A LADY NAMED ROSE
Chapter Forty-Six
November, 1916
Rose cranked the engine of the Daimler Benz
and it sputtered and coughed before turning over with a noisy rumbling.
Sebastian, beside her in the front seat, frowned.
"Got to get the old gal to a
mechanic...okay, Rosie, you ready?"
She nodded with uncontained excitement. She'd
been pleading with him to teach her to drive for over a year.
"All right, put 'er in gear."
Rose eagerly obliged. Without realizing it
she'd lodged her foot against one of the foot pedals, and the automobile lurched
forward in the drive, kicking up gravel in its wake.
"Reverse, Rose! Put the car in
reverse!"
It was too late. To Rose the vehicle seemed
to take on a life of its own, gathering speed before slamming into the garage
door.
"Whee!" she yelled, pumping a fist
in the air. Turning breathlessly to Sebastian, she noticed that he gripped the
passenger door handle so tightly his knuckles were the shade of paper.
"Did I frighten you?"
The look he gave her was comical in its
disbelief. Rose laughed riotously. "Can I try it again? Please?"
"Bloody hell..." Sebastian shook
his head and staggered from his seat to examine the damage, which thankfully
wasn't all that bad--to the automobile, at least. The garage door wasn't so
lucky.
"Now look at this!" he ranted.
"Are you trying to kill us? W-what are you doing? Rose? Rose, this is not
a toy! You turn that engine off right now!"
Rose had already popped the gearshift into
reverse and was backing the car slowly and jerkily down the drive. She flipped
Sebastian the middle finger on her left hand and laughed again. He couldn't
contain himself; his impatience with her vanished and a grin etched its way
across his features.
"Whoa, slow down so I can get in,"
he called out to her, running and climbing up on the sideboard.
After a hair-raising Sunday afternoon jaunt
through scenic Bay Shore--scattering chickens and stray dogs hapless enough to
wander into the road--Rose and Sebastian went back to the cottage so recently
inhabited by his father for an early dinner and bout of lovemaking before they
had to return to the city. Fritz had kindly given them both a day off after a
grueling week of rehearsing for the troupe's Christmas extravaganza. Tomorrow
rehearsals would begin anew; performances were to start Thanksgiving weekend.
Rose had been cast as an elf in a silly romp
called Santa's Workshop. The skit was for the children, of course;
Sebastian grumbled that it was too insipid even for them and had tried
unsuccessfully to convince Fritz to rewrite it or drop it altogether. Rose was
secretly happy Fritz didn't listen to Sebastian. She was just an elf in a
ridiculous costume, true, but it was the first time she would appear onstage
since joining the Geisel troupe.
Her primary function was in the ticket booth,
but she'd also served as a dresser, makeup girl and understudy to a few of the
other actresses. Not one of them had missed a performance yet. Fritz had
assured her that she'd get to act once her three-month probationary period
ended. The three months became four, then five. Rose was sure Angelica was
behind her prolonged wait, but Sebastian brushed aside her worries, saying
Angelica didn't have that much influence over her father. Perhaps not; Rose was
still living in a room above Angelica's in her family's boarding house.
It was a modest room--smaller even than the
attic of the Scott mansion--but Rose paid for it with money she earned; it
could have been a hovel for all she cared. Fritz and Anna had gone to great
pains to make it cozy for her. The smell of fresh paint still permeated the
air, and the furnishings were brand-new and of high quality. Rose had been
allowed to hang one work of art; she'd chosen a painting of a clown by Pablo
Picasso.
She was studying that painting Sunday night,
idly running a brush through her hair, when a knock sounded at the door. Rose
was surprised to discover it was Angelica. Her former roommate barely
acknowledged her anymore.
She strolled in uninvited, looking down her
nose at the surroundings before sniffing in dismissal. Rose fought back anger
and struggled to be polite; after all, she was living in this woman's house.
"Is there something I can do for
you?"
Angelica scrutinized her, calculating. Rose
had seen this look before; her ex-roommate was either up to something or about
to confide some big secret. She didn't like it, especially not at this late
hour.
May I sit?" Angelica asked finally. As
was her manner, she didn't wait for a yes, settling into a wicker chair beside
the vanity. Rose remained standing and continued to brush, hoping Angelica
would take the hint.
"What's the latest from the
warfront?"
Since when had Angelica had taken an interest
in foreign affairs? "I haven't heard anything you haven't," Rose
lied.
In fact, Sebastian devoured every bit of news
from Europe, but had made no progress in his quest to find someone to take him
there.
"Oh, come now, you can't hide anything
from me, Rose, you should know that by now. Is there any word from Sebastian's
mother?"
Rose stopped brushing.
"I overheard him discussing it with
Daddy," Angelica hurried to explain. "He's been very distracted for
months now, and we're all concerned--"
"She's still missing," Rose
snapped. "Now would you go, please? We both have an early day
tomorrow."
"I'm sorry," Angelica said, and
without warning, burst into sobs. Rose stared.
Angelica apologized again, and quickly dabbed
at her eyes with a handkerchief bunched in her right hand, while with her left
holding something out to Rose. It was an announcement for the Christmas
production, one that had probably once been tacked onto the wall outside the
theater. Now it was covered in epithets: KRAUTS GO HOME!
"Hans found it under the door this
morning," Angelica sniffed. "He didn't want to upset anyone so he hid
it from our parents. But he can't hide anything from me."
Rose couldn't take her eyes from the ugly
words on the paper. "You should phone the police at once!"
"They won't help," Angelica said
bitterly, adding, "This has happened before, at the theater. Nothing was
done."
"When did it happen?"
"Oh, dozens of times. Ever since that
ship got torpedoed. Attendance is down at our performances, in case you haven't
noticed. Some of our neighbors have stopped speaking to us. Now Sebastian's
even arguing with Daddy; he says he should speak out against the war and Daddy
refuses."
Rose was shocked; Sebastian had never
mentioned this. She didn't know why Angelica had chosen to unburden herself to
her, but of one thing she was certain; she had to act. The Geisels were decent
and apolitical people; they didn't deserve to be harassed in such a manner.
Reluctantly, she decided to seek help the
only way she could.
Teddy Quinn had done all right for himself.
After a conversation with Meg, Rose located him at his Lower East Side precinct
house, in a small office of his own. He'd been promoted up the chain of command
to sergeant already. Rose surmised that his willingness to use brute force if
necessary had something to do with it.
Some things never changed. Teddy was so
thrilled to see her he could hardly contain himself.
"I hear you're actin' in plays
now," he said once Rose was seated.
Rose blushed. "Well, I've only been
onstage once, and that was in college, but now I'm playing an elf in the
Geisels' Christmas show." Teddy smiled politely, but Rose could tell he
was losing interest, and quickly moved on, explaining why she'd come to see
him.
When she'd finished, Teddy pivoted in his
chair to face the far wall. He was silent for a few moments before speaking.
"So glad to see ya ain't lost that fightin'
spirit, Rosie. I'm just sorry you seem to be on the wrong side every
time."
"I beg your pardon?"
"Remember that ruckus ya got yerself
caught up in a while back? The one where those foolhardy coloreds tried to tear
down that movie house? We found out who that fella you was grapplin' with was.
Seems me cousin works for his family, as did yerself. We couldn't very well
touch 'im, comin' from money like he did."
"And what has that got to do
with--"
He spun back around. "Now I know you're
into equal rights fer womenfolk 'n' such, but ya gotta learn some affairs is
too dangerous for a lass! These may be nice people ya livin' with now, but
they're still Germans." He picked up a newspaper from a stack atop his
desk and handed it to her. "Look at the headlines and see if ya still feel
sorry for 'em."
On the front page was a photograph of an
ocean liner with four funnels. Rose's stomach began to twist in knots. The HMHS
Britannic, used by the British as a hospital ship, had sunk after an explosion
off the coast of Greece the day before. The cause was unknown, but it was
believed to be the Germans, as it was in the case of the Lusitania.
The Britannic was a sister ship to the
Titanic.
"In times of war," Teddy said
softly, "you gotta be careful who you pick as friends."
"The Geisels weren't responsible for
this," Rose replied, seething.
"Course not. But maybe some of their kin
is over there right now, fightin' in the Kraut army. Who knows? Maybe they're
plannin' an invasion right 'ere in America. I'll tell ya one thing, if this
country goes to war, this mick'll be the one o' the first to join up."
Teddy fervently pounded his chest as he spoke this last. "You can bet yer
pretty head on that."
Rose stood and snatched her purse from the
floor beside the chair. "And to think I almost fell for you once!"
She marched to the door, pausing once to throw a sarcastic "Happy
Thanksgiving!" over her shoulder, and left Teddy shaking his head,
bemused, in her wake.