She stubbed her cigar out in her coffee cup. ‘Are you sure? Maybe you should check your diary in case you have plans to show Orion’s girlfriend your medal collection.’
‘I think you’re having a go at me again. But I’m much too tired to give a damn. Are you coming by on Tuesday or not?’
‘I’ll be there.’
Antoine pulled up by the kerb right outside the Lakeview. Just a half dozen reporters were stationed there.
‘Still a few diehards, I’m afraid,’ said Antoine.
‘Good luck tomorrow, Eden,’ said Belle. ‘You’ll be great. Just imagine the Guardians with their clothes off.’
I fought to suppress a nervous laugh. ‘Why would I want to do that?’
‘It’s supposed to help with nerves. You know, underneath their pompous uniforms they’re just human beings like you and me. Humans who burp and fart and –’
‘Come on, Belle,’ said Antoine, lightly swatting his sister across the head. ‘Before we all bring up our dinner.’
I opened the door and stepped on to the pavement.
‘Eden,’ said Peg, ‘when is the verdict going to be announced?’
‘Wednesday.’
‘We’ll all come to your hotel right after the verdict. Hopefully you’ll have Orion with you. And if not . . .’
‘If not,’ I said.
Neither of us could bear to finish the other half of that sentence.
Chapter 12
The Space and Time Institute stood at the crest of the hill, as though keeping watch over the city that lay below it. As clouds passed in front of the sun and then cleared, light glinted from its tall windows, like the warning beam from a lighthouse.
A car, with a driver and security escort, had been sent to collect me. We drove through the front entrance and turned to the left, the opposite side of the building I had visited when I arrived. This was the infamous south wing, where the Time Court was situated.
I smoothed my skirt as the car pulled into the car park. Admiral Westland had sent me a suit, as promised. It was a deep charcoal grey and fitted me perfectly. The skirt fell below my knee and the jacket was long, down to my hips. Everything about it was perfect: the opposite of girlish and love-struck. Just wearing it made me feel like a different person – a more mature, confident version of myself. Dressed in this suit, I could see myself explaining carefully and calmly that Ryan had returned to 2012 to save my life and set the timeline straight. I would hide my feelings for Ryan from the courtroom. I would not be his love interest. I would not allow Ryan to lose his freedom because of me.
The car came to a stop and the security officer guided me to the front entrance of the Time Court. I should have expected the reporters and camera operators with their lights and microphones and cameras. I composed my face into a mask of blank calm and strode alongside the security officer, ignoring their questions and the flashing of cameras.
Although it was clearly less than a century old, the building’s wood panelling and gilt-framed portraits of former Guardians gave it a feeling of ancient grandeur. My shoes clicked on the polished wooden floors as I made my way to the front desk.
‘My name is Eden Anfield. I’m a witness in the trial of Orion Westland,’ I told the receptionist.
‘Stand in front of the retinal scanner,’ he told me.
My eyes were scanned and I was escorted by a different security officer to a waiting room at the end of the hall.
There were enough seats for about twenty people, but the waiting room was empty. The security officer gave me a quick nod and walked away. I was much too jittery to sit down so I went to the window and looked out over the city down to the water. The blue of the lake and deep green of the trees were drenched in the bright light of summer. I imagined Ryan and me on a boat on the lake or swimming in the water. Was this where we would spend our life together? Or was this where I would spend my life alone?
‘Miss Anfield. The court is ready for you.’
Already. I hadn’t had time to calm myself yet. Turning around, I saw a court usher dressed in a funereal black suit standing in the doorway. I followed him down a long hallway towards the double doors that led to the courtroom. Two doormen, dressed in white suits, were positioned either side of the doors; above them was a large circular crest with the words Ad Astra engraved above it. When we were just halfway along the corridor, the doormen pulled the doors open and two men left the court. One was an usher, the other was, like me, a witness.
‘Ben?’ I said.
‘Eden! How’re you holding up?’
I shrugged. ‘OK, I guess. How was it in there?’
‘Ma’am,’ said the usher. ‘The court is waiting.’
‘Will you be here for the verdict tomorrow?’ Ben asked.
‘Of course.’
‘We’ll talk then.’
‘Ma’am,’ said the usher.
The size of the doors did not prepare me for what was inside. The doors suggested a large space, something grand, but the courtroom was bigger and more imposing than I could have imagined. It was a circular room and everything inside was curved to its shape. Five long convex windows stretching from the high ceilings to the floor framed the city below. Twenty-four enormous clocks were spaced around the room, the name of a prominent city displayed underneath each. Above the door I entered by was a high gallery filled with empty seats.
In front of me were five stone and glass chairs – thrones almost – arranged in a semicircle. Four of them were empty; in the fifth sat Admiral Wolfe. My heart sank.
Immediately I scanned the room for Ryan. He was behind a small desk on the far side of the room with Saul White, his lawyer. Like me, Ryan was wearing a charcoal suit. The trousers were cut slim and the jacket was so long it looked like he was wearing tails. He was clean-shaven and his hair had been cut shorter than I’d ever seen on him. If this had been a wedding instead of a trial, I might have mistaken him for the groom.
He turned his head and locked eyes with me. My heart hammered against my chest. He looked gorgeous. And scared.
For a moment everything else vanished – the thrones, the lawyers, the clocks on the wall – and all I could see was Ryan, a look of hope and fear in his eyes. I wanted to run across the room, pull him into my arms and tell him everything was going to be OK.
Instead, I gave him a quick smile and tore my eyes away.
‘Ma’am,’ said the usher. ‘This way.’
I followed the usher to the witness box and took my seat.
Now I was facing the five thrones. Admiral Wolfe, dressed in a flowing white gown, was calmly observing me. I took a deep breath and tried to ignore the uneasiness that was growing within me.
‘Do not be afraid,’ Wolfe told me. ‘You simply need to tell the truth. The court lawyer will ask you a few questions and then Orion’s representative may wish to ask you some questions as well. It will be quite informal.’
It didn’t feel informal. At all.
‘We have a simple truth to uncover,’ Admiral Wolfe continued. ‘And that is whether Orion Westland defied the Board of Guardians and broke one of our most sacred laws so that he could travel back to 2012 and be with the girl he loved. Or whether he was enforcing the Clemency Protocol which spares the life of someone who makes an exceptional contribution to a time mission.’
The usher placed my hands on two flat screens. I’d expected a Bible.
‘These screens will monitor your physical responses to the questions,’ said the usher. ‘Please keep your hands flat on the screens at all times. If you tell the truth, your monitor will remain in the green zone. The amber zone indicates confusion or uncertainty. The red zone will inform the court that your answer is not truthful.’