“It’s not about that,” Andee interrupted, “and anyway there’s no rush for it, she’s going to be in the States until after Christmas so you can reprioritize the workload. No, I’m ringing to ask if you’d like to come here for supper tomorrow evening? Graeme’s away so I’m afraid I’ll be doing the cooking, although Dan has gamely offered to help out.”

Claudia immediately felt better, even something close to lighthearted. “That sounds wonderful,” she replied. “Do you mean all three of us?”

“Of course, all three of you. And as Henry’s there, perhaps you can invite him along too.”

AT SIX THE following evening Andee sat down with Dan in the home office she shared with Graeme to go over everything they needed to have straight in their minds before Marcy, Claudia, and the others arrived.

“OK, the floor is yours, SuperDan,” she encouraged. “Speak what’s in your mind so we can go through it.”

With an ironic smile, he said, “Obviously this is all about Marcy. She is, and will remain, our priority, but as Archie’s RJ practitioner, I also have a responsibility to him, so I’ll talk about him first. I’ll come on to the letters he’s written, but for now Helen, the lawyer you recommended, isn’t optimistic about getting the attempted murder charge reduced to severe assault. She’s still talking to the Crown Prosecution Service, so hasn’t given up yet, and I’ve offered to speak to them too should it prove relevant further down the line.”

“I take it Archie knows he’s going down anyway for the arson? He must do, he pleaded guilty. Does he understand that the chances of reducing the attempted murder charge aren’t good?”

“Probably, but we haven’t discussed it in any detail. That’s his lawyer’s job, and I don’t want him thinking that Restorative Justice is an easy way of manipulating the system to work in his favor. His remorse has to be genuine, actually I’m sure it is, but we’re not yet in a place where he’s presenting it well.”

“But you believe he’ll get there?”

“Absolutely. I wouldn’t have wasted all this time on him if I didn’t, nor would I have suggested a meeting with Marcy and Claudia. If it goes the way we’re hoping, it could have a profound effect on Archie—Marcy too, of course. In his head he’s got to know her while he’s been writing to her, he feels attached to her, so to hear that his letters have been read and not rejected could strengthen his remorse to a point where he finds it easier to express.”