But Katherine seemed not to have business on her mind. She poured out the tea and added a splash of milk. Her smile was sympathetic as she handed Erin a cup. ‘How are you getting on?’ She slipped off her shoes and flexed her pale freckled feet in the sun. ‘I hear you’ve been through quite an ordeal.’
Did everyone know? She’d told only Niels, and the barest of details at that. But perhaps Katherine kept a close eye on the goings-on at the clinic. It was her domain, after all.
‘I don’t mean to pry,’ Katherine said, ‘but I overheard Dr Westlund say something about an emergency leave of absence, and I put two and two together. I have a summer home in the Berkshires, and the news about Warren Stern’s death made it into the local paper.’ Her brow creased. ‘I’m so terribly sorry.’ She touched Erin’s hand. ‘That patient, Tim? He was lucky to have you in his corner.’
It was too much to take in at once. Erin’s head throbbed in the afternoon heat and from the buzz and whir of the gardens, alive with bees and beetles, and the chirp and rustle of birds.
‘I do get wind of things on occasion,’ Katherine said, shifting in her chair, ‘but you mustn’t think I’m pulling strings behind the scenes. It’s true the money comes from me, but I have nothing to do with how the clinic is run. The board sends me an annual report by way of the Hartley Foundation, but that’s all.’ She added more milk to her tea. ‘As far as everyone’s concerned, I’m the sweet old lady in the cardigan and loafers who plays the piano twice a week. It’s a perfect set-up. I get time with the girls and the added assurance that this house, and the money I inherited from my late husband, is being put to good use.’
She paused to refill their cups.
‘I do hope you’ll feel well enough to return to work soon.
I hear such good things about you. Though I’m no expert, the girls seem to blossom under your care.’
Return to work? If Katherine wasn’t the messenger, she supposed it wouldn’t hurt to confess her plans. ‘I’m not coming back.’ Erin pulled the sleeves of her blouse over her wrists. ‘Tomorrow, I’ll be handing my letter of resignation to Dr Westlund.’
‘I’m sorry to hear that.’ Katherine turned her head to look at the fountain. ‘Where will you go, back to London?’
‘I’m not sure yet.’ Erin watched a dragonfly, iridescent as a jewel, as it hovered above the fish pond.
‘For people like us,’ Katherine said, ‘our first instinct is always to flee, isn’t it?’
Erin was taken aback. Katherine didn’t know the first thing about her.
‘Before the board approves a new staff member,’ Katherine said, taking a delicate bite from a vanilla wafer, ‘they undertake a rigorous vetting procedure. It’s the only time I’m ever involved in the business of the clinic. A file is created for each potential candidate and a copy forwarded to me.’
Erin found this hard to believe. If that were true, how did Greta make the cut?
As if possessing unusual powers of perception, Katherine didn’t miss a beat. ‘You’re thinking of Dr Kozani, I presume? It’s true she’s a bit of an odd bird, but for a certain type of patient, I understand her no-nonsense approach is exactly what they need.’ She paused. ‘Partly due to my own difficult history, the safety of the girls has always been my first concern.’ She sought Erin’s eyes. ‘People aren’t always who they seem to be. So, I’m sure you’ll agree, we can’t take any chances.’
Erin’s teacup slipped from her hand and smashed on the flagstones. ‘You know who I am?’
‘It’s one of the reasons I thought you’d be a perfect addition to the staff.’ Katherine met Erin’s eyes, ignoring the smashed teacup beside them. ‘You have personal reasons to fight for these girls.’
Personal reasons. That could only mean one thing. ‘So you know about Danfield?’
Katherine nodded.
‘And that my real name isn’t Erin Cartwright?’
‘That too. But I don’t know the name you were born with.
Danfield wouldn’t release that information, of course. They only acknowledged that a girl from New Hampshire with the initials EM was a patient there in the late 1970s.’
A flood of anger threatened to choke her. Who was this woman to rummage through her past?
Erin collected the broken pieces of porcelain and dropped them on the table. ‘I don’t know what your game is,’ she said, preparing to stalk away, ‘but digging into someone’s medical history is a major violation of trust.’ Her ankle, still bruised from the desperate scramble across Stern’s roof, throbbed as she struggled to her feet and stumbled inside.
50
‘I didn’t mean to upset you,’ Katherine said, following her into the staffroom. ‘You’d better sit. I can see your ankle is painful.’
She helped Erin over to the sofa.
‘What I was trying to say, clumsy though it was, is that you and I are birds of a feather. And I tend to believe that people like us recognise each other. Even across space and time.’ Her face was flushed from the heat, and she clasped Erin’s hand. ‘The memory of that early abandonment, the sadness and the terror… it stays with us always, doesn’t it?’
Erin looked away, unsure of where this inquiry was headed.
‘The girls will be coming back soon,’ Katharine said, glancing at her watch, ‘so I’ll get right to the matter I mentioned in my letter. Effective immediately, Dr Westlund has been removed from his position as medical director of the Meadows.’
At the shock of this announcement, Erin’s head jerked up. Niels, fired? ‘I don’t understand.’
‘Dr Westlund was arrested for forging prescriptions,’ Katherine said. ‘Narcotics, I believe.’ She paused, as if debating how much more to say. ‘In lieu of jail time, he’s
