Book request: Okay, I got this book from my school library around 2006/7. It took place in the past, and I want to say it was colonial era. The protagonist was a girl, who lived in a village. She did work harvesting vegetables, and she became friends with older ladies who liked to gossip I think. The plot centers around this girl and the fact that she has to start caring for this secret "beast" or "monster" who either lives in a barn or an attic. I got the feeling that the monster was really just a mentally challenged, or disfigured male about her age (mid teens). Throughout the book you find out that it's this girl's responsibility to get it on with this creature, because she's supposed to give him children. And I guess she probably warms up to him over time and they become friends. It's a long shot, I know. But I've been wondering what the title of this book is for years, and thats all i've got. Any help would be appreciated.

Matching book description: Companion to Firegold, an ALA Best Book for Young AdultsRose Chandler, a fifteen-year-old bondgirl who lives on Greengarden Orchard, fears everything: the dark, the moon, other people, and the Dalriadas from the Red Mountains who are at war with the Valley folk. But Rose especially fears the Thing locked in the attic of the Bighouse, home of Mr. Brae, the Master of Greenga Companion to Firegold, an ALA Best Book for Young AdultsRose Chandler, a fifteen-year-old bondgirl who lives on Greengarden Orchard, fears everything: the dark, the moon, other people, and the Dalriadas from the Red Mountains who are at war with the Valley folk. But Rose especially fears the Thing locked in the attic of the Bighouse, home of Mr. Brae, the Master of Greengarden. Rose loves Greengarden and dreams of saving it from Mr. Brae’s neglect. That love gives her the courage to confront her fears one by one, until at last she comes face-to-face with the Thing in the attic. There, when Rose lights a candle in the dark, a nightmare beyond her worst imagining comes true, and she learns Mr. Brae has betrayed her. Then the Thing – and the intensifying war – present Rose with a terrible dilemma. Will she have to give up the land she loves in order to save it? Dia Calhoun's mesmerizing new novel is the sometimes mystical story of Rose’s journey from girl to young woman. ...more