Ready to go down?” Julie asked.

  From downstairs, they could hear the string quartet playing. After dinner and the traditional dancing, the DJ would take over.

  “Absolutely,” Rose said.

  They walked down to the edge of the stair rail, which overlooked the main area for dancing. Over a dozen couples were milling around, snacking on hors d’oeuvres and sipping tall glasses of champagne. Everyone was dressed in finery and almost all the guests were wearing masks.

  “Can I walk you ladies downstairs?” Lionel asked.

  “I’m fine, thanks, Lionel,” Julie said flippantly and began walking down the stairs.

  Lionel held his arm out to Rose. She smiled politely and took it. Together they walked downstairs and joined the party.

  Mrs. Douglass was an elegant hostess. She wore a blue gown that was the color of sapphires. She introduced Julie and Rose to several dignitaries. Soon Julie was focused on staring across the room at the young Russian she had spoken of earlier. He had shoulder length brown hair and dark eyes. His facial features were defined and attractive, and he was tall. He was unmasked, most likely to allow the female guests to gaze upon his face.

  After the dance lesson, Julie gave up her hesitations about dancing the waltz and walked straight over to the Russian guy. She practically asked him to dance. Rose watched Julie as her friend carefully tried to remember the steps from the lesson. For the next dance, another waltz, his partner was a young woman who appeared to be in her late twenties. Julie got a glass of punch and came up alongside Rose, who had not danced yet.

  “Isn’t he so hot?” Julie asked breathlessly. “He was an incredible dancer, too.”

  “What’s his name?” Rose asked her.

  “I’m not exactly sure,” Julie responded. “His accent was so thick and the name was one I’d never heard of. I’ll just call him ‘the hot Russian guy’ for now.”

  “Sounds good to me.”

  Another young guy asked Julie to dance, and his friend asked Rose. After Rose got into the flow of the dance steps, they began to talk. Rose found their conversation boring, and he did not seem that cute to her. But she politely finished the dance and then excused herself to get a drink.

  “Can I dance with you?” Lionel asked, catching Rose at the punch bowl.

  “Sure.”

  It was the last waltz before dinner. Lionel led Rose onto the dance floor. She spotted Julie dancing with “the hot Russian guy” again.

  “Sorry, I’m not the best dancer,” Lionel apologized after he almost stepped on Rose’s long skirt.

  “It’s okay,” Rose reassured him. “This skirt is beautiful, but very inconvenient for dancing.”

  “Well, you look great,” Lionel told her. “Really, really beautiful.”

  “Thank you.” Rose looked at Lionel in his starched tuxedo with his hair fixed neatly and his black mask covering his face. “You look good, too.”

  “Thanks.”

  After dinner at the large dining room table, Rose danced throughout most of the night. The string quartet packed up their instruments and the DJ began playing popular music. Rose even danced with the Russian guy once.

  “Wow, what a fun party,” Julie announced at the end of the night. “That Russian guy was a hottie, but gosh, I don’t think I could handle him for more than a few hours. I couldn’t understand half of what he was saying. I’ll take American guys any day.”

  “Yes, it was a good night,” Rose agreed as she took bobby pins out of her hair. Now that this party is over, I can turn all my focus to Rodney and our date.

  Chapter Twenty

  The day of Rodney and Rose’s lunch date finally arrived. The previous day, he had called her and told her to meet him at 11:30 in the morning at a small French café about two miles from the Douglass home called Le Tableau Argent, or The Silver Table. Outside, the sky was drizzling so Rose put on her green raincoat and opened up her umbrella. The raindrops bounced on top of the umbrella with a light tapping noise. Rose had wished for a sunny day for her long-awaited date with Rodney, but she was just happy to finally see him.

  Turning away from the street where the Douglass family lived, Rose walked through the steady rain. She avoided puddles by skipping over them or walking around them. Julie had given her a beautiful royal blue knee length dress and a pair of matching shoes to wear, and Rose wanted them to stay dry through her rainy walk. Rose wanted her entire ensemble to be perfect, pressed, and dry for her date with Rodney. She walked the first mile, which took quite a long time because of the rain. She was glad she had left the house early.

  Rose was beginning to get worried because of the extra time it was taking due to the rain, so she made a quick decision to take a shortcut. She found a side street which seemed to be going in the right direction, but was far less crowded.

  I hope I don’t get myself lost with this shortcut, Rose thought. The rain let up a little, but Rose still held her umbrella close to her head to keep her hair dry.

  When I give Rodney a kiss when I see him, should I wait for the right moment? Rose wondered as she walked along. Should I kiss him right away? Maybe I should wait. Should I do it when we say good-bye? Maybe that would be the most appropriate time. Or maybe I could—

  A hand reached out and grabbed Rose by the arm, dragging her into a shadowy alley. Rose opened her mouth to scream, but another hand clamped over her mouth, and the hand gripping her arm slipped down to grab her wrists. Rose dropped her umbrella and it rolled away in the wind. She attempted to wriggle away, but she was held tight by the arm. She turned her head in an attempt to see who was holding onto her. But the person was behind her and she could see nothing.

  “Lisa, be quiet,” said the stern voice of the person behind her. The voice
sounded familiar.

  “Mother?” Rose said into the hand that was covering her mouth.

  “Yes, Lisa,” said the voice eerily.

  Mother. It was Mother.

  “How did you find me?” Rose tried to say, but her words were muffled and could not be understood.

  “Stop moving and listen to me,” said Mother’s commanding voice. Mother pulled Rose closer and spoke quietly into her ear, her voice cold. “You are coming with me. You should not have run away from home. I know what you are thinking. I know you are thinking that I kidnapped you. But no, that is not the case. I rescued you. The man who kidnapped you was my cousin. I found that box in his house. I discovered that you were not his daughter. When he died suddenly, I took you in. You became my daughter, like my own flesh and blood. Now I want you to come home to me. I have done nothing wrong. You need to come home. You are too young and naïve to be out alone and on your own.”

  Rose nodded furiously, pretending that she believed all the lies she was being told by Mother, even though she did not trust a word of it. “Yes, I’ll come home,” she agreed when Mother removed her hand from Rose’s mouth. She prayed that Mother would believe her lie. Mother’s grip on Rose’s wrists loosened and she turned Rose around to look at her.

  There she stood before her, tall and looming. Mother. Mother, in her dark rain coat with her sharp eyes glaring. Mother, with a scowl on her face. Mother, who was always distant to Rose. Rose stared up at her, terror filling her heart. Mother still held Rose’s wrists, though much more loosely now than before.

  “Please, please, let me go!” Rose cried. “You’re hurting me!”

  As soon as Mother let go of her wrists, Rose bolted. She escaped the alley and ran down the side street she had been on. She could hear Mother’s quick footsteps behind her, as well as her heavy breathing.

  Rose twisted and turned, going down side streets. People stopped to stare at her, but she scarcely noticed. She stopped for a moment, out of breath. She realized that her hair, clothes, and shoes were soaked. Quick footsteps were behind her, and she glanced to see Mother, ten feet away. Dashing away quickly, Rose ran up a fire escape on a nearby building.

  Her heart began pounding when she looked down to see Mother climbing up the fire escape behind her. I don’t remember Mother being so agile, Rose thought with fear. Rose ran up the stairs, tripping a couple times. She reached the top of a building and then realized that she had nowhere to go. She spotted a door, which must have led into the building. She ran to it. As she placed her hand on the doorknob, she saw Mother reaching the top of the fire escape and stepping onto the roof. The woman was breathing heavily, but she did not stop jogging after Rose.

  Turning back toward the door, Rose twisted the knob firmly. But the door was securely locked and the doorknob would not budge. She looked around and saw the vast array of the rooftops of London. Frantic, she continued to look around. She realized that the building next door was only about five feet away. Mother had almost reached her, so Rose darted away, quick like a flash. She ran as fast as she could and leaped when she got to the edge of the roof. For a moment, Rose felt as though she was flying as she crossed from one building to another, five or six stories up, her arms out and her legs stretched like a ballerina. She landed hard on the edge of the roof of the neighboring building. She teetered for a moment, almost losing her balance. A dark cloud of fear covered her as she flailed her arms to regain her balance. She was able to straighten herself out and without looking back, she began to run toward the fire escape on this new building. She looked back to the other building, the one she had just been on the roof of. She spotted Mother running back toward the fire escape on that building.

  She’s going to be waiting for me when I go downstairs from this building. Rose realized. She stopped for a moment to examine her surroundings. She noticed another neighboring building that was only a few feet away. I hate the thought of jumping again, but it might be my best chance of getting away from Mother, Rose realized with terror. Leaping again, Rose reached the rooftop of the next building. Rose felt proud of herself, especially because she did not like heights. She landed more smoothly this time and did not lose her balance at all.

  Rose ran down the fire escape of the building with caution. Looking around in all directions, she saw Mother nowhere. But she still ran until she reached a main street, which was full of people, cars, and buses. Shops lined each side, and a few restaurants dotted the area. The street seemed familiar, and she followed it until she reached the area where she knew the restaurant was.

  Continuing to run, Rose did not stop until she got to the outdoor patio of Le Tableau Argent, where Rodney was waiting for her at a covered table. She collapsed into the chair opposite his. Breathing heavy, she apologized for being late.

  Rodney looked at her with curiosity, his face showing his concern. “Are you okay?” he asked, puzzled. “You are soaking wet and you look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

  “Yes,” Rose said, nodding. But then she realized that she was crying.

  “Rose, what’s wrong?” Rodney asked, a hint of annoyance in his voice. “What is going on?”

  Rose’s fear pushed aside her hesitation about sharing what had happened, and her story spilled out. She even told Rodney about the box under the floor and why she had come to London. As Rose told her story, she looked around constantly. The waitress came and took their orders and Rose jumped in fright when the young woman approached.

  Finishing her story, Rose looked around again. Suddenly, Rodney’s eyes grew wide. He placed his hand over Rose’s as it rested on the table.

  “Rose, I have something to tell you,” he said, his voice urgent. “I think I know how your Mother found where you were.” He looked around with caution, scanning the surroundings. Then he turned back to Rose. “Rose, it was Lionel. Do you remember when the four of us, you, me, Lionel, and Julie, went to Hyde Park and then to Selfridges?”

  “Yes, I remember,” Rose told him, recalling the day, which had been a few weeks before.

  “Well, Lionel excused himself to use the restroom at Selfridges,” Rodney continued. “You and Julie were busy shopping. I needed to go use the pay phone to make a call for work. When I went to use the phone, I saw Lionel using it. His voice was loud, and I could not help overhear him. He didn’t see me. I shouldn’t have, but I listened to his conversation. He was talking about you. He was telling me the same story that you told me, about the box under the floor and coming to England to find your birth mother. Near the end of the conversation, he said ‘Just come here, and I’ll tell you where she is. You can come for her.’”

  Rose’s face went white and she gasped.

  Rodney continued speaking. “Then he negotiated a large sum of money for your return. After what you told me, I assume that he was talking to your Mother. I didn’t know what he was talking about at the time, but it all makes sense now.”

  Rose felt her heart pounding in her chest like a drum. Trembling, she buried her face in her hands. Her mind began racing wildly. Lionel has been working with Mother? It has all been an act? This whole thing, everything he has said and done to help me, has been fake? How can this be?

  Rodney was still talking, but Rose wasn’t listening. What could she do? I can’t go back to the Douglass home knowing this. Now I don’t know where I will go or what I will do. I might not even be able to trust Mrs. Harrison, she realized with heartache. She may have set this whole thing up with Mother. Rodney is the only one I can trust now.

  “I’ll take you to a hotel for the night,” Rodney suggested. “I’ll pay for everything. Don’t worry about a single thing. You don’t need to worry about anything. Once you get settled at the hotel, we can meet and figure out where to go from there.”

  Rose nodded gratefully. She forced herself to eat some soup and bread, though her stomach had no desire for food. She was wet and cold. Her hair was soaked and sticking to her face and neck. She knew that she looked like a wreck. Forcing herself to eat, sh
e stared at Rodney. He’s so perfect, she thought. He is the best thing that has ever happened to me.

  After a while, Rose began shivering from her wet clothing. Rodney noticed she was cold and uncomfortable, so he quickly paid for their lunch. Then he informed her that he would take her to a hotel on the other side of the city.

  “We should get away from this area,” he suggested. “You don’t need to be staying anywhere near where Lionel Douglass lives, or anywhere near where your mother attacked you.”

  Rose nodded in agreement. “Thank you for all your help,” she said softly.

  How could you have been so careless and trusting? Rose scolded herself as she and Rodney rode in the taxi cab across London. You didn’t really know Lionel. How could you have confided in him? He was just looking to make money off you. It was a game. It was just a game to gain your trust. Rose shut her eyes, as if to shield herself from the pain that reality brought on. Her clothes were still damp, which made the cab ride unpleasant.

  Remembering the horror of when Mother attacked her earlier, Rose realized she needed to call the police.

  “Rodney, as soon as we get to the hotel, I need to call the police,” Rose told him.

  “The police?” Rodney glanced back and forth, almost with suspicion.

  “Yes,” she told him. “I need to report the attack. I need to tell them about how Mother attacked me earlier. I’m really scared. I can also mention the stuff with Lionel, too.”

  “Now, now, Rose,” Rodney said comfortingly, pulling her close. “I’ll take care of it. I’ll call and tell them. Then they can send an officer to take down your report if they need to.

  “Oh, thank you, Rodney,” Rose replied with gratitude. “I don’t know what I would do without you.”