Page 47 of Savage Elites

“You’re just as academic as any scholar.” I took a spoonful of my soup. “No one gives you a hard time.”

“Because my parents paid my way.” He paused again and glanced up to the right. “Everyone knows the importance of having scholars here. The school would lose its prestige without you all, but some people think you got a better deal than most.”

My tongue darted out to lick my lips. Had they hacked into Mrs. Benazir’s files and discovered my eighteen-thousand-pound bursary? “I don’t understand.”

“You got your sister a free ride into a place where she didn’t belong.”

I lowered my head. “She could have achieved my grades if she’d worked at it.”

“But she didn’t.”

A sigh escaped my lips. “Are you saying that what happened to her was my fault?”

“Not even a betrayer like Ashley should have been subjected to that sort of abuse.” Something in his pocket beeped. “I’ve got a meeting with Mrs. Benazir. See you later.”

He walked out of the dining room, leaving me wondering how much of Ashley’s predicament had been my fault.

* * *

Later that evening, I found Cormac in the scholars’ common room, standing in front of the boxes of tea. My heart jumped into my throat. If I didn’t bring up the subject of his relationship with Geraldine right now, I might lose my nerve.

“Cormac.” I grabbed him by the arm and spun him around. “What are you doing?”

He gave me a wide grin. “Have you come to scold me on my tea-making skills?”

I leaned forward and whispered, “I saw you.”

His face dropped, and all the color drained from his cheeks. He swallowed several times and said, “Willow, I—”

“Why are you dating Geraldine?” I blurted. “You were the one who warned me that the girls were the worst perpetrators of that game.”

He grimaced. “That was you in the stairwell?”

I raised my chin. “Did you give her the dick pics?”

His cheeks flushed. “Willow!”

“Did you?”

Cormac turned around and placed a teabag in his mug, added an outrageous amount of milk, and poured hot water over the mix. “Don’t you think that’s rather personal?”

My shoulders slumped. “You’re right, but when I heard what Geraldine said, I couldn’t help thinking about what happened to Ashley.”

He placed an arm around my shoulder and steered me to the nearest sofa. “Geraldine is actually a kind-hearted soul beneath her heartless exterior.”

“How can you explain her offering all the boys in the common room ten-thousand pounds for my virginity? She and Bianca stole my clothes in the girls’ changing room the week after and invited a crowd of boys to watch me squirm.”

Cormac sat heavily on the sofa. “The financial offer was a joke.”

“The boys took her seriously enough.”

His eyes widened. “Willow, did anyone—”

“Sebastian rescued me.”

“I remember that evening,” he growled. “Garraway pinned you against the wall. If I hadn’t turned up, he might have—”

“Sebastian’s not like that. I trust him.”