“Initially we were alerted to this trade by a friend and my husband and this friend tracked down a house where three of these children were being kept and sexually abused by so called clients. To cut a very long story short, these three were taken out of that environment with the man running the establishment subsequently suffering from a broken jaw which was the result of the way in which my husband rescued these three.”
A cheer and chorus of ‘well done’ echoed around the room aimed at Patrick, and Liza continued.
“These children were brought to my house, cleaned up and examined by a doctor who in turn took them to his rather large house to look after, which we thought would be adequate. This was just the beginning of what has turned out to be a very big problem, as the word went around that a tall, handsome American soldier was rescuing children from their abusive lives. How so many children knew where to find Patrick is beyond us, but we had children turning up on our doorstep in droves. We had little ones desperately holding onto the hands of just marginally larger ones and all had a terrible look of fear on their faces, but tinged with hope. Who knows what would have happened to them if they had been found by their abusers, and how do we know how many were caught.”
“The doctor’s house quickly became overcrowded and just before Patrick and I left Belfast, the numbers had grown to over one hundred and fifty. This is where our good friend, Lord Edgeworth, stepped in and has allowed us the use of one of his large properties to house these poor children and try to get them back into as normal a life as possible.”
Another chorus of ‘well done’ swept around the room this time aimed at Jamie.
“Our company is funding their food, clothes and general needs, but there is only so much that we can do. We are prepared to always put money to one side for this cause, however we do need help, and so do these poor unfortunate children.”
"There are several ways that you could help if you are willing to do so and they are: to make a donation towards the upkeep of these children or make a commitment to let us have money on a regular basis say monthly or annually. Another way of helping would be to bring a child over and welcome them into your homes as a family member, but that would be a very big commitment. Should anyone wish to do this, we would do our best to make sure that the child is not so damaged as to bring disaster onto your household, but there could be no guarantees.
“The final option could perhaps be that they are funded as bond servants. Some people think that bond servants are no better than slaves, but it does give them a way out of their difficulties and if it is handled correctly then it would be a wonderful opportunity for the working age children and answer the need that we seem to have over here for staff. Mr Charles Enderby, who is here tonight, knows how well this system can work as he has implemented these procedures for many years. He knows that it is easy to work this out and in the long term, costs nothing as, in effect, one would be paying their salaries in advance by covering their passage to America and other incidentals and from that, work out how many years they would need to be indentured. As I said, Mr Enderby would be the ideal advocate of such procedures as he can be held up as a person who does not take advantage of such workers, he would most certainly not be accepted in society if he did, so you could rest assured that he could give anyone interested sound advice.”
The look on Charles Enderby’s face was a picture as Liza had successfully scuppered any chance he had of reverting to his old ways in the future. He quickly regained his composure and smiled at those surrounding him, and then looked up at Liza and bowed to her. Patrick could hardly contain his pride and amusement and thought, Well done Liza, he’ll never dare take advantage again.
“We all think of indentured servants as, well servants. But if you look around this room, you will see builders, printers, store owners, saddlers, farmers, even security people and I know that most of you look outside this wonderful country of opportunity for staff, so why not indenture them and save them from a soul destroying life of disease and ultimately, early death because that is what seems to happen to these unfortunate people. But we have caught them young enough to make a difference.”
“As I have said before, what our people in Ireland would try to do is sort out those who could benefit from a total change of environment from those who could now sadly, only stay within the love and care that is currently being given to them.”
“Anyone who makes the decision to bring over one of these youngsters can rest assured that Marchant & Fuller will not be making a profit from their passage to America, and as I have said, the company also donates towards the upkeep of these children whilst they are in Ireland.”
“Unfortunately, we do also believe that there are many countries where this practice of abuse takes place, no doubt also in this country, so we do not know where our help will be needed next, but first things first and let us get started where we already know.”
“Mrs Myra Mahoney has organised several of her friends to take your names and identify what you may be prepared to do to help, so if you would like to see her then she would be more than pleased to point you in the right direction. I have taken up enough of your time, but please, feel free to approach me with any queries which you may have, and do carry on enjoying yourselves this evening and I am overjoyed to see so many of you here tonight.”
She stepped off the dais to loud applause and walked amongst her guests until she came to Henry and asked him to bring a security guard over. Both Patrick and Henry told her that she must not worry as they had already spotted the problem and informed the security guards.
There were four people who nobody seemed to know. There were two men and two women and from the dais Liza had noticed that they had left the room and then reappeared a little while later with the men’s pockets noticeably heavier. Their evening clothes were clean but cheap and ill-fitting and although Liza thought that cheap clothes should not bar anyone from a function, they would hardly be there to give generously to the charity.
How they gained entry would have to be looked into, but it was now that the situation had to be handled. As two security guards were closing in on the foursome, one of the men walked rapidly towards Liza and seeing this, Patrick stood in front of her and Henry took up a position to her left. Jamie had a habit of always watching were Liza was and saw that the ranks were closing around her and immediately moved over to shield her on her right hand side.
Myra saw all this happening and it reminded her of many years ago when Edward Fuller and Liza’s friend, Kate, had moved to protect Liza from Lord Edgeworth, and now it was Lord Edgeworth who was assisting in protecting her from someone who Myra had never seen before.
“It’s little Liza Donaghue, isn’t it?” said the man in a very false Liverpool accent and incorrectly emphasised the G in the surname. “I thought it was you when I received my invitation.”
Liza peeped around Patrick and stared at the man with total non-recognition. A security guard was moving towards them, two others were talking to the three people at the other side of the room.
“You don’t recognise me, do you, Liza?” he said.
“No, you’re right, I’m afraid I don’t recognise you,” said Liza and always one to be polite, she smiled at him.
“It’s me, Gilbert Reed, we used to see each other in the park near our houses when we were out with our nannies,” he said and his accent was getting increasingly implausible.
“Ah yes, when I was with my older brother and younger sister. They were happy days,” said Liza and everyone around her knew that she had neither brother nor sister.
“Yes, that’s right. I forget their names now, but I remember you. You seem to have lost your accent,” he said.
“And you seem to have gained yours, Mr Reed,” said Liza sweetly as she nodded towards the security guard, who quietly took hold of the man and marched him away to join his friends.
The library and the small study had been ransacked and any silver that was there had been taken, Liza hop
ed that they hadn’t got to the bedrooms and was concerned for the welfare of the children although Mary and Bridget were with them for the duration of the party. She was also concerned lest they had invaded the privacy of hers and Patrick’s bedroom, as there were items there that would break her heart if they were taken, or even tampered with. Whilst she circulated amongst the guests, Patrick, Jamie, Henry and a security guard checked the rest of the house, which appeared to be intact. They obviously had not had time to go further than the floor that they were on already.
The security team had obviously not done their job correctly and Liza was going to have to ask Myra where she had employed them from and who had recommended them to her. She would have a word with Henry the next day as there was obviously a market for genuinely honest security protection in New York. There were very few people who knew Liza’s maiden name, or who knew that she originated from Liverpool, especially in New York and she would therefore have to find out who had given out background information on her. She assumed that someone in the security business would have access to such information.
They had managed to keep this breach of security from their guests, and the evening progressed well with many pledges being made. Mr Enderby found himself to be very much in demand and was inundated with questions regarding bond servants, and he realised that Liza had put him high on the list of the most popular people in New York. He was able to gain the opportunity to be with Liza and whisked her onto the dance floor.
“I’m not sure whether you have done me a service or disservice, Liza, but my visit to New York has most certainly been one of the most interesting that I have experienced. You managed to manipulate me into a corner and I now have only one way out. I am going to have to be of exemplary behaviour from now onwards. I shall be leaving on Monday, I trust you will see me off; I would like to hold a picture of your face in my memory to sustain me on my long voyage. I wonder if I would ever be able to persuade you to come to my plantation, I’m sure you would enjoy the life there.”
“It would be difficult for Patrick to take much more time away from his duties but perhaps one day in the future we will be able to visit,” said Liza.
“My invitation was just for you, Liza, as I am sure you and I would get on famously together in every way. And you would be a very great asset to my business. No one need know that we weren’t married, not that it would be much of a problem if they did. We can be very liberally minded in the south,” he said.
“I’m sure that your proposal was meant as a joke, Charles, although I don’t think that Patrick would see it as such. And if it wasn’t a joke then I have to tell you that much as it is flattering, there is only one person in this world for me and I am already married to him,” said Liza.
“That is a very great shame, Liza. I know we would make an exceptionally good team in every respect,” said Charles.
Patrick was watching them and once again his jealous feelings came to the fore, but then he caught Liza’s eyes and knew that he had nothing to fear from Mr Charles Enderby.
The last guests left at just after two o’clock. Henry and Myra were staying the night and together with Jamie, Liza and Patrick went into a corner of the sitting room as the library was not in good order after the thefts. They were served with coffee and tea and both Liza and Myra threw off their shoes and slumped down into chairs. It amused the men to see their ladies take the fixed smiles off their faces and relax and the men marvelled that nobody would have known that their engaging smiles were false and this was commented on.
“They weren’t false,” said Liza indignantly, “we were very pleased to see everyone, but smiling genuinely for so long is just as tiring as smiling falsely. I’m really tired and I’ll go up shortly. I believe you know where your room is Myra, do you need anything before you retire?”
“No, we’ll find our way. I believe our room is near yours, Lord Edgeworth, so if we get lost, I’m sure you’ll help us. Go on up, Liza, we’ll see you tomorrow, and well done, your talk to everyone seemed to have done the trick. We’ve done very well tonight. If you don’t mind, I’ll sort it all out with you tomorrow before we leave. Goodnight, God Bless,” said Myra and she kissed her on the cheek.
“My name is Jamie and I think we have gone past formalities. We are all in this together and I would like to think that I have friends such as yourselves over here in New York, Henry and Myra,” said Jamie.
Patrick was also tired, but he’d had a couple of drinks when everyone had left, so he was slightly inebriated for once. “I’ll be up shortly, Liza,” he said happily.
The members of the staff were clearing the rooms and Jamie, Henry and Myra went to their respective rooms, and Patrick made some small talk to the staff and on his way he grabbed a bottle of champagne and two glasses and ran up the stairs to be with Liza.
Liza had told Bridget not to wait up as she was quite capable of getting out of her clothes and putting her jewellery away for once and when Patrick came into the bedroom she was already in her nightgown and had her dressing gown on. She eyed Patrick as he entered and saw the champagne and glasses. She was very tired but knew that he wanted her and that he was in a playful mood.
He came over to her and whispered in her ear, “Did Charles Enderby proposition you tonight?”
“Yes,” she laughed, “and I told him that there was only one man in the world for me and I was married to him.”
“And what did he want from you?” he asked as Liza took off her over gown.
“Something that he has no chance of ever getting,” she said and realised that the look on Patrick’s face had changed to one of annoyance.
“You know that whatever you organise and whatever function you arrange you are in charge, but here in our bedroom, I’m in charge. I lead and you follow and I make you enjoy everything I do to you and I most certainly enjoy how you respond to me. I’m going to cover you in champagne as I did the day we married, and I’m going to lick it off from every part of your body,” his words were slurring a little, but not so much that he was incoherent.
“I’m very tired, Patrick and I’m not sure I’m up to pleasing you as I want to,” said Liza.
She started to walk towards the bed and Patrick caught her arm and swung her around, but she tripped as she neared the bed and Patrick tried to stop her from falling by reaching out towards the back of her neck and grabbing her by her nightgown which was torn from her back as she ended up face down on the bed.
Patrick apologised and laughed saying that it was where he wanted her anyway, and he turned away to pick up the champagne bottle. What he hadn’t noticed was that Liza had crawled up the bed and positioned herself with her arms protecting her head and she stayed very still. She made a small noise which made Patrick look around. He couldn’t quite understand what she was doing. She was shaking and made another small whimper as, in her mind, she was waiting for the first blow to fall on her naked back. She was praying that he wouldn’t hurt her too much, but it had been a long time and she made a small sobbing sound.
It was with absolute horror that Patrick realised that she had prepared herself for a beating and as he came near her, she tensed expecting pain.
“Oh my God, Liza, you can’t think that I’m going to hurt you,” he put his arms around her and she tried to get away from him. “Liza, please, you know I’d never hurt you,” and she turned her head slightly and looked at him. He gathered her up and sat her on his knee. She was still shaking but calming now.
“I don’t know where I was for a while, Patrick. I know you would never hurt me, but just for a minute or two, I went back in time. I suppose I’m just over tired,” she said.
“You didn’t really think that I was going to beat you, did you Liza?” asked Patrick.
Liza pushed herself further into him and said, “No Patrick, it wasn’t you. It was just my mind playing tricks on me. You are the one who always looks after me and gets me out of all the trouble I get into. Thank you for getting me out of this one,” she s
aid now smiling.
“Let’s get this torn nightdress off you and get you into bed. I don’t think we’ll be playing as I had intended,” he said and expertly slid what was left of her nightgown from her body, and then laid her on the bed and covered her with the bedclothes.
“I’ve always said that you would go to great lengths to get my clothes off,” she said sleepily, “and it’s a shame that we won’t be playing, I was looking forward to being licked all over.”
Patrick lay on the bed next to her and made a promise to himself never to drink too much again, he knew that it made him aggressive and he didn’t need to be as he was always in control in the bedroom and many other places. That was the way Liza wanted it and liked it. It wasn’t that she allowed it; it was that he was in charge of very many things that they did together.
He still had the nagging feeling that Liza should really live in New York or Belfast rather than the small town of Benson. It would cramp her style and she found it so easy to communicate with everyone here, whereas he was so much more comfortable with the army life. He had always thought that they were compatible in all ways, but he was now beginning to doubt it. If she came back to Benson with him, would she become stifled by it and if that were to happen, would she eventually hate him for keeping her there?
He was going to have to be the one to make the final decision as he knew that Liza would never think of anything other than being with him wherever he went and he could not think that it was anything but unfair for her. On the other hand, she may be right to spend her time in Benson. Yes, he would have to make the right decision for her. He wondered if he would have married her if he had really known exactly who she was and what she possessed. He probably would not have approached her; he would have felt that they had nothing in common. And if he hadn’t spoken to her, he would not have experienced all the love that they had shared over the past few years. His mind was very much in turmoil that night.
Against All Odds Page 9
