As he had said, Lights returned to my room after half an hour. I hadn't needed to get ready – after all, I didn't exactly have any choice of clothes. We walked downstairs in silence and met the other officers in the foyer. All were in suits rather than their uniforms and they looked remarkably different. Harry offered me his arm and we started to walk. It was still cold outside, more so than it had been that morning.
The restaurant wasn't too far away, only two blocks or so. It looked warm and welcoming, and I almost didn't care about the food. To be honest, I wasn't hungry anyway. As far as food was concerned, over the last few days I was going through the actions because I had to. I would gladly have gone without eating if I had been alone. I had no appetite at all.
We walked inside and Lights went to speak to a gentleman behind a counter as the rest of us huddled in the doorway. After a few minutes, the gentleman led us to a table - which Lights had booked in advance – and hovered beside us as we took our seats.
"I'll have the chicken, thank you," I said to him, after scanning the menu. I didn't want chicken, I wanted a salad at most. The officers ordered their meals and then a silence fell over the table.
I looked around at them all thoughtfully. How on earth were they all coping so well with the deaths of their friends and colleagues? There had been a few occasions when emotions bubbled to the surface, but otherwise they were carrying on as normal. How could they do it? Harry, for instance, could not possibly be completely settled with himself after seeing Wilde's body. I shuddered and tried to push the thought from my mind.
Lights broke the silence after a few moments. "What do you intend to do with yourself now, Ada?"
"I don't really know. I guess I'll go back to New Zealand and just see what happens."
"What about your sister?" Harry asked. "Where is she?"
"She was in Liverpool the last time I saw her. The last thing she said to me was that marrying Will was a huge mistake. I don't think I can face seeing her again."
There was another silence, but luckily our food arrived at that moment. I stared at the dish which was almost overflowing with food. I couldn't eat all this! I gingerly started to pick at it, losing my appetite more and more with each bite.
Lights broke the silence again. "Ada, there's someone I want you to meet tomorrow."
My head snapped up to look at him. "Who?"
"Just a young gentleman I ran into this morning. I mentioned that I knew I lonely young woman and he said he would be delighted to keep you company tomorrow while we are all at the inquest again."
I looked at him suspiciously. "I don't want to meet any strangers, Lights, and I certainly don't want to spend the entire day with one."
"I promise you, Ada, you will like this young man."
"Lights, if she doesn't want to..." Harry interrupted. "After everything with Will, maybe you should leave her alone for a while."
"Honestly, Harry. I just found someone to keep her company. I know we can trust this young man and, for the record, he already has a lady friend of sorts."
I bit my lip and considered it. "Very well, I will meet him. But if I don't like the look of him I refuse to spend the day with him. I don't want someone fawning over me and telling me how sorry they are for my loss when they're nothing of the sort!"
The conversation quickly turned to other topics as I continued to poke my food around the plate in silence. What was Lights thinking, arranging for me to meet a man so soon after everything? I resolved to dislike this 'gentleman' on principle – after all, what kind of a gentleman would arrange to meet a young woman if he was already involved with another lady?
The next morning came too soon for my liking. The rest of the meal the previous evening had passed with nothing else of interest happening and we had soon returned to the hotel to retire to bed. I was woken in the morning by Lights knocking on my door.
"Are you coming for breakfast?"
I rolled out of bed and hurried to answer the door.
"Yes, I'll just be a minute."
"That young gentleman I mentioned will be joining us," he commented.
I frowned. "Why are you doing this to me, Lights? I don't want to meet him!"
He shrugged before replying, "If you don't like him, he will leave after breakfast. I promise. Now, I shall wait out here for you to get ready if you don't mind."
He sat himself down on an armchair outside of my room and I quickly closed the door. I quickly got dressed, then attempted to do something with my hair. Never mind, it didn't matter – I would be spending the day alone anyhow.
After five minutes, I emerged from my room to be greeted by Lights again. I took his arm and we walked downstairs to the hotel's dining room. The other officers were there already, seated around a long table. Lights pulled out a chair for me, then sat beside me. There was an empty seat beside me – obviously where this gentleman would be sitting. I sighed.
"Shall we order?" Pitman queried, eyeing a waitress who was standing a short distance away.
Lights shook his head. "No. I think we should wait for our guest to arrive."
The minutes ticked by and I could feel knots in my stomach. How could I even contemplate eating when I felt like this? I toyed with my napkin, feeling utterly bored and horribly nervous. Lights suddenly stood up.
"Here he is!"
We all turned to look and I felt my jaw drop as my eyes widened incredulously. I blinked twice, and pinched myself sharply. It couldn't be – or could it?
It was Will.
