Oxford Blood by Georgiana Derwent

to feel slowly
better. She wasn’t in the mood for writing an essay on the causes of the
English Civil War, but it was good to have something to focus on and she made
surprisingly fast progress. It was one of her favourite periods of history and
she enjoyed working out how random events had come together to cause something
as unexpected as the execution of the king.
    Between chapters, she couldn’t resist researching vampire
legends on the internet. It was utterly preposterous of course, but if Tom
hadn’t changed his tune the next time their paths crossed, at least she’d have
some ammunition of her own to banter back with. There was nothing about the
Cavaliers or any tale of vampires being recruited from promising university
students. That was what she’d expected but it was surprisingly comforting to
have it confirmed.
    She twisted the necklace around her fingers as she always
did when she was worried. The Piso Balla, Tom had called it, and the reference
had certainly got a reaction from George. She wondered again if they’d both
been in on the joke. Or whether there’s some truth in it after all , a
traitorous part of her brain whispered.
    Unable to settle back to work, she looked up ‘Piso Balla.’
She quickly established that a Balla was a type of Roman necklace and the Piso
were an ancient Roman family, but couldn’t find any mention of vampires or
particularly noteworthy jewellery in connection with them.
    Eventually, it was time for dinner. Having got the story off
her chest she didn’t want to discuss it with anyone else but reluctantly headed
over to Josh’s room. Everyone else was already there and their worried
expressions suggested that Caroline had told them something. They managed to
skirt around the subject, but conversation was strained. All in all, Harriet
was glad when dinner was over.
    “Bar at nine?” Caroline suggested to the group as they
headed back to their respective rooms.
    “Sorry, I’ve got an essay due in tomorrow,” said Olamide.
    “Drinks with the rowers,” Ben replied, with the unhappy look
he gave every time he had to turn down an evening with Caroline.
    Josh nodded however and Harriet felt a degree of relief.
Whilst reluctant to tell him anything that had happened, she’d be grateful for
the moral support.
    Everyone departed for their rooms, leaving her alone with
Josh. She tried to make light conversation, asking him how his rehearsals for a
concert were going, but he looked at her sternly.
    “What is going on with you? Something’s wrong and I don’t
think you should keep us all in the dark.”
    “I’m fine,” she said, trying to sound convincing.
    “Don’t be ridiculous. I see you every day; I can tell when
you’re in a bad way.” They were walking into their staircase now, and Josh
pointed angrily towards Tom’s door. “Let me guess, it’s got something to do
with him. Whenever you’re upset or distracted, it all comes back to Mr Flyte.
Will you please just get a grip?”
    “Alright, it’s sort of to do with Tom. If you really want to
know he saved me from being attacked.” She paused for effect. “And let’s be
honest, I didn’t see you helping.”
    Josh looked slightly sick and Harriet worried she’d pushed
him too far.
    “Who attacked you?” he finally managed to ask.
    “You wouldn’t know them. A socialite type from Christ
Church. I’m sorry Josh but I really don’t want to talk about it.”
    Josh looked as though he was about to launch a full-scale
inquisition. Instead, he hugged her. “I’m sorry. About whatever exactly
happened and about pushing you to tell me. I won’t ask anymore, but if you want
to talk, any time of the day or night, you know where I am. In the meantime, I’ll
see you in the bar at nine.”
    Without another word, he went into his room. Within a
moment, all Harriet could hear was him hammering out a furious Shostakovich
piece on his piano. She threw herself onto her bed and considered abandoning
any attempts to