Stunned she whirled around. “You did what?”
“I thought it would make a good house for anyone who needs our help. Young girls like Mollie who don’t have anywhere to turn. I thought Lily might stay and help us run it. We could even look at adopting Michelle.”
“Lily is going to New York to her brother.”
“Is that what she told Mollie? That’s not true. Her brother sent her a telegram telling her, his sister was dead. Seems he blames her for the life she lead even if it wasn’t her fault.”
“Oh no, poor Lily. Oh, I must find her and make sure she knows she can stay here.”
“Find her in a bit. I know Lily is important but so are we. So, Doc Erin, are you going to marry me?”
He saw the blood drain out of her face as she stared at him.
“I can't marry you. I'm sorry, Mick. I am never getting married.”
A knocking on the clinic door interrupted them.
“Doc Brennan, they called an urgent town meeting. You're needed,”a man she didn’t recognize said.
“Is someone hurt, did something happen?”
“Don’t know. I was just sent to find you and make sure you came back with me.”
“Let me get my bag.” Erin picked up her bag. She turned to face Mick. “I'm sorry.”
And then she was gone. It took Mick more than a few seconds to follow after her. He didn’t catch up until they got to the church where a large crowd had gathered.
“Doc Brennan, nice of you to join us.” Charlie Staunton smiled making Mick nervous. The man never smiled. What was he up to?
“You may remember I wasn’t in agreement with the town having a lady doctor?”
‘We all know that, Staunton. But you have been proved wrong. Doc Erin has been an asset to this town in more ways than one. She is an excellent doctor.” Doc said before taking his seat.
Mick saw Erin send the old doctor a quick look of gratitude. Then her concentration returned to Staunton.
“Yes, well, that is a matter of opinion. Let’s stick to the facts, shall we? Where did you say you went to medical school, Doc Brennan?”
“New York,” Erin spoke quietly.
“Then explain why the medical college at Syracuse have never heard of a student called Erin Brennan?”
Erin went white, he saw her hands grip her skirt. She looked completely terrified. He stared at Staunton, in contrast the man looked almost jubilant as he waved the piece of paper in front of him.
“Well, Doc Brennan, we are waiting.”
“I did attend the medical school and was a month away from passing my final exams.
“So, you are not a real doctor after all.
“I was going to pass, all my lecturers told me. Based on my previous—”
“But you didn’t sit the exam, did you? Can I ask why?”
Mick wanted to bundle Erin out of the room. It was obvious Charlie knew the answer to his question.
“The governors of the college wouldn’t allow me to.”
“Because you were a divorced woman or because you were a killer?” Staunton spat out. “No wonder you were so keen to take on Dickinson by yourself. He wasn’t the first person you threatened to kill, was he?
Divorced? A killer? Mick stared at Erin, the truth was written all over her face. Murmurs went up around the hall as people whispered, some discretely, but most were quite loud.
“I think we better let Miss Brennan explain herself.” Father Molloy's voice rang out over the crowd. Mick didn’t miss the fact he referred to Erin as Miss rather than the usual doctor. He guessed from the reaction of the crowd he wasn’t the only one.
Erin closed her eyes for a couple of seconds, her mouth moving as if she was praying. She then squared her shoulders and walked toward Father Molloy. On reaching his side, Mick was relieved to see the priest clasp her hand. He was standing by her. No matter what. Mick wished he could stand up with them but that would only cause more talk. Wouldn’t do Miss, Doc Brennan's reputation any good either.
“I didn’t kill anyone. That court case was a result of the actions of grieving parents who happen to have a lot of influence in New York.” The murmurs around the hall got louder. He watched Erin carefully. Everything about her screamed she was telling the truth but it was a difficult tale to tell.
“I divorced my husband in my final year of medical school.” The room went silent as people digested the statement. A husband. She'd been married before. Why didn’t she say anything?
“The case attracted a lot of press attention mainly because of who my husband was. His family is well known. The day the divorce was granted my husband died. I was accused of his manslaughter. I was found innocent.”
“So you got away with it. And decided you'd come here pretending to be a doctor. You're a charlatan,” Staunton mocked. Mick was tempted to wring his neck.
“As I said, I was less than a month away from my final exams when I was asked to leave. In the eyes of the law I was innocent but some, quite a few to be honest, believed I had done it.”
“I don't believe you’re innocent. You showed up here claiming to be a doctor. You tricked all of us. That ain’t the actions of someone with nothing to hide.”
Mick waited to hear what Erin said, even though he agreed with Staunton. As he looked around the room, he saw a lot of other people nodding their heads. Wilma and Mrs. Grey were both looking at Erin as if they were statues, there wasn't a shred of emotion on either of their faces.
“I realize how my actions look. However, if I had told you the truth would you have given me a chance? I fully intended going back to school and completing my exams but I…”
“Decided to live as a fraud instead. Here in Clover Springs.”
Staunton’s gloating tone made Mick want to punch him.
“I swear to you, Father Molloy, and the rest of you, I didn't mean to act in such a disgraceful manner. I had no other option. I worked hard to become a doctor. I believe I am a good one. My husband wasn’t a pleasant man. He was difficult, controlling and had many enemies. It might have been easier if I had murdered him. But, I couldn’t kill him much as I may have wanted him dead.”
Shocked intakes of breath greeted her remarks.
“I am sorry but you asked for the truth. I made the biggest mistake of my life marrying a brute. I wasn’t prepared to let him win. I am a doctor. “
“An excellent one too. Before you people get all uppity, put yourself in Doc Erin’s shoes. Would you have let her near you, Mr. Larkin, if you knew her history?” Mr. Larkin shook his head at Mrs. Grey’s question.
“No. Then you would be dead,” Mrs. Grey continued. “Or you Mrs. Flanagan? When I couldn’t birth your baby, Erin saved both you and your son. Would you have let her into your house if you had known she hadn’t finished school?”
Mrs. Flanagan looked everywhere but at Mrs. Grey.
“I don’t agree with lying. I am as shocked as the rest of you.” Mrs. Grey glanced at Erin.
Mick saw Erin wince, her eyes clouded with pain.
“However, after working very closely with Doc Erin over the last few months and seeing the number of patients her knowledge has helped, I believe we should let her stay in Clover Springs.”
“But she lied,” Staunton protested.
“You have never given her a chance. Not from the first day she walked into this town.” Mick stood up.
“Just because I don’t behave like a lovesick puppy dog following her around all the time. Aren’t you content with your soiled dove or is it a harem you're after?”
Mick's punch connected with Staunton’s cheek.
“Stop it. At once.” Erin's voice stopped both men in their tracks. “I was wrong. I should have told the truth from the start. I should have trusted you. I am sorry. Believe me, you don’t know how sorry.” Erin turned to Mrs. Sullivan. “I will be packed and out of the boarding house within the next twenty-four hours. I'm sorry,” she whispered one more time before fleeing the building.
&n
bsp; Mrs. Grey and Mrs. Sullivan went to follow her but Father Molloy stopped them. “Leave her alone for a little while. I think she needs it.” Father Molloy's voice was as sad as the look on his face.
“We can't sit round here just leaving her over there by herself. We all got a past. Not nobody here who never made a mistake before. Not even you, Father.”
“Wilma. You can’t say things like that to a priest.”
“Why not, Mrs. Shaw, I'm as fallible as the next man. Thank you, Wilma, for your reminder. We all need to look at our own actions before we judge those of others.”
“So, can she stay? I like having a female doc around. She's easy to talk to and she don't mind if it takes a while for me to get to the point.” A glare in Doc's direction followed Mrs. Flanagan’s remark. “She saved my baby. Mrs. Grey was right about that. She's a good doctor. I don't need a piece of paper to see that. Couldn't read it anyway.” Mrs. Flanagan laughed but whether she was amused or nervous Mick couldn’t tell.
“I appreciate you sharing your opinion, Mrs. Flanagan. Now is not the time to be making decisions. We have to see whether Miss Brennan wants to stay or not.”
“Doc Brennan, and she ain't going nowhere. I refuse to let anyone in this town bully her out.” Wilma glared at Charlie Staunton, Mrs. Shaw, and the other people flanking him. “If you make the female doc leave, I is going too.”
“Now, Wilma, steady on. We don't have to do anything hasty.”
“I'm with Wilma. And so will every decent person in this town. So the girl didn’t tell us the whole truth. But how many of us assumed she was here as a new bride when she first arrived. We didn't exactly insist she show us paper qualifications. As Doc says, she's an excellent doctor. That's high praise coming from him.” Mrs. Grey’s tone brooked no argument.
Doc nodded but didn’t add anything more to the conversation. Mick had heard enough.
Chapter 35
He marched down to the station. He knew the minute she saw him as she took a step back, the fear on her face making him pause.
“We need to talk. You and I got unfinished business.” He took her arm, gently but firmly, steering her off the platform toward a quiet part of the street. “Matthews, mind the doc’s bags,” Mick shouted to the station master staring after them.
Erin didn’t say a word, her white face making her blue eyes look almost violet.
“Why are you running away? Stay here and fight. You said Clover Springs felt like home.”
Erin didn’t answer.
“What are you so afraid of? I've seen you take on almost everyone other people would walk two blocks to avoid. So I know you aren’t a coward. Do you not feel the same as I do?”
He moved closer to her, the look in his eyes daring her to lie.
“No. I...”
“No? Really. You don't feel like you will stop breathing if you never saw me again?”
She dragged her gaze away from his.
“I don’t feel like that.”
“I don’t believe you. You're lying. Is it because you think you are too good for a cowboy?”
Stunned, she looked back into his eyes. “Of course not. That’s got nothing to do with it.”
He stared at her for a couple of seconds. She wouldn’t return his gaze.
“Why didn’t you tell me? You let me make a fool of myself all this time.”
“Nobody knew.”
The stricken look in his eyes made her feel even worse. “Do you think I care whether people knew or not. I loved you and you let me believe I had a chance.”
“No I didn’t”
“Don’t lie, not again.”
She caressed the tops of her arms trying to put into words what she'd sworn she'd never talk about again.
“So, you are a widow. You could have told everyone. Being a widow is respectable.”
She didn’t answer.
“I asked you a question. Why didn’t you trust me enough to tell me?” He moved closer as he raised his voice
Instinctively she shrank back.
“That mark on your shoulder, it wasn’t an accident, was it? ”
“No,” She shouted back at him.
“Erin, come and sit down. You're shaking. Here, take my jacket.” He wrapped his jacket gently around her shoulders. “I'm sorry I raised my voice. I had no right.”
“I should have been honest but for a while I just wanted to be liked for being myself. My da didn’t want me to be a doctor, he wanted me to settle down and get married, have a family. That was what good Irish catholic girls did.”
“So, you married to please your pa?”
“In a way. I wish I could say yes but that isn’t the truth. I thought I was in love. I married a doctor. I thought he believed in everything I did. He said he had no problem with female doctors. He didn't unless they were his wife.”
“A doctor did that to your skin?” Mick fought hard to control his feelings.
“Anthony had a patient, a child. He became very ill. Anthony was supposed to be on duty but... Anyway, I had to do something. I performed a tracheotomy.”
“I don’t know what that is. Did the patient die?”
“I cut a hole in his windpipe to allow him to breathe. No, he survived.”
“So why was your husband angry?”
“Because it looked bad. The doctor in charge of the hospital wanted to know why Antony had left me alone. I wasn’t supposed to be on the wards on my own, never mind doing surgery.”
“Where was he?”
“It doesn’t matter. When we got back to our house, Anthony decided it was all my fault. I had deliberately set out to ruin his career. He became very angry. That was the first time he hit me.”
“Did you report him to the police?”
“I spoke to a policeman who had been friends with my da. He told me all men had to get used to being married. Things would settle in time especially when I gave him a son. I never fell pregnant. Yet another way I failed him as wife.” A tear trickled down her cheek.
“Erin, it might not have been you who couldn’t have children.” Mick said gently.
“Anthony insisted it was. The lack of children made him worse, I think. The day after he burnt my upper arm, I filed for divorce.”
“Did you not tell your ma or the rest of your family?”
“No, by the time Anthony started hitting me, Da had died. Mam was mourning her husband, she had enough to deal with. She decided it would be easier to go back to Ireland. I couldn’t tell her I was leaving my husband, she would have been so upset. Irish people don't get divorced, not our type anyway. So, Mam made her preparations to go back to Ireland. I knew as soon as she went I would leave. But Anthony found out. I still don't know how, I suspect it was one of his servants. He met me at the ship knowing, I suppose, I would put on the loving wife act for Mam. She was so happy I was well looked after.”
“So, she left and you went home with him.”
“I didn’t realize how angry he was. As soon as the front door closed, I realized I had made a huge mistake. He'd given the staff the night off. It was only the two of us in the house.”
“Oh, Erin, why didn’t you just tell me. I would have understood.”
“No, you wouldn’t. Nobody knows what it is like to have the person you love turn into a monster right in front of your eyes. Anthony was a well-respected doctor. The staff at the hospital loved him, the nurses in particular. He was charming and came from a highly thought of medical family. His father was a doctor as was his father. Even after he died, his family sent men after me.”
“Surely, they must have seen the bad side of him?”
“No, he kept that well-hidden. It only came out later at the trial.”
“Anthony was very angry when the judge said he would grant the divorce. He became very vocal in court and accused me of all sorts of things including trying to poison him. He said if anything ever happened to him, they would know who to blame.”
“And?”
“And Anth
ony went out that night and shot himself. After everything I went through, the scandal of becoming a divorced woman, he killed himself anyway. The divorce hadn’t been finalized. His death meant I was free. A respectable widow.” Her fury at the injustice she had suffered made her voice shake. Tears flowed down her face. “But I wasn’t free. His family members are powerful people. I was arrested on a charge of manslaughter.”
“But surely it was obvious he killed himself?”
Erin stared at him.
“In the eyes of many people, I was responsible for my husband’s death. I had goaded him by insisting on working as a doctor rather than staying home to mind the house. I was lucky though. I had an understanding judge who saw the case for what it was. He said I was innocent of all charges.”
Erin took a deep breath.
“But it didn’t matter. My life was ruined. Anthony got his revenge. The hospital where I worked refused to let me complete my training. All those years of hard work meant nothing. Nobody else would give me a job.”
“So you came here?”
“I had a package for Father Molloy from my mam. I intended delivering it and then making my way onto Denver. I was going to try to find work as a doctor or nurse. Anything to pay the bills.”
“Father Molloy must have recognized you?”
“He did but he never knew I was married. Brennan is my maiden name.”
“Come here, Erin.” He pulled her to him and cuddled her as she cried and cried. He kept holding her in silence letting her release all her pent-up emotions.
“I’m sorry for lying to you as well. When we met and I…began to have feelings for you, I got scared. I was going to tell you but then one thing after another happened. It was never the right time.”
“I wish you had trusted me but your story doesn’t change my feelings. I still want to marry you, Erin. I love you.”
“I love you, too, but I can’t get married. Never again. I loved Anthony with all my heart or at least I thought I did. Look at how well that turned out.”
He wasn’t impressed at being compared to someone who sounded like a walking maniac, but he, sort of, understood her reasoning.
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