Against All Odds

by Marian L. Jasper

  She was sleeping peacefully next to him now, and dawn was beginning to break, but he didn’t nudge her as he normally did, he just watched her as the room lightened and realised that he was missing her already and he hadn’t yet made up his mind to leave her.

  Jamie was first down to breakfast, followed by Henry and then Myra. Patrick appeared and was a little worse for wear and refused a large breakfast. “Will Liza be joining us for breakfast?” asked Myra.

  “She’ll be down shortly, but she had a bad night last night. It was just one of those recurring nightmares. She has them sometimes when she gets over tired,” said Patrick.

  Or when she has something that has unsettled her, thought Jamie. He had seen the signs of Patrick’s discontent here in New York, and to a certain extent in Belfast. He had also seen how Liza had blossomed in both areas and seemed to enjoy all that went on. She had stayed away from functions for Patrick’s sake and he wondered whether she missed the social scene as she had really come to the fore last night and sparkled with pleasure all evening. Patrick was not a stupid man and he must have realised that this was how she enjoyed life and it most certainly was not his way. He had a feeling that they would soon be parting from one another and Liza would not really want that. However, he was not going to get his hopes up prematurely, he knew that Liza had great powers of persuasion which Patrick may not be able to resist.

  During the course of that morning, Myra and Liza sorted out all the documentation for the pledges and sums of money given, as well as one or two who would like to adopt a child and there were plenty who thought the bond servant idea was very suitable for them and Myra was going to sort out with Henry the cost of the passage for them so that this could be included when the various employers calculated the indenture time. It had indeed been a successful event.

  Next came the problem of the breach of security and Myra said that the people who had been employed had been recommended by several of her friends. However, she had to admit that it was only the main security guard that she knew and he in turn had employed others who were not well-known to him. He had apologised profusely for these four people somehow being allowed in and was concerned that it had been down to one or two of his employees. In effect, it had probably been what was termed an ‘insider job’.

  Patrick looked at Liza and thought that she had yet another business idea and would probably be organising another venture just as she was about to leave New York. There was no stopping her; how was she going to be content in Benson?

  “Do we have anyone protecting our warehouses and shipments, Henry?” asked Liza.

  “Not on a regular basis and we do quite often get pilfering. It’s not a great problem, but is beginning to become more noticeable,” said Henry.

  “Do you think there would be some merit in setting up our own security firm? And before you shoot me down in flames, if you think about it, we are not the only shippers here, although we are the largest, we could arrange to cover the whole of the docks and warehouses at a price of course, also you’ve seen how many functions take place here and all large houses are open to theft, some smaller ones also. We could keep quite a number of people employed and just what we save alone on what you term pilfering would cover the cost, and the extra we would get from charging others would make the profit in this. What do you think?”

  “The problem that I can see is getting those who are trustworthy enough to do the job. I believe that it is a workable idea, but getting suitable employees and someone to manage it all could be almost impossible,” said Henry.

  Liza smiled and said, “Although we have a problem where there aren’t enough people for many of the situations which are currently vacant, jobs for unskilled men can be hard to find in New York and that is why the number of robberies is increasing. If a man has a regular job, even though he has previously been deemed unemployable, he won’t have the need to take the risk of stealing because prison is a very hard lesson for anyone, especially if they have a family to upkeep. As far as who would be trusted to run it, there’s a great deal of merit in ‘setting a thief to catch a thief’.”

  “Are you really suggesting that we employ criminals to protect us? Surely that’s insane,” said Myra.

  “I think that anyone with an ounce of common sense would want to get out of the normally never ending downward spiral of theft followed by prison and would be able to see all the pitfalls in the way that we currently handle security that we as honest people cannot see. One would not employ a really rough and ready person to move amongst those at a function such as ours last night; those who gate crashed our party looked relatively respectable and I’m not saying that such employment has to be restricted to those who have been criminals, there are many who have no criminal leanings who would be grateful for a job watching over people and properties. You have to admit that there is a need. Anyway, I’ll leave you to think about it.”

  Patrick saw that she had successfully flattened Myra’s genuine query, and not overly kindly. Of course, he thought, this is business and Liza takes no prisoners in business, which Patrick realised was perhaps an inappropriate thought under the circumstances.

  “Will you be consulting with Wendell on this, Liza?” asked Henry and immediately realised that he had said the wrong thing.

  “I always tell Wendell what my ideas are, Henry, but if we were to wait for a letter to reach Belfast which could be up to two months, then we could miss out on an opportunity to further the company. You know as well as I do, Henry, that Wendell knows that I have made decisions for the company which have made Marchant & Fuller a force to be reckoned with. It doesn’t mean that I can’t make mistakes, but this is one that we can’t lose on. We need to protect our goods, so let’s make the best arrangements we can to do that, and allied to that let’s help protect other people’s property at the same time and charge for that facility.”

  Liza could see that Henry was not happy taking instruction from her and she gave him her most engaging smile. “Don’t worry Henry; I’ll put it under the care of my own company as it is worrying you so much. All the profits will therefore come to me and if Wendell wants part of it when it is up and running, it will cost Marchant & Fuller, but we can afford it.”

  Patrick thought; absolutely no prisoners.

  “All right Liza, I give in. Come into the office tomorrow when I have had a chance to look into the costs and we can go through it all again,” said Henry.

  “Can we get that Reed chap there also; I’d like to see who and what he really is,” said Liza.

  Henry nodded and said that he could arrange that.

  Patrick knew that Liza had a very sound business side to her nature, but he had never seen it in action before with such ferocity and certainly not where she had put business before friendship and that was what he had just witnessed. In many ways, in Patrick’s mind, it had just sealed their fate. This was not the same woman who had crawled into his arms last night for comfort, wanting him to bring her back from her nightmares.

  The rest of that Sunday was spent with the boys and Patrick saw again the Liza that he knew and loved. He was very confused but enjoyed his time with her. They walked, talked and played with the boys, they lunched and Liza read to them all. When the boys went for their supper and she and Patrick sat and talked, with Liza dreamily making plans for their return to Benson.

  They went to bed early that night and Patrick did to her exactly what he had wanted to do the night before, and she loved every second of it, as did he. She was his Liza again but for how long?

  ***

  It was Monday and the day that the O’Rourke and Cavanaugh families were leaving on their long journey to Charles Enderby’s plantation and Liza, Patrick and the boys went to the docks to wish them good luck and wave them off. They were now very well prepared and looking forward to their new lives away from all the hardship that not only had they experienced in Ireland but also on the voyage to New York. The house that they had all been living in was in much better co
ndition now than when they had first arrived. Even Henry came to see them safely boarded and they were well settled two hours before they were due to depart.

  Charles made an appearance just as Liza and the rest were leaving and he didn’t care who heard him. “I knew you would be here to see me off Liza, as I asked. I told you that your beautiful face would sustain me on my long journey. Goodbye, my dearest friend and one day I know you’ll enjoy visiting my part of the world.” He kissed her hand, nodded to Patrick, the boys and Henry and boarded the ship.

  “What was he talking about Mummy?” asked Matthew.

  “Some people seem to have to talk a great deal of nonsense when they say goodbye to others, and that is exactly what he was doing,” said Liza annoyed that Charles had tried to embarrass her in front of her family.

  “I managed to get the Reed person here for you to see, Liza. He comes from London,” said Henry.

  “Well, I knew he didn’t come from Liverpool,” laughed Liza. “First though, I’d like us to talk through the idea before I put any questions to Mr Reed.”

  Patrick and the boys went back to the house, leaving Liza to have her meeting, which he knew could take quite some time.

  Henry had put together a plan complete with costs and as long as they could hire enough honest people, the business opportunities appeared sound. Henry had talked to one or two of the other businesses on the dockside and they were quite keen to utilise a security company. They also were being hit by noticeable thefts and employing their own guards had not stopped the losses.

  “I suppose now we had better see Mr Reed and find out who he really is,” said Liza.

  Gilbert Reed was brought in by one of the current security men who had every intention of remaining on duty during the meeting but Henry assured him that his presence wasn’t necessary. Henry had offered to give up the seat behind his desk to Liza, but she preferred to sit casually to one side.

  “Why have I been brought here?” he asked.

  He was definitely a Londoner, but quite softly spoken. He sounded as if he had been educated quite well.

  “Firstly, is Gilbert Reed your real name and what is your usual occupation?” asked Henry.

  “I don’t need to tell you anything. We got caught stealing from you so I suppose we will have to go to prison, so I don’t see why I’m here,” he said.

  Liza said nothing, preferring to watch this man and see what she could glean from that.

  “Whether or not you go to prison could depend on the answers you give to me now,” said Henry sharply.

  It took a while for Henry to get an answer but finally the man said, “I’m Walter Anderson and I was a carriage driver around London.”

  “Why did you move to America?” asked Henry.

  “My cousin was here and he wrote that there were many opportunities for someone like me, so my wife and I packed up what little we had and managed to get a passage here. It was not exactly how I had expected it to be. I got part-time employment delivering goods around the area, but it didn’t pay well,”

  “Was your wife with you at my house the other night?” asked Liza.

  “Yes, she’s also awaiting trial and sentence, as is my cousin and his wife,” he said.

  “We know that you breached our security the other evening; what we would like to know is which security guard or guards let you into my home, and which gave you information about me?” asked Liza. She had already assumed that he would not tell her and she was right.

  Walter Anderson just smiled and shook his head and Liza nodded. “I have to say that I didn’t expect you to tell me.”

  “Then what am I doing here?”

  “We are trying to work out whether or not you are worth being given a second chance,” said Henry.

  “And what would I have to do for that? You expect me to rat on my contacts?”

  “No, we are trying to see if you are basically honest or if you have made a habit of theft and deception,” said Henry.

  “I don’t think we need to go any further,” said Liza. “It was probably a bad idea of mine; we had better call the guard to take you away.”

  “Wait a minute,” said Walter Anderson. “If you aren’t going to do anything for me, is there anything that you can do to help my wife. She isn’t a criminal, she didn’t want to steal anything, but we needed the money.”

  “Have you both done anything like this before?” asked Henry.

  “Since I’ve been here I have, but this was the first time for my wife.”

  “Do you have children, Mr Anderson?” asked Liza.

  “Yes, we have two,” he said.

  “Who’s looking after them whilst you are in prison?” asked Liza.

  “I don’t know that anybody is and nobody will let me find out,” he said.

  “Right, I’ll drop the charges against your wife so that she can go and look after your children, but you are a different matter. I don’t believe that you are what we are looking for, Mr Anderson. We were looking for somebody who would be willing to work with us rather than against us,” said Liza.

  “If working with you means me informing on people I know, then you are right, I’m not what you are looking for. I do thank you for letting my wife go though, it is appreciated. What about my cousin and his wife who we were with?” he asked.

  Henry said, “Don’t push your luck, Mr Anderson. Letting your wife go is something I wouldn’t have done but Mrs Kelly is always concerned for the welfare of children.”

  Walter Anderson looked from Henry to Liza and said, “What is it that you really wanted with me. You don’t really want me to inform on anybody. I think you would like to know how I got the information on you but it’s not that important. You want me to do something for you, don’t you? I hope you don’t want anybody killed as I would draw the line at that. I have proved that I’m not a very good thief, so what do you want?”

  Both Henry and Liza smiled and nodded to one another.

  “We’ve been interviewing you for a job, Mr Anderson, and we’d like to offer you the position as Chief Security Officer for our company,” said Liza.

  Walter Anderson blinked a few times, smiled and said, “What’s the salary?”

  “I think we may have chosen correctly, Liza,” said Henry. “Your salary is to be discussed, but I can assure you it will be a living wage. You would have control over who is employed in the various capacities, but I will emphasise to you, which you would pass on to any employee, that you and they would only have one chance. Steal from us or anyone you are employed to guard and not only would your employment be terminated but you would also be charged with theft. We will be a strict company and not tolerate disloyalty. I will go through what we expect from you when you turn up for work tomorrow; that is always assuming that you would like to accept the position offered.”

  “I am a little overwhelmed,” he said, “but yes, I would like to turn up for work tomorrow. I am surprised that you would want to employ somebody who has stolen from you.”

  “I can answer that,” said Liza. “I admired your cheek in trying to get yourself out of trouble by approaching me, although you gave yourself away using such an appallingly false accent, but it was my idea to use a thief to catch a thief and it took all my powers of persuasion to get Mr Mahoney to agree to such an appointment, so don’t let me down, it would be a terrible thing to see my wrath being brought down on you.”

  “I can assure you that I will most certainly not let either of you down,” said Walter Anderson.

  “I’ll arrange for yours and you wife’s release and I’ll see you tomorrow morning at eight o’clock sharp,” said Henry.

  Walter stood for a moment blinking at them whilst Henry rang for a clerk to sort out all the release papers required. He seemed lost for words but then said, “My cousin is the same as me, you know.”

  “We are not in the business of involving ourselves in other people’s lives, Walter,” said Liza. “We are taking a very big risk in trusting you; is there a r
eason why we should trust your cousin? He has been here a great deal longer than you and still hasn’t sorted himself out.”

  “I can sort him if you give him the chance. He would make an excellent employee,” said Walter.

  “We are not interested in who you employ as long as they prove to be honest and loyal to this company. Also, we have to make sure that anyone who is employed to cover society functions looks the part. We want no one who looks like a bare knuckle fighter, it would not make for a comfortable evening’s entertainment,” said Liza.

  The clerk was about to leave the room and Liza said, “You had better add Mr Anderson’s cousin and his wife to the list to be released. I would emphasise to you Mr Anderson, that we are not what is termed ‘push over’s’, make one wrong move and you will be employed breaking rocks in some Godforsaken quarry somewhere in this country. You are going to be responsible for whoever you employ, bear that in mind.”

  Walter was escorted from the office and Liza looked at Henry and said, “Fingers crossed, Henry. It’s a risk but I have a feeling that we have just employed a total Marchant & Fuller man.”

  “No Liza,” said Henry. “We have just employed a Mrs Liza Kelly man, who will move Heaven and Earth to ensure that nobody who is employed ever lets her down. That loyalty is to you, not Marchant & Fuller, but it will suffice. Well done, Liza, I’m glad you persuaded me to set this up. I think Wendell will be well pleased. We are all going to do well out of this.”

  ***

  Henry took Liza home in his carriage and dropped her at the door and she ran up the steps and into the hall. The butler was there and she asked him where Patrick was, she was told in their bedroom and she ran up the stairs to him.

  She went in smiling and stopped short; he was packing a suitcase, and a trunk was open on the floor.

  “I haven’t sorted out our trip back yet, Patrick, I was going to discuss it with you tomorrow and sort it out from there. We probably won’t be leaving until next week,” said Liza, but she had a cold feeling in her stomach.