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.
CHAPTER 29
Time passed and nobody seemed to know anything about it and if they did, they weren’t saying. For a while Riva questioned anyone who would listen about the Russian girl, Anya, who had vanished from their shared house so suddenly. She felt wretched knowing that somebody could disappear like that without leaving a trace, and nobody even cared, so she decided to spend her night off in Lottie’s apartment. She needed to cheer herself up and a little bit of luxury might be just the ticket, she reasoned, but as she was climbing the stairs, she met Bobby coming down.
They stopped short, gazed at each other and then both spoke at the same time.
