‘But it was my fault, Sylvain,’ she said passionately. ‘And now you’re in trouble.’
‘It was worth it,’ he said. When she prepared to protest again, he reached out and lifted her chin until her eyes met his. ‘Allie. It was worth it.’
She’d worked so hard not to care about any of this, but now one tear escaped, betraying her. He wiped it away, his fingers gentle on her skin.
‘Courage,’ he said, pronouncing it the French way. ‘Don’t let them see you cry.’
Then he walked to the door, resting his hand on the handle, waiting until she’d composed herself. Taking a steadying breath, she nodded to show she was ready.
He opened the door.
Inside, a table had been set up with four chairs, as it had been arranged the day Night School students began their interviews. This time, though, only one chair faced it. For a split second Allie imagined running out of the room. Out of the school.
She walked inside.
The room was chilly and smelled faintly of dusty concrete and stale sweat. Zelazny, Jerry Cole, Eloise and Isabelle sat at the table, watching her.
‘Please sit, Allie.’ Eloise looked sympathetic as Allie lowered herself stiffly into the folding chair, its metal cold against her thighs. The others were expressionless.
‘You’re here today because you broke The Rules by going out after curfew without permission to meet a member of Nathaniel’s team.’ Isabelle’s hands were crossed in front of her. Her light hair was pinned back severely, and her narrow glasses made her face look angular. ‘You were accompanied by Sylvain Cassel, who has already verified all of this to the tribunal. Do you disagree with any of these allegations?’
Allie held her gaze steadily. ‘No.’
‘Allie, this is your opportunity to make your case against expulsion, from Night School and from Cimmeria Academy, the most serious penalty this tribunal can issue.’ Eloise’s voice was gentle. ‘Tell us any mitigating circumstances – any reasons why what you did was justified. Please start by giving us your account of what happened that night. Why did you break The Rules?’
As Allie recounted the events of that night, her voice started out shaky but gradually steadied until her words rang out clear and confident. When she reached the part where Gabe grabbed her off the path and explained how she’d freed herself from him, a half-smile flickered across Isabelle’s face before it was suppressed. Again, though, she left out everything Christopher had said about the headmistress.
When she’d finished she said simply, ‘I take full responsibility for everything that happened that night. None of it was Sylvain’s fault. He wouldn’t have been there if I hadn’t threatened him and refused to follow his advice. He was trying to protect me.’
Zelazny spoke immediately. ‘And why did you not follow his advice?’
Keeping her expression blank, Allie turned her eyes to his. ‘Because I knew you would kidnap my brother to get to Nathaniel and I didn’t want that to happen.’
‘Knew?’ Zelazny’s tone was sarcastic. ‘How could you possibly know what we could do? Can you read our minds?’
‘Fine. Tell me I was wrong then.’ Allie’s gaze challenged his, but he waved the comment away with a dismissive gesture.
‘I’m not the one on trial here,’ he said. ‘And you’d do well to remember that.’
‘Nobody’s on trial here.’ Jerry Cole moved in to calm the situation. His wiry brown hair was more rumpled than usual, and his glasses lay on the table in front of him as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. ‘Allie, was your sole motive to protect your brother?’
She nodded vigorously.
‘You had no interest in helping Nathaniel?’
‘No.’ She looked at him with confusion. ‘Why would I want to help Nathaniel?’
‘From what you’ve told us,’ Jerry said, ‘your brother made a fairly thorough case for following Nathaniel. Were you not convinced at all?’
‘I think …’ Allie’s stomach twisted, and she swallowed hard. ‘I think my brother’s lost it. I disagree with everything he said. But I had to see him. I had to find out what happened to him. I had to know he was really alive.’
‘Nobody can argue that there’s anything irrational in that,’ Eloise interjected. ‘There is a special bond between siblings. Anyone would have done the same thing.’
‘It’s that special bond I’m asking about, though,’ Jerry said. Eloise shot him a strange look but he didn’t seem to notice. ‘You felt so bonded to him that you would break The Rules and risk everything to go and see him. Would you break The Rules again for him? Would you still put your brother before your school?’
Allie hadn’t considered such a situation and for a second she stared at Jerry, imagining Christopher calling for her help, asking her to throw everything aside for him.
‘No,’ she said, with sadness. ‘Not any more.’
‘May I ask why not?’ Jerry peered at her across the table.
Tears burned the backs of Allie’s eyes and she remembered Sylvain’s words. Don’t let them see you cry.
She took a deep breath. When she spoke her voice was steady. ‘Because I don’t trust him.’
TWENTY-TWO
After questioning her for several more minutes, Isabelle called an end to the proceedings. ‘I think we’ve gathered all the information that we need to make our decision,’ the headmistress said. ‘Allie, please wait outside. We’ll call you when we’re ready.’