Against All Odds

by Marian L. Jasper

  Liza rang the bell and the butler showed Charles Enderby to the door.

  Patrick came into the sitting room and stood looking at Liza with his hands on his hips. “That was well manipulated,” he said.

  “Thank you, but I thought that he was quite annoyed to start with. He soon thawed though,” said Liza.

  “And is the most beautiful woman in all New York going to be in his arms next week?” asked Patrick.

  “And who might that be?” asked Liza.

  “There is only one beautiful woman in New York and she’s sitting here in front of me,” said Patrick laughing.

  “Is some of that southern charm rubbing off on you, Patrick?” asked Liza.

  “I doubt it. Anyway, you got what you wanted and the O’Rourke’s and the Cavanaugh’s are where they wanted to be. Well done. Where are they going to stay whilst they are here? You obviously had somewhere in mind,” said Patrick.

  “Yes, the company has an empty employee’s house near the docks. It will be big enough for them all and I suppose it will be like a palace compared to where they have been for the last couple of months.”

  “You’re very much at home here and dealing with situations such as this, aren’t you?” said Patrick.

  “I wouldn’t say that, Patrick. It was just a situation that needed to be handled. It could have happened anywhere. Here or in Benson,” said Liza.

  “I don’t think so, Liza. I see you well in command here, are you ever going to be happy again back in Benson?” asked Patrick.

  “Don’t say that, Patrick, I am just as happy in Benson, in fact I’m much happier. You can’t really think that this is where I belong. I belong wherever you are and that is soon going to be Benson,” said Liza but she had an uneasy feeling that Patrick had a motive behind his question.

  The next day word went around that the Jackson could be seen very far off, limping towards port. It would hopefully arrive late that afternoon and Liza was busy telling Henry that the spare employees’ house would have tenants for about two weeks and that he was to charge Charles Enderby for the rent.

  “I’m afraid that it hasn’t been used for a couple of months or so,” he said and he called one of his clerks in to ask him to find out what condition the house was in.

  “It needs a good clean, but it has a functional oven and some tables and chairs. No bedding though,” said the clerk.

  “That will be all right,” said Liza. “They’ll be happy to clean the place and they have their own bedding. It will be a luxury for them compared to what they have had to put up with on their voyage here. Will you arrange for a small amount of money for them and also charge that to Charles Enderby.”

  “You managed to persuade him to do the right thing then, Liza,” said Henry and Liza nodded.

  “I’ll be back when the Jackson arrives to see them settled and see the French and Spanish passengers, so I’ll see you later, Henry,” said Liza.

  When Liza arrived home, Charles Enderby was waiting for her in the sitting room and was being entertained by Patrick and the boys. He had brought the new bond servant documents for Liza to see.

  “I told you that I didn’t need to see the conditions, Charles, I am sure that you can be trusted,” said Liza.

  “I would rather that you looked them over, Liza, I don’t want to be open to any criticism on this issue,” said Charles.

  By this time, the boys were bored with what was happening and asked permission to go and play. They politely said their farewells to Mr Enderby and Patrick also said that he would leave them to their documents.

  “What very polite sons you have, Liza. I thought that you only had one child,” said Charles.

  “Thank you for the compliment and I do only have one son, but we now have Patrick’s nephew with us for the duration and he is beginning to think of us as his parents I’m pleased to say,” replied Liza.

  It took a little while for Liza to read through the documents, but they seemed in order and she offered to get them signed and witnessed by a lawyer the next day if that was going to be acceptable.

  “The Jackson should finally be docking later today, I’ll make sure your employees are settled into their accommodation. They should be quite comfortable for the next two weeks. You really are a good and considerate employer, Charles, I’m sure they’ll be very happy working for you,” said Liza.

  Charles Enderby laughed and said, “You really do know how to play the game, don’t you, Liza? I look forward to crossing swords with you again in the future. I’ll take my leave of you now and if I don’t see you before, I’ll see you at your party.”

  The Jackson docked later that afternoon to the cheers of the dock workers. Patrick, Liza and the boys were there to greet the passengers and Charles’ assistant was also there to organise his stores.

  All the passengers were tired and dishevelled and seemed delighted to see the Kelly’s friendly faces beaming up at them. After all the greetings, they were taken to the house that they would call home for the next two weeks. The French and Spanish passengers also went with them as they also had nowhere else to go that night which Liza had not expected, but everyone seemed quite happy to squeeze in and they said that it was luxury in comparison to what they had put up with over the last couple of months.

  Liza told them that she would be back to visit them the next day when Mr O’Rourke and Mr Cavanaugh had to go with her to the lawyer to sign their new agreements, which they were attempting to read but Liza had already told them the good news about the revised conditions.

  The French passengers, the Dumas’, were going to make their way to California. They had been fruit farmers in France and they had decided that their Spanish friends, the Perez’s, would make ideal workers for them, so they were going to buy wagons and provisions for them all and make their way to where they could join a larger group. Liza said that she would see them also the next day as there were one or two things that they needed to know before they set off on their new adventure.

  When they were home, Liza said to Patrick that she was concerned as the French and Spanish families would be travelling a long way in Cherokee country. “I’ll get a couple of talismans made and write something that they could say if they are confronted which should keep them safe.” She spent the evening making Cherokee dream catchers, bound with black material and various coloured feathers which could be suspended so that they could be easily seen from a distance.

  She then started writing a note which could be learned by everyone on the wagons. In English, it read: ‘Your Green eyed legend from the past, who also stretches across time to your vision for the future, asks with respect that the people of the great Cherokee nation allow these travellers to pass through their lands in peace.’

  It took some time for her to translate it into Cherokee as Indians have no written language and so she had to write it phonetically, which she found to be a difficult task and when she had finished, she looked up triumphantly and found that Patrick had gone to sleep in the chair. She looked at the clock and saw that it was two o’clock in the morning.

  She gently roused him and slowly they went up to bed together and Patrick quickly undressed and fell into bed. He was asleep before Liza climbed into bed. He didn’t normally miss an opportunity to make love to her no matter what the time was, but tonight his tiredness had obviously overcome his normal urges.

  In the morning Myra visited and she and Liza went through all the details for the charity function the following week. They checked and double checked that everything was in hand from the musicians to the room settings and then they called the chef, the butler and the housekeeper up to the sitting room and went through the menus together with what was to be served for drink; how many extra staff were to be employed and the timing for everything that was to happen including any speeches which were to be made.

  The boys had been to the park with Bridget and Mary and when they returned, they went to their nursery and were practicing their writing. When she said goodbye
to Myra, she went in search of Patrick as she had no idea where he might be and she found him sitting quietly and thoughtfully in the library.

  “I’m so sorry, Patrick; that meeting took longer than I had expected. You could have joined us, although I think you would probably have been bored,” she said.

  “I wouldn’t have minded being bored with your meeting, Liza. It would probably have been more interesting than being bored in here all alone,” he said.

  “Oh Patrick, I am sorry and I’m suitably chastised. We’ll have some lunch shall we and then we’ve got to go to see Mr O’Rourke and Mr Cavanaugh.”

  “I’ve already had some lunch, Liza but I’ll sit with you whilst you have yours,” said Patrick.

  Liza smiled and pretended not to notice that he was not in a very good mood. “Not to worry, I’m not hungry, so shall we go to the docks now then?”

  “Do you need me with you then, Liza?” asked Patrick.

  “I always need you with me, Patrick. Besides don’t you want to see everybody again? We spent a great deal of time with them and they saved us and helped us through a very difficult time,” said Liza.

  Liza packed up her ‘dream catchers’ and the note that she would have to instruct them on. The bond servant conditions were already with Mr O’Rourke and the solicitor would be at the offices at four o’clock, so they still had plenty of time to carry out everything.

  Patrick was quiet in the carriage on the way to the docks but became more animated when they reached the house where everyone was staying. There were two wagons parked beside the premises and the Dumas’ and the Perez’s were keen to show them how they were organising their trek to California. They were very excited and had arranged that they would meet up with a large wagon train at Fort Laramie.

  When they had finished showing them the wagons, Liza told them that they would be passing through Cherokee lands and handed them the ‘dream catcher’ talisman.

  “If you put these in a prominent position on your wagons then it should stop any initial attacks on you. They will stop you and you are to tell them the following words.” Liza read to them the message she had compiled the previous evening and explained that as Indians had no written language, she had written it out precisely how it sounded and they must practice it and she would come and see them several times before they left New York to make sure they were able to say clearly what she had written.

  They asked her what it meant and when she told them, they stared at her and realised that the Cherokees believed that either she or someone in her family had supernatural powers. Liza laughed and said that the Indians could believe what they liked, but everyone knew that there was no such thing as supernatural powers.

  “If it helps you on your journey, then so be it,” she said.

  She and Patrick left them studying what they would have to say to the Cherokees and went with Mr O’Rourke and Mr Cavanaugh to the offices to see the solicitor. “Didn’t your wives want to be with you when you sign?” she asked.

  “No,” said Mr O’Rourke. “Thanks to you, we have all been able to read what they say, although they do seem slightly long winded in places, but they are very happy with these new terms.”

  The solicitor was delighted to see Liza again. “You’re looking much better today I’m pleased to say, Mrs Marchant.”

  Henry butted in and said, “She is Mrs Kelly now and this is her husband Lieutenant Kelly. I take it these are Mr O’Rourke and Mr Cavanaugh.”

  Liza confirmed the introductions and they all got down to the business in hand. The solicitor read the documents to everyone and very carefully, Mr O’Rourke and Mr Cavanaugh signed with their names, which made them both very proud.

  Once again, Patrick was silent in the carriage and when they arrived home they both spent some time with Matthew and John who wanted to tell them about how their day had been and also wanted to show what they had drawn and the games that they had played.

  When they were dressing for dinner, Patrick looked at her closely and said, “Is there absolutely nothing that you can’t fix for people, my Liza.” He sounded a little sarcastic.

  “Have I upset you, Patrick? You know that I would do nothing intentionally to upset you. So, please tell me what I have done. Is it because I ignored you earlier today?” she said.

  “No, my Liza, it’s just me being jealous that you aren’t spending more time with me, I suppose. And the fact that I wonder whether going back to Benson will be enough for you,” he said.

  “I can spend so much more time with you when we get home, and I’m really looking forward to that. If we didn’t have this charity function next week then we would be on our way back by now,” said Liza.

  They dined together that evening, Jamie was at one of the many functions that they had also been invited to but declined. They enjoyed the time alone, and any slight differences were forgotten.

  They spent a very loving night and Patrick apologised for being so grumpy that day and Liza hoped that her uneasiness would disappear by the morning.

  Jamie was already at breakfast when they came down the next morning and Patrick asked him if he’d had a good evening.

  “It was a little the same as all the others. You seem to have made quite an impression on that chap Enderby, Liza, all he seems to talk about is you and how clever you are. Everybody seems to be looking forward to coming here next week. It seems to me that they all will be bringing their pledges with them, so you won’t have to do much persuading. Have you written your speech yet?” he asked.

  “I won’t be writing a speech, I’ll just say whatever is needed at the time. If everybody is bringing their pledges, then what will you have to do, Jamie? I thought that your job was to persuade people to part with their money,” said Liza.

  “Ah but when I decided to come here, I didn’t know that you were so popular that people were willing to throw their money at you. I thought that I would have to twist some of their arms, but it seems that you have already done my job for me, Liza,” said Jamie.

  Liza was cringing at what Jamie was saying. It was confirming what Patrick had said the day before that there was nothing that she couldn’t fix. She decided that she wanted to spend the morning with the children and play with them in the garden and asked Patrick if he would like to join them and off they went to find what bats and balls they had to make the morning interesting and he was determined to run Liza off her feet and it turned out that he succeeded in that.

  Patrick and the boys helped Liza up the stairs after their energetic game and she wondered why she was the only one with red cheeks and felt as if she was going to collapse. Patrick, Matthew and John looked triumphant and each exchanged smug glances and Liza just couldn’t work out how they had all conspired to make her do all the work in the game.

  Liza was sitting in their bedroom with a cold flannel on her face and she asked Patrick how she was the only one who had been running around in circles. “That’s between me and the boys, Liza. So, you see; you can’t fix everything, can you?” he said with a great deal of amusement.

  When she had cooled down and had a light lunch, she and Patrick went to see Mr and Mrs Dumas and Mr and Mrs Perez. Liza wanted to make sure that they were at least trying to learn what was essential for them to say to any Cherokees they might come across on their journey to California. Their wagons were filling up with equipment and they were getting excited about their trip. They all had just about mastered what they had to say and Liza corrected some of the inflections which were necessary and every day she was going to visit them until they left New York.

  Just two days before her charity function they set out on their long trek to California. Patrick and the boys came with her to see them off and there were tears from the O’Rourke’s and the Cavanaugh’s and Liza was also dewy eyed. They had all been so close on the voyage and the thought that they probably would never meet again was quite daunting.

  ***

  The day of the function dawned and Liza was still trying to make
up her mind about which dress to wear until Patrick finally came to the rescue and told her that she should wear her most beautiful red dress that she had worn in Belfast, with the red ribbons in her hair along with the diamond studs to go with the rest of her jewellery. “When I saw you in that dress, it took my breath away, and I’m sure it will do again tonight.”

  “Thank you for helping me to make up my mind, Patrick. The O’Rourke’s and the Cavanaugh’s will be leaving on Monday and once we’ve seen them off, shall we make our own arrangements to leave?” said Liza.

  “If you are sure that it’s what you want, Liza,” said Patrick.

  “Of course it is, Patrick. I know it’s going to be a long and difficult journey coping with two small boys, but it’s going to be such a relief to get back to a normal life,” said Liza.

  The carriages began arriving and Liza and Patrick greeted the guests as they were announced. Myra and Henry stood next in line and finally, Jamie welcomed them. The music began and servants were circulating with canapés and drinks. Liza and Patrick took to the floor and then many others joined them. As always, the comments were that they were such a handsome couple. Both Liza and Patrick moved amongst the guests chatting to them as did Myra, Henry and Jamie. Food was served and Liza prepared herself to talk to her guests collectively.

  She stepped onto the dais and said: “I’d like to thank you all for coming and hope that you are all enjoying yourselves. You are, of course, aware that there has been an ulterior motive behind your invitations and that is to try to elicit money from you. The company of Marchant & Fuller have set up a charity in an attempt to give a better life to some of the more unfortunate children in Ireland. These children are not just those who are alone in the world as many of those can be found in orphanages. No, these are children who are in situations of abuse, mentally, physically and morally. We have found that these children can be aged from as young as two to sixteen. They are both boys and girls who have been sold into that life, in some cases by unscrupulous child minders, but also, sadly, by their parents. They are made to do unspeakable things with men who should know better.”