John a stern look.

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Julia watched as Gabriel closed his eyes, his lips moving as if he were whispering something to himself. Then his eyes snapped open

and he stood to his feet.

“Enough,” he said.

Six pairs of eyes swung to stare at the angry looking professor as he glared defiantly at the hearing officers.

“There’s no need for a delay. I’ll cooperate.” Gabriel’s jaw was set, his blue eyes flashing.

Julia’s heart sank.

“It appears we’ve finally captured your attention, Professor Emer-

son, and persuaded you to come out from behind your lawyer,” said

Professor Mwangi sarcastically.

“Such a remark is beneath you.” Gabriel waved a dismissive hand

in the air.

“Are you willing to answer the committee’s questions?” The Dean

interrupted the staring match between the two men.

“Yes.”

Once John got over his surprise, he stood at Gabriel’s side. “Dr.

Aras, my client has retained counsel. Can you give me a moment to

consult with him?”

The Dean nodded, and John began whispering hastily in Ga-

briel’s ear.

Julia could see that he did not like what John was saying, and

she watched him mouth the words “No, no, no.”

Eventually, Gabriel dismissed John with a murderous look. “I am

willing to answer any and all questions, but not while Miss Mitchell is in the room. Some of the answers I wish to give are of a personal nature and for various — ah — reasons I prefer to keep those answers confidential.”

The Dean measured Gabriel intently and nodded. “Very wel .

Miss Mitchell, you are dismissed for the moment, but please don’t

leave the building. We might have need of you shortly.”

“If Professor Emerson is intending to malign my client, he can

do so in front of us,” Soraya protested.

“The collective agreement with the faculty union ensures con-

fidentiality in all judicial proceedings.” The Dean’s voice grew very 216

Gabriel’s Rapture

cold. He took a moment to consult with his colleagues, then nodded in Julia’s direction.

“If Professor Emerson offers testimony that implicates your cli-

ent, you will be given the opportunity for rebuttal. Any matters not bearing on your case, Miss Mitchell, will be kept confidential. Miss Harandi, Miss Mitchell, you are both dismissed for the present. My assistant will notify you when your presence is required.”

Soraya shook her head but took Julia’s arm and tried to pull her

toward the door at the back of the room.

Julia planted her feet. “Our relationship was consensual. I knew

what I was doing and I don’t regret it. At all. This is not a tawdry affair. There was no harassment.”

The Dean couldn’t help but notice as Professor Emerson began

to rub his eyes and mouth, cursing silently.

“Miss Mitchell, you will have your chance for a rebuttal. Now

if you please…”

Soraya quickly pulled Julia out of the room. She tried in vain to

catch Gabriel’s eye before she exited, but he hung his head, eyes shut.

217

Chapter 24

“What?” Professor Jeremy Martin almost shouted into his office telephone.

Across campus, Meagan, the Dean’s assistant, turned her back on

the hearing officers as she prepared to speak more loudly.

“I said that the Dean would like to ask you a few questions about

Professor Emerson and Julianne Mitchell. Professor Emerson just

confessed to having broken several university policies with respect to her. Can you hold the line, please, while I put you on speaker phone?”

“Holy God,” breathed Jeremy, blinking and gaping like a fish.

“Professor Martin? The hearing officers would like to speak to

you now.” Meagan turned and locked eyes with the Dean.

“I’ll be right there. Ask the Dean not to do anything until I ar-

rive!” Jeremy slammed the telephone down on his desk and quickly

exited his office, forgetting to close and lock the door behind him. He jogged out of the building and across Queen’s Park, pausing only to avoid being run over by downtown traffic. By the time he’d traversed the few blocks to where the hearing committee sat, he was winded,

disheveled, and incredibly annoyed at how out of shape he was.

“Stop,” he panted, bursting through the doors. He placed his

hands on his knees so he could attempt to catch his breath.

“Thank you for joining us, Professor Martin.” The Dean’s tone

was sarcastic.

“I came — as fast — as I could. What’s — going on?”

The Dean gestured to his assistant to fetch the ailing professor

a glass of water, which he drank gratefully. The beverage gave him a moment to find Gabriel, who was sitting stoically next to his lawyer.

Gabriel’s Rapture

The Dean frowned. “It appears that things are amiss in your

department. Professor Emerson has just confessed to pursuing Miss

Mitchell and engaging in an amorous relationship with her while she was his student. I’d like to know how long you’ve known about this.”

“Excuse me?” Jeremy grabbed a chair and sat on it heavily.

“You told us Professor Emerson disclosed his relationship with

Miss Mitchell to you this semester, but that you couldn’t recall when.

I’m wondering if you had any inkling that they were involved last

semester?”

Jeremy’s eyebrows knitted together in confusion. “I — what?”

“Gabriel Emerson tried to cover up his affair with his student by

transferring her thesis supervision and seminar work to Katherine

Picton,” Professor Mwangi explained. “What did you know about

this and when?”

Jeremy’s expression grew grim. “With respect, am I on trial here

or is Gabriel? I was told that you wanted to ask me questions about a matter arising between Gabriel and Miss Mitchell. I was offered

no indication that I was under suspicion, otherwise I would have informed the Faculty Association and brought my union representative.”

Professor Mwangi abruptly closed his mouth.

“Jeremy, there’s no need to be defensive. We’re simply interested

in whether or not you can shed any light on the account Professor

Emerson has offered us. That’s all.” The Dean offered a withering

look in Robert’s direction.

“We can return to the question of the timeline in a moment. I’m

interested in an email that Miss Mitchell sent to Professor Emerson in which she accused him of harassment and told him that she would be returning the M. P. Emerson bursary. What can you tell us about that?”

Jeremy’s eyes slid over to Gabriel’s.

He had no idea why Gabriel had confessed; it didn’t make sense.

He was far more likely to avoid any kind of discipline if he said nothing. Having confessed, he’d handed his career to the Dean in an act that could only be described as academic hara-kiri. Moreover, he’d implicated Jeremy with his confession, and that was something he

did not appreciate, not one bit.

“I know of no such harassment. In my position as Chair of Ital-

ian Studies, I have a spotless record of upholding university policies.”

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Sylvain Reynard

He glanced in Meagan’s direction. “And I’d like my administrative

record to be included as part of this proceeding.”

The Dean waved a hand at his assistant, acquiescing to Jeremy’s

demand.

He looked at the hearing officers. “Has Miss Mitchell filed a

harassment complaint?”

The hearing officers shook their heads.

“May I see the email?”

The Dean nodded to Meagan, and she quickly passed a piece of

paper to Jeremy.

He used this opportunity to buy some time for his over-wrought

brain, hoping to get some clue from Gabriel’s body language as to

what the devil he’d been thinking. But still, Gabriel would not look at him, simply sitting stone-faced, clenching his fists.

“Since Miss Mitchell never reported the harassment, I can only

infer that she changed her mind. Perhaps she sent the email in haste and repented at leisure. It sounds as if she didn’t hold his behavior against him.” Jeremy handed the paper back to Meagan.

“What do you know about the bursary?” asked Professor

Chakravartty.

Jeremy’s eyes flitted to the Dean’s. “I advised the Dean in an email that donor services was approached by a philanthropic organization from the United States, whose name escapes me. The charity wished

to bestow a bursary on the top MA student in my department. That’s all I know.”

“What’s the connection between Professor Emerson and the bur-

sary?” asked the Dean.

Jeremy shrugged. “None.”

Professor Mwangi clasped his fingers together on the table in

front of him. “I find that difficult to believe. There is a coincidence of name, department, and student. Miss Mitchell seems to have associated the bursary with Professor Emerson — why else would she

threaten to return it?”

Jeremy smiled wryly. “Do you remember what life was like when

you were a grad student? Living on coffee and ramen noodles and

going without sleep? Students engage in all kinds of erratic behavior under those conditions. I’m sure we’ve all seen worse.

220

Gabriel’s Rapture

“I assure you — ” At this, he nodded in Gabriel’s direction. “Pro-

fessor Emerson had nothing to do with the bursary. I’m the one who awarded it, and I did so based on the fact that Miss Mitchell was

the top master’s student admitted into our program. You can speak

to Tracy in donor services about the charity that made the donation and you can view her paperwork.”

Gabriel tried very hard to hide his surprise at the fact that his

chair was defending him. He fidgeted in his seat, swiping a hand

through his hair as he waited to see how the Dean would respond.

“That won’t be necessary.” The Dean took off his glasses and

nibbled at one of the ends of the arms thoughtfully. “As you’ve heard, Professor Emerson has confessed, taking upon himself full responsibility for his involvement with Miss Mitchell. By his own admission, he played on her vulnerability, promising her that ‘he would take care’

of their situation. His use of Professor Picton seems to bear that out, as does Miss Mitchell’s nervous behavior during these proceedings.

“Since Professor Emerson was in a position of power over Miss

Mitchell, and since more than witness has testified that he was initially very harsh with her, we don’t believe that their relationship was consensual.” At this, his eyes met Professor Chakravartty’s, who nodded triumphantly. “Consequently, we are inclined to excuse her perjury, since it was clearly under duress, and we will dismiss any allegations against her. Unless you can suggest a reason why we shouldn’t.”

Gabriel caught Jeremy’s eye with a stare so sharp, Jeremy almost

winced.

“I see no reason why Miss Mitchell should be punished, no.”

Jeremy tugged at his shirt collar uncomfortably.

“We will be encouraging Miss Mitchell to consider the possibility

of filing a harassment complaint. Having said that, and given the

fact that Professor Emerson has been forthcoming, I’m not inclined to drag this matter out. However, I wonder if I should recommend

to the Provost that your department be placed under scrutiny. We’re facing a lawsuit from another of your students, Miss Peterson. And Miss Mitchell has filed a harassment complaint against her. That’s several unfortunate events in one semester, Professor Martin. What is going on in your department?” The Dean gave Jeremy a stern look.

He straightened his spine. “I am as surprised and distressed as

you are. But surely you can’t blame me for failing to have a prurient interest in the personal lives of those in my department.”

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“No, but we expect you to maintain a safe environment for stu-

dents, especially females.” Professor Chakravartty’s tone was firm and disapproving.

The Dean nodded in her direction. “Nevertheless, I am cogni-