Bertha said impatiently, “Listen, if you’re trying to justify yourself to me, don’t do it. You don’t need to. If you’ve got the money and I’ve got the time, I’ll do anything you want. If you haven’t got money, I haven’t got the time. You apparently overlooked the fact that I’ve had my own ups and downs, and I’ve lived something of a life myself.”
“It isn’t that, Mrs. Cool. It’s the fact that you must realize the situation.”
“I understand that all right, but how did Mrs. Goldring adopt your daughter if you didn’t sign the proper releases?”
“That is the thing I am trying to explain to you.”
“Well, for God’s sake go ahead and explain it then.”
“Mrs. Goldring, even twenty years ago, was a very scheming, persistent person.”
“I can understand that.”
“She went to the institution where babies were left for adoption. There was more demand than there were babies to fill that demand. Mrs. Goldring had had one child — the woman who is now Mrs. Belder. She couldn’t have any more. Later on she wanted a younger sister for that child. She found she would have to wait for some time. Then she saw Carlotta. She became attracted to her. The persons in charge of the institution told her that I had been paying for Carlotta’s board, that recently payments had stopped, but that I still wouldn’t sign a release. They were very much concerned about the whole situation.”
“Go on,” Bertha said, “what did Mrs. Goldring do?”
“Mrs. Goldring either got them to violate one of the rules of the institution, or what is more likely, won their confidence and took advantage of it to steal their records concerning Carlotta.”