Julia saw fear flash across Gabriel’s eyes, but only for an instant. There was nothing more terrifying to her than the sight of Gabriel’s fear.
He helped her take off her coat and urged her to sit down in the red chair next to the fireplace. Flipping a switch, which caused the flames to ignite, he walked to the other room. Julia leaned back in the chair and covered her face with her hands.
“Drink this.” He nudged her hand with a glass.
“What is it?”
“Laphroaig. Scotch.”
“You know I don’t like that stuff.”
“One swallow, just to take the edge off.”
She tipped the crystal glass to her lips and drank, feeling the burn of the alcohol in her mouth and throat. Coughing wildly, she handed the glass back. He downed the rest of the Scotch and sat on the sofa opposite her.
“What’s the ‘Code of Behaviour on Academic Matters’?” she asked.
“It’s the policy that governs any kind of scholastic infraction — cheating, plagiarism, fraud, etc.”
“Why would someone report me for academic fraud?”
Gabriel scrubbed at his face. “I have no idea.”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course! You think I’d keep this from you?”
“You’ve been keeping something from me. That night you were working late in your office, you wouldn’t tell me what you were — ”
Gabriel’s Rapture
149
“I was working on a job application,” he interrupted. “Greg Matthews called me the night that you and I went to Auberge for dinner. He invited me to apply for an endowed chair but told me they needed my portfolio right away. Preparing it took longer than I expected.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
He averted his eyes. “I didn’t want you to get your hopes up. The chances of me getting that job are slim. I’m not a full professor and without a doubt they’re recruiting senior people. But I had to try — for your sake.”
“I wish you’d told me. I imagined all kinds of things.”
His eyes flew to hers. “I thought you trusted me.”
“Of course I trust you. It’s the women around you I don’t trust.”
“I shouldn’t have kept my application a secret.” He shuffled his feet. “I didn’t want to disappoint you when I don’t get the position.”
“You aren’t going to disappoint me, Gabriel, unless you keep secrets from me.”
He grimaced and disappeared into the dining room. When he returned, he was sipping another finger’s worth of Scotch.
“I have a meeting with Jeremy this week. I could ask him about you.”
She shook her head. “You should stay out of this.”
“Do you have any idea what the complaint might be about?”
“I haven’t done anything but go to school and do my work since I got here. Except for having some conflict with Christa and that run in with Professor Pain — Professor Singer. Do you think that she…?”
Gabriel seemed to consider this possibility for a moment.
“I don’t think so. She was hauled in front of a Judicial Committee last year when Paul Norris filed a complaint. I’m sure she wouldn’t want to appear in front of them again. She isn’t one of your instructors, so how would she know about your academic work?”
“She wouldn’t.” Julia paused and a look of horror came over her pretty face. “You don’t think Katherine Picton reported me for something?”
“No. She wouldn’t do that without confronting you first. And she’d call me, as a courtesy.”
“What are the penalties for academic infractions?”
Sylvain Reynard
150
“It depends on the severity of the offense. They could reprimand you or give you a zero on an assignment or in a course. In extreme circumstances, they can expel you.”
Julia inhaled shakily. If she were expelled, she wouldn’t be completing her MA. And that would mean that Harvard…
Gabriel fixed his gaze on her. “Would Paul do this?”
“No. He wants to help me, not hurt me.”
“Angelfucker,” Gabriel muttered.
“What about Christa?”
He shifted against the leather of the sofa. “It’s possible.”
Julia’s eyes narrowed. “What aren’t you telling me?”
“You already know she’s a troublemaker.”
“What’s going on with Christa, Gabriel? Tell me.”
He stood up and began pacing in front of the fireplace. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
Julia grabbed the Dean’s letter and walked to the front hall.
“Wait, what are you doing?” He jogged after her.
“I warned you not to lie to me. I guess I should have been more specific and told you not to be evasive, either.” She retrieved her coat from the hall closet, pulling it on hastily.
“Don’t leave.”
She looked up at him, eyes blazing. “Then tell me about Christa.”
He pressed the heels of his hands over his eyes. “Fine.”
Gabriel helped her take off her coat and escorted her back to the living room. She refused to sit down, choosing rather to stand in front of the fire, arms crossed.
“Is Christa blackmailing you? Is that why you approved her thesis proposal?”
“Not exactly.”
“Spit it out, Gabriel.”
He turned away from her, looking out the window at the Toronto skyline. “Christa Peterson has accused me of sexual harassment.”
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