Allie was touched. ‘Thank you,’ she said. ‘I miss her very much.’
‘I know Lucinda thought very highly of you,’ Julian continued, taking another step forward. ‘She spoke about you often, especially after you enrolled at Cimmeria. She believed you would one day step into her shoes.’ He glanced around at the people beside him. ‘That’s why we’re here. You see… we’d like to invite you to join us.’
That, Allie hadn’t expected.
‘Join you?’ She stared at him. ‘I don’t understand. How can you even invite me? I thought Nathaniel ran it now.’
Julian’s smile tightened. ‘We are the core group – the real Orion, if you will. It’s our goal to wrest control of the organisation back from Nathaniel. Seize back the leadership that is rightfully ours. Return Orion back to the high standing it has held for centuries. Expel the Neanderthals and close the gates.’
‘Hear hear,’ someone murmured. The group rustled with approval.
Julian smiled. ‘We would very much like it if you were at our side, as Lucinda was for so many years.’
Her frozen expression seemed to deflate some of his enthusiasm. His voice faltered very slightly at the end.
Allie felt as if the handsomely dressed group in front of her had walked in with machine guns and deposited a time bomb in her lap.
She wanted to shout at them about how their stupid battle had cost her grandmother her life. How other people she loved had been caught up in it and paid a horrible price.
But she didn’t. She squared her shoulders and looked out at the group.
‘I’m sorry you wasted your time coming here today.’ Her voice was low but perfectly clear. ‘I’m afraid I cannot accept your invitation.’
If the people in the room had known her better they would have heard the suppressed anger in her tone. But they didn’t know her at all.
‘Perhaps I wasn’t clear —’ Julian seemed befuddled.
Allie didn’t let him finish. ‘You were perfectly clear. Now let me be clear. Lucinda Meldrum died trying to end this thing once and for all. That is all she wanted. This fight ruined her life, Nathaniel’s life, my life, and the lives of all the kids in this building.’ She took a breath, ignoring the stunned expressions on the faces looking back at her. ‘So, I will not join you to fight for control of Orion. I don’t want anything to do with Orion at all.’
No one met Allie’s gaze as she threaded her way through the crowd in Isabelle’s office – all she wanted was out.
But just as she stepped into the corridor, taking a grateful gulp of the cool air, Julian caught up with her.
‘Allie, could I speak to you for a moment?’ He closed the door behind him, so no one could overhear their conversation.
He was very tall – he towered over her. She looked up at him cautiously, expecting him to chide her. But he didn’t do anything like that. Instead, he apologised.
‘My timing was terrible. Please forgive me. I put you in the most appalling position in there.’
His contrition appeared real; Allie was disarmed.
‘I’m sorry, too,’ she said, her cheeks colouring. ‘I lost my temper a little.’
‘Everyone loses their temper.’ His lips twitched mischievously. ‘I’ve seen your grandmother throw a stapler so hard it left a dent in a wall.’
‘No way,’ she said. It was unimaginable. Calm, controlled Lucinda, losing it?
‘Absolute way,’ he said. ‘You don’t get anywhere in life by being placid. Greatness comes from passion. And passion is almost always twinned with anger. You can fight that in yourself or you can accept it, and use it as a force for good. Which is what she chose to do.’
Allie studied him curiously.
He was an interesting-looking man – all angles and elbows, like an overgrown teenager. His hair flopped over his narrow forehead, and he kept shoving it back absently. She liked that his quick smile always reached his eyes.
‘Perhaps I was overly exuberant in my timing, because Lucinda was an inspiration to me,’ he continued. ‘She helped me many times when I was young, and we remained friends and colleagues throughout my life. I named my daughter after her.’ He paused. ‘Lucy’s eight now. I’d always hoped to send her to Cimmeria when she was old enough so she could walk in her godmother’s footsteps. Now I wonder if she’ll ever get that chance.’
It was heartbreaking to think of Cimmeria in Nathaniel’s hands – out of all of their reach. But if that was what it took for there to be peace, Allie would let it happen.
‘I wish there was another way,’ she said. ‘I just don’t think there is one.’
His reply came without a second’s hesitation.
‘Actually, I’m certain there is,’ he said. ‘We just have to find it.’
12
Classes resumed the next morning.