Against All Odds

by Marian L. Jasper

  Ada and the colonel looked so very sad and had understandably not slept very well. “We’re glad you’re here Liza, apart from always being pleased to see you, we would like to ask a few favours of you,” said the colonel.

  “Of course, I’ll do whatever you want,” said Liza. “Have you any idea when you are going to have Felicity’s funeral?”

  The colonel gave a weak smile. “That’s one thing I was going to ask you about. I would like to see George Prior, but don’t feel up to going to him today, could you arrange for him to visit us so that we can organise it with him?”

  “Yes, I’ll see him later today and ask him to call. Have you any idea when you would like it to be held? Maybe tomorrow or the day after perhaps so that George has some idea of timing,” said Liza.

  “I would say at least the day after tomorrow,” said Ada, “and I’d like people to come back here. Eugene says that we can use the small lobby at the hall, we won’t need anything bigger. Not many people liked her.”

  “Ada, don’t say that. She had her problems which really were not of her making. Shall I ask Kathy to organise some food, she and Bea will be able to get something together for you. As you know, it’s no use asking me, I can organise but not cook. I’m sure Zelma will also be able to bring something, your mourners won’t starve. I believe Brigeta is also quite good. So don’t worry about after the funeral, all you’ll have to do is turn up for as little or long a time as you are able to cope with. Bea and I will be on duty to take over from you if you wish to leave,” said Liza.

  “You did that for young Danny at your house, didn’t you, Liza? Poor Joe and Kathy couldn’t cope. At the time I thought that they could have done more to help you, but I now know how they felt. I really don’t want to do anything, but I will turn up,” said Ada.

  “Leave it to me, Ada, I’ll make sure that everything is organised for you,” said Liza.

  They talked for an hour or so and then Bea arrived bringing some cakes with her and they all had coffee together. Bea said that she would organise some food for after the funeral with Brigeta and Liza said that she would organise Kathy and Zelma.

  As Bea was there, Liza said that she had a visit or two to make and then she would go and see George Prior to arrange his visit and then they would know when the funeral would take place. She said goodbye but if they needed her, just get someone to come and fetch her.

  The colonel showed her to the door. “I’m not stupid, Liza; I know that you are now going to visit Lieutenant Kendal. I understand why you are, he is a friend of yours and your daughter’s god father. I feel very sorry for him and I just think that I made a mistake sending him away. He would eventually have realised that his relationship with Felicity was totally wrong, but he was doing so many things wrong because his mind was not on the job whilst she was around and I really thought I was saving him from himself, but I was wrong.”

  “No you weren’t wrong, Colonel, you did what any commanding officer should do; you looked after the majority of your men because with his mind so very much elsewhere, he was endangering not only himself but the men under him. You know what my friend Amelia has said on a few occasions and she is so very right, ‘love and hate are very strange bedfellows’ and unfortunately what has happened with Felicity and Mark proves the point. Please don’t blame yourself, this was not your fault. If anybody is to blame it’s me, I foolishly told Mark that Felicity no longer lived at the fort so he went in search of her at Laurie Cuzins’ and also I knew about Lieutenant Crown and I didn’t tell Mark and I should have done, although I had no idea that the lieutenant wasn’t on duty and I never thought that he would be with her at that time,” said Liza.

  “You saw him before he went to find Felicity then Liza?” asked the colonel.

  “Yes, I told him to turn around and go back to Clarkson and try to talk himself out of the trouble that being absent must have landed him in. I also told him that I would have to report him but I didn’t get the chance. I did tell him that Felicity had other friends, but he took no notice and said that what he had with her was the same as I had with Patrick,” said Liza sadly.

  “Oh dear Liza, how very sad it all is and how very delusional of him. To everyone else it was obvious that our Felicity had no great love for him but he was never going to believe that. He was in love with the love of his life and I’m afraid our Felicity had no love for anyone, if anything, her only feelings were of dislike for many people, including you. Well, on your way Liza and make sure that he is being given as much dignity as possible in prison,” said the colonel.

  “I’ll send George to you when I get back to Benson and he can tell me when it’s arranged for,” said Liza and she made her way to the prison to see Mark.

  She was pleased to see that they had let him keep his uniform and he had washed and shaved. “Can I go in and visit him?” she asked the sergeant on duty.

  “I’m sorry Mrs Kelly, my orders don’t allow that, but I’ll get you a chair so that you can visit comfortably,” he said. It seemed to Liza that the sergeant liked Mark and understood the reasons why he had done what he had done. “He’s already had quite a few visitors and he’s only been here a short while,” the sergeant added.

  Liza went through the usual questions of how was he, was he being treated well and had he changed his mind about a defence. Unfortunately, on the last question, he hadn’t changed his mind.

  “There is no excuse for what I did. I killed Felicity because, at that moment, I absolutely hated her and had to get rid of her evil face and it was so very ugly and spitting venom at me, so I shot it away. Yes, I hoped that Crown was hurting her, but really I knew that he wasn’t because I had been in bed with her and knew how she reacted. She was reacting to him as she had done to me. He’s dead now, I know that, and really, I’m glad because he wasn’t a very nice person and I feel that the world is a much better place without him,” said Mark.

  “I suppose the answer to that is that nobody has the right to take the law into their own hands and that is what the court will say. Personally I pass judgement on nobody and no matter what you have done, you know that you are still Mark Kendal and you are still my friend and you are also still my daughter’s god father and I still admire and respect you and I truly wish that all these circumstances were different,” said Liza.

  “I know what you will try and do for me Liza and I’m going to ask you not to. Please do not plead for my life with whoever is presiding over the court martial. I cannot spend the rest of my life in prison, that would be far worse than death for me, so please don’t do it,” said Mark.

  “It wouldn’t be the rest of your life. It would be quite a long time, I know,” said Liza.

  “It would be at least twenty years, and that is a life time to me; so please, please don’t even try to do that. I know that your heart is in the right place, but it would really be cruel,” said Mark.

  “I do understand what you are saying Mark. Do you want to see George; you know that he doesn’t push religion down your throat but he is very open minded and easy to talk to,” said Liza.

  “I’d like to see anybody who wants to visit and George is just as much a person as anyone else,” said Mark.

  “I’m seeing him this afternoon and I’ll mention you to him. He is quite busy at the moment, but I believe he could be here later on today or early tomorrow morning,” said Liza.

  “Yes, of course, he would be busy now. I understand that. How is my little god daughter? Is she getting any better?” asked Mark.

  “She’ll never get better Mark, but she has some quite good days. If we keep her calm and make sure she is fed before she cries then her breathing is fine. I might try to bring her so that you can see her but I can’t promise anything for obvious reasons,” said Liza.

  As Liza left she caught sight of Corporal Shaw. He was getting Laurie’s buggy ready and tying his horse to the back. Two young privates were about to ride out with him. He saw Liza and made his way over to her.

  �
�How was Laurie last night, Mrs Kelly?” he asked.

  “Well none of us slept too well, but that was to be expected. I take it that you’re off to try to clean Laurie’s house. My advice, if you want to take it, is to completely get rid of everything. There’s no point in trying to clean mattresses or rugs, or even beds. The floor and walls are all that can be scrubbed. Get rid of any clothes in that room, no matter how good they seem to be. The colonel and his wife won’t want to see anybody else wearing their dead daughter’s clothes. Go and see Charlie Penn, he’ll take everything you want to get rid of and he has a safe place that he burns all rubbish. Tell him I sent you; he’ll probably help you to remove it all. I wouldn’t think that Laurie would object,” said Liza.

  “I hadn’t thought about the clothes,” said Corporal Shaw. “Hmm, you’re right. It wouldn’t be nice for the colonel and Mrs Western to see somebody prancing around in those clothes. I’ll take your advice and get rid of everything. When we’ve finished, I’ll call to take Laurie home.”

  “Will you be able to stay with her, Corporal?” asked Liza.

  The corporal raised his eyebrows. “That’s a strange thing for you to ask, Mrs Kelly.”

  “Stop being so coy, Corporal. What I really mean is that I would think that it will take some time for Laurie to feel comfortable in her own home now and having someone around for company would not go amiss,” said Liza.

  The corporal and his two privates went on their way and Liza started to walk towards the stable when an arm shot out from an alleyway beside some living quarters and yanked her into the alley. Liza gasped in dismay until she saw that it was Patrick who had pulled her to him.

  “Oh Patrick, you frightened me. I thought I was being attacked again,” said Liza and Patrick held her in his arms and kissed her on her lips for a very long time.

  “Come on,” he said as he led her to the quarters that he used to share with Sean. Liza looked up at him wondering what his motive was and he smiled at her and said, “Liza, I’m not having a very good day and I know you aren’t and I saw you and just wanted to hold you for a while; nothing more. I didn’t mean to frighten you, I just felt that, at the moment, we have so very little time alone and today I needed to be reassured that all of life wasn’t going crazy and that some of it was still quite normal.” Once again he put his arms around her and held her tightly, closed his eyes and breathed what could only be described as a sigh of relief. “I’m back on duty shortly and just want to stay like this until I have to leave.”

  Liza nodded and snuggled into him also enjoying this quiet time together. In a short while they could hear his troopers getting ready for duty and so he kissed her and walked her across to the stables to see her safely into her buggy and away towards town.

  She made her way through town and on to see George who agreed to go to see the colonel and Ada to organise Felicity’s funeral which he felt should be the day after tomorrow. He also said that he would visit Mark as a friend rather than his priest. He also said that nothing yet had been arranged for Lieutenant Crown and Liza said that Captain Graves was in charge at present so he could probably advise on that. As George had no means of transport Liza lent him her pony and buggy, when he returned it he would let Liza know the exact date and time of the funeral.

  Back at home, Liza found a great deal of comfort holding little Meg to her. Kathy had the boys’ supper ready for when they came in from school and Zelma and Laurie were organising enough settings for the adults to use later. Of course Joe, Kathy and Gabriel would be eating with them and Liza said that as George would be calling in later he would probably also be joining them.

  “Have you seen Corporal Shaw yet today, Laurie?” asked Liza.

  “Yes, he called in a short while ago and told me what you had suggested, which was right. He also brought me some of my clothes and bits and pieces as he doesn’t think that he will finish tonight. Is it all right if I stay another night Liza?” asked Laurie.

  “Of course, that will not be a problem,” said Liza.

  They all then discussed what they could do for the colonel and Ada to cater for the gathering after Felicity’s funeral and Laurie said that she also would like to contribute in some way. “I don’t see why not,” said Kathy, “after all, she was a friend of yours.” Whether Kathy meant it in a sarcastic way, nobody would know, but Laurie took it at face value and just nodded.

  The three boys came in from school and were happy to see that Kathy had organised their supper so early not realising that it was to move them out of the way ready for all the adults. They were looking forward to a long time playing that evening, starting with a war game in the yard and ending in their bedroom discussing the merits of whoever had won.

  Patrick arrived home with George and when the horses had been stabled, they came in and George said that he had arranged everything with the colonel and Ada for the day after tomorrow. He also said that he had arranged with Captain Graves for Lieutenant Crown to be buried the next day.

  “I suppose the captain will be representing the army at that,” said Liza and she turned to Laurie and said, “I’ll go with you Laurie. I suppose Corporal Shaw will also attend.” Everyone who really knew Liza were well aware that she was giving instruction over what should happen at the lieutenant’s funeral. Patrick had to smile and he noticed that George, Zelma and Kathy were also smiling. Joe knocked and came in having closed the general store and said that there was a corporal waiting outside to see Patrick or Liza.

  “Can you ask him in please, Joe,” said Liza who was in the middle of feeding Meg. Patrick frowned slightly and Laurie looked expectantly towards the door. Corporal Shaw came in cap in hand and said that he didn’t want to disrupt the gathering.

  “You’re not disrupting anything, Corporal, will you join us for supper? I’m sure you missed out with your meal at the fort. We do have enough, don’t we, Kathy?” said Liza, much to the surprise of everyone there.

  “I don’t want to impose,” said the corporal.

  “That’s all right, Corporal, no imposition, I presume you would like to have a word with Laurie. Zelma, can you lay another place for the corporal,” said Liza.

  Patrick looked around his home and saw how many people were there and realised that, as always, people gathered around Liza when there was something either good or bad happening. The boys thundered in from their war game and raced up to the bedroom as Gabriel arrived at the back door.

  The corporal was talking quietly with Laurie and Laurie was responding adamantly and then he nodded. They all pretended not to notice but there were one or two knowing smiles and nobody was surprised when the corporal said that he would attend the funeral the next day.

  So nine sat down to dinner that evening and unlike normal large gatherings, this was rather subdued. Patrick said that he would also attend the next day as Sean was taking the morning patrol and everyone expressed the desire for the next two days to be over, but then Mark’s court martial would take place.

  When dinner was over, Corporal Shaw took his leave saying that he would be at the church the next day. When he had gone, Patrick felt free to discuss various matters including the fact that General Maybury would be presiding over Mark’s court martial but he didn’t know who else would be at the hearing.

  “Unfortunately I don’t suppose it will be a long hearing,” said Liza sadly, and all those around the table nodded.

  Gradually everyone left, with just Zelma and Laurie finalising tidying for the next day. Once again Liza was sitting in her rocking chair feeding Meg before settling her for the night. Kathy would be over again the next morning to help Zelma with Meg whilst Patrick and Liza were at Lieutenant Crown’s funeral.

  Meg was in her cradle sleeping well and Liza went up to the boys. She hadn’t spent much time with them recently so she decided to sit and read to them for a while and also to let them tell her what they had been doing and how they were feeling. They had heard about Uncle Mark and what he had done and their logic was that he had
done that because both the woman and the man were nasty people and Liza had to explain to them that no matter what they thought of the man and the woman, it was nobody’s place to pass judgement on them and take the law into their own hands.

  “So Uncle Mark was wrong then,” said Matthew.

  “That’s what a judge will determine, Matthew,” said Liza, “and of course the Commandments tell us that we must not kill but sometimes people get so upset that they don’t realise what they are doing.”

  “Did Uncle Mark get upset then?” said John.

  “Yes, I’m afraid he did and now he’ll have to be judged, but don’t you worry about that. I’ll be seeing him tomorrow; shall I give him all your love? I’m sure he’ll appreciate it,” said Liza as both boys nodded.

  “We’ve got some sweets; do you think he’d like those? If you think he would, will you take them to him tomorrow?” said Matthew.

  “Yes, I’m sure he’d like that,” said Liza and the boys handed her some rather fluffy toffees for their Uncle Mark.

  Liza tried not to show how emotional the boys’ kindness had made her feel and she managed to leave their room before her tears flowed, quickly going into her own bedroom to compose herself before she went down to join the others.

  “You look a bit upset, Liza,” said Patrick and she told him about the boys’ sweets for Mark.

  “I’m tired and I’ve got to sort out my clothes for the funeral. Have you got the right clothes for tomorrow, Laurie?” asked Liza.

  “Yes, but I’ll have to get them from home so I suppose it will be as good a time as any to move back,” said Laurie.

  “Only do that when you feel you are able to, stay as long as you need to,” said Liza and she said goodnight to everyone and Patrick carried Meg up to their room in her cradle. Liza sorted out her funeral clothes and then got ready for bed followed shortly by Patrick.