‘I’m sorry,’ she said again in a small voice. Connie couldn’t look her in the eye. ‘I was a newly qualified social worker.’
‘I know that!’ Lili snapped.
Connie raised her eyes and faced her. ‘Don’t you see? I had a child in my care and I … they would have classed it as neglect, leaving you on your own like that.’
‘You’d have lost your licence to practise, and your career would have been over before it even started.’
Connie looked at the floor. ‘Yes.’
‘That’s why you got me into that private school and contributed towards the costs of the prep. Guilt money.’
Connie didn’t deny it.
Lili’s mind was racing, ‘So, you didn’t tell the police that you knew my parents – Sky and River.’
‘It wouldn’t have mattered, don’t you see? That wasn’t their actual names.’
‘But you were aware they were going on a trip. Ray found the local police report. They assumed my parents had drowned during a beach party on Corfu the night before or had flown back to England, abandoning their child. They didn’t look at other possibilities.’
Lili glanced at her phone, at the photo of her deceased parents. ‘Do you know what this means, Connie?’ Tears were streaming down Lili’s face again. Twenty-four years had passed since she was discovered on that beach. If Connie had told the authorities the truth, they might have made the connection with the couple who had died in Zakynthos the day Lili was found. What if they’d then traced her extended family, her grandparents? She wouldn’t have grown up in care or been sent to a boarding school.
‘I know what you’re thinking, Lili. The authorities might have connected the dots with …’ She glanced at the photo. ‘Your mother mentioned she was estranged from her parents. I told you that she’d discovered a family secret, and that she’d travelled to Corfu to search for something.’ She shook her head. ‘I don’t know why there was a rift with her family, but perhaps growing up with your biological family wouldn’t have been the best thing for you.’
Lili scowled at her. ‘That wasn’t your decision to make!’ She put her phone in her pocket and turned on her heel.
‘Where are you going, Lili?’
As far away from you as possible, thought Lili, although she wouldn’t dignify the question with a response. Why did Connie care?
When she returned to the taxi, Lili gave the driver Hannah’s address. As the car sped away, she glanced out of the rear window and saw Connie return to the house and close the door. She expected that Connie was glad to see the back of her. All these years she’d been harbouring that guilty secret, and finally she was shot of it – and of Lili.
Lili turned around in her seat. She was about to phone Hannah, and was not looking forward to another awkward conversation, when it rang. Lili imagined that was Connie phoning to try to apologise again and persuade her to stay.
Lili looked at her mobile, surprised and relieved it wasn’t her. ‘Hannah – hello.’
Lili was about to launch into another apology over Maisie and the holiday in Suffolk she hadn’t told Hannah about when her friend beat her to it. ‘I am so sorry, Lili. All those times I’ve crashed at yours, just turning up with Maisie. You never turned me away – not once. You’re a loyal friend – my best friend. I can’t believe the one time you asked for my help …’
Lili heard her sniff down the phone.
‘I’ve had such a terrible night over it. I want you to stay with me, Lili. Will you come? Please say yes.’
Lili smiled. ‘I’m on my way …’ It was a figure of speech, although on this occasion it was literally true.
‘Great.’
‘Oh, Hannah, I can’t wait to see you. I’ve got some incredible news. I’ve found out who my parents are.’
‘You are joking.’
‘No joke.’ Lili glanced at the taxi driver eyeing her in the rear-view mirror. She didn’t want to go into the details over the phone, to discuss the fact that her father and mother had been dead all these years, or to tell her best friend about her crap morning at Connie’s. She would wait until she arrived.
When Lili ended the call to Hannah, she knew she had to ring Connie. There was a question still bugging her that she hadn’t asked.
‘Connie, it’s me. I have a question. Why a boarding school in Suffolk?’ Lili felt stupid for asking. There was probably no significance apart from that it was cheaper and more convenient to send her out of London.
‘Ah, I forgot about that. Yes, there was a reason I sent you there, and no, it wasn’t because I wanted you as far away as possible – if that’s what you’re thinking.’
Lili stared out of the taxi window. Connie was quite correct; that’s just what she had been thinking.