Rescuing Rose (27 page)

I felt a bit bleary when I awoke at seven and went downstairs to make some tea. Theo seemed to have made a bit of a mess coming in, things had been disturbed. The hall table drawer was open—he'd obviously been rummaging for a pen—and one of my pictures was askew on the wall. And—oh shit!—the front door! Not only had he
not
put the chain on, the naughty boy, he'd actually left it ajar! How
bloody
irresponsible! I shall have to have words with him about this I said crossly as I went to close it. And I was just trying to work out how I might put it— because I don't want to fall out with him—when something in the sitting room caught my eye. I looked in. It was a shambles. I knew Theo was untidy but what on earth had he been
doing
? A small table was overturned, and my CDs were strewn on the floor; my bureau had been opened and the contents pulled out, and what the hell… ? Oh.
Fuck
. For now I saw that there was a conspicuous gap where the TV used to be.

'SHIT!' I shouted. 'I've been BURGLED!'

'Rose! Are you all right?' I heard Theo thunder down the stairs then he rushed into the sitting room with only a white towel wrapped round his waist.

'Sorry, ' he said sheepishly, 'I was in the bathroom—what's up?'

'I've been bloody well burgled!—that's what!'

'Oh no!' He looked stricken.

'Oh yes! And the reason they broke in was because you left the chain off the bloody door!'

'But I only did that because you weren't back yet. '
What
?

'But I thought
you
weren't back. I came in at twelve, and the house was all dark so I assumed you were still at Bev's: plus your jacket wasn't hanging up. '

'Oh, I took it upstairs. I went to bed very early last night. '

'What time was that?'

He screwed up his face. 'I got back at about ten, watched a bit of telly, then went to bed at half past. I was so exhausted I fell asleep straight away. I knew that you were still out, so I left the door unchained. '

I put my head in my hands. Oh God.

'I thought
you
were still out. I'm so sorry, Theo. It's my fault, not yours. I left the chain off—and someone broke in. '

'But didn't you lock the door?'

'Of course. But these people are professionals—they have bunches of duplicate keys. I even heard sounds, but I didn't investigate because I assumed that it was you, coming in. '

Then I had this awful thought. The burglars came in while we were asleep—we could have been murdered in our beds. You hear about people being broken into at night, and the thieves actually come right into the bedroom looking for cash and jewellery and—oh God! Oh
God
! I shot upstairs, heart pounding and yanked open my underwear drawer. I pulled out the carefully arranged knickers and bras, reached to the back and took out my leather jewel case. In it were all my old bits and pieces and my one precious, precious thing. If you saw it you'd laugh, it's no more than a bauble—but to me worth all the gold in Fort Knox. With trembling fingers, I opened the tiny blue plastic box, lifted the cotton wool, then relaxed. I put the case back, then went downstairs, still shaking like a cold Chihuahua, to find Theo ringing the police.

'They'll be round in ten minutes, 'he explained as he put the phone down.

'They didn't take anything of yours did they?'

'No. My 'scope and computer are still there. I think it's just the TV and the video that have gone. '

'And a hundred quid which I had in my desk. Thank God I didn't leave my handbag downstairs otherwise they'd have taken my credit cards too. It could have been worse, ' I added, calmer now, much calmer. 'And I can get another TV second hand. '

'Don't you have contents insurance?'

I shook my head. 'I was trying to economise. So all things considered, '—I thought of my jewel box again—'it could have been
far
worse. At least they didn't take anything of sentimental value. '

'Rose, I hate to say this, but I think they did. That photo of your parents—it's gone. ' I looked on the sideboard. Theo was right. It wasn't there.

'Oh well, ' I said with a shrug.

'That must be very upsetting. I'm sorry. '

'It's okay—the frame's only silver plate. Anyway, I'll make some tea—I believe it's traditional at times like this? What's the matter, Theo?' He was looking at me strangely.

'Oh… nothing. Er, I'd better get dressed. ' Now that the shock had subsided I found myself noticing how slim his waist was, and how broad his shoulders; and how surprisingly muscled and smooth his chest, and it suddenly crossed my mind that he should have gone to the ball as Michelangelo's
David
—obviously with at least a fig leaf in front. As he turned, I noticed that his upper back was dotted with clusters of faint freckles, like distant galaxies and that his calves were muscled and strong. I went into the kitchen, feeling vaguely disturbed, then opened the fridge to give Rudy some fruit.

'Do you want some grapes this morning, Rudy?' I asked him over my shoulder, 'or would you prefer a bit of peach? I've got half a banana here if you'd rather have that. Or there's a really nice pear. What do you think, Rudy?' He was rather quiet this morning. That was funny. Not like him at all. And now I slowly turned round and saw, to my horror, that Rudolph Valentino had gone.

'I'm really sorry, ' I said to Bea when I told her about Rudy the following evening. We stared mournfully at the empty space where his cage had been. 'I feel dreadful. '

'It's not your fault. I'm just amazed you didn't hear him shouting, "I'm being kidnapped! Help!"'

'He was probably too shocked to speak. The burglars must have lifted his cover, seen he was valuable, and decided to take him as well. P. C. Plod said they're circulating his details to eighty-three pet shops in the south east. '

'Did you tell them what he says?' she asked as I poured two glasses of wine.

'I did. I said the frequent references to the Radio Four schedule would help to identify him. '

'And the reruns of your quarrels with Ed. I hope someone finds him, ' she added as she bit a Twiglet. 'Bella will be very upset. Don't blame yourself, Rose; these things happen, but you'll have to get a burglar alarm. I say, it's bit of a mess in here isn't it?' she added as she looked round the kitchen. 'Is young Theo a pig?'

'No, it's not him, ' I said guiltily. 'I'm afraid it's me. ' I surveyed the stacks of dirty plates and unwashed mugs. 'I haven't quite felt like tidying up. '

'
Really
?' she said, giving me a peculiar look. 'Don't worry— it must be the shock. You've got post-traumatic stress disorder, ' she announced confidently as I took our pizza out of its box.

'Yes, ' I said vaguely. 'That's probably what it is. Anyway, ' I changed the subject, 'how was your date with Henry?'

'Oh it was
fine
, ' she replied. 'At first I thought he seemed a little distracted, but no, we enjoyed ourselves. He talked about the ball a lot—he loved it. '

'Yes, he said he did. And was the Imperial War Museum fun?'

'It was great, ' she replied as I discarded the Pizza Hut box.

'And where did you eat?'

'We had a curry at Veeraswamy's and then a nightcap at the In and Out club. Henry's so nice, ' she breathed as I put two large slices on our plates. 'What I particularly liked—and this
really
surprised me—was that he was in touch with his feminine side. He knows quite a lot about fashion actually, ' she added as she picked up her knife and fork.

'
Does
he?'

'But at the same time he's a real
man
. Do you know what I mean, Rose? Well of course you do, ' she added hastily. 'I don't know why you didn't snap him up. '

'I never had time to, ' I said as I got out the napkins. 'He was always away. Gadding about with the regiment in Cyprus, or Oman or Belize or wherever. '

'That's precisely why you went out with him, isn't it, Rose?'

I looked at her. 'What do you mean?'

'I just mean that you've always chosen men with whom you could only have a long-distance relationship. '

'Oh don't be absurd. ' I passed her the pepper mill. 'Ed never went anywhere did he?'

'Exactly. So instead you drove him away. '

'I did not "drive" Ed "away" Bea. As you well know he was unfaithful to me with our marriage guidance counsellor within a mere seven months. '

'It's not the seven months that's significant, ' said Bea dismissively. 'It's the fact that you needed a marriage guidance counsellor at
all
. You're just no good at being in a couple, ' she went on. Bloody cheek! She's no good at being
out
of a couple—the distinctly weird one she's in with her twin. 'That's your problem, Rose' she added airily. 'It's classic avoidance. '

'Look, would you stop psychoanalysing me, Bea. I've just been burgled. Give me a break. '

'Okay. Anyway, Henry mentioned that he might have to go to the Middle East next month. It's totally depressing. '

'Hazard of the job I'm afraid. Oh, hang on, there's the phone. ' I ran into the hall. It was Beverley commiserating about the break-in.

'I wish I'd
done
something, ' she said. 'I was up very late—I couldn't sleep—and I thought I heard a noise at about half past two. But the problem was Trev was snoring so loudly it was hard to tell. '

'Do you want to come round?' I suggested. 'We're just having a take-away pizza. There's loads. '

'Really?' she said, 'that might be nice. '

'Theo's out star-gazing, ' I explained, 'but Bea's here. '

'Oh. Well… urn, actually, Rose, I don't think I will. '

'You wouldn't be intruding a bit, Bev, honestly. She's just telling me about her date with Henry. Why don't you come round? Go on. '

'That's kind, but actually I've got loads to do, I really ought to work. '

'Oh well, ' I sighed. 'Up to you. Just come if you decide to change your mind. Shall I tell Theo you rang?'

'Er, yes, ' she said carefully. 'Please do. '

'Beverley was all set to come round, ' I told Bea, 'but when I mentioned that Theo was out she didn't want to bother after all. She's nuts about him. She hotly denies it, but reading between the lines, I'm sure. And I know he likes her, because he calls her "poppet", and goes to the pub with her, and he's always helping her with things and going round. '

'So it's a case of watch this space, is it?' Bea asked.

'Yes, it is, ' I said with a slight pang. 'Anyway I'm glad that you and Henry got on so well. '

'Oh we did, ' Bea replied. 'In fact we've got another date next week. He's taking me to a lecture on New Directions for European Security and Defence Policy at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. Isn't that lovely?'

I nodded enthusiastically. 'Sounds great. '

'I think he wants me to know as much about military issues as he does, ' she said happily. 'So that we can talk about it. I've just bought the biography of Field Marshall Barker-Fortescue, ' she went on. 'Did you know that, apparently, he sometimes wore frocks?'

'Gosh!' I said.

'Isn't that
hideous
!'