Oxford Blood (33 page)

She wanted to turn away, but didn’t seem able to. One by
one, the girls dropped to the floor, and eventually, Caroline followed them.
The gash on her neck was terrifying and her normally healthily tanned face was
eerily pale. As far as Harriet could see, she wasn’t breathing. The realisation
that her friend was dead cut through the mind control and she began to scream.
Tom, who had been sitting at the back of the stage trying his best to ignore
proceedings rushed to comfort her. Feeling betrayed, she tried to push him
away, but finally gave in and fell sobbing into his arms.

“She’s seen what she needed to see,” Tom said firmly to
Augustine. “Please let me take her away now sir.”

Augustine nodded. “Please don’t hold any of this against
myself, your mother or anyone else present tonight Harriet. What happened was
always going to happen. Remember that we love you very much. I just wish we
could have brought you up. Perhaps if you’d been introduced to all of this
earlier you would have found it easier to understand.”

Harriet didn’t reply. Tom picked her up. Before he could
move however, George appeared next to her. Harriet hit him full in the face. He
reddened slightly but didn’t flinch.

“Two things, before you go,” he said quietly. “One, for the
last time, put your necklace on.” He picked it out of her bag and carefully
fastened it around her neck. “Two, I have a note for you. Read it when you’re
safely back in your room. As I said before, perhaps this won’t end as badly as
you feared.”

Harriet took the note then turned her face away, unable to
look at him. Gripping her more tightly, Tom closed his eyes and touched her
forehead. The next thing she knew, they were outside the college.

“Let’s get you to bed,” Tom said, not putting her down even
when the porters stared at them. “We can discuss all of this in the morning.”

Harriet wanted to tell him there was nothing to discuss, but
couldn’t find her voice. Back in his room, Tom undressed her and carried her
into his bed. Utterly numb, she clung to his cool body and quickly fell asleep.

She woke late the next morning. Tom had disappeared at some
point during the night, presumably into his coffin. She considered getting out
of bed but decided that she couldn’t see the point. She knew she should tell
Josh and Ola about Caroline, but couldn’t face the conversation or begin to
understand how to explain it. She wondered just how the Cavaliers would play it
– a fake cause of death? Claims that she’d left the university? Thorough
mind-wiping of everyone who’d ever known her? At the thought of it she started
to cry, and buried herself under the duvet. Whilst she lay huddled away from
the world, she suddenly remembered George’s letter. She could hardly bear to
read the treacherous boy’s words, but felt that it could be important, so
dragged her protesting muscles and mind out of the bed and over to the chest of
drawers where her bag was placed. Digging inside, she quickly found the letter:

Dearest Harriet,

If you are reading
this, everything will have gone to plan. No one can stop the summer party and you
were foolish to think that you could. Even I couldn’t have stopped it once
Caroline had agreed to go, but I could change the outcome. Your friend isn’t
dead, at least no more than I am or your mother is. Under a trance, I had her
drink my blood every night last week. When she said she was rehearsing her
play, she was with me. Therefore, I could happily let Ben ‘kill’ her, safe in
the knowledge that she’d wake up again better than before. I considered keeping
her for my own, but I thought she’d prefer to be given back to Ben. Besides,
she’s no you and I still have my eye on the prize. Come to the commemoration
ball tonight and accept my peace offering. We’ll all be there.

Yours,

George

THE END

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Derwent read History at Oxford University (as you might have
guessed). Aside from the vampires,
The Cavaliers
is an exaggerated but
fairly accurate portrayal of her time there. She now works in London and lives
with her fiancé. He’s been very supportive throughout the writing of her books,
mainly because he likes to claim that all the most attractive characters are
based on him.

Georgiana fell in love with vampire novels after reading the
Vampire Diaries back in 2000. At the time it was a struggle to find any similar
paranormal romances, a situation that it’s fair to say seems to have been
rectified in the last few years.

Ever since her teens, she wanted to write a vampire series.
Ever since going to Oxford she wanted to write a book about her experiences
there. During a dull few months between finishing university and starting her
graduate job, she had the idea of combining the two and
The Cavaliers
was born.

To get in touch with Georgiana and for more information
about this book and the two forthcoming sequels, “like” her page on Facebook or
visit www.georgianaderwent.com. The website also hosts her blog,
Posh,
Privileged and Paranormal
, which discusses her thoughts on some of the
themes raised in the book and anything else that catches her attention that
day.

She’d also love and adore you forever if you could leave a
review at Amazon and/or your favourite site. Positive ones preferred but
constructive criticism also received with interest.

A QUICK NOTE ON OXFORD UNIVERSITY

As Harriet alludes to in the first chapter, Oxford
University do a huge amount of work to dispel stereotypes and encourage
applications from a wide range of backgrounds. The novel revels in just these
stereotypes. If you’re anything like I was, far from putting you off, this book
will make you desperate to go there.

However, there’s nothing I’d hate more than to make any
intelligent teenagers reading this think Oxford isn’t for them. I had three of
the best years of my life there and got so much out of it both professionally
and socially.  I want to emphasise therefore that all sorts of people with all
kinds of backgrounds, interests and personalities go to Oxford and for many of
them their experience will be not much like the one I portray. Around 50% of
the intake come from state schools. It’s perfectly possible to get through your
three years there without ever once wearing white tie or sleeping with an Old
Etonian (or so I’m led to believe). If you’re considering applying, check out
their admissions and access websites, which will dispel some of the myths. If
you have any questions about the process, feel free to get in touch with me via
Facebook or my website, and I’ll try my best to give advice.

Look out for
Screaming
Spires: The Cavaliers Book Two

Coming early 2013