Against All Odds

by Marian L. Jasper

  The night before their second wedding, Liza asked Patrick where he was going to sleep that night as it was protocol that the bride and groom did not see one another on the morning of a wedding. His answer was to pull off her nightgown and take her to bed

  “I take it that you are not interested in protocol,” said Liza when he had finished making love to her and settled down to sleep in her bed for the night.

  “I think that protocol is only for the first marriage not the second one and I’m now too comfortable to move,” he said.

  “I hope that you won’t see my outfit until we are in the cathedral, Patrick, I would like to keep that a secret from you,” said Liza.

  “Yes, I’ll get ready in a spare room, I promise I won’t spy on you tomorrow,” said Patrick sleepily.

  “I’m too excited to sleep,” said Liza loudly.

  “Then you are the one who had better go and find somewhere else to spend the night as I’m tired and want to go to sleep now. We’ve got a very big day tomorrow. Goodnight,” he said.

  Liza lay awake in the dark for a long while, she was still planning the next day but it had already been planned down to the last detail. She listened to Patrick breathing deeply and it comforted her and she moved over and snuggled into his body and finally slept.

  He was up early the next morning and had left a note for her on her dressing table. ‘See you at ten-thirty at the church. Don’t be late. Love you, Patrick’.

  Liza and the boys were ready by ten o’clock. Patrick had already left to collect Henry; she had not seen him that morning. Liza picked up her bouquet and the boys did a very quick practice linking their small hands through her arms and they then left in their carriage for the cathedral.

  It was a beautifully warm sunny day and there were one or two people outside the cathedral. Myra was waiting for her and she helped her and the boys to the ground and guided her towards the porch, she made sure that Liza and the boys were in position and then went into the cathedral. The music started and Liza and the boys slowly moved into the cathedral. Liza was shocked to find that it was full of people; it seemed as if all those who had been invited to the afternoon garden party had turned up to see Liza and Patrick married again. Presumably, it was because it was a novelty, nobody had heard of two people marrying one another when they were still married to one another. After a slight surprised stop, Liza and the boys carried on down the aisle and Patrick turned and smiled at her.

  She thought how handsome he looked in his best dress uniform, his bright blue eyes were sparkling and his hair looked so black. How wonderful to be marrying him again today.

  In turn, Patrick drew in his breath at the sight of Liza walking towards him with his two sons holding either arm. Her green eyes also sparkled and even though there was a vast crowd in the cathedral, he was the only person she saw. There was some amusement when the priest asked who gave her away and two small voices said “We do”.

  They renewed their vows, proclaimed their love for one another until death parted them and they were pronounced man and wife. It was a relatively short service but it meant a great deal to them. They walked out of the cathedral arm in arm, followed by Myra, Henry and the boys. Then the rest of the congregation followed and milled around outside. Both Liza and Patrick realised that all these people were due at the garden party in an hour, so Liza decided that they had better come early. It would panic the chef and his staff but there didn’t appear to be an alternative.

  Bridget and Mary were also in the cathedral grounds and Liza asked them to go home and arrange for champagne to be handed out early as their guests were arriving immediately. Walter Anderson was also there and he offered to accompany them and help out with the organisation. Liza told them to tell the chef and staff to only organise the drinks immediately, and then to carry on with the rest of the arrangements for the garden party for the correct time and to ignore the fact that there would already be guests there.

  Myra and Henry spread the word that all those at the cathedral, if they wished, should go to Liza and Patrick’s house directly and not wait for the appointed time and then they rushed away to make sure that all would be in order as everyone else arrived.

  Liza, Patrick and the boys climbed into their carriage and made their way home, arriving just in front of the rest of the guests. Tables which were ladened with glasses, champagne and lemonade had quickly been set up a little way past the entry into the garden and Liza noticed that one of those on duty to help serve was Walter.

  Liza and Patrick greeted everyone as they entered, they had refused wedding presents saying that it would be lovely if all guests wrote a short note wishing them well, and these would be treasured, but if they wanted to make a donation to the children’s charity, it would be gratefully received and there was no need to put a name to their donation as no matter how large or how small, it would all go to a very good cause.

  When they had finished greeting their guests, Liza went over to Walter and told him that he was a guest at the party and should go and keep his wife company, but she thanked him for his assistance but he must now go and enjoy himself. “I’ve written to my mother and brother and told them to get organised for the trip over here to their new life. I can’t thank you enough for helping with this.”

  “It’s just bringing them over sooner rather than later and you’ll be paying the money back week by week,” said Liza who had arranged for the rest of Walter’s family to come to America.

  “I promise that I will pay it as arranged to Mrs Mahoney to put into your charity, and I also promise that nobody in my family will ever let you down. You have given us all a chance and we won’t let such an opportunity pass us by.”

  “Do you think your wife and your mother will get on in the same house? You know that two women in a kitchen can create serious problems,” said Liza.

  “My wife has managed to get some part-time employment at a dressmakers so she will be rather busy and she will be grateful for the help my mother will be able to give her with the children, meals and general housework,” said Walter looking at her sideways as he knew that she had quietly recommended his wife to her dressmaker.

  “How is your cousin and his wife, I presume he is working with you now,” she asked.

  “Yes, he’s getting back on his feet now and he feels that he will soon be able to move out of the rooms that they have at the moment,” said Walter.

  “Good, it’s nice when people can pull themselves out of a bad situation. Your wife is looking for you, Walter; you had better go and make sure she is enjoying herself. No doubt I’ll see you before we leave New York,” said Liza.

  Patrick was making his way towards her with a boy holding each hand. “Your family is missing you Liza and Henry wants to make a speech and we have to cut the cake before the garden party starts.”

  Henry made his ‘best man’ speech thanking everyone for witnessing the fact that Patrick was not going to let Liza get away from him, so to make sure he’d now married her twice but he didn’t think that it would be necessary to marry her a third time. However, as they were all enjoying themselves so much, perhaps a third time should be encouraged. Amongst the many other things that he talked about, he wished the happy couple well and said that they were going to be missed.

  Patrick then had to make a speech and Liza had never heard him speak to a crowd other than the army unit he commanded and she was nervous for him but he handled it beautifully, thanking everyone for their good wishes. He thanked his sons for giving their mother away hoping that they really would prefer to keep her and he thanked Liza for marrying him again, and he would marry her again and again and again if that was what it took to keep her with him always.

  Liza could be heard to say, “It won’t be necessary; you’ll never be rid of me now.”

  They made their way around talking to their guests and making sure they were well-catered for before going to change for the afternoon’s entertainment.

  Bridget was waiting for her and P
atrick sat on the couch watching Liza get changed into her new green afternoon outfit and as it was such a sunny day she donned her wide-brimmed hat also trimmed with green ribbons. Bridget left them alone and Patrick told her how beautiful she looked and how beautiful she had also looked as she walked down the aisle to him that morning. He wished that they were alone, but they had to go and see to their guests.

  During the course of the afternoon, Liza met Doctor Marsden and his wife who informed her that they had arranged to adopt two of the children from Ireland.

  “That’s wonderful,” said Liza, “but that’s quite a responsibility for you. I presume you have talked to Mrs Mahoney about it.”

  “Yes, we would like a girl and a boy,” said Mrs Marsden. “We can give them a good home and I can see that you are concerned that we may not be aware of how difficult it could be to look after and love children that have been treated so badly in their short lives. I can assure you that we are under no illusions. It will be hard to gain their trust and I am sure there will be times when we will wonder what we have done but we are prepared to take the good with the bad and I know that, in the end, they will give us as much happiness as we want to give them.”

  “It would be nice if they were brother and sister, but I know that they will do their best for you in the home in Ireland. I’m glad that you understand how difficult it may be. With your attitude I know that you will find it very rewarding and I wish you every success,” said Liza.

  “Have you found it difficult with your young one, Mrs Kelly?” asked Doctor Marsden.

  “What makes you think that we have one of the children? He’s my husband’s nephew.” asked Liza.

  “He may be your husband’s nephew, but he has been abused. I can see by his attitude when any man tries talking to him. He cringes away from them, and looks towards your son for reassurance. If your son talks to the man he relaxes and then joins in. He moves towards a woman for security on occasion and always looks towards either you or your husband when he is troubled and I notice that you nod and smile at him a great deal more than you need to with your son,” said Doctor Marsden. “He also seemed quite distressed when he was told that he had ‘given you away’, but saw everyone laughing, including your own son, so once again he relaxed.”

  “You’re very observant, doctor. We don’t tell people about his past because the best way for him to try to forget it is for it not to be mentioned by anyone and with the best intention in the world, if people know then they may be tempted to speak of it or set him apart from others. If he wants to talk about it, then it will be his choice, although I believe he wants to wipe it from his mind,” said Liza.

  “Nobody will know from us, Mrs Kelly,” said the doctor. “Have you found anything particularly difficult?”

  “His language was very descriptive and Patrick reluctantly had to chastise him quite severely on one occasion and one occasion only. It upset Patrick very much but he had said that if he used such language again he would have to smack him, and unfortunately he immediately used the same word and as you know, if you threaten something then you have to carry it out. He hasn’t used it again. In fact he has been quite a happy child since then. I dare say there will be times when he will backtrack and how we deal with that we can’t tell until it happens,” said Liza.

  “You’re leaving us next week, I understand and going back to a small town. I envy you; it’s where we would like to be. New York is too big for us; we would like to go to a place that needs a doctor’s personal touch rather than a place that is more social than caring,” said Doctor Marsden.

  “If an opening arises where I am going, I’ll let you know, doctor. It’s been nice talking to you and good luck with your adoption,” said Liza and she moved onto the next group of people but she would bear Doctor Marsden and his wife in mind should Doctor Bridges decide to retire.

  They received many good wishes and expressions of sorrow that they were leaving New York. There were also queries why Lord Edgeworth was not there to which they said that he had commitments in England and he had reluctantly had to leave before he could join them today. Some had realised, but not voiced, that he had feelings for Liza and understood why he had left so abruptly, knowing that Liza had never returned those feelings apart from friendship.

  The garden party was a great success with a wonderful atmosphere. There were many who had organised bond servants from Belfast and most were quiet about it, just telling Liza or Patrick that they would make sure that the servants were well cared for. They had been well-advised by Charles Enderby as Liza had suggested. Patrick and Liza smiled at one another at this change of tactic on Charles’ part. It had worked out very well and put Charles well up on the social scene in more places than just New York.

  “Well done Liza,” said Patrick, “you have manipulated that man brilliantly and created much good. I do hope you haven’t manipulated me.”

  “Yes, I have,” she laughed, “into marrying me over again.”

  “You’re wrong there, it was totally my idea and it is great fun, isn’t it? Everybody is enjoying themselves so much, but not as much as I am going to enjoy myself later and I’m going to make sure you do too. But once again, we must look after our guests before we can look after ourselves,” grinned Patrick.

  “It’s getting a little late for the boys, but I’m reluctant to stop them also enjoying themselves. Young John is beginning to relax in company; it would be a shame to put him to bed now. I’ll keep an eye on them both and if they really start collapsing, I’ll ask Mary or Bridget to put them to bed. We can all keep an eye on them through the evening; I think our afternoon party has turned into an evening one also. I’d better see if the chef has anything he can serve everyone for supper,” said Liza.

  The chef came to the fore as did Myra and several other ladies who rushed to their homes and raided their larders, including Walter’s and his cousins’ wives, and Liza was so pleased that the chef did not turn up his nose at all the offerings which were placed in front of him. It was the first time that he had accepted ‘charity’ and it was also the first time that Liza had seen him smile and praise cooking from anyone else.

  As with many of Liza’s gatherings, what had started out as quite formal ended up totally relaxed and informal and everyone loved it. Somebody started singing and the evening, which was so beautifully warm, had many a person with tears in their eyes and nostalgic reminiscences for their homeland. But Liza was going to have none of that and demanded that they all start dancing a jig and singing along to that, so the evening ended with tears of laughter rather than tears of sadness.

  The last guests finally left at one o’clock in the morning, most of them were helped into their carriages by Patrick, Henry, Walter and his cousin. Myra had gone, leaving Henry to help to make sure all had left for home, but her carriage was returning for him. Walter’s and his cousin’s wives were sitting waiting for them to walk home, but Liza arranged for a carriage to take them. Liza made her way slowly up to their bedroom whilst Henry and Patrick made sure everyone had left, finally with Henry’s carriage returning for him.

  By this time it was two o’clock in the morning. Liza had told both Bridget and Mary to go to bed and she would see to herself. “Oh, I’m so tired,” she murmured stepping out of her dress. She looked at it and left it where it lay on the floor. She also stepped out of all her underclothes and looked around for her nightdress which she couldn’t easily see so she climbed naked into bed and went immediately to sleep which was not the way Patrick wanted to find her on their wedding night.

  He bounded up the stairs full of expectations and came to a standstill at the door. Surely she wasn’t asleep? Not tonight, not on their wedding night! But she was and he could understand it; but he wasn’t tired enough not to perform that night. He picked up her dress and hung it up and moved her other clothes to one side.

  He came over to the bed and looked down at her. She looked beautiful sleeping soundly and he noticed that she was naked; he thought
that presumably she was readying herself for him, but had just fallen asleep. “Oh Liza, dare I wake you as I really want my wife tonight,” he whispered.

  He thought that he would have to wait; after all they had the rest of their lives. He undressed and also climbed into bed naked and whispered her name into her ear. She responded by snuggling up to him and moving her body against his. Ah, he thought, I’m getting a response.

  Patrick had planned to spend all night loving her and playing with her, in fact wearing them both out. He had dreamed that he was going to treat her as he had during their first night together before they were married. She must have sensed his need as she opened her eyes, laughed and flung her arms around him. She felt warm and smelled beautiful and was wriggling herself into him. It may not have been the great passion that he had hoped for that night, but she was making it plain to him that she wanted him no matter how sleepy she was.

  The morning was beautiful and Liza woke up to Patrick coming into the bedroom with a breakfast tray for her. She could hear the boys playing happily in the garden. She stretched contentedly and sat up smiling at Patrick with her eyes sparkling. Realising that she was naked, she looked around for her nightdress and then remembered that she couldn’t find it the night before.

  “And I thought that you had done that just for me,” said Patrick slightly disappointed.

  “No, I like to wear a nightdress just for you as I know you enjoy taking it off me,” she said.

  Patrick thought about this and said, “You’re right, that always gives me a great deal of pleasure.”

  “We have a lot to do this week, Patrick. I’m looking forward to leaving but I’m not looking forward to the journey with the two boys,” said Liza.

  “We’ll manage, Liza. I know it’s not going to be easy but when we get there, it will be worth the trouble.”

  ***

  Whilst Liza and Patrick were organising their departure, the Dumas and Perez families had joined up with another six wagons which would eventually join with a much larger wagon train for the journey to California. They were approaching Lansdown, after which they could reach Benson and then Harris Town. The wagon master suggested that they stop near one of those towns to see what goods and fresh produce they could get for the next part of their journey.