There was a sense of unreality about the short train journey from Kingstown Harbour into the city. It was impossible, Swallow told himself, that only a few days previously he had travelled outward along this railway line, past these same houses and villages, full of joy and celebration with Maria and their guests, making for their wedding celebration at the Royal Marine Hotel. The waters of the bay were a dark foreboding grey this morning, with the tops of the waves flecked white by the wind. The city itself seemed threatening.
At the Westland Row terminus they took a cab to the Dublin Lying-In Hospital, the Rotunda, above Sackville Street, and forming the southern side of Rutland Square.
Maria was in a quiet ward of twelve beds, close to the hospital chapel. In contrast with the noisy wards on the ground floor, filled with the squalling sounds of new life, there were no babies here. The patients here were women whose babies had been stillborn or whose pregnancies had been lost. Swallow could sense the atmosphere of emptiness, sadness almost, once he walked through the door with Harry Lafeyre.
Lafeyre spoke to the nurse on duty and led Swallow to the end of the ward.
Maria was half-asleep, half-awake. The first thing that struck Swallow was the paleness of her complexion. Even in the morning light he could see that her face was waxen white, her eyes sunken into dark sockets under her forehead.
‘She’s been asking for you all the time, Joe,’ Lafeyre had told him as they travelled. ‘She’s been very agitated, so don’t be surprised if she becomes upset. It’s not because she doesn’t want to see you. Quite the opposite.’
Her eyes opened wide when he touched her hand. Lafeyre stepped back to afford them privacy.
‘Maria, dearest. It’s me. Joe,’ he told her quietly. ‘I’m here and you’re safe now. All is well.’
She said nothing at first. Her eyes searched his face as if disbelieving his presence.
‘I’m sorry, Joe,’ she whispered then. ‘I’m very sorry.’
‘Oh, hush now, my love,’ he told her. ‘It’s fine. All is well. And there isn’t any need to be sorry. I’m here. I’m with you and I’ll take care of you.’
‘Dr Morrow says . . . he says . . . he thinks it will be all right. That I can . . . have other children . . . he says there’s no reason. . . .’
Swallow realised that he had not even addressed that question in his own head. It had not seemed to be in any way important when set against the immediate circumstances.
‘You mustn’t worry about that either,’ he told her. ‘If that happens, it will be fine. If it doesn’t, it will be fine too. We have each other, Maria.’
She closed her eyes and smiled for the first time.
‘We have each other,’ she said. ‘We have each other.’
Lafeyre came forward and touched Swallow’s shoulder.
‘I think we should leave Maria to sleep for a while. She’ll rest a lot more peacefully now that she knows you’re here. Sleep and rest are what she needs now in order to build her strength back up.’
They stepped into the corridor outside.
‘How is she?’ Swallow asked. ‘She looks very pale and she seems very weak.’
‘She’ll be fine, Joe,’ Lafeyre told him. ‘She’s weak and she’s tired. That’s very much to be expected. She’s a strong woman, but there’s also the emotional shock of what’s happened. Losing a pregnancy can have all sorts of mental effects on a woman, so what she needs is reassurance, calm and certainty. And of course affection. So that’s your first duty now over the next little while.’
Swallow nodded.
‘I understand, Harry. Thank you for all your care and support. You’re a true friend.’
Lafeyre smiled.
‘You’re not a bad fellow yourself, you know. And you mustn’t start blaming yourself for any of this. It could have happened whether or not you were here or in Berlin or wherever. What’s important now is that you take care of Maria. And that you take care of yourself. If anything happens to you it will hurt Maria and slow her recovery.’
‘How long will she have to stay in hospital?’ Swallow asked.
‘A few more days, maybe a week,’ Lafeyre said. ‘I’d advise that. She’s well looked after here, but when she goes home she’ll have to rest for a long time. She can’t go back to the business straight away. You’ll have to stand firm on that, Joe.’
‘Of course,’ Swallow nodded. ‘Will she need nursing care when she’s home? I could make arrangements.’
‘I doubt it. Dr Morrow can see her there, and she has Carrie and Tess. Lily can spend time with her too. But we can see how it works out. After a few days’ rest she should be up and about. That would be best from a medical point of view. She needs to get her body back to doing usual, normal things. And her mind too.’
Swallow felt a small twinge of comfort in Lafeyre’s words. Things would be as they were. He and Maria could resume their lives in their home above M & M Grant’s.
But now there was police business to be done. He realised that he had no idea what progress if any had been made in the murder inquiries while had been away. They had not entered his head since he had received word in Berlin about Maria. Had Charlie Vanucchi come back to Pat Mossop with any information on the identity of Ellen Byrne’s killer? Had any suspects emerged for the assault on Debbie Dunne, the young fish-seller? Had anything turned up on the murder of Alice Flannery?
He needed to get to Exchange Court. And he needed to talk to John Mallon.