“Why not get your boys down here also, we will guard them with our lives, I can assure you of that,” said Mrs Cavanaugh.
They decided that they would definitely hold the lesson outside and if everything seemed peaceful then Patrick would bring the boys down. “We’ll then all have lunch together and offer some to the sailors who are nearby.”
When Mr O’Rourke and Mr Cavanaugh came back from their four hour rowing stint, Patrick brought the boys and Mary down for lunch with the passengers. Liza was sitting on the hold reading to everyone and occasionally translating some of the more difficult paragraphs. The ladies then brought up several large pots of stew for everyone and the sailors were invited to help themselves and many of them did apart from a very small group of around four who refused to have anything to do with the passengers. Even the captain and the first mate dipped their bread in the pots.
“Now we know who to look out for,” the captain said to Patrick eyeing the four sailors who were mumbling amongst themselves. The O’Rourke’s and the Cavanaugh’s had also seen who the trouble makers were and they were going to make the other passengers aware of the men Liza needed to be guarded against.
During the course of that day a temporary main mast was placed in position and with great bravery, some of the sailors climbed the torn rigging and managed to get a very battered and mended sail in place. This meant that with the right wind they could aim towards the shipping lanes without the constant use of the rowing boats. A great cheer went up when the ship started moving without the row boats.
Liza had been on show all day and no move had been made to harm her, but nobody was going to take any chances and Liza was accompanied to her cabin by half a dozen people. Patrick, Mary and the boys were also escorted and they carried their supper, which was just bread and cheese, each was also given an apple and a pot of coffee. Things seemed to be getting back to some form of normality.
Patrick rested after his supper while the boys were made ready for bed. Both Mary and Liza got into their nightclothes and when they were dressed, they roused Patrick who positioned himself in a chair facing the door with his gun at the ready. Liza sat with him for a while and gave him a cup of lukewarm coffee and they talked quietly of the things they would do in New York and how much they wanted to get back to their normal life in Benson. They also wondered how late they would be getting to New York and if anyone was now looking for them, because it will have been noticed that they were nowhere to be seen in the normal shipping lanes.
Liza went to bed and slept until four o’clock in the morning. Patrick appeared to be still awake, although there had been no guarantee that he hadn’t dropped off on occasion. She kissed him and told him to go to bed and that she would stand guard for the rest of the night.
“I do worry about you Liza; you do realise that you are the target and that I am meant to be guarding you, not the other way around,” said Patrick.
“Yes, I know that,” said Liza. “But as I’m already awake I might as well take over. There’s no point in us both being awake.”
Patrick was very tired, his hands were hurting and he was trying desperately to see the logic in what Liza was saying but he couldn’t. It must be the bump on Liza’s head, he thought, she’s not thinking clearly.
Liza was laughing quietly at the look on Patrick’s face. “It’s all right Patrick, I’m not going mad, but you do need your sleep because I need you to guard me through the day. I’m going to sit in your chair and watch the door, but I’m going to move it to the side as I don’t want to be a direct target, but I have a feeling that we aren’t going to be bothered anymore. The captain has identified the trouble makers so he’s keeping an eye on them.”
“I wish you’d told me that before I sat up all night,” said Patrick.
“Well, it’s only a thought,” said Liza as she settled herself in the chair where she stayed for a couple of hours. After that time she washed and dressed ready for the day. Patrick was sleeping and Liza decided not to wake him. Mary woke and she too washed and dressed quietly. The boys were rousing and mumbling to one another, Liza told them to stay quiet as daddy was catching up on his sleep. It had been an uneventful night and Liza decided that in future they would all go to bed as usual and there was no need to stand guard.
It took another two days for the ship to limp back into the shipping lanes and during those days Liza made a show of being seen by all the crew. The four dissenters continued to mumble amongst themselves but very little notice was being taken of them. Patrick still kept his gun at the ready, but there was a more relaxed atmosphere on the ship as although it looked battered and bruised, it was beginning to make good headway and the captain was hoping to intercept another vessel which would enable them to get some fresh food and water on board. They would be able to make it to New York now, but they were going to be very late in arriving which would soon be creating great concern.
On the third day, a ship was sighted en route to New York. A great cheer went up as the ship changed course towards them. As it neared, the captain recognised it as one of the Marchant & Fuller cargo ships which sailed out of Plymouth. The captain asked Liza and Patrick to join him in the room he and the first mate were currently using for both sleeping and planning.
“I believe that it would be in everyone’s best interest if you were to transfer to the other ship for the remainder of your voyage,” said the captain. “I will have to clear this suggestion with the captain, but hopefully there will be no problem.”
“Are you thinking of transferring all the passengers,” asked Liza.
“No, just you and your family, Liza,” said the captain who had now become on first names terms with her as well as Patrick.
“I realise that I have created some problems for you and the crew,” said Liza. “I know that the storm had nothing to do with me, but if I hadn’t been on board then you wouldn’t have had to worry and protect me from your most superstitious sailors. So, I understand why you want to get rid of me, but I’m concerned that I’m leaving the other passengers high and dry. I think it would be a mistake to give the appearance that I’m frightened.”
“I think that it’s a good idea,” said Patrick. “If the other captain agrees, it’s probably going to ease a great many difficulties. All the crew can get on with the business in hand without the mumblings and dissention that we’ve been hearing every day.”
“How will we get the boys over there; they’re too small to climb the rope ladders, in fact, I’m not sure that I can,” said Liza.
“There’s a form of boson’s chair that can be used with a rope secured from one ship to the other. We have a very calm sea at the moment, so it will not be too difficult. You can go with one child and Patrick can go with the other, and your maid will be fine on her own,” said the captain.
Liza thought that such a means of transfer was a little daunting and she wondered whether Mary would be able to cope with it on her own.
“Your luggage can go by row boat and it can be hoisted up, but we have yet to see the captain, so I’ll let you know what he says,” said the captain.
“We’ll leave you to it then, Captain,” said Patrick. “We’ll go and organise our luggage just in case we’re leaving you.”
They saw the other captain arrive and they went into their cabin and told Mary what was being planned.
Captain Noakes from the other ship, the Heritage, agreed that it was probably for the best if he took the Kelly family and their maid onto his ship. It was explained to him that the passengers included one of the owners of the shipping line. “I’ve already got one pompous passenger, what’s another few,” he said.
“I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised, Captain, I haven’t found the Kelly’s at all pompous, far from it,” said Captain Forde.
Mary was worried about how they would reach the other ship, but was determined not to show her fear to the boys and she packed their belongings whilst Liza and Patrick went to see the other passengers to tell them that
they would be leaving the ship but would see them in New York.
“I don’t like the way those sailors are talking to the others from the other ship,” said Mr O’Rourke. “It would be just as well to get you off this ship as soon as possible. Don’t you worry about us, we’ll get to New York in one piece and we’ll see you there.”
“I want to take your contracts with me,” said Liza, “and I’ll make sure I’ll see your employer as soon as I can and hopefully, get something sorted out for you by the time you arrive. I can’t promise that it will all work out as it should, but I’ll do my best. And please, will you all carry on with your reading and speaking to the French and Spanish people in English.”
“Of course, we will,” said Mrs Cavanaugh. “We’ve got this far and we’re not going to give up now.”
Whilst Patrick and Liza strolled back to the cabin, they looked across to the Heritage and were greatly surprised to see Jamie Edgeworth standing on the deck. At least they thought that it was him. “Are we seeing things?” asked Patrick.
“What’s he doing here? This is just what happened to me years ago. Wherever I went, there was Jamie Edgeworth,” said Liza.
“It’s just another added complication, Liza, but nothing that’s going to interfere with what we have. I know he’ll never come between us and all we have to do is look forward to getting to Benson, he won’t follow you there, it’s not big enough for him,” said Patrick.
Captain Noakes returned to his ship to organise the arrival of his extra passengers. He told Lord Edgeworth that he was going to have to move in with him and the first mate in the largest cabin, so that the other two cabins could be used by the shipping owner’s family. He expected an unpleasant argument, but instead he just said, “Anything for Liza.”
“You know Mrs Kelly then,” said Captain Noakes.
“I know the whole family, Captain. I’ll go and sort out my luggage,” he said.
Liza was helping Mary sort out the boys and luggage whilst Patrick was watching sailors bring across the very heavy large rope which would support the chair that they would be using to get from one ship to the other. He was naturally concerned that it was going to be strong enough to carry them, but was assured that this was one of the normal ways of transferring people.
The time had come for the first person to use the chair and with her heart in her mouth, Liza volunteered to go. “I want to go with you, mummy, please let me come with you,” said Matthew.
“What do you think, Patrick? Do you think it would be better if I did this alone? If the chair proves safe then Matthew can come over with Mary,” said Liza.
“No, I’ll go first,” said Patrick, “and John can either go with you or with Mary.”
Captain Forde came over and said, “I can assure you it is perfectly safe,” and he instructed one of the sailors to make the trip there and back, which he did.
Liza and Matthew were then strapped into the seat and the series of ropes were manipulating them across the ocean. The ships were holding at around twenty feet apart and when they were a quarter of the way across, a cry went up and Liza could see somebody raising an axe and aiming it towards the main rope holding the chair. A shot rang out and the sailor fell to the deck. Liza and Matthew were suspended unmoving over the sea. Liza could see Patrick and Captain Forde studying the rope and she knew it had been damaged. After a discussion, they began moving again and finally reached the Heritage. Matthew was lifted from her and she was then helped onto the deck.
Jamie was standing in front of her and said, “Somebody didn’t want you to get here, Liza. Have you made an enemy?”
She was shaking so much that she couldn’t answer him and she pulled Matthew to her and held him closely and then turned and waved to Patrick to let him know that she was all right.
Captain Noakes came up to her and welcomed her aboard. He told her that they were going to have to put another rope across before anyone else could come over. He reassured her that there were no superstitious sailors on his ship so she should have an uneventful voyage to New York.
“Good heavens Liza; whatever has happened to you? You’ve got a black eye and a cut on your head. Has Patrick not been looking after you?”
Matthew was pleased to see his Uncle Jamie and he went into great details about how they had been in the storm and he and John had thought that his mummy and daddy were dead, buried under a huge table with the ships mast on top of it.
As yet Liza had said nothing to Jamie, she was still shaking from the transfer experience.
Having heard what Matthew had told him, Jamie said, “You have been in the wars, haven’t you both. You don’t look too well, Liza. You’re not going to be sick, are you?”
The problem was that Liza thought that she might be and she was desperately trying to hold on to whatever was in her stomach, which wasn’t much. She sat on one of the bulkheads and tried breathing deeply, but to no avail and luckily Jamie grabbed a bucket as he witnessed the indignity of Liza throwing up into it.
As with most children, Matthew took great pleasure in looking into Liza’s sick bucket, Jamie grabbed him by the shoulder and moved him away shaking his head as he handed Liza a pitcher of water to drink and to bathe her face with.
“Children have such disgusting ideas of what is interesting,” said Jamie. “Are you feeling better now?” He seemed quite amused by the experience.
Captain Noakes was standing nearby and was astounded by how this pompous, sanctimonious and overbearing English aristocrat had assisted Mrs Kelly with such a great deal of care and concern over such a basic need. There was obviously something that he didn’t know about between these two. He also remembered that there had been no argument in his giving up his paid for quarters to the Kelly family. He wondered whether Lieutenant Kelly was aware of the affection that his wife was held in by Lord Edgeworth. He had better watch this situation as he wanted no trouble aboard his ship.
The colour was returning to Liza’s face and she thanked Jamie and also apologised to him. “What are you doing here Jamie?” she asked.
“Well, Liza, having been accepted as one of the patrons for your charity and knowing that there was going to be a very large fund raiser in New York, I decided that as the Americans can’t resist an English title, I could increase the money raised considerably by attending such a function. I had not expected to come across you on the high seas though. I had thought that I would end up on your doorstep and beg a bed for a night or two and if that was impossible, I would book into a hotel.”
As all this seemed quite logical to Liza, she began to wonder whether her bump on the head was still affecting her as she had never before found anything that Jamie said logical.
Matthew was busy telling Captain Noakes about how his mummy and daddy had been knocked unconscious during the storm and how he and his cousin had thought they were dead. He was also informing him of how he and his cousin had watched all the splinters being taken from his daddy’s back and how brave his daddy had been as he knew that it had hurt his daddy a lot, but he didn’t cry once. His mummy was brave too as the bump and cut on her head must have hurt a lot, but all that had happened to her was that she was still finding it difficult to walk straight and she had a headache.
Captain Noakes looked up at Liza and thought, no Mrs Kelly, you have a lot more than not walking straight and a headache. I think you are still concussed and those superstitious idiots haven’t helped.
Liza stood and walked towards the captain and asked what was currently happening.
“Our boat is taking another rope across to the Jackson, and we will set up the boson’s chair again to bring the rest of your party over, but we are going to leave our sailors on board to come over with your other child and then with your maid. Your husband will be on his way over here in the row boat. It seems that your other child will take orders from our sailors but is panicking at the thought of coming over with just your maid. And your maid is the same, she would prefer to come over with a sailor than by
herself and I can understand that, especially when they saw what happened to you and your son.”
“Do you know what happened to the sailor who did this?” asked Liza.
“I’m afraid he died, Mrs Kelly; the captain had to shoot him. He’s a sailor that I have had on my ship before, and he really was touched in the head. He was a good worker, but had some very strange thoughts which could only be described as peculiar. I refused to have him aboard my ship.”
“I’m so sorry that someone has died because of me. These superstitions are so disastrous. I presume his cohorts now have their feet securely on the ground,” said Liza.
“If you don’t mind me saying, Mrs Kelly, you don’t look at all well. I’ll show you to your cabin so that you can lie down. Your husband will be here shortly, probably in half an hour or so,” he said.
Liza managed to flash him a smile and at the same time her eyes caught the sunlight and at last the captain could see why the sailors found her fascinating both for good, and for evil for those with strange superstitious ideas.
“Matthew,” she called and Jamie piped up.
“Don’t worry about him, Liza, I’ll look after him until Patrick gets here,” and once again Captain Noakes could only marvel at the change in this man but it made him uneasy.
Liza was so relieved to reach her cabin; she thanked the captain, kicked off her shoes and lay down on the bed with a great sigh of relief. She was concerned about John and Mary coming over, but Patrick would be helping with them and she couldn’t wait to have her family altogether again.
Within half an hour Patrick appeared in the cabin and Liza was so pleased to see him that all she could do was cry. She sat up and her nose started running and Patrick had to find something to wipe it with.
“Oh Liza, what do you look like?”
Against All Odds Page 5
