Against All Odds

by Marian L. Jasper

  “No Liza, there isn’t. Patrick should have handed over to the men at the next army post by now, and he should be back later today. There may be some news then. Lieutenant Byrne set out this morning to catch up and take over the search. It’s believed that he may be heading towards Mexico; do you think that’s right Liza?” said the colonel.

  “I don’t know; it seems logical. It’s a long way though,” said Liza.

  “General Maybury’s arriving tomorrow. You remember him, don’t you Liza?” said the colonel.

  “Well, unless you get Mark back shortly, he will have a wasted journey. I suppose it could be rather embarrassing for you,” said Liza.

  “Yes, Liza, it is very embarrassing for me. Are you going to see Ada today?” asked the colonel.

  “Yes, very briefly though; Meg’s not faring too well today so I want to get back shortly,” said Liza.

  “I’m sorry to hear that; yes, a child needs its mother especially when they aren’t too well. Thank you for the posters; the description was very accurate. Did you write it?” asked the colonel.

  “No, I approved it, but Laurie added to what you had already put down. I’ll take my book if I may and go and see Ada for a while,” said Liza. She had the distinct impression that the colonel had been quizzing her.

  Bea was with Ada. Little Judith was attempting to walk, pulling herself around on the furniture. “It’s good news about Ben and Brigeta, isn’t it?” said Ada. “But I suppose you knew that before we did.”

  “Yes, it was mentioned the other day. Of course, they are very happy about it. So, there’s going to be another Benson child. The town really is growing,” said Liza.

  “Of course, all the talk has been about Mark Kendal. It’s said that somebody helped him get away. They’ve found signs that he’s on his way to Mexico. He managed to steal a horse but the tracks have been difficult to follow since the storm. Most of them were washed away, they’re not even sure he survived crossing the river as it was so flooded. But when the patrol gets back later today, we’ll know if he did get to the other side,” said Bea. “They’ve been gone a long while so I suppose he did reach land.”

  “I didn’t know he’d got a horse, but I suppose he wouldn’t be able to get away on foot,” said Liza. “I just thought I’d come and say hello to you as I’ve got to go and see to Meg, she’s not too well today, so I’ve got to get back.”

  “Of course, I hope she’s not too bad. She seems to have good times and bad,” said Ada. “Will we see you tomorrow? You know General Maybury is arriving, I know he’d like to see you.”

  “I’ll see how Meg is first,” said Liza and she left and made her way home to Meg and Zelma, feeling relieved to be leaving the fort behind her.

  Liza spent the rest of the day looking after Meg whilst Zelma made sure that the boys would be well fed when they arrived home from school.

  “Did you see the colonel?” asked Zelma.

  “Yes, he’s another one who seemed to be accusing me of something without actually saying it. He also thinks that Mark is headed towards Mexico, he asked if I thought that also,” said Liza.

  “What did you say?” asked Zelma.

  “I said that it seemed possible, but it was a long way to go,” said Liza.

  The rest of the afternoon and evening passed quietly. The boys were tired and were in bed relatively early and Zelma left for her home, whilst Liza spent a long time comforting Meg until finally she took her up with her to the bedroom and settled her in her cradle.

  Chapter 13

  It had been a tiring day and the bed was warm and inviting. It would be another night when she would miss Patrick, she always felt lonely when he was away but finally, Liza slept. Even in her sleeping state she felt that someone was in the bedroom and suddenly a hand was over her mouth, the bedclothes were thrown back and her nightdress roughly pulled up to her waist. She struggled and started pushing someone away as a smell of booze assailed her nostrils, she struggled even harder until Patrick’s slurred voice said, “No, my Liza, I’m going to show you the hard way that you’re still my wife,” and he forced himself into her, hurting her as he did so. If they had not been married it would have been regarded as rape, and that was how Liza felt. She was frightened, hurt and degraded all at the same time and when he had finally finished with her, she curled up into a ball and her tears flowed silently onto her pillow.

  As dawn approached Liza moved to get out of bed but she was grabbed and Patrick hissed at her. “No Liza, you stay here, I want my marital rights again now.” He forced himself on her again and she cried out in pain, but once again he put his hand over her mouth to keep her quiet.

  He rolled off her and Liza said between sobs, “Why are you doing this Patrick. You’ve never needed to force me.”

  “I want to make sure that you know exactly who your husband is,” he said quietly but emphatically.

  “I don’t understand, Patrick,” sobbed Liza.

  “Don’t you Liza; I’m sure you really do,” said Patrick quietly. He slid out of bed and lit one of the bedside candles. He looked down on Liza and a pang of conscious swept over him and then he thought about how deceitful she had been. Also his head really hurt and he left the bedroom, collecting his clothes on the way and could be heard getting ready to go to the fort.

  He came back up stairs and said, “I’ll be back tonight. I hope you’ll be ready for me, Liza.” He looked very pale and hung-over also she could see sadness in his eyes.

  It had to be what she had done for Mark, but she couldn’t understand why he was punishing her that way. He obviously wasn’t going to say anything to anybody; he was just going to make sure she suffered at night. She immediately decided that she was going to move into the spare bedroom that night with little Meg, who had slept peacefully throughout the night.

  Liza donned her robe and carried Meg down for her breakfast. Zelma arrived and took one look at Liza and asked what on earth had happened to her, but Liza just couldn’t tell her. “When the boys have gone to school, I’d like to soak for a long while in a hot bath.”

  “Patrick came home last night then,” said Zelma.

  “Yes, he’d had a drink or two and is a little worse for wear this morning,” said Liza.

  “Did he say anything about Mark?” asked Zelma.

  “No, he was home so late that he didn’t have the chance,” said Liza.

  Zelma knew that there was something wrong between Liza and Patrick but she was confident that they would work it all out. They always did because they loved one another, she thought.

  The boys came down and got ready for school and had their breakfast. As always Si arrived and the boys left for school together. The bath was filled and Liza slowly lowered herself into it. She lay back and closed her eyes and tried to relax. It wasn’t her Patrick last night; it was the drink that had made him that way. He hardly drank and he never drank whisky as he always said that it made him aggressive. The odd beer and a glass of wine or two were his limit. Perhaps tonight he would be back to his normal self and if he was then he would be so apologetic. They would talk a great deal but he would love her again, or so she hoped. But she would still make up the bed in the spare room just in case.

  As she was not feeling too well, she decided to stay at home and look after Meg. Zelma asked if she was really all right and when told that she was, Zelma said that she would visit Kathy again and she wanted to be measured for a new dress for Christmas. Liza also asked her to call in at the print shop to see if they were coping well.

  When Zelma returned, she said that there were many people in town who thought that she had helped Mark Kendal to get out of prison. “That’s one thing I don’t have to lie about; I didn’t help him out of prison. Let’s not worry about it, there’s nothing that anybody can do to me,” said Liza.

  The rest of the day carried on as normal. The boys came home at the usual time and enjoyed their supper. They played for a while and then went to bed. In between, Meg was fed, washed and c
hanged and Zelma left for her home. Liza made up the bed in the spare room and lit the fire as, since the storm, the weather had turned quite cold. She checked on the boys who were sound asleep, and Meg was also comfortable. Liza closed the bedroom door and hoped that Patrick would not be back that night. After a short while she heard him ride to the stable and then he came into the house. He slowly came up the stairs and she knew that he must have looked into the main bedroom; he crossed to the spare room and opened the door.

  “Oh Liza, just being in another room isn’t going to keep me away,” said Patrick.

  “You’ve been drinking again, Patrick; you know you get aggressive when you drink too much. Please just go and sleep it off in the other room and we can sort out whatever is bothering you tomorrow,” said Liza.

  “Oh, I don’t think so Liza,” he said as he started to take his uniform off.

  “Please, Patrick, I don’t want you tonight. I’m still sore from last night. Please go and sleep in the other room,” said Liza.

  “You’re my wife, Liza and I want you and I’m going to have you tonight and every night whenever I want, so get yourself ready,” said Patrick.

  “No, Patrick, just go away and we’ll talk tomorrow,” said Liza.

  But he wouldn’t and once again he forced himself onto Liza and hurt her again and when he had finished he said, “Now I’ll go into the other room, but I might be back.”

  Liza slid out of bed and curled up in the corner of the room and stayed like that the whole night. She didn’t know what to think because Patrick had never before shown that he was a vicious person. Her nightmares, unfortunately, returned and she was reliving her worst times in the Indian camp. When Patrick woke just after dawn, he went into the spare room and found Liza still crouching in the corner of the room. He picked her up gently and put her on the bed and covered her with the bedclothes. He looked down on her and saw the sadness, confusion and fear in her eyes and couldn’t bear to look any longer. He got ready and left early for the fort regretting what he had done but still feeling the absolute hurt of Liza’s deception.

  Once again Liza organised a hot bath for herself after the boys had left for school. Zelma was getting increasingly concerned as she felt that, unusually, Liza wasn’t telling her everything. She had always been the one person that Liza could confide in totally but for the past couple of days she had been very tight lipped.

  Liza soaked for a long while as Zelma busied herself around the house. As she stepped out of the bath and wrapped herself in a large towel, there was a knock at the door which Zelma answered to two privates who insisted on seeing Liza.

  Liza frowned wondering what they wanted, but she had a sinking feeling that it was not good news. “Show them into the sitting room please Zelma, and tell them I’ll be with them shortly.”

  She dried herself off, but her hair was still dripping; all she could do was don her green robe and push her hair out of her eyes. She and Zelma looked at one another as Liza prepared herself for what was to come. She went into the sitting room and smiled sweetly at the two men. They were a little taken aback by Liza’s appearance for which she apologised.

  “What can I do for you gentlemen?” she asked.

  “We’ve been instructed to escort you to see the colonel,” she was told.

  “Well gentlemen, I’m quite capable of getting to the colonel by myself if I was so inclined, but I have my day already planned, however if I have the time, I will call in on him,” said Liza.

  By that time Zelma had joined her in the sitting room.

  “He has General Maybury and two other colonels with him and we have been instructed to take you to them. We can’t go back without you,” one of them said.

  “Well, I’m afraid you are going to have to because it has not been in my plans for today to visit the fort. I’ve told you that if I have the time, I will call there, so please give my apologies to the general and colonels and tell them that I will see them maybe later today,” said Liza.

  “We can’t tell them that. You must come with us,” said one of the privates.

  “I beg your pardon. I may be a lieutenant’s wife, but I don’t come under the jurisdiction of the army and my time is my own. If you’re frightened of going back without me then I would suggest that you make yourselves comfortable and prepare to be absent without leave. Zelma, will you see if these gentlemen need any refreshments as I must now go and get ready for my day? Will you also make sure Meg is all right, she was sleeping peacefully as I came in here but she may need feeding again. Excuse me, gentlemen,” said Liza leaving the two privates open mouthed as she went to her bedroom.

  She could hear the two men talking amongst themselves and then they told Zelma that they would go back to the colonel and pass on Liza’s message hoping that they would not be shouted at too loudly. She heard them leave and came back down the stairs to see Zelma.

  “I believe I could be in some trouble,” said Liza. “I think it was very heavy handed sending two people to escort me into the fort. It’s obviously serious otherwise they would have just sent a message for me to pop in at any time soon.”

  “You handled it very well, Liza. Personally, I think that it was a cheek to do that and you had every right to put everyone in their place. I feel sorry for those two though. What are you going to do today?” said Zelma.

  “Well, unless I’m dragged off to the fort, I’m going to visit Kathy and Joe for a chat then I wanted to see how near ready my dress for Christmas was. After that, I have to call in at the print shop as Laurie and Greg really are covering themselves in ink more than their printing, then I might call and see Ada and Bea, after which I could have time to see the colonel and his friends. Will you be all right with Meg? I don’t really want to leave her today. In fact, I didn’t really want to leave home today, but I think it wise to be seen out and about. I’ll mention to Joe and Kathy what happened this morning. I know they will offer advice and tell nobody and I’ll also ask Kathy to keep you company because I’m not happy leaving Meg when you have nobody to send for help if you need it,” said Liza.

  Liza took a great deal of care over her appearance, with Zelma helping and encouraging her with what she thought were words of wisdom. Liza looked at Zelma and there was no need to tell her how much she loved her, it was obvious from her eyes and Zelma said, “I’ll always look after the boys and Meg for however long is needed. I think Patrick will be quite capable of looking after himself.”

  “If I handle it correctly, I will be back, Zelma,” said Liza. “If I don’t then the boys and Meg are yours. You will always have help from Kathy and Joe, and you must remind their godparents who they are. I don’t believe all that will be necessary though.”

  “You haven’t mentioned Patrick,” said Zelma. “Surely he will help.”

  “He is only Meg’s father and the way he is at the moment, it would be better if he wasn’t involved,” said Liza much to Zelma’s concern.

  Liza then made her way to the general store, well aware that the two privates were watching her. They seemed not to have had the courage to go back to the colonel.

  Kathy and Joe were outraged at the way the colonel was demanding Liza’s presence. “Do you know why they want you Liza?”

  “I can only assume it is because of Mark. I know that the colonel has intimated that because I visited Mark frequently and on the day he disappeared, that I have something to do with it, but I am annoyed that they are treating it like an interrogation instead of a chat about how he may have absconded. We all have our own ideas and sometimes discussion can solve a problem, but it would seem that I am being treated like a criminal,” said Liza. “Anyway, I told them that I would get there when I’m ready, if at all. They are stalking me at the moment.”

  “I have to say though, Liza, that many people think that you know more than you are saying, but once again, that is only because you visited him regularly,” said Joe.

  “I’ve left Meg with Zelma, of course, but I was going to stay at ho
me today until this happened so I would be grateful, Kathy, if you would go and stay with her just in case she has to get help for her. Meg really isn’t doing that well at the moment. In fact, she is very quiet which, in some ways, is more worrying than if she was screaming and crying,” said Liza.

  “Of course I will. Young Sam is working out well in the store. How are Greg and Laurie getting on?” asked Kathy.

  “Well, a great deal of ink seems to be used, mostly on them rather than the printing, but they really are getting to grips with it all. Laurie’s very good at writing, but of course she was a teacher at one time,” said Liza.

  “I didn’t know that,” said Kathy.

  “There you are. I do gossip on occasion,” laughed Liza. “Well, I’d better get on my way to my next port of call. I’ve told Zelma she’s in charge of the children if anything happens to me. I know you two will help as will their godparents.”

  “Surely it won’t come to that, Liza,” said Joe and Liza just shrugged her shoulders.

  Kathy and Joe knew better than to ask about Patrick as they could see that there was a problem and they put it down to the fact that he had very divided loyalties just at the moment, but they felt that he would always side with Liza if push came to shove.

  As Liza was making her way to the dressmaker, Ben rode up beside her. “Liza,” he said. “The general wants to see you. Didn’t two men come to get you earlier?”

  “I’ll tell you what I told them, Ben. I’m not in the army and I have my day already planned. I have said that when I have finished what I am doing I will come in and see the colonel then, if I have the time. I’m hoping to see the colonel’s wife and the captain’s wife first. I still have two calls to make here in town, so I won’t be with you until very much later. You can tell both General Maybury and the colonel that I go where I please, when I please, my time is my own,” said Liza.