It's Not Fair! Prologue

It’s Not Fair! Prologue “And this is the party dress I’ve made for Daisy.” Daisy’s grandma was pretty good with a sewing machine. “She’s so pretty, the dress doesn’t need much ornamentation.” Grandma Harleston gazed fondly at her younger grand-daughter. There was no denying that Daisy paid for dressing, as the saying went. Blonde curls, big green eyes - and her father’s slim frame. She was a dress-maker’s delight.
“I did a different style for Lottie. Come on in, dear,” Cynthia called to her other grand-daughter, waiting obediently behind the door. Did his mother-in-law really think that Charlie looked good in that dress? David Saxtead found that hard to believe. To him it looked like an over-elaborate, over-trimmed, over-ruffled mess. And Charlie didn’t look any too happy either! But Cynthia was busy explaining how, “Lottie just doesn’t look as feminine as Daisy does, so I feel her clothes style needs to make a clear statement to compensate.” And then she sat back, waiting for them to thank her. David let his wife do the talking. He didn’t think Jonquil was looking her best either, but she’d said that she’d have to change into something Cynthia had made for her. He listened to Jonquil thanking her mother, getting Charlie to say thank you (somewhat reluctantly) and then admired the way she gave Charlie an escape route, by telling her to go and take it off and hang it up straight away, it would be such a shame if it got creased or dirty before the party. “My dress is beautiful! Thank you so much! I love you, Grandma H.”
David watched his daughter put on a beautiful performance for her grandmother as she rose to leave. Though there was no doubt that the dress did suit her, so her gratitude was probably genuine. “Do you really think Charlie looks good in that dress?”
“No,” Jonquil admitted reluctantly. “But you know how tight money is. And Mum does so love sewing. It gives her a purpose in life. Something to do other than the housework.”
David thought about his mother. “I can’t imagine Maman needing something to do other than the housework.”
“No.” Jonquil giggled. “She’d be horrified at the thought!”
“Yep. Take those horrible clothes off, and come to bed with me.”
“But darling – lilac is such a becoming shade for the older woman.”
“Well, it doesn’t suit you! And anyway, who says you’re an ‘older woman’? You don’t feel old to me. I better investigate you in more detail…” “Why do I have to wear trousers today? Why can’t I wear a dress? It’s not fair!” Daisy was, quite frankly, whining.
“Because we’re going to Grandmère and Grandpère’s house. And we’re helping in the garden.” Her mother was keeping her temper – so far. “Great. I love going there.” Charlie was all enthusiasm, but Daisy carried on.
“But I want to see Grandma H.”
“We saw her yesterday. All day,” Charlie pointed out. “And it was all pins and try this on and stand still a moment.”
“You’re just jealous because my dress is nicer than yours.” There was some truth in that, but Charlie wasn’t going to admit it. “Jealous? Of bits of fabric sewn together? I don’t think so. Fussing over clothes seems pretty silly to me. Silly and girly, just like you.”
“Enough!” their mother said firmly. “Both of you. I mean it.” They knew that tone of voice. They both ate their breakfast quietly – and David filled in the silences nicely, describing the latest crazy meeting he’d been to at work. Daisy shuddered at the sight of his awful dungarees. Was she the only person in the family with any dress sense? “You built the girls a treehouse? That’s amazing!”
“You’re going to work for it though!” David’s father warned him. “We’ve got a job lined up for you and Jonnie to help us with.” “Grandpère! Thank you so much! May we play in it now, or do you need us to help you as well?” David noticed that Daisy was busy saying nothing at all.
“No. Go and play. Your parents’ muscles will do us nicely.” “Come on up, Daisy. This is fantastic! Come and see what’s inside here.”
“No. I might get my clothes dirty or torn. These are my favourite shorts.”
“Well, why did you put them on if you can’t play in them? What’s the point of play clothes you can’t play in?”
“It’s about how you look that matters, stupid!”
“You’re the stupid one.” “Do you think you’ll ever get that car done?”
“Of course I will! Don’t be so rude to your venerable father. Just for that, you can do twice as much digging.”
“Digging? Is that what we’ve let ourselves in for?”
“Your Maman wishes to grow vegetables. There used to be a vegetable garden here – she wishes to revive it.” “So this is our starter for ten?” Jonquil liked her in-laws very much indeed, and was more than happy to spend a day in their rambling, neglected garden. Her own garden was so small – and boring!
“Let’s see what we can get done before we have to go then. And we can always come back next weekend. Jonathan, the tree house is wonderful!” “Hey, Daisy, come and look at this!” They’d be going home soon, but Daisy had spent the entire day moaning about how bored she was – not even a television to watch – and sniping at Charlie, mostly about her looks and that dreadful dress. Charlie had had enough! So had everyone else… Which is probably why Charlie didn’t get into any trouble when she dumped a bucket of water over Daisy! “So. This dress. Tell me about it. I hear them all day, my two grand-daughters.”
Jonquil sighed, and told Lorraine all about it.
“And does little Charlie look nice in it?”
“No, not at all. But it was very kind of my mother…”
“Why is it kind of your mother to make such a dress for Charlie? She enjoys sewing, no? She amuses herself with it? It is not a penance?” “You’re right.” Lorraine normally was, when she offered an opinion: usually she’d just ask questions until you made up your own mind. This, for her, was being very direct. “But what can I do about it?”
“You – nothing. But I will take Charlie out and buy her a dress that becomes her. As a reward for helping me plant my vegetables. You will ask them both if they would like to help me.”
“And if Daisy offers to help as well?”
Lorraine did one of her incredibly Gallic shrugs. “Bof. I do not think she will – surtout, if you ask them tonight. I do not envy you their teenage years!”
Jonquil closed her eyes and shook her head at the thought of the horrors in store!

The Salk Island West Legacy Gen. 5, Ch. 2

In the end, Jon didn’t say anything to Maria for another week. Nell and André moved into their tent among the brambles and began to try and restore the forest that had once been there. “I tell you what,” André said to his brand new wife. “I’m so grateful to your aunt Luisa and my aunt Sarah for making us these clothes. They were quite right about us needing something tougher to wear!” “I know! My arms would have been scratched to ribbons by these brambles. But don’t just stand there! Get planting…” “Maria,” Jon said. “There’s something I want to tell you…Your mother and I both agree that you should be the next heir.”
It was a bit blunt, he knew, but he’d never been one for beating round the bush. “Me? Haven’t you got this a bit wrong?”
Maria had never wanted that sort of responsibility! A nice quiet life – most probably with Michael Fletcher, she had to admit – time to make music, and maybe a baby or two. But run the vineyard? Why her? “Two reasons. One, you’ll be good at it. And two, your brothers want to travel, as you told me yourself. You can’t run a vineyard from the deck of a ship.” Maria was temporarily silenced. She had promised her brothers that she’d support them in their desire to travel. But she’d always assumed that someone else would be taking on the responsibility for the vineyard. Thorold or Jacob, when they came home. Or Nell. But not her.
“There’s a lot to learn. I need to start teaching you now. I can’t afford to wait a few more years before I chose a successor, Maria. I know you can do this, and do it well.” It was her. Bit by bit, Maria had to get used to the idea. And at the same time she was suddenly working harder than ever before. She’d always, helped, always done her fair share, but now Jon was pushing her to learn, to understand the tricks of the trade, the subtleties and the skills he’d acquired over the years, and learnt from his father too. To her surprise, she actually found that she was enjoying it! And Thorold, working away in the vineyard, was grateful to Maria. Jon and Carla had said that they needed him here for another year, while Maria found her feet, but that after that, he could go away on Waverider. Jacob, fishing by the pond, was content to know that it would be his turn after Thorold came back. In his heart of hearts, he knew he wasn’t old enough yet – though he would have loved to have gone away with Thorold, it had only really been a dream. He’d settle for what he could have. “So how’s it going?” Maria had hardly seen anything of Michael, she’d been so busy, but Jon had told her she’d earned a morning off, and to go and enjoy it with Michael.
“Frantic! I’m on the go from as soon as I get up until I fall asleep, shattered. And I’ve missed you so much.” “I’ve missed you too. A lot.” He reached for her hands. “Maria, I do wish I could be with you more. Do you think that, maybe, one day, perhaps…”
His voice tailed off. This could take forever, thought Maria, and I’ve only got the morning free. So she leant forward and kissed him. Enthusiasically. He got the message! The first person Maria told about her and Michael was her sister, Nell! And Nell was so happy for her. “So when do you think you’ll get married?”
“Not till next spring, at the earliest – there’s so much to do at the moment in the vineyards. But then, when Michael’s living with us, Thorold can go away, and we’ll still be able to cope with everything. Just!” Michael, meanwhile, was telling André the news – who was just as thrilled by it as his wife had been! “Um – I’ve got something to tell you all.” “Michael asked me to marry him!” Maria was nearly squealing with excitement, and Carla was pretty vocal about it too. Jacob grinned hugely, but Thorold, though he was genuinely happy for his sister, was shot through with a pang of loneliness. Would he find someone to love? And would they want to come and live on this little island? A lovely little island, true, but it wasn’t huge. “Once Michael and I are married, Thorold, you’ll be free to go. Michael can take over your work.”
“Does he know what he’s letting himself in for?” Thorold asked, smiling in spite of himself.
“No, I don’t think he does really, but he’ll find out. Thorold – it’s a big world out there. You’ll enjoy it, I’m sure.” “Springtime,” Maria said, in response to Jacob’s question. We’ll marry next spring – there’s no time before then! And I still have so much to learn!” “That’s not going to change any time soon,” her father said, laughing at her. “But at least you’ll have done one full year. And we’re planning to be around for a while to come.”
“Good! Because I’ve got a long, long way to go!” Thorold had gone to visit Nell and André at their campsite. Things were beginning to look different – slowly, they were clearing the brambles and planting saplings. “So how are you getting on?”
“Beautifully! The task is enormous, though! This is going to take our lifetime< I think. And maybe our children’s lifetime too – but we can make sure that we don’t make this mistake again. And it’s not too late to rescue these woods, thank goodness! How are you all doing?”
“So busy! Poor Michael doesn’t realise what he’s getting into – but I think he’ll cope, he’s so in love with Maria. And come the spring, after the wedding, I’ll be leaving for a while.”
“Will you come back?” Nell genuinely wasn’t sure.
“Of course! I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else – but I’d like to see somewhere else…And maybe meet someone else. But what if she doesn’t want to come back with me to this island?”
“Cross that bridge when you come to it, Thorold. Don’t worry about it in advance.”
And Thorold knew that his sister was right, but it was hard not to worry. It was Carla’s turn to have a morning off, and she’d gone to visit her sister Bianca. Partly, she wanted to talk to someone else with sons! She could tell that Thorold was half-excited, half-nervous about sailing away on Waverider. “Thorold’s right to go! He won’t find a wife here. Marco is rather fond of Anna – and she of him! – but Pietro? Who is there here for him? I think he, too, needs to travel. A shame they cannot go together.” “But could they?” Suddenly, Carla began to wonder if this would make things easier. “Could you manage without Pietro?”
Bianca paused and looked thoughtful.
“Do you know, I think we could. This might be possible….I know Pietro longs to go – he was saying last night how much he envied Thorold. It would be a spring voyage?” “Yes. After Maria’s wedding. Oh, Bianca, do you really think…?”
“I think yes, maybe. Let me talk to Barnabas, but yes, we could manage – David is growing up fast.”
“All the children are! Brede will be without anyone to teach soon.”
“Only for a while, though! I don’t think Maria’s will be the only wedding next year.” Maria had never worked so hard before in all her life! But when she and Jon stood in the cellar and looked at the fruits of their labours, she began to think it had been worth it.
“Do you know,” Jon said, “if we get the price I’m hoping we get for this lot, we might be able to build and stock that library.”
“Grandfather Ben’s dream? Make it happen?” “Maybe. And do you also know, without you this wouldn’t have been possible. I’m proud of you.”
Maria felt her eyes filling with tears as her father hugged her. That night, for the first time in ages, Maria had a chance to play again. The harvest was in, the wine was made, and winter was knocking at the door. And in the spring, she would be marrying Michael. The rest of the family, sitting reading by the fire, listened with pleasure as the music floated through the house, speaking of the promise that the future held. The winter was cold, but not bitter that year. Maria sat with her brothers, kept inside by the snow, playing dominoes with them, and dreaming of the spring to come.
“I miss Nell,” Jacob said.
“Me too! But she’s happy with André.”
“Oh, I know. But it’s still a bit odd sometimes, not having her here. I like their little house though.” For Sarah’s wish had come true, and her nephew was living next door to her. Bit by bit, the house was being rebuilt and the garden cleared for Nell and André. Come winter, it was too cold for them to stay out in the woods in their tent, and they’d moved back into the village to see the winter out in comfort. “My little sister’s getting married soon! It seems no time at all since she was a child.”
“She’s not one any longer, my love! Soon we won’t be the only newly-weds on the island.”
“Soon they won’t be either, if all I’ve heard is true.” Spring finally came, and with it Maria’s wedding. “This is something so new,” Maria thought, as Michael took her in his arms and kissed her. “This is the start of a whole new adventure.”
And the wedding guests all united in wishing her and Michael every possible happiness together. Then, just as she had done for her sister a year earlier, Maria played to entertain the guest at the wedding. As the sun set, they all sat, ate, talked, laughed – cried just a little in some cases – and generally came together to celebrate another new beginning, another family starting on the island.