This must be why Ms. Rossi had never encouraged her to become personally involved with the children. In fact, she would probably have been very happy if she’d stayed in her room and never interacted with them at all. The legal requirements would still have been met, just as they would be now with the helpless Nonna in residence.
With a flash of anger, Cassie predicted that the girls would end up being their grandmother’s caretakers. It would be only too easy for Ms. Rossi to allocate the menial but demanding job of her care to them. That, in turn, would only add to the girls’ burden and would make their life even worse.
Glancing to her right, Ms. Rossi noticed Cassie standing and watching.
“I have to go to the kitchen, Mama, and I will be back with you in a minute,” she told the elderly lady. Then, to Cassie, she said, “You will come here and assist my mother to her room.”
Reluctantly, Cassie walked over and took the gray-haired woman’s arm. It felt bony and she was trembling as she battled her way up the long staircase.
“Are we at Stefano’s place? Dove è antado?” Nonna asked.
She was asking where Stefano was, but Cassie had no idea what to say, or even who this person could be. She wondered if he might be Nonna’s husband, but if so he must have passed away some time ago because Ms. Rossi had said nothing about her mother being recently widowed.
“I’m not sure,” she said gently. “You’re at your daughter’s house now. This is where you will be staying.”
“Why did she not tell me this was happening? Where is Ottavia now? Is she here?”
Cassie stared at her, appalled. Ms. Rossi had literally been holding her arm two minutes ago, and her mother couldn’t remember?
This fragile woman, whose short-term memory was nonexistent, was the only protection the girls now had from their crazy, abusive, manipulative mother.
Cassie felt tears of defeat stinging her eyes.
CHAPTER TWENTY TWO
Nonna had been allocated a small, cozy bedroom in an annex near the children’s rooms. While Cassie got her settled in an armchair, with a view of the courtyard garden below, the maids unpacked her belongings.
“Where is Stefano?” she asked again. “Portalo qui.”
Was she asking Cassie to bring him here? She wasn’t sure what the elderly woman meant. Perhaps Nonna didn’t know either. Trying to sound calm and reassuring, and not reveal her dismay, Cassie did her best to reassure the frail woman.
“You’re with your daughter now. You’re going to be spending time with Nina and Venetia, your grandchildren. Do you remember them?”
The old woman stared blankly at her and did not reply.
“Remember, the two little girls?” she tried again.
“The children must be punished,” Nonna said softly.
Cassie stared at her wordlessly, panic rising inside her.
At that moment, Ms. Rossi appeared in the doorway and Nonna’s face brightened.
“Ah, Ottavia. There you are. I was asking where you had gone.”
Cassie stepped away, feeling utterly confused. Had Nonna’s mention of punishment been incoherent rambling, or had it been deliberately aimed at the two girls? The old lady had sounded confused beforehand, but straight afterwards, when Ms. Rossi walked in, had seemed to have regained mental clarity.
“I was speaking to the cook, Mama. She is making minestrone tonight for you. And Nina and Venetia have arrived home. Shall they come and greet you?”
“Si, si. They can come.”
Cassie followed Ms. Rossi out of the bedroom, anxious to see how the children would react in this encounter.
“Children,” their mother called sharply. “You may welcome Nonna now.”
Carrying their school bags, the two girls filed upstairs and headed along the corridor to their grandmother’s cozy and secluded bedroom. They didn’t look eager to see Nonna, but rather hesitant and fearful.
Cassie guessed that dementia was frightening for young girls, as Nonna probably acted erratically, and calling for people who were long dead was unsettling. If Nonna hadn’t already mentioned punishing the children, Cassie might have thought it was that simple, but now she suspected there was more to their fear.
“Remember to speak in English to Nonna, as she wants you to improve your language skills,” Ms. Rossi warned the children.
To Cassie she said, “My mother was fluent in English from a very early age, and attended a prestigious girls’ boarding school outside London for her entire school career.”
Cassie nodded, wondering if the boarding school regime back in those days had been a harsh one, which might have contributed to the Rossi parenting style.
She gave Nina a supportive smile, but was surprised when the young girl ignored her, staring ahead as she walked up to the grandmother’s bedroom. Cassie realized that the children hadn’t greeted her since they had come home, or even spoken to her directly. Their behavior reminded her of the way the cook had treated her earlier. She was sure that they had been warned not to speak to her at all, with the threat of punishment if they disobeyed.
“We will eat at six,” Ms. Rossi told her children. “As Nonna has difficulty with the stairs, the staff will move the smaller dining room table into the upstairs lounge this afternoon. Now, go and greet your grandmother. Cassie will return to her room now and finish packing.”
Dismissed with a glance, Cassie trailed away. She was frustrated that she couldn’t even spend time alone with the girls before she left. Ms. Rossi was going out of her way to block all avenues of communication with them.
Cassie bitterly regretted that her room was so far away from the children’s. Between them, they now had Nonna as well as Ms. Rossi, and Nonna did seem to have moments of coherence among her mental fogginess. There was a chance she might hear Cassie passing by, and then Ms. Rossi would know that she’d been trying to sneak to the children’s rooms. Cassie might not suffer consequences, but they would.
As she resumed her packing, she was filled with despair.
Every item she put into her bag felt like an admission of defeat. She
