Against All Odds

by Marian L. Jasper

  Her greatest problem was going to be Patrick. How was she going to keep any of this from him? She may have to lie to him and she was no good at lying to him, he would know if he asked her a direct question. Perhaps she could organise it so that she didn’t know all the details but left those to others, but even if she did that Patrick would know, he always knew when she was upset or in trouble and he would definitely know she would have had a hand in Mark’s disappearance. So would the colonel and the captain, she would just have to play dumb and hope that they accepted that. She’d talk to Zelma tomorrow when they were alone, and she would also talk to her in Cherokee just in case anyone was listening.

  Patrick was busy cleaning his guns having already polished his boots. “You’re deep in thought, Liza,” she jumped guiltily. “What’s the matter, did I frighten you?”

  “No, you’re right I was deep in thought, Amelia’s been contacted by Felicity’s child’s father and he was going to get in touch with Felicity because his wife hasn’t settled with the child and he wanted to consult with Felicity. I suppose he will be writing to the colonel and Ada now. Edward is saying how much his divorce is costing, he won’t need that now. Apparently, he’s met a nice girl so hopefully there’ll eventually be a happy ending to all this.”

  She had two more letters to see, one was from Wendell and she was saving that until last and the other was from Henry which she opened; read part of the way down and let out a cheer much to Patrick’s surprise. “Obviously that’s good news, Liza, anything you think I would like to know about?”

  “My printing press is on its way. I’m not nearly ready for it. I wonder how it works,” said Liza.

  “Your printing press? When did you order that?” said Patrick.

  “Months ago. It’s so exciting. I must see Greg tomorrow and let him know. We’ll have to find somebody to help in his place at the general store,” said Liza.

  “Where are you going to put it,” said Patrick looking around the living room with some concern.

  “Don’t worry; I’ve taken the little shop next to Jake’s office. There should be enough room there and the front of the shop can be for writing and seeing advertisers,” said Liza.

  Patrick was staring at her. “When did you find the time to organise all that?”

  “Before I had Meg; when I was setting up the health scheme,” smiled Liza.

  Liza carried on reading her letter and let out another cheer, “Cole and Jack are bringing it. It seems they have done a round trip and will be ending up here; they’ve also got some goods for Harris and then on to us with the press and goods for the general store. I hope they can stay a couple of days. It’ll be good to see them again. I thought Jack would have retired by now. He’s probably not as old as he looks.”

  Patrick was pleased to see her looking so happy. It had been some days since she had looked that way, which was quite understandable. Laurie had decided to go back to her own house that evening, so Patrick was pleased to have the house just to his family that night. He wanted to love his Liza tonight without being self-conscious of outsiders being present.

  Wendell’s letter was full of business information and news on the charity. He also mentioned that he was going to have to go to Liverpool and see what possibility there was of getting someone competent to manage that outlet. He also wanted to make sure that a new security system was put in place because he was unsure that all was completely in order there. He was thinking of asking Walter to travel from New York to set it up and take on the necessary staff, but he really needed someone to permanently oversee it correctly. He wished she was there to help him with sorting it out as much as he loved Edward and Joseph, there was only Peter who was business orientated and he was feeling his years now and would like to take more of a back seat.

  These thoughts concerned Liza; she was forgetting that he must now be at least sixty-years-old, as James would now have been. “Wendell’s talking about trying to take more of a back seat in the future; it would be strange to have the company without him. He’s concerned that Peter is the only one who has any business acumen, which is a little worrying,” said Liza.

  “Have you any suggestions?” asked Patrick suddenly wondering whether Liza was going to have to return to Ireland for a while, although that would be difficult with the way that young Meg was.

  “We need another Henry, although that would probably upset both Edward and Joseph, but where business is concerned there should be no sentiments. I’m going to have to think about it. I have met a few people in my time who are intelligent enough and could be trained. I’m going to have to write quite a few letters tomorrow but I’ll visit the colonel and Ada first to see if they’ve already written to Edward yet, or if they would like me to break the news to him and the family,” said Liza.

  “So you’re going to be quite busy tomorrow. When’s your printing press arriving?” asked Patrick.

  “Well, I suppose sometime in the next week or so. I’ll also have to see Greg tomorrow as we’ll have to get the shop ready for it. We really want another young man to take over from him at the store. A girl would be all right, but sometimes there are heavy goods to move and I really don’t want Joe to do too much lifting now,” said Liza.

  “You do know that the blacksmith’s younger brother has come to live with him, and he doesn’t seem to want to become a blacksmith himself,” said Patrick. “He seems quite a smart young lad.”

  “Well, that’s something I didn’t know. I’ll go and see what he’s like and see what Kathy and Joe think. You’re right, I’m going to be very busy tomorrow.”

  “I suppose you’ll also visit Mark tomorrow. Do you think it’s wise to be visiting him every day, Liza? I’m only thinking about how you’re going to feel when the court martial is over,” said Patrick.

  “You’re probably right, Patrick, but as I’ll be at the fort tomorrow anyway, I’ll just pop in and see him,” said Liza attempting to appear that she would be backing away from visiting every day.

  “Are you going to feed Meg now so that we can have an early night, especially now that we have no visitors staying the night? I’ve been looking forward to getting you to myself since hearing that Laurie had gone home. I’ll try and make you feel happier than you have done for a while,” smiled Patrick.

  Liza smiled back at him and tried to hide her feeling of guilt. She loved Patrick so much and really didn’t want to deceive him but unfortunately, it was going to be necessary to do so, but that night he made her forget any feelings of guilt that she’d had earlier, in fact he made her forget all her problems. At dawn he loved her again and then made himself ready for work and rode to the fort with a very contented smile on his face.

  ***

  When Zelma arrived, Liza told her of her dilemma about Mark and how she could not get the dream out of her mind.

  “By the law he should be executed,” said Zelma. “But by what is right, he should be saved and from what you say there is a purpose to his life and we don’t yet know what that purpose is.”

  “I don’t believe that he is going to make any difference to the outcome of any agreement, but I truly believe either his children or grandchildren or even further down the line are destined to do something momentous and if he dies now, many more lives will be lost than would otherwise happen,” said Liza.

  “So we need people to spirit him away, I’ll get in touch with our scout friend and he’ll have some suggestions. Are you home this morning?” asked Zelma.

  “I’ve got to get to the fort, but I can take Meg with me. She is quite calm these days. I’ll wrap her up warm and take her to Ada and I did promise that Mark could see her. I’ve also got to ask either Ada or the colonel if they’ve written to Edward and if not, would they like me to. Also, there’s a problem with Felicity’s daughter which I must tell them about. I’ll try to get back before lunch,” said Liza.

  “I’ll see if I can arrange for our friend to come here early this afternoon, well before the boys are home. Is Mark
going to agree to this? I have a feeling that he will want to go by what the law says,” said Zelma.

  “Somehow I’m going to have to try to let him into my head and I’ve never done that before. If he can see what I see then I know that I won’t have a problem. I know who I’m going to call upon to help me with that. Once he agrees then my next problem will be getting him away from the fort. I know that after that, with the help of our friend, it will look as if he’s gone in one direction and I can arrange for him to go in a completely different direction. I’m going to use Cole and Jack to get him to New York and from there he can sail to Liverpool. I can get him work there and once he’s well settled then it’s up to him whether he stays working for the company or finds his own employment. I know who can arrange false documentation for him; all I have to think about is a new name. But as I say, first of all, I must get Mark’s co-operation,” said Liza.

  “If Mark doesn’t agree, he can be forcibly taken. There are ways of doing that,” said Zelma.

  “I hope it won’t come to that,” said Liza and they heard the boys talking upstairs and heading down for their breakfast and to get ready for school.

  Once the boys had left, Zelma made ready for her short journey. Liza never knew where she went, it was her secret. With Meg fed and dressed for her outing and extra food ready to go with her, Liza then made ready for the trip to the fort.

  First she called on the colonel and he was pleased to see both her and little Meg.

  “How are you, Colonel and how’s Ada; I will be calling on her from here,” asked Liza.

  “I’m well enough, Liza; Ada’s coping. We’ll both be pleased when the court martial is over, but sorry that another life is going to be wasted, but the law is the law sadly,” said the colonel.

  “I wanted to see you before I visited Ada because I’ve had letters from Belfast. Obviously when they were written they did not know about Felicity’s death. Have you yet written to Edward and if not, would you like me to. I have to write to them anyway and it would be awkward for me not to say anything about the sad events here,” said Liza.

  “I don’t believe that Ada has been able to do that yet, so if you would like to check with her, I’m sure she’d be grateful if you handled that for us,” said the colonel.

  “Well, if she wants me to I’ll write today and ask you to send my letters via your riders. The other matter in Amelia’s letter to me was the fact that there is a problem with Felicity’s child. I think you are aware that the father’s wife can’t settle with her and the father wanted to contact Felicity concerning the child’s future. He was informed that she was here, so I presume he will now be getting in touch with you and any decisions will now be yours,” said Liza.

  “That’s definitely something Ada and I must discuss in private, especially as not many people know about the girl,” said the colonel.

  “I’ll only mention writing to Edward to Ada. The other matter is private for you and Ada to sort,” said Liza.

  “Thank you, Liza, you really are a good soul,” said the colonel which made Liza feel very guilty. The colonel looked down at Meg and smiled. “She seems quite contented at the moment. Are her lips normally that blue?”

  “I’m afraid so, Colonel, but she’s a really happy child,” smiled Liza and she lifted her in her basket and left to go to see Ada.

  Ada was also pleased to see her and she took comfort from holding Meg and giving her a little food and seeing Ada with a child Liza wondered whether Felicity’s daughter could be the answer to relieve some of the sadness that was so obviously felt. Edward hadn’t yet been told about Felicity’s death so Ada also asked Liza to write and inform him and the rest of the Fuller family.

  “I’ll do that later today and have it sent tomorrow, Ada,” said Liza and she stayed a while seeing that Ada was getting so much comfort from holding Meg.

  Her next call was on Mark. She was pleased that Patrick was out on patrol as she had a difficult job to do at the prison. The sergeant on duty allowed her into Mark’s cell so that he could see and hold his goddaughter and he disappeared to give them some privacy.

  “I’ve got to talk to you seriously, Mark and I know what you are going to say, but please hear me out. We have got to get you out of this situation, out of this prison and out of this country as soon as possible,” said Liza.

  Mark looked at her and whispered just in case anyone was listening, “Are you mad? Are you suggesting a prison break? You can’t be serious. You know that what I did can only have one punishment. I appreciate that you’re trying to change the outcome, but I did what I did and I have to take the consequences of that.”

  “So what you are saying Mark, is that you are going to deny your children life, and their children and their children also, that’s a very selfish attitude,” said Liza.

  “What do you mean, Liza?” asked Mark.

  “For many years now, I have seen things before they happen. Luckily not very often because I really don’t want to know what the future holds. I have been helped through many difficult times, and I have also had my life saved because it was not my time to go, although it seemed impossible that I would survive. You are looking at me as if I’m crazy, but please listen to me and then make your decision,” said Liza.

  “I don’t think you’re crazy, Liza. I know that you are thought of as ‘special’ by the Indians and they are normally right in what they believe, but I think you are just being hopeful with me,” said Mark.

  “Oh, have a little faith, Mark, and please close your eyes and perhaps you will be able to see what I have seen and you will realise why it’s so important that you survive this experience. Go on, close your eyes, I promise you will understand,” said Liza and the miracle worked. James came to them and once again Liza saw Mark with a pretty young woman and a child, followed by the rainbow tunnel and someone helping to sign an agreement dressed in strange clothes and using an unusual means of writing and then they came back to the pretty woman with Mark and the child. They were gone and when Mark opened his eyes he saw the shadow of a man hovering near Liza and her eyes were on this shadow and they were the brightest shining green. “Thank you, James,” she said and the shadow looked at Mark and somehow Mark knew that he had to do what Liza said.

  With a face as white as a sheet, Mark asked Liza what had just happened. “I can’t explain it, Mark. I have seen James on a few occasions when I have been on the edge of life, but I have never before seen what the future might hold. It worries me a little, but I’m not frightened. I’m only frightened that I’m not up to the task which I seem to have been given.”

  “Who’s James?” asked Mark.

  “My first husband; he promised that he would always look after me and there have been times when my life hung in the balance and he pushed me back to life and at other times I felt the comfort of him just being around. Patrick has seen him a couple of times, each time he’s shouted at him to go away because he thought he had come to take me, but he was wrong, he had come to help me. He came and helped Danny when he was dying and was so frightened; he took that fear away, he also helped young Jacob when he died. But that isn’t helping us sort out how to get you out of here. I’ll be back to see you tomorrow and have some sort of plan by then,” smiled Liza.

  Mark was still holding Meg and she was smiling up at him and gurgling and Mark suddenly said, “Yes, Liza, I would like to have my own child and a loving wife. Tell me Liza, did you love your first husband as much as you love Patrick?”

  “I loved James very much; he was a lot older than me, but he helped me grow up and I never thought I would get over his death, but I did and then eventually, I found Patrick and my life with him is so wonderful and I wouldn’t change it for the world, which proves that you can love two people,” said Liza.

  “Matthew is James’ son then,” and directly Mark had said it he realised that he had touched on something very private, “I’m so sorry Liza, I didn’t mean to pry.”

  “I think you deserve to kn
ow about the person that you are going to have to trust with your life, Mark. No, Matthew isn’t James’ son. I was married off to the Cherokee chief’s son and before you say that Matthew has no Indian blood in him, you would be right. White Wolf was the adopted son of the chief and was white through and through. He’s dead now and I finally managed to get away before Matthew was born, having had a great deal of help from so many people not least Running Bear himself,” said Liza.

  “Why didn’t you go back to either New York or Ireland? I know you have properties there,” asked Mark.

  “I had planned to after Matthew was born, although I do love Benson and everybody had been so kind to me. But I was told that I was not welcome back in either place, and that I was going to be an embarrassment to the Fullers and Matthew would be labelled a bastard,” said Liza.

  “I don’t think I need to ask you who told you that. I’m just surprised that you believed her. I truly think that Felicity’s problem with you was jealousy; she always seemed to want what you had,” said Mark.

  “I was very vulnerable in those days. I was having a child and had no husband; it’s quite a frightening position to be in. But in many ways, Felicity did me a favour because if I hadn’t stayed, I wouldn’t have found Patrick, would I?” said Liza. “I’ll have to go now, Mark, but I will be back sometime tomorrow to tell you what’s been planned.”

  “Is there anything I can do to help?” asked Mark.

  “No, just be ready and do whatever you are told to do and go wherever you are taken without question. Goodbye Mark, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  Reluctantly Mark handed Meg to Liza; he had enjoyed holding her and loving her. Liza put her in the carrying basket and went to the buggy and drove home. At home she was greeted by Zelma and the Cherokee half-breed scout; he looked closely at Meg and shook his head and Liza just nodded to him intimating that she understood.

  “Little Dove tells me that you have seen the future of the soldier in prison and he needs to be set free. If you say that this man is special then he must be helped. We can arrange to take him to safety and make it look as if he is travelling somewhere else. But you will have to get him out of the fort,” he said.