behind her.
There was frantic activity aboard the Curlew . She saw Barker standing on deck, issuing instructions to the men from the chandlery as they carried new equipment on board. It seemed that the river pirate had done his work well, but it was strange that he, or they, had picked upon Captain Barnum's vessel and left the Ellie May untouched. Whatever their motives, she would have liked to thank them for giving Pa a chance to recoup his losses. Perhaps the thieves also bore a grudge against Barnum? She quickened her pace – it was too nice a day to bother her head about matters that really did not concern her. As she was about to walk past the house where Caddie and Artie lodged, she decided to call in there first. She needed to make certain that Caddie was not too distressed about the unexpectedly quick turnround of the Ellie May that had deprived her of her husband's company. It was the least she could do in the circumstances.
The front door was open and the smell of boiled beef bones and cabbage water wafted from a room at the back of the ground floor. She wrinkled her nose as she headed up the stairs to the first floor. She could hear a child crying and a woman's raised voice coming from a room on the top floor. Somewhere in the house a door slammed and a man was shouting. She could not make out the words, but it was obvious that he was angry about something. A woman screamed and then there was silence.
Rosina shuddered: this was not a nice place to live. The paintwork was peeling; there were holes in the floorboards and cracks in the plasterwork. She went to Caddie's door and knocked.
'Come in, it's not locked.' Caddie's voice from inside was almost drowned by the wailing of the children.
Rosina opened the door and went inside. She remembered the room as being sparsely furnished, but now it looked barely habitable, the only pieces of furniture being a deal table and two beechwood chairs. The floorboards were scrubbed as clean as bleached bones but were bare of any covering, not even a piece of drugget or a rag rug. She was certain that there had been a picture on the wall above the mantelshelf, and a rectangular clean patch on the stained wallpaper confirmed that something had once hung there. Caddie was sitting on the window seat watching helplessly as the two little boys fought over a slice of stale-looking bread.
'Are you all right, Caddie?' It seemed a silly question, since Caddie had obviously been crying.
'N-not really,' Caddie said, sniffing. 'Ronnie, give your brother a bit of bread.'
Ronnie crammed the last morsel into his mouth and gulped it down whole, causing Alfie to roar with rage. Rosina scooped him off the floor and cuddled him. 'There, there, Alfie. I've got something you'd like.' She sat down at the table, setting him on her knee and she opened her reticule. She tipped the sugared almonds out of the poke. Ronnie leapt up from the floor and tried to climb onto her knee so that he could reach the table.
Caddie laughed in spite of herself. 'Now, boys, behave yourselves.'
Rosina bit one of the sweets in half and gave them a piece each, making sure that Alfie only had the sugary outer shell. 'Chew it carefully; we don't want you to choke.'
'I'm sorry, miss. They ain't usually so badly behaved,' Caddie said tiredly. 'They're hungry, that's all.'
Rosina looked at her aghast. 'When did you last have a proper meal, Caddie?'
'Dunno. Days ago, I think. I never had a chance to ask Walter for an advance on Artie's wages, and then he weren't due for none – there being no cargo to sell.'
'Oh, dear! I'm so sorry.' Rosina broke another sugared almond in half and fed it to the boys. 'Haven't you any money at all, Caddie?'
'No, miss. And nothing in the cupboard neither.'
'This is terrible. I really had no idea that you were so dreadfully hard up.' Rosina set Alfie down on the floor. 'This can't go on. I'll speak to Walter and tell him to give you an
There was frantic activity aboard the Curlew . She saw Barker standing on deck, issuing instructions to the men from the chandlery as they carried new equipment on board. It seemed that the river pirate had done his work well, but it was strange that he, or they, had picked upon Captain Barnum's vessel and left the Ellie May untouched. Whatever their motives, she would have liked to thank them for giving Pa a chance to recoup his losses. Perhaps the thieves also bore a grudge against Barnum? She quickened her pace – it was too nice a day to bother her head about matters that really did not concern her. As she was about to walk past the house where Caddie and Artie lodged, she decided to call in there first. She needed to make certain that Caddie was not too distressed about the unexpectedly quick turnround of the Ellie May that had deprived her of her husband's company. It was the least she could do in the circumstances.
The front door was open and the smell of boiled beef bones and cabbage water wafted from a room at the back of the ground floor. She wrinkled her nose as she headed up the stairs to the first floor. She could hear a child crying and a woman's raised voice coming from a room on the top floor. Somewhere in the house a door slammed and a man was shouting. She could not make out the words, but it was obvious that he was angry about something. A woman screamed and then there was silence.
Rosina shuddered: this was not a nice place to live. The paintwork was peeling; there were holes in the floorboards and cracks in the plasterwork. She went to Caddie's door and knocked.
'Come in, it's not locked.' Caddie's voice from inside was almost drowned by the wailing of the children.
Rosina opened the door and went inside. She remembered the room as being sparsely furnished, but now it looked barely habitable, the only pieces of furniture being a deal table and two beechwood chairs. The floorboards were scrubbed as clean as bleached bones but were bare of any covering, not even a piece of drugget or a rag rug. She was certain that there had been a picture on the wall above the mantelshelf, and a rectangular clean patch on the stained wallpaper confirmed that something had once hung there. Caddie was sitting on the window seat watching helplessly as the two little boys fought over a slice of stale-looking bread.
'Are you all right, Caddie?' It seemed a silly question, since Caddie had obviously been crying.
'N-not really,' Caddie said, sniffing. 'Ronnie, give your brother a bit of bread.'
Ronnie crammed the last morsel into his mouth and gulped it down whole, causing Alfie to roar with rage. Rosina scooped him off the floor and cuddled him. 'There, there, Alfie. I've got something you'd like.' She sat down at the table, setting him on her knee and she opened her reticule. She tipped the sugared almonds out of the poke. Ronnie leapt up from the floor and tried to climb onto her knee so that he could reach the table.
Caddie laughed in spite of herself. 'Now, boys, behave yourselves.'
Rosina bit one of the sweets in half and gave them a piece each, making sure that Alfie only had the sugary outer shell. 'Chew it carefully; we don't want you to choke.'
'I'm sorry, miss. They ain't usually so badly behaved,' Caddie said tiredly. 'They're hungry, that's all.'
Rosina looked at her aghast. 'When did you last have a proper meal, Caddie?'
'Dunno. Days ago, I think. I never had a chance to ask Walter for an advance on Artie's wages, and then he weren't due for none – there being no cargo to sell.'
'Oh, dear! I'm so sorry.' Rosina broke another sugared almond in half and fed it to the boys. 'Haven't you any money at all, Caddie?'
'No, miss. And nothing in the cupboard neither.'
'This is terrible. I really had no idea that you were so dreadfully hard up.' Rosina set Alfie down on the floor. 'This can't go on. I'll speak to Walter and tell him to give you an
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