Page 78 of Depraved Boys

“Was it that important to ingratiate yourself with Sebastian?”

“Garraway is the largest manufacturer of tea in the world, and fifty percent of our tea plantations are dedicated to that company. Hundreds of thousands of people depend on Kashaayah Trading for their livelihoods.”

I leaned forward, soaking in his every word.

“With more plantations establishing themselves in other countries and regions, we needed to secure this customer, and the best way to do that was through the bond of friendship.”

I rubbed my neck. None of this made sense yet, but I let him talk.

“Sebastian and Leopold were close to the queens. At that age, the girls dictated what happened among the third years, and they devised the pull-a-pig game.”

“Right.” I gulped down a mouthful of my drink. It sounded like he played the game because of peer-group pressure.

Prakash dipped his head. “It’s no excuse, but I went along with it to fit in.”

“Didn’t you feel an ounce of remorse for Corrine?”

He sighed and called the waiter for another round of drinks. Since I hadn’t even started on my second glass, I declined. Prakash stared at the table, seeming to ponder my question.

I itched to fire more questions at him but held my tongue. Before we went any further, I needed to know if he cared for the girl who had died.

“It was only supposed to last a week.” His voice was thick. “But the more I got to know Corrine, the more I liked her and the worse I felt about how our relationship started. It got to a point where it was no longer a game.”

“Why didn’t you tell her?”

“That she was a challenge set by a group of spoiled, vindictive brats?” He shook his head. “I should have, but at the time, I withheld that information, thinking it would break her.”

The waiter brought a third glass of whiskey, and Prakash finished his second. I stared at his long, elegant fingers, and a pang of regret struck my heart.

Uncle Trevor had been right about Ashley. He’d advised me to tell her why Mom and Dad had been driving through the Hard Knott Pass so late at night. I had held back the truth, thinking that if Ashley knew they’d been on their way to one of her raves to save her from a relationship with DJ Bones, it would ruin her.

A long sigh heaved out from my lungs. “How did she find out?”

“Much like how the girls approached you when Sebastian made his grand entrance into the dining room. Bianca and Geraldine told her.”

“Did you set her straight?”

“I did,” he whispered. “We carried on our relationship in secret, and I told everyone we were just friends. But the queens decided to plaster photos of us together and love letters across the common room.”

“Oh.”

“She told me never to speak to her again.”

“Did she change her mind?”

“She changed after that day. Her love turned to resentment. She tried turning the tables on me, but…” He shook his head.

“What did she do?”

He ran a hand through his black hair. “I shouldn’t speak ill of the dead.”

I chewed my lip, waiting for him to speak. Prakash gulped down his whiskey, and I took a sip of my second G and T.

“She’d follow the three of us around and accuse me of using her. It didn’t matter how much I explained that my feelings had been genuine, she wouldn’t believe me.”

He swallowed the rest of his drink.

“At the beginning of our fifth year, she told the police and Mrs. Benazir that the three of us had raped her.”