The Poisoned Rose

Chapter Eight

Sat on a bench under a large tree, Rose watched as the children ran happily around the large garden. Ada and Linda were sat inside sewing, Lizzie was going through the accounts, Polly was somewhere in the house while the Blinders were off out with the Balton's. Rose stared down at the handkerchief in her hands, initials sewn in the corner. Her mouth was pursed as she blinked back tears, it was always hard on this day every year. Rose didn't know why, it had happened a long time ago. "They'll be tired out soon and then they'll be quiet for the rest of the day." Polly said as she walked over to the bench, "Hopefully they'll sleep well tonight." Rose laughed but Polly could see how sad she was.

"Michael was taken away from me when he was just five years old." Polly told her honestly. "Him and his sister Anna, I thought I would never move on."

Rose looked at her and smiled sadly, "And now you've got him back."

"I lost my daughter though." Polly looked down. "It's hard to be away from those you love."

"I don't love my family." Rose said. "They've done nothing but ruin who I was."

"Why are you upset? Is it about your mother?" Polly asked.

Rose shook her head, "I've never told anyone the whole truth. You know I was a nurse in a hospital behind the front line in France well that wasn't the whole story. When I was around fourteen years old, this new family moved opposite us. Their youngest son was my age and we became great friends, I trusted him more than anyone and he trusted me. I wasn't in my fathers business, I was good and pure. At the start of 1914 he and I got married and I thought I had gotten my happy ending. I thought we would move to the countryside and have children and be happy. But then the war started, I joined up as a nurse and he a soldier. Everyone thought the war would end soon so I didn't worry. We were both sent out to France and then when I saw the horrors out there, I was overcome with pain and worry. He always told me that he would be okay, that we would go back home soon."

Sobs erupted from her lips as she continued, "I found out that I was pregnant and was going to tell him but then I heard about the big push so I decided to wait.

"And then it was the battle of the Somme." Polly held her hand, "He never returned. It was about six weeks later when I was accompanying a doctor in surgery that I suffered a miscarriage.

"I never thought it was that, I was already covered in so much blood that I hadn't realised it was my own.

"When I returned home in 1919 my fathers business was booming and he asked for my help, said it would get my mind off the horrors I had seen so I listened.

"And that was the day the poisoned rose was born. At first I would just talk to them and find out things, then I learnt to pickpocket and then I started to use poison." Rose wiped her tears away. "I became the person I never wanted to be."

Polly stared sadly at her, "I'm sorry about your loss. So many men were lost."

"I visited his mother and father, they had lost all their sons. Last I heard was both of them had died and neither had managed to overcome the death of their sons."

"It must have been hard for them to overcome the death of all of their children." Polly said to her, "It must have been terrible for you to lose your husband."

"It doesn't hurt so much anymore." Rose told her. "I don't think about him except for on the anniversary."

"I'm always here if you need someone to talk to."

Rose stood up and smiled at her, "Thank you. I just... I think I need to be by myself." Rose walked inside and into her bedroom.

She lit a fire and watched as sparks flew off it, she then got the handkerchief out and gently pushed it onto the fire, "Goodbye." Before sinking to the ground as she continued to watch it burn and disappear from her sight.

Anger filled her up as she hoped that when the time came it would be her family burning while she watched, she wanted it to happen, more than anything. For even though John had said she wanted to save people, he was wrong, the monster inside her blossomed - she wanted destruction and to ruin everything, it didn't matter if it was good or bad.

The only person that could revert her back to who she had been, was herself. And quite frankly, she didn't want to.