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Description

Jessica (Pippa/Pip) is eleven years old and has shortish, wavy dark hair and hazel-brown eyes. She's quite small for her age, and thin, but makes up for it with her loud nature. She's quite tomboy-ish so doesn't like to wear overly girly clothes; when she arrives on the island she's wearing a plain white cotton blouse with a blue cardigan, a simple-patterned skirt, white knee-high socks and schoolgirl shoes. She's usually always smiling and has small dimples. She looks a lot like her mother and her aunt when they were her age, and her grandfather always comments on how it's like watching his daughters grow up again when she visits. She is from English and Irish decent.

Personality

She has always been an adventurous child, exploring her home estate and the surrounding moorlands in South Yorkshire, and her grandfather's estate in North-East Norfolk. She's a sort-of tomboy and like animals of all kinds, especially horses and birds , but also likes just being outside. Her mother plans to 'make her more lady-like' when she becomes thirteen by banning her outdoor escapades.

She day-dreams a lot and likes to make up her own worlds and stories, and is one of those people that finds clouds fascinating. Her grandfather often describes her as 'away with the fairies'. Jess is generally easy to get on with; she's funny, talkative, clever and a bit bossy, but despite her middle-class upbringing, is empathetic and down-to-earth. She doesn't really think ahead but when something bad happens she likes to try and help, even though this often means she gets in the way. She’s very forgetful, but is honest and loyal to her friends. She has a cheeky/cocky streak in her and likes to banter with people, especially her lazy uncle who lives with her grandfather and her moody maid at home.

She isn’t really scared of anything except deep water because she nearly drowned when she was six by falling into a river on a boating trip with her grandfather on the Norfolk Broads.

Equipment

Nothing but what she's wearing, a bag of marbles she had in her pocket, and her grandfather's small gold compass that he gave her before she got on the plane, telling her that: "While you're away, you can always find home again, no matter how far away you are." so she wouldn't get homesick.

History

Jessica is from a fairly rich, middle-class family who live on a countryside estate and loves spending time there during the holidays, exploring the land on the estate. She is an only child and her father died shortly after her sixth birthday in a riding accident. Her mother runs their family’s estate in Yorkshire with the help of Jess’ grandfather and uncle. She was homeschooled by a strict tutor who she never liked until she turned eleven and her mother decided she should go to boarding school.

She was unsure of this at first, never having been to school before, but she quickly got used to the lessons and other children. She missed the countryside and her freedom a lot though, so felt homesick for most of her time there. Her grandfather would write her letters and send her presents to cheer her up.

Jessica Marbury's Story