All These Things I've Done (Birthright #1)(32)

‘Yes,’ he assured me. ‘I’ll come see you this weekend.’

I watched as he walked away. ‘Mr Green!’ I called out.

He turned.

‘Please give Mr Kipling my best wishes!’

And then it happened. My voice broke on the word wishes, and I started to cry. Nothing else could make me do it, but somehow the thought of Mr Kipling in the hospital made me feel lonelier than I’d ever felt in my life.

‘There, there,’ said Mrs Cobrawick. ‘It won’t be so bad at Liberty.’

‘It isn’t that—’ I started to say, but then I changed my mind. At the very least, my passing display of weakness hadn’t been in front of anyone I knew.

‘I always find it’s the hardest cases that shed the most tears,’ Mrs Cobrawick commented.

Let this Mrs Cobrawick think what she wanted. Daddy always said you only explained things to the people that actually mattered.

V I I I. i am sent to liberty; am also tattooed!

MRS COBRAWICK AND I RODE the ferry to Liberty Children’s Facility. The view from the boat did not necessarily encourage me: several low-rise grey concrete structures, bunker-like with few windows, surrounded a pedestal. Atop the pedestal was an enormous greenish pair of woman’s feet in sandals and the bottom of her skirt, both made of what I’d guess was ageing copper. I think my father had once told me some story about what had happened to the rest of the statue (maybe it had been scrapped for parts?), but at that moment I couldn’t remember it, and the torsoless woman seemed ominous to me. There was something inscribed on the base of the pedestal but the only words I could make out were tired and free. I was the former though not the latter. The whole island was surrounded by a chain-link fence, which, I could tell from the coiled structures at the top, was electrified. I told myself that I wouldn’t be there long.

‘Back when my mother was a girl, Liberty used to be a tourist attraction,’ Mrs Cobrawick informed me. ‘You could climb up the woman’s dress and the base was a museum.’

What hadn’t been? Half the places in my neighbourhood used to be museums.

‘What you said back at the courthouse? Liberty is not a jail,’ Mrs Cobrawick continued. ‘And you shouldn’t think of it as such. We’re very proud of Liberty and we like to think of it as a home.’

I knew I should probably keep my mouth shut, but I couldn’t help replying. ‘What’s the electrified fence for then?’

Mrs Cobrawick narrowed her eyes at me, and I could tell my question had probably been a mistake. ‘It’s to keep everyone safe,’ she said.

I didn’t comment.

‘Did you hear me?’ Mrs Cobrawick asked. ‘I said, the fence is there to keep everyone safe.’

‘Yes,’ I replied.

‘Good,’ Mrs Cobrawick said. ‘For the record, it’s polite to show some acknowledgement when a person’s answered a question you’ve asked.’

I apologized and told her I hadn’t meant to be rude. ‘I’m tired,’ I explained, ‘and a bit distracted by what’s been happening.’

Mrs Cobrawick nodded. ‘I’m glad to hear that. I was worried your rudeness was a sign of poor breeding. I’m well versed in your background, Anya. Your family history. It wouldn’t come as a surprise to me if you lacked certain refinements.’

I could tell she was baiting me, but I wouldn’t take it. The boat was docking at the island, and I’d be quit of this woman soon.

‘The truth is, Anya, your stay here can be easy or it can be difficult,’ she said. ‘It’s completely up to you.’

I thanked her for the advice, making sure not to sound sarcastic.

‘When I heard about your situation this morning, I specifically offered to transport you myself, though normally such responsibilities fall well below my purview. You could say I had an interest in you. You see, I went to college with your mother. We weren’t friends per se but I often saw her on campus, and I’d hate to see you end up like her. I’ve found that early intervention can make a world of difference in borderline cases.’

I took a deep breath and bit my tongue. I mean I literally bit it. I could taste the blood in my mouth.

The boat had stopped, and the captain called for everyone going to Liberty Children’s Facility to disembark. ‘Well,’ I said, ‘thanks very much for taking me over.’

‘I’m coming in with you,’ she said.

I had assumed she worked at the court, not at Liberty, but, of course, this had been foolish of me. I wondered how she had known that I’d be sent to Liberty, considering how quickly the hearing had progressed. Had my fate been decided before I even arrived at court that morning?

‘I’m the principal here,’ Mrs Cobrawick told me. ‘Some people call me the warden behind my back,’ she added with a strange smile. ‘Though don’t you go being one of them.’

Once we were off the dock, my hostess led me to a concrete room marked CHILDREN’S ORIENTATION, where a skinny blonde girl in a lab coat and a man in yellow coveralls were waiting for me. ‘Dr Henchen,’ Mrs Cobrawick said to the blonde girl, ‘this is Anya Balanchine.’

‘Hello,’ Dr Henchen said, looking me up and down. ‘Do I process her as long or short term?’