Chapter ThirteenI had never been in a courtroom before, let alone the High Court in the heart of Edinburgh's Old Town, and the atmosphere struck me like a slap on the face. Even the surroundings had taken me by surprise for, when one is used to the quiet of the countryside or the relative bustle of Dalkeith, venturing into Scotland's capital city is a bit of an adventure. The noise, the crowds and even the smells were either unfamiliar or magnified a score-fold from what I knew in Midlothian. I felt very much like a country girl out of her environment and, more than once, I thought of turning back to my own world. However, I did not. I wanted to see Matthew again, so I took a deep breath, fought my nerves and continued.
When I came to the Old Town, I had to stop and stare. Such a confusio
