Chapter Twenty-One
Gravity must be caused by an agent acting constantly according to certain laws.
—Isaac Newton
The Duke of Delmont had been holed up with the Master of Trinity College, Dr. Christopher Wordsworth, for hours, which was not a good sign.
According to the boys, the rumor was Dr. Wordsworth was an austere, devout man who upheld a rather strict moral code at the university.
He categorically loathed the twins, whose moral leanings varied by the day.
Since Wordsworth was new—he’d only started serving from February—he’d likely be more inclined to protect his position as well as the reputation of the college than be lenient or forgiving.
Which did not bode well.
The rest of us—Tarik, Ansel, the twins, Will, and Harold—waited on tenterhooks in one of the reception rooms of the Master’s Lodge.
It was one of the few places on the campus that an aristocratic woman was permitted to be in.
Women in general were not allowed on college grounds alone, without being accompanied by a man and having express approval.
It was absurd how antiquated the thinking was…
to the extent that women were seen as a corruptive influence on male students.
In Cambridge, I read once, a woman had been arrested without cause “on suspicion of evil” for simply existing.
I was glad for my station and the protection of my father’s name.
Still, I could be accused of being a Jezebel, appearing solely to corrupt the men. Such an implication wouldn’t affect only me; it would affect anyone who had been in contact with me.
Meaning everyone in this room.
Was that what James had planned? A claim that I had sown discord?
The accusation of misconduct he’d lodged against Tarik was a grave one.
If Tarik received anything more than a disciplinary fine or temporary rustication, his future as a Fellow of the college would be over.
Already as it was, the false identity was a perceived mark against his moral character.
Tarik had mentioned that years ago there was a student who pretended to be another student to take an examination, and both men were expelled.
The deception went against academic integrity.
“Are you well?” I whispered to Tarik, whose handsome face remained drawn.
“Yes, but I fear even the duke’s advocacy will not help. Wordsworth is known for his rigorous, unforgiving temperament.”
I exhaled. “Does that upset you?”
He shrugged. “It’s everything I’ve ever worked for, so in a sense, it feels like I’m losing everything.” He paused, that blue gaze boring into mine. “Becoming a Fellow meant that I would have something real to offer you. It would have been a respectable position of employment.”
My throat tightened as I bit my lip. “Have you forgiven me, then?”
His hand reached across on the bench we shared, his little finger brushing mine.
The soft touch made heat spark at the point of contact.
No one was paying us any attention, but I felt exposed, as though everyone could see.
“I wish you had told me, but I understand why, logically, you could not. In truth, if we hadn’t met as friends first, I likely wouldn’t feel as I do today. ”
“And how do you feel?” I whispered.
He smiled, his dimple popping, eyes backlit with blue flame. “Infatuated with every part of you—your brain, your wit, your compassion, your beauty.” His stare dropped to my lips and ignited. “I wish I could kiss you right now.”
My abdomen clenched as his finger hooked secretly around mine. “So do I, but I wouldn’t want to corrupt you with my feminine charms.”
“If such charms mean an incisive brain that can rival any gentleman here, then consider me thoroughly and willingly corrupted, mon coeur.”
“Such sweet nothings, Monsieur St. Clair,” I said. “You certainly have mastered the way to this girl’s heart.”
“Have I?”
“It’s yours,” I said simply, watching those vibrant eyes flare with an intensity that I felt to my bones. I flipped his palm over and squeezed his hand. “Every beating inch of it. I’m in love with you, Tarik, if that isn’t completely obvious by now.”
“I…Truly?”
Feeling weightless, I nodded.
He opened his mouth and closed it, like a fish out of water, as if his voice was locked in his throat, throttling any reply to my unplanned though earnest admission.
I was drowning in that limpid gaze, which revealed his every emotion.
We were locked in a trance, the sounds of everyone else fading away, the inches between us vanishing.
“Oy, St. Clair!” Klaus yelled, making us jump apart like we were guilty, which, for all intents and purposes, we probably were. It wouldn’t have taken much for our lips to meet. And that would have been a scandal for the ages. “They’re summoning you. You and Lord Ansel.”
Fear pooled in my belly, but I squeezed his hand for good luck as Tarik stood.
“Whatever happens, I’m with you,” I promised. “Beta Cygni forever.”
That slow-breaking smile was worth everything. He was my twin star. Always.
The waiting was going to kill me.
Every minute that passed by didn’t help.
And when my father finally appeared with Tarik, I could tell from their faces that things had not gone as expected. Papa’s expression was grim, and Tarik’s was dazed, as if he was still coming to terms with whatever life-altering decision had been made.
“I’m out,” he informed us dully. “I’ll be allowed to get my secondary degree but won’t be welcome to stay at the college, and I’ve lost any chance to be a Fellow.
In marginally better news, James Lowry will face immediate expulsion.
Ansel provided a statement and evidence of James’s own malicious misconduct, stealing my research papers and conspiring to cheat and discredit me.
Turns out the college looks a little more severely on breaches of academic integrity than claiming one’s family is more well-off than they actually are.
” He laughed humorlessly. “The duke insisted that such a claim is not irrefutable proof, since wealth can be defined differently. My uncle is an entrepreneur. But Wordsworth wouldn’t budge. ”
The idea to introduce Tarik as the nephew of a French count had been mine, but that falsehood had only been made to Blake and my father, if I recalled correctly.
Tarik hadn’t impersonated or pretended to be a peer.
Most of the others in the ton had simply assumed he’d come from wealth—an assumption we had not corrected.
Still, James’s claims citing Tarik’s lack of moral virtue based on such a fabrication must have stuck.
“And Ansel?” I whispered, staring at my cousin’s nonchalant expression. My father signaled to him, and they both disappeared from the room. No matter what happened, Ansel would be fine. Though he was my coconspirator, he was also a peer, protected by centuries of privilege.
“He will receive his bachelor’s degree.” Tarik sent me a reassuring smile. “His work this term really helped him to solidify his learning.”
Astonished, I gaped. “His work?”
“He nearly finished building an incredible telescope from scratch, didn’t you know? It was a rather excellent effort, in my humble estimation. Mr. Peacock confirmed as much.”
I blushed, taking the praise and the win for what they were. I had never come to this institution to receive any accolades or degrees. I’d only wanted to prove that I could do the work and be part of something bigger than myself. “So, everything’s all right, then?” I asked.
Tarik nodded. “Trust me, Wordsworth wanted to sweep any hint of a woman impersonating a male student, as inferred by James, under the rug as quickly as possible. The impact on the college and university of allowing that to happen under his watch would have been catastrophic to his fledgling career. He’d be finished.
In the end, Ansel contested that he’d been here all along and that James was mistaken. ”
“What if James starts a rumor?” I asked, feeling equally guilty and grateful that my cousin had stood by me. “They can cause just as much harm.”
“He won’t. Your father threatened that if so much as a lick of gossip ever came out against his family, Lowry would rue the day he’d been born.
The duke can be quite an intimidating man.
Poor James looked like he was going to piss himself then and there!
Even Wordsworth looked like he wanted to remove himself from your father’s warpath as quickly as possible. ”
I laughed at that. My father was rather scary, but he was on our side and that’s what counted. The twins informed us that Ansel and the duke had gone to his quarters—ergo mine—to retrieve the trunks that my friends had so kindly gathered.
While the boys dispersed, Will, Tarik, and I left the Master’s Lodge and walked over to Tarik’s quarters to pack up his belongings.
His room wasn’t that much different from mine, though it looked a little more lived-in, considering he’d been there longer than me.
Still, we were finished within a couple of hours.
“I’ll miss this place,” Tarik said.
I nodded. “Me too. Especially the library.” I glanced at Will, who was on the verge of bursting into tears. “And you, of course. The new best friend I never knew I needed.”
“I am?” His lower lip wobbled.
“Yes, now come here and give me a hug before we all start sobbing.” Will wrapped those thick arms around me and squeezed. I could hear him sniffling. “I’ll see you in town. Don’t be a stranger, promise me.”
“I promise, Roz,” he said. “Thank you for being my friend. I think I would have quit if it hadn’t been for you.”
I laughed and patted his arm. “Give yourself a little more credit than that. You’re a fighter, Will. A fierce defender. A loyal friend with a big heart. You’ll figure out your place. Sooner or later, we all do.”