At last prosecuting counsel finished his opening and Gordon Lock rose to his feet. In spite of how fierce he looked and the arresting power of his voice, his calm presentation of a young lad reformed and ready to accept responsibility for his actions, as well as the steps he’d taken to show his remorse to his victim, was persuasive, Marcy thought. Whether the jury shared her view was impossible to tell.

At twelve thirty they broke for lunch, and reconvened at two, when witnesses for the prosecution began to take the stand: police and fire officers, Rohan Laghari the burns consultant, all, in their own ways, adding to the condemnation of Archie and his actions.

Finally, it was over for the day, and after Marcy, Claudia, and Jasmine parted company with everyone in the lobby, leaving Dan to make sure Maria got the right bus home, Henry drove them back to the coach house.

As soon as they arrived Marcy left the others to discuss the day’s events and took herself to her room. She needed a few minutes alone to assimilate and hopefully conquer the building dread of taking the stand the following day.

In her previous life, before the fire, she wouldn’t have thought twice about getting up to address a room full of strangers. She’d had confidence then, and courage, and always a belief in what she was saying. She hadn’t questioned herself, and she certainly hadn’t thought about her looks, other than to make herself presentable before the event began.

She wasn’t that person anymore, physically or mentally, and yet until today she’d thought she was making good progress in overcoming her insecurities. She’d truly believed she was calmer, or at least less horrified by her own looks; she’d even been able to mix with friends in public places. And wasn’t entering into the RJ process with Archie proof that she still held the same values she always had? She’d always believed in redemption—easy when she hadn’t had to put it into practice—and even after everything that had happened, perhaps especially after what had happened, she still had faith in a person’s ability to change for the good. She had no doubt of it in Archie’s case; he was genuinely sorry for what he’d done, to the point that he was ready to go to prison for destroying her property.

He was doing the right thing in admitting to the first count of arson, but he really didn’t deserve to be found guilty on the second count. It would be so easy for the jury to believe he’d been reckless, but she was fully convinced that there had been no intention to cause her harm. She just didn’t know if she had it in her to stand up in court to say so.