Berne

Berne is the Swiss setting that connects Charlotte Blacklock’s treatment for goitre with Rudi Scherz’s later recognition of her. Its importance is both medical and investigative: an operation there removed the deformity that Charlotte concealed with pearls, while her former patient’s chance encounter with Rudi supplied the real basis for his speaking to her in England.

Medical History

After Dr Blacklock died, Letitia Blacklock gave up her position with Randall Goedler and took her sister to Switzerland to consult specialists about an operation. The treatment had been left late, but it succeeded: Charlotte’s goitre was removed, leaving a scar she could hide beneath a choker of pearls or beads. Berne is identified in the account of this treatment as the location of Dr Adolf Koch’s clinic, where Koch was a renowned specialist in goitre operations.

The operation’s success changed what Charlotte could conceal, rather than erasing the history of her illness. Her altered appearance and the hidden scar became part of the identity she maintained as Letitia; the pearls served as a practical cover for the mark left by surgery.

Connection to Rudi Scherz

Rudi Scherz had worked as an orderly at Dr Adolf Koch’s clinic. When he later encountered Charlotte in an English hotel, he recognized her as a former patient and spoke to her impulsively. His recognition was thus grounded in their shared connection to the Berne clinic, not in the story Charlotte subsequently gave about him.

Charlotte invented an explanation involving Montreux and Rudi’s father being a hotel proprietor to account for his familiarity. Craddock’s reconstruction distinguishes that cover story from the actual link: Rudi had known Charlotte in the clinic, though he had left his position there under a cloud some time after her treatment. The Berne connection consequently supplied a credible reason for their encounter while also creating the risk that Rudi might expose Charlotte’s assumed identity.

Narrative Significance

Berne joins a concealed bodily history to the murder investigation. The clinic explains both the scar hidden by Charlotte’s pearls and how Rudi could recognize her, turning medical treatment into a crucial link in the chain of suspicion. In the account of Letitia’s care for her sister, the Swiss journey also marks a decisive change in their lives: Letitia leaves her employment to devote herself to Charlotte, and the sisters remain in Switzerland doing Red Cross and other work after war makes returning to England difficult.