Scandalous by Tilly Bagshawe

could be.”
    Anthony Greville thought about it. St. Michael’s, as ever, was in dire need of new funds. The chapel was not going to reroofitself. Trinity and St. John’s were both swimming in money, but the smaller St. Michael’s had always had to make do and mend.
Perhaps Dexter’s theory could change all that? If one tiresome, sexmad undergraduate doesn’t ruin it for all of us.
    “What would you have me do, Theo? I can’t expel her and keep you here. How would that look? Especially since she’s still claiming you stole her work.”
    “Call an emergency session of the Regent House. You can chair it. Let the university decide whose theory this is.”
    “What good will that do?”
    “It will put an end to all this once and for all. But on
your
terms. If, God forbid, the congregation rules against me, I’ll resign and go back to America. If they don’t, then you’re free to expel Sasha. She’ll be out of St. Michael’s, out of Cambridge, out of all our lives.”
    “I’d just like her out of
The News of the
bloody
World
,” grumbled the master.
    “Once the case is closed the press will lose interest,” Theo assured him. “Especially when they start to realize just how seismic this theory is. If the college and the faculty back me, we can kill this thing. We want the same things, Master.”

    “Absolutely not.” Margaret Haines was livid. “Why the hell should I lie for that asshole?”
    “My dear Margaret. Is such fragrant language really necessary?” The master sat at his desk, radiating pomposity. “No one is asking you to lie. Merely to focus on the matter in hand and not encourage the Regent House to be distracted by, shall we say, the more
salacious
elements of this whole, sorry affair.”
    “You mean the fact that Dexter’s been boning his students, in clear violation of the university’s code of ethics? Sasha Miller wasn’t the first, you know.”
    “Be that as it may, this theory of Professor Dexter’s could prove extremely important. And not just to the scientific world. To the
college
.”
    Anthony Greville said this last as if it brooked all further conversation on the matter. Margaret Haines disagreed.
    “And what if it really was this young girl’s work? Have you considered that? What if she’s telling the truth and Dexter ripped
her
off?”
    “You can’t honestly believe that.”
    “Can’t I? Why not? We already know Dexter’s a liar with the morals of an alley cat and the discretion of a town crier.”
    “She’s an undergraduate.”
    “Yes, and by all accounts a brilliant one. Unlike your friend Professor Dexter. No, Master. I won’t be silenced on this. We should be backing the girl.”
    Anthony Greville’s eyes narrowed. He’d always lusted after Margaret Haines. He liked her feistiness and her sharp wit and the way her bosom jiggled underneath her sweater when she got agitated, as she was now. But if she threatened the reputation of St. Michael’s, he would have no compunction in getting rid of her.
    “The Senior Common Room are all in agreement. If you go against us on this, Margaret, your position here may become very difficult.”
    Margaret Haines looked at the squat, elderly toad sitting opposite her. Her contempt oozed from every pore. “Is that a threat, Anthony?”
    “Not at all, my dear. But as master I must think of the good of the entire college. Testifying on young Miss Miller’s behalf would not be in any of our best interest. Including yours. Think about that, Margaret.”

    Margaret Haines did speak up for Sasha. But it didn’t help. For one thing, the overwhelmingly male Regent House already knewthat Theo Dexter was an inveterate womanizer who preyed on his prettier students, and they couldn’t have cared less. For another, by the time the Cambridge authorities finally sat down to hear evidence, Ed Gilliam had done such a thorough character assassination of Sasha in the press it was a wonder her own mother was still speaking to