Chapter 28
That night Riva dreamt of sinking, felt the sea dragging her away from life and that awful sensation of going under again, the stinging salty water in her nostrils, in her throat, and in her eyes.
When she woke she struggled for breath, gasping, choking, crying.
She hated Bobby for caring so little about her and yet a small voice in her head was whispering that she was to blame.
He was right. She had lied about being a strong swimmer and he had warned her about the currents.
She had been stupid, wanting to impress, but still she couldn’t let go of her anger.
She got out of bed and as she threw open her shutters, she blinked at the harsh light of another bright day.
Missing her misty Parisian mornings and her early morning chocolate in a favourite cup brought in by the maid, she sat on her bed and glanced at her clock.
Still early. What was she going to do with herself until she could go to work?
Maybe she could go and see Lottie. She didn’t want to be alone today feeling so blue and out of sorts.
Her mind was in turmoil as she roamed over the events at the beach, and she wished she hadn’t sounded so accusing.
The image of Bobby’s naked body, his back towards her, kept repeating over and over and she only partly succeeded in shaking it off.
She grabbed her robe and went out onto the landing where she heard subdued sobbing.
She listened at Paloma and Brigitte’s doors but there was only silence there.
The sobs seemed to be coming from the floor below, and as she tiptoed down in her bare feet she realised something was going on in the new girl’s room.
Riva froze. Should she intervene? She didn’t want to intrude on her private distress, but what if this was the girl she had spotted at the club?
Pale, young and yes, now she thought about it, frightened.
Riva tapped gently on the door. Nothing. She opened it just a crack. ‘Can I do anything to help?’
The girl just moaned and shook her head.
Riva pushed the door open a little further. ‘Won’t you let me get you some water?’
This time the girl nodded and lifted her face up, her eyes so puffy and rimmed with red that she looked as if she’d been crying most of the night.
‘Oh sweetheart,’ Riva said. ‘I haven’t got a hankie. Look I’m going to get you some water and a face flannel.’
The girl didn’t speak but sniffed and wiped her eyes and face with her hands.
A few moments later Riva was back, relieved that the door was still ajar. She padded in and placed a glass on the girl’s bedside table and handed her a damp flannel.
‘There. It’s clean. You’ll feel much better once you’ve wiped your face and drunk some water.’
The girl was compliant and did exactly as Riva suggested.
Riva looked around the room and spotted one small case and a couple of dresses hanging on a rail. When the girl had finished Riva asked her where she had come from.
‘Russia,’ the girl said and let out a wail.
Worried she was about to start weeping all over again Riva patted her hand. ‘I’m Riva,’ she said. ‘Will you tell me your name?’
‘I am An … ya,’ the girl stammered.
Her English was halting, lacking in confidence. Riva put an arm around her shuddering shoulders, which were so thin she looked as if a gust of wind would blow her away.
‘Those are pretty,’ Riva said, pointing at a row of wooden dolls on the windowsill.
The girl’s eyes lit up. ‘Matryoshka dolls. Mother has child inside and child has child inside. Many. All fit together. It is life.’
‘Inside each other?’
‘Yes.’
‘How many?’
‘Eight.’
Riva went across to the window and picked up the largest doll, a woman holding a black rooster beneath her arm. Clearly handmade and hand-painted, the yellow and pink looked a little faded in places but beautiful all the same.
Anya smiled. ‘She is mother. My grandmother gave me. Is very old and valuable. I take everywhere.’
‘But there are only seven.’
‘I hide last one.’
‘Why?’
The girl shrugged and looked sad. ‘I do … not want to come here. I do not know where my family is. They made me come.’
‘Your family made you come?’
‘Maybe. I don’t know. I am think … ing my father and brother are dead.’
‘And now you are a hostess.’
Anya glanced sideways at her from under her lashes as if she were trying to work out how much was safe to say. ‘That is what they say. I do not like.’
‘How old are you?’
‘I cannot say.’
‘Who told you not to say?’
‘Please … no more questions.’
‘Will you come for tea with me later today? I know a nice café. It’s perfectly safe.’
‘I am sacred, no, I am scared … the men will come. Take me away again.’
‘Don’t worry. I’ll be with you. Just rest today and I’ll come back later this afternoon. You know the bathroom is the next door along from you?’
Anya nodded.
‘Mind if I just nip in first? I’ll be quick. I’ll tap on your door to let you know when I’m done, but you take as long as you need.’
Riva ran up to her room for her towel and then back to the bathroom before someone else got in.
When she’d finished, she let Anya know it was free and then went back to her own room to dress.
She had managed to order a few cotton dresses run up cheaply by a local seamstress and chose one in green then brushed her hair.
No matter how hard she brushed, the curls always bounced back.
She had also managed to dye her hair dark again, but the colour faded too quickly and she wasn’t sure how long she could keep it up.
On her way to Lottie’s she told herself it wasn’t with the hope of seeing Bobby and in a way it was true.
She’d be terribly embarrassed about how she’d reacted at the beach if she saw him.
Besides, although it was all over with him now, that shouldn’t stop her from seeing Lottie who, after all, was her only real friend here.
‘Oh, I’m so pleased to see you,’ Lottie said, standing in the doorway. ‘Come on up.’
They climbed the stairs and when Lottie threw open the door to her apartment Riva looked about in surprise. Clothes were strewn everywhere. Over the backs of chairs, in piles on the floor, and there were three large semi-filled cases lying open on the bed.
Riva frowned. ‘You’re leaving?’
‘Back home for a bit. Daddy’s not too well and I’ve been summoned.’
‘Oh dear. I hope he’s all right.’
‘Probably a storm in a teacup, but I have to go. And I could do with getting away for a bit.’
‘What about your beau?’
Lottie shrugged and Riva saw something in her friend’s eyes she didn’t understand. ‘You are happy to be marrying Archie, aren’t you?’
Lottie bit her lip but then recovered and smiled brightly. ‘Of course. And now Mummy sounds as if she’s lost the plot … Have you seen much of Bobby?’
Riva pulled a face.
‘I saw him last night with a hangdog expression on his face, couldn’t get a smile out of him at all.’
‘We fell out.’
‘Ah, the course of true love. I’ve never seen him like this with anybody else. Want to talk about it?’
Riva shook her head. ‘Want help with the packing?’
‘Would you? I’m useless.’
And for the next couple of hours the two girls went through every item of clothing, only choosing things that Lottie would wear in England.
At one point she looked at Riva and said, ‘Actually, this is crazy. I’ve got loads of clothes at home. Maybe I’ll just take one case.’
‘Good idea, Lottie. Only take what you need for the journey.’
When they had finished Lottie went to her bedside table, fished out a set of keys and handed them to Riva.
‘What’s all this?’
‘Keys for this apartment. Stay here as often as you like.’
‘You’re sure?’ She had felt envious of Lottie’s life and now, in the face of this generosity, she felt ashamed.
‘If things … well if you and Bobby make up, you’ll need somewhere to go. I’ll let Archie know.’
‘He won’t mind?’
‘Not at all. But don’t bring anyone else here. Apart from Bobby, or Archie of course. Is that too mean?’
‘Course not. It’s awfully kind of you but I don’t think I’ll be needing it.’
‘You never know.’
Later, when Riva eventually returned home having left Lottie happy with her one case neatly packed, she went straight to Anya’s room and knocked.
No reply. She knocked again. Still nothing.
If Anya was sleeping, she didn’t want to wake her.
It wasn’t time to go to work yet, so it was probably best to leave the girl to get some rest. She was about to turn away, but something nagged at her, so very quietly she opened the door just a tiny bit and peered in.
Anya was not there. Riva went into the room and closing the door behind her, she took in the bed now stripped of sheets and blankets.
Anya’s absence felt weirdly unsettling and Riva had a bad feeling so she checked the cupboard, the wardrobe and the small bedside table.
Anya’s clothes, her dolls and her small case were gone.
There was nothing left of the girl at all.