Against All Odds

by Marian L. Jasper

  Liza nodded and took Meg from Zelma and sat in one of the rocking chairs and gradually her breathlessness eased a little.

  Of course the boys wanted to know if it was true that Uncle Mark had killed the ‘horrible woman’ and hurt the ‘horrible man’. Patrick came in from putting the pony and buggy away and Gabriel was with him. They heard what the boys were saying and knew that Liza was not ready to talk about the day, so Patrick told them that there had been an accident and not to forget that the ‘horrible woman’, as they called her, was the colonel and Ada’s daughter, and he said that they were just to get on with their supper.

  Gabriel sat at the table, he had been to see Mark and his offer of legal advice had been rejected, his logic being that he had shot them. Gabriel said that he would talk later when the children had finished their meal and gone somewhere to play.

  He looked down and Laura was sitting on one side of him and Benjy on the other. “How did they get there?” he asked. They had even moved their soup bowls with them. Liza looked up and eyed each twin and noted that they were using their own spoons. “Are they your gardening spoons?” she asked the twins and they nodded in unison. Liza looked at Ellen and asked, “Do they carry their spoons everywhere with them? I hope they’ve been washed well.”

  “Yes, they use them for everything at the moment. It seems that it’s their current comfort items,” said Ellen.

  Gabriel was trying to make the afternoon as normal as possible for the children and he was asking the boys how they had got on at school and what particular lessons they had enjoyed, and whilst he was talking, Liza noticed that he had put an arm around each twin and the look on their faces was sheer heaven. They certainly loved their Uncle Gabriel and Liza wondered whether Gabriel realised what he had done.

  It was getting a little late for them and it seemed that Hannah, Tom and Dr Steele were still very much occupied by the lieutenant’s injury and Liza said that they would all have to stay the night with her, but Gabriel piped up and said, “I’ve got room for Ellen and the twins, as long as Laura and Benjy can sleep in the same bed and you don’t mind the other bed in the same room, Ellen.”

  Everyone had to smile at the absolute joy on the twins’ faces. They couldn’t believe that their Uncle Gabriel was going to let them stay the night in his house. He also told them that they would be able to wear some of Si’s nightclothes and their joy was complete.

  By that time Meg had been fed and she had been changed so that she was now settling well in her cradle, so Liza found a suitable nightdress for Ellen. All the children went up to Matthew’s and John’s bedroom to play whilst the adults had their supper. Joe had joined them and Liza looked around and thought that under different circumstances this would have been a happy gathering.

  Obviously the talk was of the events of the day, but Liza was quiet as she still could not get what was left of Felicity’s face out of her mind and each time she put any food to her mouth her stomach threatened to rebel. Patrick had also seen Felicity but he had seen such sights on many occasions on the battlefield, normally though it was not women who had such injuries.

  “I promised Mark that I would see him this evening, so I must soon go to him,” said Liza.

  “Surely it’s getting a little late for you to go there, Liza,” said Joe.

  “I promised him that I would, and that was why he just went off with Jake. I can’t break that promise, Joe,” said Liza.

  “Of course, I’ll come with you,” said Patrick. “I hope everybody will still be here when we get back.”

  “I’ll take Ellen and the twins and Simon to mine shortly, so no, I’ll be next door. It’s going to be an interesting night for me,” smiled Gabriel. “I hope you get on all right with Mark.”

  Joe and Kathy said that they would stay and get the boys to bed, and Zelma was needed to make sure Meg was well.

  Liza put on her cloak and she and Patrick set out for Jake’s office and jail. They could see Corporal Shaw going into the hotel, presumably to find a room for Laurie Cuzins. They reached their destination and Jake welcomed them.

  “They are coming for him from the fort tomorrow morning. They’ll keep him there as they tell me that it’s an army matter and there will be a court martial hearing, although he says that he’s not going to defend himself. Is there any defence to what he’s done though?” said Jake.

  Liza looked through to the cells and saw Mark sitting on the bed that she had sat on not so long ago and she moved towards him.

  “You said you’d come, Liza, I’m pleased that you have,” said Mark.

  Liza turned towards Jake and said, “Can you unlock the door please Jake. He’s not going anywhere.”

  Jake nodded, after all he and Patrick were there to keep an eye on Mark.

  Liza went into the cell and sat next to Mark.

  “I’m so sorry I told you she wasn’t at the fort. If I had kept quiet you wouldn’t have gone to that house,” said Liza.

  “Oh Liza, please don’t blame yourself. It certainly wasn’t your fault. She never loved me, did she? And you knew that, didn’t you?” said Mark.

  “I can’t understand why I didn’t tell you that she was with Lieutenant Crown. You were standing in front of me telling me that you were going to see her and I didn’t tell you. How could I have been so stupid?” said Liza.

  “I think you know the answer to that, Liza, I would never have believed you. You told me that she had other friends and I just laughed it off. To me she was the same as you are to Patrick. You know that no matter what may be said, you are confident of his fidelity to you and he is of yours to him. I thought we had that,” sighed Mark.

  “Gabriel tells me that you aren’t going to defend yourself. You surely have at least a crime of passion defence. Please let Gabriel help you, Mark,” said Liza.

  “No Liza, I killed Felicity and the lieutenant. I saw red, as they say, especially when the lieutenant came towards me and told me that it was his turn to have her. I hoped that he had attacked her, although by that time I really knew that something wasn’t right, but I didn’t want to believe it, so I shot him. When I asked her to come with me she screamed at me and told me that my letters were stupid and left most of them unopened and that I had been the best of a bad bunch. She kept screaming hatred at me and it didn’t look like her, her face was so different, so ugly, so wicked that I had to get rid of it, so I shot her. I still love the Felicity I thought she was, not the Felicity that she really was,” said Mark.

  “The lieutenant is still alive, Mark. He’s badly hurt, but both doctors are still working on him,” said Liza.

  “How are the colonel and his wife? It’s them who I feel sorry for. I now think that the colonel tried to tell me also by sending me away. They knew what Felicity was like, but I wouldn’t have believed them either. I was making an idiot of myself while I was still here and I wasn’t carrying out my duties properly because of her, I know that,” said Mark.

  “I must leave you now, Mark, I have to get back to your goddaughter, she’s a little fretful today, and I’m not surprised. I understand that you’ll be at the fort tomorrow and I’ll call in on you there. Is there anything I can bring you? Please think about asking Gabriel to help with any defence you may have,” said Liza.

  “Thank you, Liza, but there’s nothing that I need. Won’t the colonel and Ada be upset if you visit me?” said Mark.

  “I doubt it. I will see them also tomorrow. You are still our friend, Mark, despite everything,” said Liza as she left the cell and went to join Patrick and Jake. Patrick put up his hand in acknowledgment to Mark and he and Liza left for home.

  They could see Laurie’s buggy now outside the Boarding House as they went into their house. Hannah had been there but wasn’t going to disrupt the sleeping arrangements for Ellen and the twins. Lieutenant Crown was not faring well; Dr Steele had left for the fort, but would be back in the early hours to relieve Tom and Hannah also felt that she may also be needed through the night. Apparently she
had been both amused and surprised that the twins were with Gabriel.

  Kathy had brought some bread, cheese and ham over as they knew that both Liza and Patrick had really not eaten all day and Zelma made coffee for everyone. The boys were asleep after what they thought was the excitement of the day. The adults would have called it the disasters of the day. Meg had settled at last and was asleep quietly in her cradle.

  “You must eat something Liza. I know you’ve seen things that nobody should see, but if you can have just a little food, I’m sure you’ll feel better,” said Patrick.

  Liza nodded and let Kathy serve up just a small amount of bread, cheese and ham for her but she was more interested in the coffee.

  They were all discussing the events of the day, and both Kathy and Joe were concerned that Mark was refusing to defend himself. Everyone was also very sad for the colonel and Ada and Kathy voiced the opinion that Felicity had always been trouble and now she had caused the downfall of a good man. As this was being discussed, there was a knock at the door and Patrick went to answer it.

  Liza could hear what she thought sounded like Corporal Shaw’s voice and Patrick responding not too pleasantly. Liza got up and went into the hall asking what was wrong.

  “Laurie Cuzins can’t go to her home and nobody will offer her a bed for the night. I’ve suggested that he takes her to the fort, but really, there’s nowhere there that can take non-army people. He’s asking for our help, Liza. Is there anything that you can suggest?” said Patrick knowing that Liza was going to solve this problem by offering her a bed for the night. Neither of them disliked Laurie, they just moved in totally different circles.

  “Come in, Corporal and bring Laurie in also. We have a spare bed which she can use tonight. I can understand that she doesn’t want to be alone in her own home tonight,” said Liza.

  Tentatively Laurie walked into the room and saw Kathy and Joe sitting at the table and Zelma pouring herself coffee. There was a short silence until Liza said, “Laurie will be staying with us tonight and it’s understandable that she doesn’t feel that she can stay at her own place tonight. Sit down Corporal and Laurie,” said Liza.

  The others took their cue from Liza and Patrick. Zelma put two plates out for them and cups for coffee. Joe handed some bread to them both and Kathy pushed ham and cheese towards them. Patrick and Liza sat down and Liza led the conversation, and it was about the day and the fact that everything was so sad and difficult. She felt that to talk about everything but the events of the day would be ridiculous. Everyone relaxed a little and to their credit, both Laurie and the corporal made very little comment, although they nodded their agreement on occasion.

  Laurie looked rather frightened, especially when the corporal said that he had to leave and that he would bring her buggy back the next day. Liza smiled at both him and Laurie and he left with Patrick showing him to the door and saying that they would look after Laurie.

  Zelma made up the bed in the spare room and Kathy and Joe stayed a little while longer. Kathy said that she would be back tomorrow as she knew that both Liza and Patrick would have difficult jobs to do then. “We hope you can all sleep well tonight, but I’m not sure anyone will be sleeping well this night,” said Joe and he had included Laurie in his sentiment.

  Zelma came around the table and kissed both Patrick and Liza goodnight, which was unusual for her and she nodded her goodnight to Laurie and so the three of them were left sitting at the table. “I don’t know what to say,” said Laurie.

  “Sometimes it can be better not to say anything,” said Patrick gently and he had the feeling that this situation was so similar to their encounter with Evelyn Edgeworth.

  “I don’t suppose you have anything with you, do you Laurie? I’ll find you a nightdress and anything else you might need,” said Liza.

  “Thank you, Mrs Kelly. I do appreciate this,” said Laurie.

  “Call me Liza, everyone does. Come on, I’ll show you to your room and get you settled. You’ve seen where the wash room and everything else is, so you can come and go as you want. We’ll see what we can do about your house tomorrow, or the next day, whenever you feel ready to deal with it,” said Liza. She turned and said to Patrick, “I’ll be back shortly to make sure Meg is fed and changed for the night.”

  When Liza returned after having organised Laurie as best she could, Patrick was sitting holding Meg. She was breathing quite normally and he was enjoying feeling the warmth and shape of her small body. “It’s been a terrible day, hasn’t it, Liza? This town was always so calm and happy until Felicity came back, but I wouldn’t wish what happened today on anybody. Now we have a good friend who is going to pay the ultimate price for believing that he was in love, or more to the point, believing that somebody was in love with him. There is no way that he is going to get out of being convicted of this crime. I dread seeing that happen to Mark.”

  Liza organised Meg’s night feed and Patrick carried her up to their room and placed her gently in her cradle. It seemed strange that after all the trauma of the day, little Meg was sleeping peacefully for once. They undressed, got into bed and clung to one another for comfort.

  ***

  The next morning Patrick left the house soon after dawn. Laurie was up early and could be seen helping Zelma in the kitchen whilst the boys were attempting to get themselves ready for school. They had looked rather questioningly at Laurie but accepted that she had needed to stay the night. Si appeared washed, dressed and ready for school. Liza had made Meg’s food and was sitting at the table feeding her. Ellen arrived at the back door and said that the twins would only come with Gabriel and then she also helped Zelma with all their breakfasts and she too just accepted that Laurie was in the house.

  Eventually Gabriel came into the house flanked by the twins and their smiles told everyone how happy they were to have stayed overnight with their idol. Gabriel sat at the table and the twins pushed their chairs up either side of him, all the while clasping their special spoons. He looked around and said good morning to everyone and appeared to accept that Laurie being there was quite normal.

  Kathy was the next one to appear and she was armed with loaves of bread and buns, she had obviously been up baking since before dawn.

  The boys left for school with Zelma discreetly making sure they got to their destination safely. Once the boys were away from the house, Hannah arrived with the sad news that Lieutenant Crown had died during the night despite all their efforts. Everyone was quiet for a moment. Nobody really liked the lieutenant but they had all prayed that he would stay alive. Gabriel broke the silence saying that he would look after the twins with Ellen until the undertakers had taken the body away and Hannah would return for them once that was done.

  Liza bathed and dressed Meg ready for the day. She was quite happy that morning and sat on Kathy’s lap snuggling up to her, which Kathy loved. Liza then got herself ready for the day and tidied around waiting for the undertakers to call on the doctors for the lieutenant’s body as she didn’t want to be driving out to the fort until that had been dealt with.

  By ten o’clock the undertakers had collected the lieutenant and Liza got her buggy ready to go to the fort. Hannah called for her family and reluctantly, the twins left Gabriel’s side, still clasping their spoons and Ellen went with them. Gabriel left for work and Liza decided to have one more cup of coffee before she left possibly for the whole day.

  Laurie asked her if her mornings were always this busy and Liza just smiled and said that there were a few more people around than usual, but yes, mornings were always very busy in the household.

  “Have you decided what you are going to do today Laurie?” asked Liza.

  “No, I’ll wait for Corporal Shaw to come, if that’s all right with you, he’ll help me do whatever I can to try to make my house habitable again.”

  “Yes, that’s all right, Laurie, take whatever time you need. Anyway, I’d better go now and I’ll see you all later, but if I’m needed, please send someone to fetch me
,” said Liza and she went outside and climbed into her buggy. As she was driving along she could see that Mark was being led to a buckboard and Patrick was in charge of getting him back to the fort. She could see even from that distance that Patrick was stony faced; it was not a duty he was enjoying. Liza thought it best to stop and let the party reach the fort before her and so she pulled over to the general store and went in to see Joe and Greg for a while.

  Liza finally entered the fort and put her buggy in the stable. She made her way to the colonel’s office and saw Ben.

  “The colonel is at home today Liza, he said for you to go there when you arrived. Captain Graves is standing in for him and he’s in the office if you want to see him.”

  Marshall Graves was pleased to see her; it had been a nightmare time for everyone. “Bea is home at the moment, she will be going over to the colonel’s later today when Brigeta can come and look after Judith. I understand that Lieutenant Crown died through the night so Mark is now looking at two counts of murder. I’ve heard that he’s not going to defend the charges. In many ways it would be difficult to defend what he did, but he could state mitigating circumstances which could mean prison rather than death.”

  “Some people would rather die than go to prison. I sometimes think that the punishment which Frank Wyley was given was probably worse than a death sentence. I’ll be visiting Mark later today, I saw him being brought here earlier. I hope he’s being allowed a certain amount of dignity whilst he’s here rather than the way he was being kept last time he was imprisoned,” said Liza.

  Captain Graves smiled, “Don’t worry Liza, he’ll be allowed water and a razor and proper clothes. I promise you that. We’ve sent to Clarkson for someone to conduct the court martial as obviously our colonel can’t preside over it under the circumstances.”

  “I’ll go and see Ada and the colonel now. Do you know if they’ve organised a funeral yet?” said Liza.

  “They’ll probably be doing that today, especially now that you’ve arrived,” once again Captain Graves smiled and Liza realised that it would appear that she would be organising it for them. Well, that’s what friends are for, she thought.