“I think I’ll couch that differently, Liza. I would appreciate it if you would come with me now though, it would make my life so much better,” said Ben.
“No Ben, I’m not here to make your life, or anybody else’s, better today. I’ve already had to make arrangements so that Zelma isn’t alone with Meg, just in case and I really would prefer to go straight home from town even without visiting Ada and Bea, which is probably what I will do,” said Liza.
“Please Liza, you’re only making yourself look guilty,” said Ben.
“I beg your pardon; guilty of what? As if I didn’t know. I’m just about fed up with all the gossip, which is all that it is. All right, I’ll come in to see them later on. I find it insulting that it was deemed necessary to bring me in under escort,” said Liza.
“Thank you Liza. What time may we expect you?” he asked.
“When I’m ready, Ben and you can tell them that,” said Liza and Ben just raised his eyebrows knowing that he was going to get nothing more definite from Liza. “And you can take those two privates, who have been dogging my footsteps all morning, back to the fort with you.”
Liza waved him goodbye and went off to Caroline Browne’s for a fitting of her Christmas party dress. She wondered whether she would ever wear it. Her next call was on Laurie and Greg. Greg was busy cleaning down part of the press and Laurie was writing an article on education as she had decided to write several standby articles on diverse subjects. Jake Smith had also brought in a request for wanted posters. Liza said she was planning another town meeting to update everyone on how the health scheme was going and several other important items on an agenda. In the newspaper she wanted to promote the health scheme and go into the detail of exactly how it worked. Business was slowly picking up.
Ben and the two privates had disappeared from town and Liza went back to the house to check on Meg and to get her buggy. Zelma and Kathy were enjoying looking after Meg between them. She was particularly calm that day so they were having a good gossip whilst taking it in turns to hold her.
“Ben also came into town to persuade me to go to the fort, which, reluctantly, I have now agreed to do so. He asked me what time I would be there and I told him that I’d go when I was ready,” said Liza.
“I suppose you would look guilty if you refused to go and see them,” said Kathy.
“That’s just what Ben said. Well, I suppose I had better get going,” said Liza.
She hitched up the pony to her buggy, sat in it for a minute to calm down and then set off for the fort. When she arrived, she first went to the colonel’s office and Ben asked her to wait a short while as he told a private to go to the colonel, who was in the small outer function room, and tell him that Mrs Kelly had arrived.
Liza asked Ben how Brigeta was feeling and he said that she was now suffering with morning sickness, which Liza sympathised with. The private returned saying all was ready and Ben told her that he would now take her over to the meeting.
Liza stared at Ben for a short while and then said, “I know my way to the function room, Ben.”
“I’m instructed to take you there, Liza,” said Ben.
“And if I decide I don’t want to go, what are you going to do about it? Forcibly take me there?” asked Liza.
“I have no idea what I would do, but I know you aren’t going to put me through that, Liza,” said Ben.
“Tell me, Ben, why didn’t they send Patrick to get me? Wouldn’t that have been the sensible thing to do?” said Liza.
“I don’t know why, Liza, I can only surmise as can you. Come on, let’s get this over with,” said Ben.
Ben picked up his hat and gloves and showed her out of the office. The whole of the fort seemed very quiet and empty and Liza could feel eyes watching from behind various windows as she walked across the parade ground to the function room. Ben opened the door for her and as she walked in, she noticed the captain and Patrick standing to attention at one side. They both were looking straight ahead and Ben went to the end of a long table and stood also at attention, but on the table in front of him were paper, pen and ink.
Sitting at the long table were the colonel, General Maybury and two other colonels and in the middle of the floor in front of the table was a solitary chair. Liza looked around and knew that they had no right to interview or question her in this manner, if at all; she was not in the army. If she was being accused of a crime then as a civilian, not only should she be tried in a civilian court, but she should also have legal representation.
The colonel started introducing her to those at the table. “Mrs Kelly, General Maybury you already know, but this is Colonel Soames,” he said indicating the man to the left of the general, “and Colonel Barnes,” to the right of the general. “Please take a seat, Mrs Kelly.”
Liza looked at the seat, walked over to it and moved it far over to one side, but still well within view of those at the table, but she was able to look directly at Patrick and the captain. A look of approval crossed Patrick’s face. He had heard how she had given them all the run around through the day. He had wanted to be the one to persuade her to come in but he had been ordered not to.
“It would be easier if your seat was put back where it was, Mrs Kelly,” said General Maybury.
“Do you have difficulty in seeing me from here then, General?” asked Liza. “It’s too much like a court martial if I sit there and that couldn’t possibly be the case as I’m not army personnel.”
The general and the three colonels looked uneasily at her. Ben remained looking at his paper and Patrick was showing signs of pride in his wife, although it wasn’t completely obvious. The captain just stared ahead.
“We need to ask you some questions about Lieutenant Kendal’s escape from here,” said General Maybury.
“I’m sorry, I’m unable to answer any questions on that,” said Liza.
“That is not what we have heard, Mrs Kelly. We have been reliably informed that you spent a great deal of time visiting him and indeed, were the last person to see him before he escaped. We want to know how he escaped and where he was heading, and who else helped him,” said General Maybury aggressively.
She slowly looked from one person to another finally settling on Patrick and he knew that she would be talking to him even though there were others in the room.
“Some years ago,” she started, “I found myself pushed unceremoniously into an Indian tepee and in front of me was the chief of the tribe as well as three chiefs from other Cherokee villages. Also there was the medicine man and the person who had vowed to protect me. They all stared straight ahead, including my protector, and I was forced to my knees in front of them. I had no idea what was happening, nobody had told me, nobody had warned me. I did not know what rule I had broken, I was always breaking the rules but I was learning what they were the painful way.”
“Mrs Kelly, that has nothing to do with what this is all about,” said the general.
Liza just carried on talking to Patrick and ignoring the interruption. “I was very frightened but I was getting used to that feeling. When I got away from that life and found my way to this town, I thought that I would never be in such a situation like that again and I was promised the same by the man who now says that he protects me. I look around here today and I see that history is repeating itself; the only differences are that my protector in the Indian village never actually told me that he loved me and that I no longer get beaten, but there are far worse punishments than being given a beating.”
There was silence when she had finished and Patrick was looking straight into her eyes and she could see that he was asking her forgiveness.
“Of course, I’m sorry for what you had to go through in the past, but I can’t see how it is relevant to today’s hearing?” asked General Maybury.
“Can’t you, General? The Indians had no right to take me and treat me in the way they did, and neither do you. I am the wife of one of your lieutenants: I am not in your army and am, therefore, not subje
ct to one of your hearings. I try not to break the rules and so far, I don’t believe that I have. I’m going home now; I have a sick child who needs my attention.”
Liza got up and for the second time, General Maybury watched as she walked out of one of his hearings. She stopped at the door and turned to the colonel saying, “Now, Colonel, if you had asked me nicely, I would have told you everything that I know and surmise. Good day gentlemen.”
Patrick raised his eyes to heaven; he was longing to follow her out of the room but hadn’t been given permission to leave. She had turned the tables on them and they knew she was right. By the time Patrick could leave, Liza had already got to the stable and was on her way home.
Liza arrived home just before the boys came in from school and both Zelma and Kathy were relieved to see her.
“What happened? We have been so worried for you,” said Kathy.
“It was a little unnerving, but I told them that I was not subject to one of their hearings and walked out. Although on the way, I did say to the colonel that, if he had asked me nicely, I would have told him what I know and surmise. And then I left,” said Liza.
“Who was there?” asked Kathy.
“Obviously the colonel and General Maybury were there, as well as Colonel Soames and Colonel Barnes. Patrick was also there as was the captain and Ben. Quite a room full really and all totally unnecessary,” said Liza.
“Do you think they will call you back again?” asked Zelma.
“They can call me but I won’t go, but I will see the colonel and talk to him if he asks me nicely,” smiled Liza.
The boys arrived home from school and Kathy and Zelma saw to their supper whilst Liza looked after Meg, who was a little fretful again. “I’m hoping that I won’t have to go out again tomorrow so you two can have a day off together, although I would be grateful if you would let them know at the print shop that I will be home if they need me.”
“Is Patrick home tonight?” asked Zelma.
“I don’t know. I can get him some supper later if he is,” said Liza. She wondered what he would be like when he got home. She had made up her mind during the day that the time had perhaps come for them to separate. She loved him but she was not going to be subjected to his aggression for the rest of her life but that decision could not take place whilst little Meg was with them, after that she would take the boys with her and initially go to New York, hoping that Mark would have left by then, and then on to Belfast and lick her wounds both physically and mentally.
Kathy went back to the general store and Zelma to her home. The boys were getting ready for bed when Patrick arrived home and they were delighted to see him as he had only been home recently after they were asleep. They threw themselves at him and asked many questions about Mark and what he had been doing to try to find him. He told them that for the last couple of days he had been on duty at the fort so he had not been searching recently. He read to them and soon they were asleep.
Patrick came down and said, “I was proud of you today Liza. You were right; they should not have treated you that way. I wanted to come and bring you in to see the colonel, but I was refused permission to leave, instead they sent those two idiots and then poor Ben had the unenviable task of collaring you but you came in yourself and many admired you for that.”
“Yes, it’s been a difficult day and I’ve made a decision which has also been difficult. When our dear little Meg has gone I’ll be taking the boys and leaving here. This is no longer a happy home for me. I loved this town but only because it was our town, but it no longer is I’m afraid and I cannot live here feeling the way I do now. I should be grateful if whilst I have to remain here, that you take what you term your marital rights more gently, I won’t refuse you whilst I have to remain here, although I would prefer it if you were to stay away from my bed.”
Patrick’s face clouded with pain, “Oh Liza that does sound so very final. I really do apologise for what I have put you through these last couple of nights.”
“I don’t really know what it is that I have done to upset you so but I will not allow myself to be treated as a cheap whore and our differences would eventually show to the boys and I can’t have them living in a household with such a terrible atmosphere,” said Liza.
Patrick sat down at the table and looked down for a long while before he said, “These last few months must have been purgatory for you, Liza.”
“I don’t know what you mean Patrick,” said Liza with a puzzled look on her face.
“Come on Liza; please don’t treat me like an idiot. You have lived with me, slept with me, allowed me to make love to you and all the while you’ve been in love with someone else,” said Patrick.
Understanding was beginning to dawn on Liza. “Would you believe me if I told you that there is nobody else. I have never stopped loving you, even now when I am proposing to leave you, I still love you and it is breaking my heart.”
“Liza, I know that you helped Mark escape and by doing that you jeopardised our marriage, our family and your freedom and there would be only one reason why you would do that and that is because you love him,” said Patrick.
“Oh Patrick, you are so terribly wrong. I can assure you that I don’t love Mark. I liked him very much, as did most people including you. Please believe me that I love you just as much as I did when I first saw you, if not more so now,” said Liza. “We have had a very big misunderstanding, Patrick, is there a chance that we can put it right now?”
“Then why did you do it? Anything that you do you have always had a good reason for, so what other reason did you have?” asked Patrick.
“You are assuming my involvement just as others are. Sadly it would appear that you have lost all trust in me, so perhaps it would be best for me to go back to another life and take the boys with me. It will leave you free to find someone less complicated,” said Liza quietly.
“That also means that you will be free to find someone else Liza, unless of course you already have,” said Patrick bitterly.
“I find it difficult to understand how you could possibly think that I would want to be with someone else. You were right when you said that I live with you, sleep with you but you were wrong when you said that I allow you to make love to me, we have always made love to one another, it has never been one sided. I am so sorry that we are going to end like this; I always imagined that we would grow very old together and still find pleasure in one another,” said Liza with a sob in her voice.
Meg started crying and Liza picked her up and held her closely trying not to let her sense the sadness that she felt. Liza fed her and changed her and was about to put her in her cradle when Patrick put his hands out and took little Meg in his arms and he kissed her and held her to his chest.
“I want us to grow very old together, Liza. Will you let me put you to bed?” said Patrick.
Liza smiled with a little sparkle coming into her eyes. “Oh Patrick, if only it was that simple. I would love us to get back to what we were, but I think your jealousy and mistrust of me will eventually separate us, so it may be better to go our different ways now.”
“I don’t want that to happen,” said Patrick, “and I can see from your eyes that you really don’t want that to happen either. Please let’s not do anything drastic and let me try to show you that I know that I was wrong and that I should never have acted so badly towards you. You really have never given me reason to mistrust you, but I have seen how others look at you and I thought for once your head had been turned and that really hurt.”
Liza got up from her chair and went over to Patrick and put her arms around him and kissed him on the head. He lifted Meg up and put her in her cradle and then said, “Let’s go and make up, Liza; we know how to do that so well.”
“I’m afraid I’m in a very fragile condition after your excesses of the last two nights, Patrick,” said Liza accusingly.
“I’m so very sorry Liza. I promise I’ll be very gentle with you tonight,” said Patrick.
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bsp; “I’m not sure that being gentle will do any good,” said Liza quietly as she picked up Meg’s cradle and made her way upstairs. She had never been frightened of Patrick until the last couple of days and she hoped that she didn’t need to worry tonight but it didn’t matter how gentle Patrick was, Liza was very uncomfortable. Eventually Patrick realised that the small sounds coming from Liza were not sounds of pleasure but those of discomfort. He had, however, got to the pitch where it was impossible for him to stop and when he had finished he was so sorry that he had again inflicted pain on her.
“Oh Liza, I really did some damage to you. I promise I will never drink whisky again and will never ever treat you the way I have done. I do love you Liza,” and for the first time in days, they both slept peacefully in one another’s arms. Before she went to sleep Liza felt that, hopefully, their life was getting back to normal and they were a happy family again.
Morning came and Liza started to move but Patrick stopped her and told her that she was going to have a lie in bed that morning and he would take Meg down to Zelma when she arrived and he was going to organise the boys getting ready for school. He didn’t have to go to the fort until nearly lunchtime and he would see if Liza wanted to visit the colonel and if so, he would ride in with her. Also he wanted Liza to stay in bed until he could see in daylight the damage he had done to her.
Smiling, Patrick staggered upstairs with breakfast for her. “Patrick, you really are spoiling me. If you carry on like this I think it will possibly go some way to my forgiving you, but you are going to have to bring me breakfast every day for a month,” joked Liza and Patrick gently pretended to punch her on the chin. He had the feeling that his Liza was back with him, he prayed that she was.
Matthew and John, followed by Si, bounded up the stairs to see Liza and say goodbye before they went to school. They all bounced on the bed shouting their excitement as they enjoyed spending their days with the other children of the town. Finally peace reigned and Patrick came back telling Liza that Meg was fit and happy with Zelma at the moment.
Against All Odds Page 69