Prologue

The clock in the orphanage struck eleven. I crept down the stairs. Miss Tibbet will be so mad if she knows I'm not in bed.
I tiptoed along the corridor. That's when I heard voices.
'What do you think, then?'
'Elinor, I really don't know...'
It was Miss Tibbet and Miss Wonders.
'When do you think time is right?'
'Time... it's always right. There's only one time. Or should I say uncountable, only if you count minutes and seconds.'
'You're talking nonsense.'
'I always do.'
'But Alistar should know who you are truly.'
'Well, I think it's really time for me to tell him... that I am his mother.'