Rosa's Island (7 page)

With a satisfied sigh she found a dry patch of ground. The walk had made her hungry and she sat down to eat her dinner. Mrs Drew
and Maggie were generous with food, there was always a good table at the Drews' house, and Maggie today had packed her dinner bag not only with bread and cold bacon, but with a hunk of cheese and a thick slice of fruit cake as well.

She gazed out at the river as she ate and although the land was empty, the river wasn't. The river was busy with craft making their way to or from the port of Hull.

How did Ma know which ship my da would be on? she wondered. There are so many. Some she recognized as coal barges, making their slow way upriver. Some were fishing smacks coming in fully laden with cod and haddock from the northern fishing grounds and others were merchant ships from all countries of the world.

From her position at Hawkins Point she saw a coggy boat pulling towards the narrow channel which once led to Patrington Haven, but which now petered out to an inlet, close to where they had crossed in Henry's boat. She noticed too, as she looked the other way to the west, a small cutter with its sails lowered going into Stone Creek where the farmers shipped off their grain.

‘So what you doing, Rosa? Playing twag?'

She jumped, so engrossed in watching the river that she hadn't seen or heard any movement behind her. Henry was standing there with a grin on his face.

‘Give us a bit o' cake,' he asked. ‘I've not had me dinner yet.'

‘Why haven't you? Didn't Maggie pack you up?' She broke the cake in half and handed him a piece.

He popped it in his mouth and chewed before answering. ‘I was sent for,' he said. ‘Word got back to Ma that you hadn't gone to school.'

‘Delia!' she said petulantly. ‘I knew she'd tell!'

He shook his head. ‘Not Delia. Some fellow saw you and went to tell Ma. He was worried about you and said this is where you were heading.'

‘I'm all right,' she said. ‘I wouldn't have come to any harm.'

‘That's what I said.' Henry stretched and yawned. ‘But Ma and Maggie said I had to come and find you.' He looked down at her and grinned. ‘They didn't want Da to find out you'd missed school.' He transferred his gaze beyond her and pointed at the progress of a Dutch merchantman as it sailed upriver. ‘Look at that!'

Rosa gazed at the ship. ‘What is it?' she asked huskily, for the sight of the vessel had made her feel strangely excited. She hadn't seen such a ship before.

‘A Dutch fluyt. What a sight, and soon to be gone.'

‘Why?' she whispered. ‘Where's it going?'

‘It's an old ship and soon everybody will be using steam power and it won't be needed.'

She barely listened to what he was saying but kept her eyes firmly on the ship. The sails on the three-masted vessel were set to catch the breeze as it moved gracefully along the river. Its decks were long and narrow and were piled with timber. ‘My da is coming on a ship,' she murmured. ‘Well, he was going to come, but he's taking a long time.'

Henry sat down beside her. ‘He might not come,' he said slowly. ‘Don't think on it ower much in case you're disappointed. It's been ten years since he went.'

‘I'd like him to come.' She turned towards him as the fluyt drew away from them. ‘I really would.' Her mouth trembled. ‘Then I could tell him how my ma waited for him.'

‘Aye,' he said softly. ‘I know. But we don't allus get what we want. I'd like to have my own farm instead of working for Da. I could go off, I know, but Ma would be upset and I'd never earn enough to save up for a place of my own.'

‘Jim's got our old place,' she murmured. ‘But he doesn't like to live in it, does he!'

‘No, he doesn't.' Henry drew his knees up to his chin and looked thoughtful. ‘He doesn't like it one bit. Not 'farmhouse, I don't mean. He doesn't like 'land around it. He says it isn't good land.'

‘My grandda had it,' Rosa began.

‘Aye,' Henry interrupted her. ‘But some of 'land got flooded and it wasn't properly drained and some of 'dykes got covered in. He never made a good living from it. I'd have it,' he brooded, ‘if onny Da would let me. I'd work it properly if it was mine.'

They heard the sound of voices and laughter and looking back across the marshland, they saw a group of men coming their way. Rosa sighed. It seemed that her solitude was over.

‘Hello there, Henry,' one of the men called across to him.

Henry stood up. ‘Don't come across. You'll get
your boots wet. Come on, Rosa,' he said. ‘Let's go, you'll have to come back another day. Onny tell me when you do and I'll mek an excuse for you.'

They slopped their way back across the marshland and Henry confronted the men. ‘What's up, Danny?' he asked. ‘Why aren't you at work? That long dyke's supposed to be finished this week.'

‘Sure and it is finished,' said another man, ‘or almost. But it's too nice a day to be spent up to your knees in water.' He smiled at Rosa. ‘Or to be spent in school. Now wouldn't you agree with that, young lady?'

He crouched down besides her. ‘Better to be catching butterflies and frogs than learning spellings?'

She smiled and nodded. He had a friendly face with blue eyes and crinkly grey hair, an older man than the others.

He looked up at Henry. ‘You don't remember me, Henry. You were just a wee lad when I was last here.'

Henry shook his head. They had had many Irish working for them over the years and although he had employed this gang of men for the embankment, he hadn't known them. ‘I don't think so.'

‘Seamus Byrne.' The man rose to his feet. ‘Ten years ago. My brother and I were here – er, working for your da. How is Mr Drew?' he added. ‘In good health?'

On hearing that he was, he said, ‘You must tell him I was asking about him. And is this one of your many sisters, Henry? I remember years ago,
your ma had a fresh babby every time I came back.'

‘I'm not his sister,' Rosa butted in. ‘But I live with them. My ma's dead.'

‘I'm sorry to hear that.' The man dropped his voice. ‘She'll have gone to a better place, there's no doubt of that. So what's your name? Are you an island child? Or did somebody bring you to this godforsaken plot?'

‘It's not godforsaken!' Rosa said boldly. ‘We have our own church and it's a very special place, everybody who lives here says so!'

The man looked taken aback. ‘Sure and I beg your pardon, I didn't mean to offend.' Then his eyes twinkled. ‘It's just that my home is amongst the mountains of Ireland and here couldn't be more different.'

‘Well, you could go back,' Rosa said calmly. ‘If you don't like it here.'

He shook his head. ‘Ah, child, if only it was so easy. There's no work in my mother country—'

‘And a price on your head too, Seamus,' one of the other men laughed. ‘Don't forget that!'

He dismissed the fellow's remark with a disparaging grimace. ‘Take no notice of him, he's a witless youth. So what's your name?' he asked. ‘So that I can remember it when I think of you, for undoubtedly I will. You're a lot like my own daughter was at your age. In fact,' he said, ‘you could even have Irish blood to my way o' thinking?'

‘No,' Rosa said. ‘I haven't. My ma was from Sunk Island and my da was from Spain. I think he was a prince,' she added cautiously, hoping
that he wouldn't laugh, as some did when she told them.

He didn't laugh but looked curiously at her. ‘A Spanish prince! Now wouldn't you just know it? With those dark eyes and that lovely hair, why, your daddy couldn't be anything else.' He leant towards her again. ‘And what did you say your name was, child?'

‘It's Rosa,' she said. ‘Rosa Maria Carlos.'

SHE WAS GIVEN
a beating by Mr Drew for being absent from school. Delia told him. She made out that it was an accident, but she said in a loud clear voice at supper that Rosa had missed her favourite lesson at school that day, botany, and that they'd been outdoors collecting wild flowers.

She'd put her hand to her mouth in pretended dismay as Mr Drew demanded, ‘Missed a lesson? How's that?'

There was silence around the table. Matthew glared at Delia, but she just pursed her mouth into a smirk and looked away.

‘Mrs Drew?' her husband questioned.

Mrs Drew looked reproachfully at Delia, then at Mr Drew. ‘Rosa missed school today. She didn't go in.'

‘Why not?' He turned to Rosa. ‘Were you sick?'

‘No.' She was honest. ‘It was too nice a day to be in school.' She remembered the Irishman and what he'd said. ‘Better to be catching butterflies and frogs than doing spellings. I went down to 'river. I saw a heron. It caught a frog. And then I saw its mate.'

She saw Henry smile but his smile disappeared as his father bellowed at her. ‘Go stand in 'corner, face to 'wall!'

‘But – I haven't finished—'

‘You have finished! There'll be no more supper for you, my lass. You'll stand there until we have all done and then I'll attend to you.'

‘She's onny a bairn, Da!' Henry protested as Rosa got up from the table. ‘Everybody plays twag at some time or other.'

‘Not in my household they don't.' His father's face reddened at the confrontation. ‘I'll not have disobedience, especially not from one who isn't my own, but who is my responsibility. Saw a heron,' he muttered. ‘You can see a heron any day of 'week!'

When supper was finished and cleared away, Mr Drew called her to him. ‘Get me that strap that's hanging behind 'door and then stand here.' He indicated a spot in front of him.

‘Da!' Henry was still in the room. The others had left. Matthew and Delia had hung back but had been ordered out by their father. ‘Leave her be. She doesn't deserve 'strap just for missing school!'

His father pointed a finger. ‘Nothing to do wi' you. I make 'rules here. It's my Christian duty to punish for wrongdoing.'

‘Christian duty! You mek it up as you go along!' Henry bellowed. ‘And don't say it's nowt to do wi' me. I'm sick of being told to mind me own business.' His face was livid. ‘I'm no more than a labourer here. Not allowed to mek decisions, not allowed to have a say in owt!'

He wrenched the strap from his father's hand and tossed it into the fire. Rosa stood back in dismay. Surely he was making it worse for her than it already was?

‘Get out!' his father shouted. ‘If you don't like 'way things are around here, you know what to do.' His normal measured voice had become coarse, his manner rough.

Henry turned and crashed out of the room, almost falling over Matthew who was standing outside the door.

‘Is Da really going to give Rosa 'strap?' Matthew whispered but Henry didn't answer and rushed outside.

The tongues of flame were licking around the leather strap and Mr Drew took the poker and fished it out. He held it up, dangling it like a mottled snake in front of Rosa's eyes.

‘Did you see 'way 'flames licked around it?' His eyes were penetrating. ‘That's how it will be in hell for miserable sinners.'

‘How do you know?' Rosa whispered.

‘How do I know?' he railed. ‘It's in 'bible. That's how I know! If we don't live a godly life and repent of our sins then we go to hell!'

Rosa thought again of the Irishman who had told her that her mother had gone to a better place. So how did
he
know? It was very confusing.

Mr Drew dropped the strap into the hearth. But if Rosa thought she had been let off she was mistaken, for he reached into the corner, behind the chimney piece and brought out a thin cane. ‘I don't usually use this on 'girls,' he murmured,
‘but as 'strap is temporarily out of use, I have no other option.'

Rosa put both hands across her mouth and spat on them, then rubbed them together. Matthew had shown her how to do that. He'd said it took the sting out of a beating. Only it didn't. Three times on each hand, which, she thought, was four too many just for missing school. Matthew had had one on each hand for forgetting to lock up the hens.

She flinched at each stroke but didn't cry. She clenched her teeth and decided that it had been worth it, if only to see the heron catch the frog.

‘Now, girl,' he said when he had finished and Rosa stood shaking her stinging hands. ‘Do you repent?'

‘I don't know,' she said truthfully. ‘I'm not sorry that I went.'

‘Not sorry!' He was aghast. ‘You go against my rules! Do you know what will happen to you if you don't go to school?'

‘I will go to school,' she explained. ‘It's just that sometimes I don't want to. Sometimes I want to do what
I
want and today I wanted to go to the river.'

James Drew sat down heavily. ‘What manner of child have we taken on? Mrs Drew!' he called towards the kitchen. ‘Mrs Drew. Come here at once!'

His wife came scurrying in, wiping her hands on a towel and looking anxious.

‘We have taken a viper to our bosom, Mrs Drew.' He wiped his forehead with a
handkerchief. ‘This child is wilful. Did you know that when you decided that we should take her in?'

Mrs Drew looked startled. ‘I – erm. No, I didn't.' She glanced at Rosa. ‘Mrs Jennings said that she'd never given her 'strap.'

‘Then more fool her. If she had, then we wouldn't have 'problem we undoubtedly have now.'

‘Perhaps not, Mr Drew. Rosa took 'day off because 'weather was fine and – ' She hesitated. ‘She probably didn't think that it was wrong.'

‘Not think it wrong? What sort of household are you running, Mrs Drew, when you're failing in your teaching of these children? Especially one who isn't ours. We need to take especial care in 'upbringing of one who isn't family. And of foreign extraction to boot!'