EPILOGUE

It’s the first of April and Erin is in Claudia’s kitchen, preparing Phoebe’s bottle. Claudia’s kitchen – she will have to stop calling it that, although it’s unlikely she will stay in the house. She has started paying instalments on the mortgage and quite soon, she and Ollie will need to discuss what to do about it. But not yet.

Maeve will be coming round soon. Poor girl – the last few weeks have been awful for her – but she loves Phoebe and, now she’s been allowed to come home, helping with her seems to be a comfort. There’s no antidote for monkshood, the herb in Diana’s greenhouse, that has purple flowers in the winter. And by the time she reached hospital she had ingested the poison and it was too late. Why did she grow it? How could she possibly have known what was going to happen? Had she always dreaded that Stella would return, or Jon would find a partner, and she would lose Maeve? But she knew what she had done, killing Claudia, then creating a new threat in her mind, first Stella, then Erin, as the person who was going to steal her daughter and her brother.

Stella did the right thing, attempting to induce vomiting with a tablespoon of salt in a cup of warm water, but it was too late. Diana had died of heart failure.

Maeve knows everything. How Stella left after she was born, and Diana came to help. I miss her, Erin. I know she wasn’t my real mother but I thought she was because nobody said. Being Maeve, she is able to talk about it and ask endless questions. Will she want to see Stella again? She says not, although it’s possible she may change her mind when she’s older. Stella returned to London the day after Diana died, without saying goodbye to Maeve, just a brief word to Erin, ringing her bell to make sure everyone was all right.

Of the two of them – Maeve and Jon – Jon seems to have taken Diana’s death the hardest, probably because he blames himself. The day Diana saw Stella standing in the road, and recognised her from an old photograph Jon had hidden away, he returned home to find her hysterical. He thought he had convinced her Stella had no right to Maeve, but she must have watched out for her and followed her back to the basement flat. Later, she saw her talking to Maeve and the cat, and, losing all judgement, made the plan to set fire to the house. Was that what happened? They will never know for sure.

It was Kent who sent the toy cat to the hospital. Erin had visited him in hospital a few days before he died and his confirmation that he was Phoebe’s father had left her with mixed feelings. She could have arranged a DNA test. Hair from Claudia’s comb. Another plucked from Kent’s white mane. But there was no need. Impregnating a dear friend. How could the two of them be so cold-blooded? One day, Phoebe would want to know about her father and she would tell her the truth, but not the sordid details of her conception.

Ollie is still staying with Hoshi, but he comes round to Claudia’s house quite often, and they have discussed the money in Claudia’s desk and decided it should be spent on stuff for Phoebe. She asked him about Claudia’s phone, and it turned out she had thrown it away, after it fell in the bath. Erin often thinks about the girl who knocked on the door and asked for “Clowda”. Had she paid money and never received a dissertation or was she someone Claudia had helped? After all, Claudia could be generous and kind, and that is how Erin wants to remember her.

Phoebe is gaining weight all the time and looks a little like her mother, or does Erin imagine it? Under pressure, Jon admitted he feared Diana might have killed Claudia. He knew she had followed him and seen Claudia fling her arms round his neck and kiss him. If he had told Diana about the dissertations . . . But she would have insisted he inform the university, and of course she would have been right. As it was, Claudia used her seductive charms to swear him to secrecy. Sealing her fate with a kiss.

That fateful Saturday afternoon, Diana had been working in the health food shop and must have caught sight of her and Claudia, followed them, and decided to join the protesters. Should Erin tell the police? What good would it do? And how would Maeve feel? So no police. And no recriminations. Claudia’s death will remain a tragic accident.

The illustrations have been despatched to Sara, who appeared satisfied but said nothing about how long it had taken Erin to complete them. She has more work for her and Erin is not going to complain, although fitting it in round looking after Phoebe will not be easy. Obviously, Maeve will continue with her art classes, and Erin guesses the two of them will take it turns to pick up Phoebe when she cries. Jennie has offered to help, says it will be good practice, and later, after her baby is born, they will walk round the park together, with their buggies.

Inevitably, a social worker was brought in, but he agreed to Erin fostering Phoebe for the time being, and said there would be no objection to adoption. The tiny shoes, with an engine on one foot and a carriage on the other, are still far too big and Erin is going to keep them in mint condition, so Phoebe can see them when she was older and she can tell her how she and her mother bought them for her. On that fateful day . . .

She can hear Maeve outside the front door, and hurries to let her in.

‘Can I give Phoebe her bottle? Dad’s parking the car. There weren’t any spaces near your house. Actually, he won’t be back for a bit. He had some shopping to do. He’s going to buy a lemon drizzle cake.’

The noise has woken Phoebe and she is making whimpering sounds, preparing to cry. Erin lifts her out of her Moses basket and holds her tight. ‘Not time for her bottle yet, but if you sit on the sofa, Maeve, I’ll hand her to you. Can you hold her for a few minutes while I write a letter?’

‘A letter? Why not an email, or a text?’

‘I don’t know the email address. I don’t even know her second name. I’m going to send it to the hospital and hope it reaches her.’

Maeve holds Phoebe, propped up so she could see what was going on, ‘What’s her name – the person you’re writing to?’

‘Andrea.’

‘Is she a doctor?’

‘No, a nurse.’

‘Was she there when Phoebe was born?’

Erin nods. ‘And before that.’

Miss Havisham has put in an appearance but Maeve ignores her, addressing her next words to the baby. ‘Yesterday, I had this brilliant idea, Phoebe. I thought either you and Erin can come to live in my house, or me and Dad can move in here with you and Erin.’ She looks up, grinning. ‘Then we’d be a proper family!’