Rosa's Island Read Free

there’ll be no house and nowt much left for me to live on.’
    â€˜So . . .’ Mrs Drew said slowly. ‘The purpose of your visit to me?’
    â€˜I want to ask if you’ll have Rosa to live here with you? Treat her as one of ’family.’
    â€˜But I’ve got a large family already, Mrs Jennings,’ Mrs Drew demurred. ‘Why, our Delia’s same age as Rosa, I don’t know if I could manage anybody else’s bairn.’
    â€˜Reason I’m asking.’ Mrs Jennings leant forward and Rosa heard her corsets creak. ‘You and our Mary were expecting at ’same time; she said as how good you were towards her, when it was her first bairn and her husband going missing and all.’
    Mrs Drew nodded. ‘Aye, and it was my ninth, and eight of ’em still living, bless the Lord. She was a right bonny lass, was Mary.’ A slight sad smile lightened her plain features. ‘Such a great pity
he
never came back, though a lot of folk never expected him to.’ She shook her head. ‘He was a foreigner, he never would have settled here on Sunk Island.’
    â€˜But our Rosa is an islander,’ again Mrs Jennings leaned towards Mrs Drew, and again Rosa heard the creak of whalebone. ‘An islander like her ma and me, and her grandfer. It’s said that one of Mr Jennings’s great-grandfaythers worked for Colonel Gilby’s grandson, William.’ She sat back and folded her arms across herample bosom. ‘And you can’t go back much further than that.’
    Rosa had been only half listening but she pricked her ears on hearing the name Gilby. She had heard only today at school of Colonel Gilby, the founder of Sunk Island, who had been leased the land by King Charles the Second when it was little more than a sandbank. Colonel Gilby had built the first house which was still standing, and started the embankments which even today, the teacher had said, were still being raised to save more and more land from the Humber.
    â€˜This is a very special place.’ The teacher had gazed down at them as she walked between their desks. ‘Amongst the richest, most fertile land in England, and all of you,’ her finger had pointed around the room at each of them in turn, ‘should consider yourselves privileged to have been born here.’
    Rosa had dared to put up her hand. The teacher had raised her eyebrows. ‘I trust this is a worthwhile question, Rosa Carlos?’ she’d said, ‘and not a time-waster.’
    â€˜Miss,’ she’d piped up. ‘So who does ’land belong to now?’
    â€˜A good question and very topical,’ the mistress answered, and Rosa had preened. ‘It belongs to the King, King William the Fourth. God bless him.’
    â€˜God bless him,’ the children had chorused.
    â€˜All land gained from the river or sea belongs to the King or his successors. Sunk Island has been in the hands of ’Lords of Holderness for many years, and they rented it out to thefarmers.’ She had gazed at them all in turn. ‘But from this year, this year of eighteen hundred and thirty-three, the land is to be leased direct to the farmers who live and work here, so that they may look after it themselves.’
    â€˜We’ll have a deal of extra expense,’ Mrs Drew’s voice interrupted Rosa’s meditating, ‘now that ’Commissioners have leased directly to ’farmers. We’ve maintenance of banks to fund and Brick Road’s been started already. We’ll get some help from ’Crown I know, but there’s a goodly amount to come out of our own pockets.’
    Mrs Jennings nodded. ‘I know all that, Mrs Drew. But bit o’ money that’s left after we’ve sold up ’farm will be Rosa’s, either for her keep or to use if she should wed when she’s of age.’
    â€˜Well, I’ll have to speak to Mr Drew of course. Decision will be