Rose of Anzio - Moonlight (Volume 1)

by Alexa Kang

  “I’m Anthony.” He crouched down. She opened her eyes again. He smiled and made an effort to be friendly.

  “You’re Uncle William and Aunt Sophia’s son.”

  “Yes. I heard you’ll be living with us for a while.”

  “Apparently so.”

  “Sorry about before. I thought you were one of the neighbors’ kids vandalizing our property.”

  “Apology accepted.”

  Her answer put him off. He didn’t expect her to say that. He wasn’t really apologizing to her. It was only a polite way to break the ice. She ought to know that. After all, he hadn’t known who she was and she had made a mess of the garden. And now, it was as if he had done something wrong and he was apologizing to a kid.

  “You should talk to Mr. Miller. He’s our gardener. He can teach you how to handle the roses properly.”

  She didn’t answer him, only frowned. She closed her eyes again. Her attitude was beginning to annoy him. Still, he held his tongue. “What are you reading?”

  “A book.”

  He might as well be talking to a wall. He picked up the book next to her. Damian, by Herman Hesse. An unusual read for a girl, he thought. Definitely not a book of choice for any girl he knew. Not even for the older girls at his school. More popular with them would be something by Jane Austen or Edith Wharton. Maybe poetry by Wordsworth or Emerson. Or Charles Dickens if they liked something deeper.

  “I prefer to be left alone if you don’t mind,” she said.

  She preferred to be alone? Did she think he didn’t have better things to do? He tried to be nice, and all she did was give him a bad attitude.

  “All right. Suit yourself.” He put the book back on the ground and walked away. He told his mother he would welcome her. He tried. It was not his concern to waste time befriending a sulking teenager.

  He walked to the pool and jumped in. In the cool refreshing water, he gave no more thought to the girl under the tree.

  PART TWO

  The Pool Party

  Chapter 2

  It was a festive Sunday afternoon at the Ardley residence. Leon Caldwell, along with his wife Anna and his children Katherine and Alexander, had come for the pool party as planned. The Ardleys had invited the Lowes, their long-time neighbors. Their son, Brandon Lowe, was Anthony’s friend and university classmate who had driven him home several days ago when the school year ended.

  As much as she would have rather spent the day by herself instead of being with a group of strangers, Tessa had no choice but to come down and meet everyone. The men didn’t trouble her. They withdrew into the library soon after their arrival to enjoy their brandies. Their wives, eager to hear from Anthony and Brandon about their past year’s studies at school, remained outside, enjoying cold summer drinks at a patio table. Alexander and his best friend Robbie were the only ones frolicking in the water. They had been in there since the moment they arrived. Tessa almost wished she could join them, but Aunt Anna wanted her to meet Katherine’s friends.

  Katherine had invited two schoolmates, Lilith and Isabelle. They were both juniors two years above Katherine. When Anna introduced them, Lilith and Isabelle had greeted Tessa with all the proper pleasantries, but Tessa knew right then Anna’s efforts were hopeless. Katherine and her friends, in their expensive designer swimming suits, looked to her like dolls on display. Isabelle’s bright pink and white checkerboard one-piece cried out for attention. Lilith’s forest green two-piece, which exposed her midriff, showed off her body too much considering the number of adults here. Katherine’s blue and white bathing suit with a bow in the front, though more conservative, was too cute.

  When they got to the pool, Tessa decided not to put on a bathing suit. Keeping up with these girls would be too tiresome, and competing with them too boring. She kept what she had on, a light off-the-shoulder top and a soft, flowing skirt with a small floral print. Her clothes hung loosely on her body. “Like a bohemian,” as her mother would say. That was how she normally dressed. Next to the dressy threesome, she looked strange and out of place.

  No matter. The girls weren’t much interested in her anyway. They had more pressing concerns on their minds. Whenever Anthony or Brandon came near, Lilith and Isabelle would become self-conscious. They would talk just a bit louder, and laugh just a bit harder. They shifted their bodies this way and that way while trying hard to act natural. Tessa felt embarrassed for them, the way they acted. Meanwhile, Katherine paid no attention to Anthony and Brandon. She was too busy trying to please her friends, following them around and laughing at their every joke.

  Tessa stayed with them only to please Anna. Once outside, Katherine and her friends decided to lounge by the pool, preferring not to get their hair wet. They began blathering on about the recent trips they had taken on holiday and the grand places where their classmates were spending their summers. Next to them, Tessa lay on a lounge chair and pretended to be asleep. She had no idea who or what they were talking about, and they didn’t try to talk to her or ask her anything. That was all right. She never enjoyed crowds and she didn’t like talking. All was fine as long as everyone left her alone. She closed her eyes and let her mind wander. The warmth of the summer sun soothed her. The voices of everyone around her became background noises. In the heat, her surroundings faded from her consciousness and she drifted off into sleep.

  A loud splash jolted her awake. Screechy yells and screams followed. Startled by the commotion, Tessa woke up just in time to see Anthony swim his last lap.

  While she dozed off, Anthony had decided to take a swim. As he stood on the edge of the pool, Katherine’s friends took notice of the young man whose golden hair shone in the sun. His tall, toned physique was as beautiful as if Adonis had come to life. They knew his record as a swimming champion, and he didn’t disappoint. He dove in and swam several laps with flying speed. Lilith and Isabelle screamed in delight, cheering him on.

  As he climbed out of the pool, his body still halfway in the water, he turned to the girls. Seeing them watching him, he pulled himself all the way out, waved, and walked to the other side of the pool to join Brandon.

  Afterward, Katherine’s friends would not stop talking about him.

  “He’s such a dream!” Lilith swooned. “Katherine, do you know if he has a girlfriend?”

  “I don’t think so,” Katherine said. “If he does, she can’t be that important because he hasn’t introduced her to the family.”

  “He’s so good-looking, and such an amazing athlete.” Isabelle stole glances at Anthony while pretending she wasn’t staring at the same time. “Katherine, can’t you get him to come over and talk to us? Oh no. Wait! Don’t do that. If he comes over, I won’t know what to say to him. I’ll make a fool of myself!”

  Lying on her back with her hands clasped behind her head, Tessa stared up at the sky. She thought she would go crazy if she had to listen to any more of this. They sounded like all the silly women who fancied her father, the ones who shamelessly schemed to meet him and sought his attention. At least her father was one of the most admired actors in the West End. What were these girls fawning over? She glanced at Anthony, this man-child who got all riled up over flowers in the rose garden. She had seen so many similarly good-looking young men come and go in the London theaters. There were plenty of them everywhere. Why all the fuss? Katherine and her friends were laughably shallow.

  Over by the gazebo, Alexander and Robbie were playing marbles. They had finally gotten out of the water. She decided to get up and join them.

  Anthony dried himself with a towel and sat down next to Brandon, who was reading a magazine on a lounge chair near the ladies at the patio table.

  “She doesn’t seem to mix well with the girls.” Anthony overheard his mother say behind him. He looked across the pool. Tessa had left the girls to join Alexander and Robbie.

  “Maybe she’s a late bloomer,” Anna said.

  “Perhaps the other girls are a little more mature,” said Mrs. Lowe. “Give her time. She’
ll lose interest in playing games with children soon enough.”

  “I’m not sure it’ll be that simple.” Sophia said. “She’s different from what I expected.”

  His mother sounded slightly distressed. He looked over at Tessa again. She had just said something that made Alexander and Robbie laugh. She sure was having fun being with the younger kids.

  “How’d she come to live with you anyway?” Mrs. Lowe asked.

  “It’s a long story. It goes back many years, starting with Tessa’s mother,” Sophia said.

  The mention of what happened to Tessa’s mother roused Anthony’s curiosity. No one ever told him the whole story about Juliet and why she left. Vaguely, he got the impression that she left under a cloud of disgrace, but a scandal that happened more than a decade before he was born didn’t interest him and he never thought to ask anyone about it. With Tessa living with them now, though, he had begun to wonder. Discreetly, he turned toward his mother to hear what she was saying.

  Sophia put down her glass of iced tea. “Tessa’s mother, Juliet, grew up with William and Leon.”

  “And Lex, Leon’s older brother,” Anna said.

  “That’s right. Lex too. And their cousin Anthony Browning. Anthony’s mother was William’s aunt. She gave Juliet’s mother a job as her personal maid when Juliet’s father died from measles. Juliet was still a baby back then. The Brownings treated them like family and Juliet grew up with the boys. William said she was a precocious child. Outgoing. Always knew the right things to say. Everybody adored her. But the good times didn’t last.” Sophia stopped. Mrs. Lowe leaned closer to the table, waiting for her to go on.

  “When Juliet was fifteen, Mrs. Browning and Anthony died in a car accident,” Sophia said. “Juliet’s mother was in the car with them and she died too.”

  “My goodness.” Mrs. Lowe put her hand to her mouth.

  This was news to Anthony. He didn’t know Juliet’s mother had died in that same car accident.

  “It was a sad time for everyone. Juliet became an orphan. In the grieving process, Mr. Browning adopted Juliet because she had no place to go. It was the only good thing that came out of that tragedy.”

  Interesting, Anthony thought. So that was how Juliet became part of the family.

  “Until Dean came along,” Anna said.

  “Yes. Dean Graham. Tessa’s father,” Sophia said.

  “Dean Graham? The British actor? Dean Graham is Tessa’s father?”

  Anna nodded. “It was big scandal back then.”

  “Why? What happened?”

  Sophia shook her head lightly at Anna. “That was a long time ago. Old news. Not worth bringing up anymore.” She turned around and signaled their housekeeper to give them another round of drinks. The other two women took the hint and dropped the subject.

  Anthony shifted back toward the pool. Too bad his mother decided not to go on. He wanted to know what happened too.

  “Look at her,” Mrs. Lowe said while watching Tessa. “What a remarkable resemblance between her and her father.”

  He glanced at Tessa. For a kid, her expressions were hard to read. He couldn’t tell just by looking at her what she was thinking. When she smiled, there always seemed to be layers of meaning behind her smile. He wondered if she had picked up some of her father’s acting habits.

  “I’m a huge fan of Dean Graham,” Mrs. Lowe continued. “I saw him in Henry V on stage when I went to London four years ago. He’s an amazing Shakespearean actor.”

  “Yes. He made quite a name for himself after he married Juliet. Anyway, after they met, Juliet left with him for London and that was where Tessa was born. With the way the war’s going, William has been worried about them. He went to London last month and invited them all to come back to America, but Juliet and Dean decided to stay. They did agree it’d be best for Tessa to go away until they’re sure England is safe.”

  “It hasn’t been easy for you, has it?” Anna said.

  Sophia shook her head. “No. She’s not an easy child. I had hoped it would be like having a daughter in the house. It’s been so quiet since Anthony went off to college. I thought she and I could do a lot of things together. Go out for tea and shopping. I wanted to bring her into the Junior League. But,” Sophia paused, trying to find the right words, “Tessa has other interests.”

  Other interests? Anthony thought. What other interests could she possibly have that she had to turn down his mother’s good intentions? She was a young teenager, and his mother wanted to make her feel at home with them. If he were living in someone else’s home, he would be certain to make a sincere effort to show his appreciation.

  “Leon was thrilled when he heard Tessa was coming. He thought she’d be a mini-Juliet and it would be like old times for him again,” Anna said. “He was surprised at how quiet and aloof she is. She’s nothing like how he remembered Juliet. Tessa’s more like her father.”

  “No matter. She’s here now, and William and I intend to do everything we can for her. It’s harder on her than on anyone. She’s in a new country. She’s far away from her parents. England might be attacked and her parents might be in danger. It’s a lot to take for a fourteen-year-old.”

  Anthony looked toward Tessa one more time. Katherine had now joined her and the younger boys. At least Katherine knew how to be nice. Since Aunt Anna and Mrs. Lowe said Tessa was immature, maybe he should try to be a good role model to her like he was with Katherine and Alexander. Give her some guidance now and then. Maybe that would make things easier for his mother.

  “Tessa, can we talk?” Katherine approached her, her voice unduly warm and inviting.

  “Certainly,” Tessa said. Mistaking Katherine’s warmth as an attempt to befriend her, she tried to be amiable in return. “What about?”

  “My mother and Aunt Sophia said you’ll be coming to my school in the fall.”

  “I suppose. If that’s what they decided.”

  “St. Mary’s is a great place. The daughters of all the important people in Chicago go there.”

  Tessa didn’t say anything. She didn’t like the tone of Katherine’s voice. It sounded too snobbish for her taste.

  “Everyone at school likes Lilith and Isabelle.” Katherine turned to her friends, her eyes full of admiration. “Lilith’s father is a senator. Isabelle’s family owns the biggest furniture production company in Illinois.”

  “That’s nice for them.” Tessa shrugged.

  Not noticing Tessa’s indifference, Katherine continued, “They really like Anthony.” She sidled up to Tessa and lowered her voice. Tessa wasn’t sure what all this had to do with her.

  “They want to know if you can invite them over whenever Anthony’s home.”

  For a minute, Tessa thought she had heard wrong, but Katherine was serious. “If you do that, they’ll appreciate you and we can become good friends with them.”

  Tessa looked toward Lilith and Isabelle. They were smiling at her like they were her best friends.

  “No.”

  Katherine stared at her, speechless. No one ever said no to Lilith and Isabelle. “Tessa, please! Do it as a favor to me?”

  “I am sorry. I cannot help you with anything this ridiculous.” Tessa got up and walked back into the house. At her abrupt departure, Alexander and Robbie stopped their game and made a face at each other. Katherine returned to the older girls, miffed.

  “Oh, that’s not good,” Sophia said.

  Anthony looked up and followed the direction of his mother’s eyes. Across the pool, Tessa stood up and went back into the house, leaving poor Katherine looking upset and rejected.

  “Anthony,” she called out to her son, who was sitting with Brandon near them by the pool. “Could you please go check on Tessa? I think she’s upset.”

  “Sure, Mother.” He grabbed his shorts and shirt from the lounge chair behind him and threw them on. His shirt still unbuttoned, he went inside the house and saw Tessa heading out the front door. Quickly, he went after her. In the circular driveway in
front of their house, Tessa mounted a bike, getting ready to leave.

  “Tessa!” he yelled out to her. She halted.

  “Is everything okay?” He ran up to her, his voice genuinely concerned.

  “Yes. Everything’s fine. Why?”

  “Mother thought you looked upset.”

  “No. I’m fine.” She blinked and looked blankly back at him. He couldn’t tell if she was happy or troubled.

  “Where are you going?”

  “I’m heading out.”

  “You can’t leave. This party was planned for you.”

  “Was it now, really?” She gave him a sarcastic smile. “I thought it was planned for you to show off.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Don’t deny it, swimming champ.” She eyed his open shirt. “You want everyone to cheer and rave about how good you are.” Her smile widened with a spark of mischief in her eyes.

  “I do not,” he said. “And you can’t talk to me that way.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because it’s rude. And because… because I’m older than you and you should do what I tell you.”

  She laughed. “That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. How old do you think you are?”

  He stood there, lost for words. His face turned several shades of red.

  “Don’t pull rank with me.” She stopped laughing. “I’m not a little child. I don’t have to listen to you.” She stared him in the eyes. For the first time since they met, he heard vulnerability in her voice. She sounded like someone all alone, fighting against the whole world.

  “I…” He didn’t know what to say. He didn’t mean to upset her.

  Before he could respond, her demeanor changed again and her mischievous smile returned. “By the way, you look funny when you’re all riled up.”

  Her rapid change of moods left him dumbfounded.

  “Bye!” She rolled away before he could answer. He watched her bike go down the driveway until she disappeared out of his sight. He had never met any girl so rude and arrogant, and so difficult to handle. The thought of being in the same house with her all summer long was starting to give him a headache.