Against All Odds

by Marian L. Jasper

  Zelma was shocked and said, “He can’t do that, can he?”

  “No, he can’t. I told him to know his place and remember who he was talking to. I also told him to leave Benson and then I left with Patrick and Gabriel. How has Meg been today? She seems very quiet, has she been like that all day?” asked Liza.

  “Yes, Liza, she has. She hasn’t eaten very much either. Dr Tom called in today and said that we were doing everything that could possibly be done,” said Zelma.

  Liza looked down on her daughter and knew with certainty that it was only a matter of days now. She had hoped against hope that she could give her daughter more time with them and probably the care that she had received at everyone’s hands, especially Zelma’s, had meant that she had lived this long. She wondered whether James would come for her; she hoped so because he would look after her.

  The three boys came in for their supper. Patrick and Gabriel sat in the rocking chairs discussing some of the day’s happenings. Patrick asked Liza a question which she didn’t hear and both he and Gabriel looked at her and saw that she was deep in thought looking down at Meg with such a sad expression on her face.

  “I’m sorry, did you say something?” she asked.

  “It doesn’t matter Liza,” said Patrick quietly.

  The boys finished their supper and disappeared up to their bedroom. Gabriel and Patrick stayed seated quietly looking at Liza who had remained watching over her daughter.

  “I need to see the colonel, Patrick, but I won’t be leaving the house for the next few days, do you think he would visit me?” said Liza.

  “I’ll ask him tomorrow, Liza, and I’ll also ask for time off,” he said sadly.

  “You’ll only need a day or so I’m afraid,” said Liza.

  “I’ll take the boys tomorrow for a few days,” said Gabriel. “Matthew and John will enjoy staying with Simon for a while. I’ll ask Kathy to help me feed and look after them. You’ll need Zelma and she will feel the need to be with you and little Meg.”

  “Thank you, Gabriel, you’re very thoughtful,” said Liza.

  Gabriel called Si and he left having told Matthew and John that they would be staying with him for a few nights and as it was Friday the next day they would have all weekend together at his house. He also told them to collect up whatever they needed to bring with them now so that they could come to him straight from school, and he would make sure that whatever they wanted would be waiting for them. They had stayed many times with him, but it always excited them.

  Patrick said that he would get up early the next day and go to the fort to see the colonel and ask him to call on Liza as soon as he could. He would then see the captain and tell him that he needed time off and of course, the reason for it. He couldn’t see that there would be a problem, even though they were short staffed. Ben always covered a patrol when needed and the captain could do the same.

  Zelma came in from the washroom, looked at them both and nodded. “Her time’s nearly here, isn’t it? I’d like to be here with you.”

  They told her what was being planned and she disappeared to help the boys sort out their needs for the next few days.

  “She seems to be going peacefully, Liza. I hope it stays that way for her,” said Patrick.

  “She’s hardly eating now and she’s very quiet, although I can hear that her breathing is irregular and if you feel her chest so is her heart,” said Liza. “We haven’t been very lucky with our children, have we, Patrick?”

  “We are very lucky with Matthew and now John. Yes, I’m sorry that we are losing our little girl, but we have known that we would from the moment she was born and we have had five happy months with her and I’m sure she has felt much loved throughout the whole of her short life.”

  “I need to tell the colonel what he should know and I believe that tomorrow morning will be the only chance I will get. If that blinkered General Maybury hadn’t made life so difficult, I would have spoken to him sooner,” said Liza and Patrick looked puzzled and concerned.

  Liza carried on, “I know of some gross breaches of security which until now I haven’t said anything about because up until this point there was no need and also it wasn’t my place to interfere with the running of the fort. I didn’t want to involve you Patrick, because once you know you have to deal with it and you would probably become very unpopular with the men, but if it comes from the colonel then it would be expected that he would put it right. I think that there are some soldiers who will be in serious trouble. You know that I wouldn’t say anything in front of the general and his sidekicks because it would reflect very badly on the colonel. It would have appeared that he was running a very sloppy outfit and it could affect his career.”

  “So, you do know how Mark escaped then, Liza. I think you took a very big risk. You frighten me sometimes Liza,” said Patrick.

  “No Patrick I don’t know exactly how he got out, I just know that there were easy ways of doing it, and if there are easy ways out then there must be easy ways in which should be remedied for everyone’s safety,” said Liza. "If we were at war or if there were hostiles around, I would have mentioned it before, but I have really only noticed it recently.

  During the night Meg’s breathing became much worse but between them they managed to keep her warm and calm and Liza made the decision to tell Patrick of the shortcomings at the fort rather than have the colonel visit, so as Zelma got the boys ready for school Liza cuddled Meg and started telling Patrick as much as she felt she could.

  “As you know, Patrick, I used to visit Mark nearly every day. Initially the sergeant just left the outer office so that we could have a normal conversation by ourselves. Mark remained locked inside the cell and I used to sit on a chair outside the bars. Over the days the sergeant unlocked the cell door, especially when I had little Meg with me and either I could go inside or Mark could come into the outer office so that he could hold his goddaughter, but the sergeant remained on duty outside the outer door. Even when I didn’t have Meg with me, he still opened the cell door which I suppose he really shouldn’t have done, but apart from that everything remained quite secure.”

  “A private was subsequently placed on duty. I know he was given specific instructions by the sergeant which were to do as the sergeant had done. Initially he appeared to carry out those instructions, but on occasion I noticed that he was nowhere to be seen and Mark and I were left completely unguarded. As it happened that didn’t matter because Mark was going nowhere. When I was leaving and if the private wasn’t around, I used to lock Mark back in his cell, but I always had difficulty locking the door as the lock didn’t marry up with the catch and Mark used to lift the door to make it fit, and I would put the keys back on the desk before I left.”

  Patrick was looking horrified at the lax way in which the prison was operating. “Liza, you should have told me. Why didn’t you? I could have sorted it out quite quickly.”

  “Yes, I know I should have done, but I did tell the private to tell the sergeant to put it all right. But you haven’t heard the worst yet. If I visited later in the day, the private would stay in the outer office. He would open the door for Mark to come out, but really, if the private was there I used to go into the cell instead. Sadly the whisky bottle and the private had become very good friends. He was drunk when I arrived and totally inebriated when I left. He used to stagger up and lock the cell door himself. Whether he manipulated it into position or not, I have no idea. There were occasions when the private was so intoxicated that he was asleep on the desk, so I used to take the keys and go through the ritual of Mark lifting the door whilst I turned the key.”

  “I’ll say it again, Liza, you should have told me,” said Patrick.

  “But if I had told you, both the private and the sergeant would have been in trouble and really, there was no harm done, well there wasn’t then but as it turns out, it is probably how Mark got out of prison and I suppose I really am to blame because I said nothing,” said Liza knowing that she was making hers
elf look innocent of any involvement. However she also knew that she was not lying and that was exactly what had been happening and all she and Mark had done was take advantage of the situation.

  “When I go in later, I’ll see the colonel and the captain hopefully together and tell them what you have told me. You could have said something sooner and you wouldn’t have had to go through what General Maybury put you through over the past two days,” said Patrick.

  “Well, I suppose I really wanted Mark to get away, not that my keeping quiet would make much difference to whether he gets away or not. There is more though, Patrick,” said Liza.

  Patrick raised his eyes to the ceiling and said, “All right, let’s get it all out in the open.”

  “Have you ever wondered why the guard on the gate gets into so much trouble letting soldiers find their way into the town, and I’m sure anyone on duty pleads that they had no idea how they left as they didn’t see them?” said Liza.

  “Er, yes, a few on occasion have been caught in the town,” said Patrick.

  “I think you’ll find that there are a great many going into town without permission and they get back before anybody notices and I would say that the guards on the gate are quite happy to bear the brunt of any punishment as they also take advantage of the means of leaving without permission. I believe that Mark often saw Felicity when he should have been on duty,” said Liza.

  “How are they getting out without being seen? Did Mark tell you?” asked Patrick.

  “No Patrick, he didn’t but everyone has been concentrating so much on the fact that they think I helped him that they haven’t looked at what was so glaringly obvious, which is if he didn’t go through the gate and didn’t climb over the wall, how did he get out? There has to be a moveable post or a gap behind some building or other that the men are getting through. In fact, I know there is but where it is I’m afraid I don’t know. That’s something that you will have to find for yourself,” said Liza.

  “Is there anything else you need to tell me, Liza?” asked Patrick.

  “No Patrick, I’m sorry I should have said something a while ago but I didn’t think it was relevant. I can only assume that Mark knew the way out, saw an opportunity and took advantage of it but it doesn’t look good for the security of the fort, does it?” said Liza.

  “No, it certainly doesn’t and I can understand why you didn’t want to say anything in front of General Maybury; he would have taken the colonel seriously to task for the oversights and who knows where that would have led. I think he’ll be grateful for that and realise that you bore the brunt of the general’s displeasure because you wouldn’t make it look that his army post was being run less than efficiently. I’ll go now and get back as soon as I can and then I’ll be with you for as long as necessary,” said Patrick and he kissed Liza and Meg and left for the fort.

  Liza felt guilty that she was now going to be held up as a paragon of virtue and the saviour of the colonel’s reputation when she had, indeed, assisted Mark in so many ways, but she was able to placate her conscious by telling herself that it was for the greater good.

  The boys came in to say goodbye to Liza and Meg; they seemed to realise that leaving to stay with Gabriel was for a reason and not just for fun and they both looked at Meg for a while.

  “She’s not well, is she?” said Matthew and Liza just said, “No, I’m afraid she isn’t, but you know that she hasn’t been well since she was born. Anyway, you go off and have a good day at school and I’m sure you’ll have a nice time staying with Simon.”

  Just before lunch Patrick arrived back home and he had been given as much time off as would be necessary. He told her that the fort was now being searched leaving no stone unturned. The captain, one of the sergeants and Corporal Shaw were in charge of searching the perimeter fences. The private who had been guarding the prison was himself languishing behind bars; however, the sergeant who had been in charge, was just given a reprimand, mainly because the faulty lock on the door had been ignored.

  “I dare say that I’m not going to be very popular when I next visit, but that is the least of my worries at the moment,” said Liza.

  “I was right, the colonel was extremely grateful that nothing was said to General Maybury, so was the captain because he should also know what is going on with those under his command,” said Patrick.

  Liza was holding Meg closely to her and Patrick said that he was going to change into something more casual and that he would like to hold her for a while. The afternoon, evening and night were spent with Liza, Patrick and Zelma taking it in turns to hold Meg as they wanted her to know that she was loved and they felt that the only way that they could show that was with physical loving contact.

  They all spent the night in the sitting room, keeping the fire burning well and in the early hours of the morning the shadow passed over them all and little Meg was gone whilst Liza was holding her, but they all knew when it happened. Tears were running down all their cheeks and Liza said, “I don’t know what to do with her now, Patrick.”

  “I think we’ll lay her comfortably in her cradle and wait until it gets light and then I’ll go for Dr Tom. Not that he can do anything for her now, but we’ll keep her company,” said Patrick.

  “I think I’ll ask Kathy and Joe if they would have no objection to our burying her next to Danny; he would look after her for us,” said Liza.

  Both Patrick and Zelma nodded their agreement and Patrick said that he would go and see George later to make arrangements as well as see Kathy and Joe.

  “I think we had both better tell the boys as soon as possible. I don’t want them to hear it from anyone else,” said Liza.

  “I’ll see Gabriel and get him to keep the boys indoors until we can see them, which won’t be too long,” said Patrick.

  Zelma got up and organised coffee for them all; nobody wanted to eat anything.

  Little Meg looked as if she was just sleeping peacefully in her cradle and as dawn broke, Patrick changed and went to see Dr Tom who came immediately and confirmed that she was dead and also commented on how peaceful she looked. Patrick then saw Gabriel, Kathy and Joe and finally on to George, whilst Liza washed and changed into a dark dress.

  When Patrick returned he had Matthew and John with him and he sat them at the table in the living room and Liza, Zelma and Patrick sat with them. Matthew made it easy for them, “Meg’s dead, isn’t she?” he said.

  “Yes, I’m afraid she is, Matthew. You both know that she has been unwell since she was born and really we were lucky to have had her with us for the time she has been here. I know you and John loved her very much as we all did and now she’s at rest,” said Patrick.

  Matthew put his arms around Liza’s neck and cried and John moved towards Patrick who put his arm around him and he also cried. They all softly cried together.

  Kathy and Joe called in and brought food for them and boys being boys had a good appetite regardless of the circumstances. After a while, Gabriel called and took the boys and Simon for a ride to the fort where he said he would make sure Brigeta was told as she was Meg’s godmother. He would also see the colonel and tell him the sad news. He knew that at the fort there were always people around who were only too pleased to keep the boys well occupied and they went on their way armed with bats and balls.

  The funeral was going to be the following Monday and Patrick disappeared once again to make arrangements for a small casket and also to tell others on his way around town.

  The fire was allowed to die down in the sitting room and Meg was laid out in the centre of the room. So many friends called that day that Liza lost count. Kathy and Ellen made themselves available to make coffee whenever there was a visitor and everyone was so very kind.

  The colonel and Ada arrived during the afternoon and apart from paying their respects the colonel wanted to have a quiet word with Liza, who really didn’t want to hear what he had to say but had no choice but to allow him the opportunity to say what he wanted.

&nb
sp; “I’m so very sorry about little Meg, Liza. I know that sadly you have been expecting this since she was born. Also, I’d like to thank you for not showing me up in front of General Maybury. You took a tremendous amount of pressure onto yourself at a time when really you should have been at home just worrying about your daughter. I thank you for that, Liza, but I will talk to you more in depth at a better time. Once again, both Ada and I are so sorry for your loss,” said the colonel, and Liza was grateful that he said nothing further.

  Brigeta and Ben called, having first left their child with Bea and when they left Bea and the captain arrived, they having left Judith and Rachel with Brigeta.

  Apart from the sympathy which was expressed the captain also wanted to thank Liza for not telling the general and two colonels about the inadequate security at the fort and Liza just nodded and smiled truly not wanting to be thanked for her deception on that day, but she accepted what the captain said with thanks.

  Charlie Penn called with a very small light coloured wooden coffin and Liza wondered whether he had prepared it some time ago as everyone really knew that Meg would not last long. They laid her in it and she looked so pretty and still only as if she was asleep. That night, between Liza, Patrick and Zelma, little Meg was never left alone as they took it in turns to stay up with her, with whoever was not with her taking short naps.

  Patrick and Liza went to church the next morning leaving Zelma on duty at home and of course, everyone wanted to show their sympathy. Kathy brought food for the boys who were still with Gabriel and she also made sure that Liza, Patrick and Zelma had something for their lunch. As they sat at the table, the house seemed so very quiet and Liza commented that she needed the boys to bring the home back to life but she would not do anything about it until after the next day’s funeral and once again, they took it in turns to watch over Meg throughout the night.

  The next morning Patrick closed the lid on little Meg’s coffin as Liza and Zelma got the boys ready for the day. They were not going to school, neither were Simon or Rachel and just before eleven o’clock, they made their way to the churchyard with Patrick carrying the small coffin under his arm. He wanted nobody else to take it and neither did Liza. At the graveyard there was a small hole with two ropes across it which Joe, Ben, Gabriel and Patrick were going to hold to lower Meg into her final resting place.