Free Moth to the Flame by Maxine Barry Page B

cross the lawn towards Walton. He was sure he’d turned off the light after dressing for dinner.
    *          *          *
    At first, Davina wasn’t sure what it was that she was reading. It seemed to be a series of old exam papers, scribbled notes, research . . . Then she saw a letter from the Principal of King Canute College in Banbury, and she suddenly realised what they were. Gareth was setting some exam papers for King Canute’s summer exams. Damn!
    She leaned back in the chair, feeling utterly dejected. But what had she expected? A secret diary, whereby he admitted bullying a student to the point of causing his suicide? A stack of ugly pornographic magazines? A . . . Suddenly she lurched upright on the chair and pulled the folder towards her again. Exam papers. Exam papers not yet finished, that students in King Canute would be sitting this summer . . .
    She knew, of course, that Oxford dons were often asked to set papers for colleges outside Oxford, and that this was a very responsible job. Colleges had to ensure that nobody got to see them, save the Department Heads, before the exams were taken. No wonder he’d locked the drawer . . .
    Davina began to feel dizzy with excitement. Here, at last, in these dry, cleverly-designed questions, lay the key to Gareth Lacey’s downfall. If only she could think how . . .
    *          *          *
    Gareth pushed open the heavy outer door to Walton and began to climb the set of stairs.
    *          *          *
    Davina leaned back in the chair, her mind racing. She could always photocopy a set of the questions, when he’d finished them. But then what? And suddenly the idea popped into her head. Of course! If she could find a pupil at King Canute College willing to play along, she could give Gareth Lacey a taste of his own medicine, and then some!
    See how he liked being branded a cheat.
    All she had to do was bribe a pupil to say that he’d bought a set of the exam papers from Gareth Lacey! The money from her latest prize was still sitting in her bank account, doing nothing, so she could use some of that. She’d have to find a student who knew that he or she was likely to fail their English Finals. Somebody who was lazy, who hadn’t done the work . . . Just the sort of person who would buy exam papers in order to give him an edge. Just the sort of person, in fact, that a greedy examiner would try and sell them to.
    Yes. Oh yes. David, oh David, this revenge is going to be so sweet. So apt. So . . . poetic.
    *          *          *
    Outside, the thick carpet muffled the sounds of Gareth’s footsteps as he walked along the corridor towards his door.
    *          *          *
    Quickly Davina gathered the folder together, carefully placed it in the drawer, relocked it, returned the key and got up out of the chair.
    She walked to the door, looked around to make sure she’d left no sign of her presence, then turned off the light. A satisfied smile crossed her gamin face, and her green eyes glowed with satisfaction. At last! Step two could be put into operation. She opened the door and walked straight into Gareth Lacey’s arms. The contact and the surprise and those damned oceanic eyes of his knocked the breath right out of her. ‘Gareth,’ she said. ‘I . . .was . . . looking for you.’
    Gareth hands had instinctively come out to catch her, and his surprise at having someone come out of his room instantaneously changed to an intense and sudden awareness that the whole wonderful length of her was pressed close against him. He dragged in a breath.
    She heard it, and suddenly her own breathing fell to pieces.
    Her knee was bent and