January, 1818

Nancy was been surprised when, on her first day at Oxford, Jonathan Gale approached her, albeit uncertainly. After making awkward small talk for a while, their conversation became more relaxed as they discussed their courses and Jonathan told her a bit about life at Oxford and how to deal with the unreasonable professors and teachers.

"Well, Miss Brooks," Jonathan said as he got up from his seat across from her in the small but comfortable common room, "if you need any help, I hope you know that you have a friend here."

Nancy smiled. "Call me Nancy."

He bowed his head slightly. "Nancy." And with that, he took his leave, making his way toward the door of the common room and closing it softly behind him.

Nancy sighed as she gathered up her books and decided to go to the safe sanctuary of the library. All day she had been getting all sorts of reactions from different people, students and teachers alike. Some of them nodded at her—in appreciation or greeting, Nancy did not know. Others looked at her with disdain, contempt, or anger. Nancy ignored them all, but she did think she could do with being someplace people did not watch her constantly. The common room was empty right now but would fill up soon, as the current lectures were about to end. Nancy walked to the library, lost in thought. She had tried to dress in darker, duller shades. She wore a long black skirt with a dark blue blouse. She had pulled her curly red hair back into a ponytail. But she knew that no matter how much she tried to blend in, she would always stand out.

As she crossed the courtyard, she saw a crowd of students gathering on the other side. Curious, she made her way there to see what was going on. She stood a little behind the crowd, not wanting to draw attention to herself.

"You don't want to see what is about to unfold here, Miss Brooks." Nancy turned around to see a tall, thin boy with round spectacles and an easy smile standing behind her. "Oliver Crew," he said, introducing himself.

"Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Crew." Nancy glanced back at the crowd. "What is about to unfold here?"

Oliver's expression turned dark as his smile faded. "Wait and watch, Miss Brooks."

Nancy watched as eager students rushed forward. They seemed to be gathering around one of the boys in particular, pushing him toward the middle of the crowd. Nancy watched as they pushed him to the ground so that he was on his knees.

"Now, I am going to tell you this not to scare you but to warn you," Oliver said. "Miss Brooks, do you notice that group of students standing just there?" He pointed toward a group of four boys standing just a few feet away from the larger crowd. "While you are here, you must try to the best of your abilities not to offend or upset them in any way."

"Who are they?" Nancy frowned in confusion. She watched as two of the boys from this group stepped forward and made their way toward the boy the crowd had been pushing forward, who was now on his knees and trembling. They grabbed him by his shoulders, pulling him to his feet. The two boys were large, with broad shoulders and muscular arms.

"They are the children of the most powerful families of England, and they are known to misuse their powers. Those two"—he pointed to the two boys Nancy had been watching—"are Benjamin Soulden and Roger Green." Oliver spoke in a hushed voice, as though he were afraid someone would hear. "Soulden's father owns half the banks in England. Benjamin Soulden spends all of his father's money on older women. Many respectable ladies have had their marriages ended because of him. He does not even make any attempt to hide it. And Green is the oldest son of the Earl of Hamilton and hence a future earl himself."

"What are they doing to him?" Nancy watched, horrified, as Benjamin Soulden and Roger Green violently turned the boy around to face the other way.

"The one in the corner there"—Oliver indicated one of the two boys who still stood detached from the crowd—"is William Cooper. He is the youngest son of the Duke of Norfolk. No one knows much about him since he's extremely quiet, but he's Andrew Montgomery's closest friend, so it would do you well if you were beware of him as well." Nancy looked at William Cooper. He was tall and had wavy, golden-brown hair that fell to his eyes. As she watched, she saw him sigh and shake his head, almost indiscernibly, and then walk away from all the commotion.

"Who is Andrew Montgomery?" she asked Oliver.

"That," Oliver said in a grim voice, "is Andrew Montgomery." The last one of the group, who was now standing alone, was tall and thin with untidy black hair. Even from a distance, Nancy could not help but notice how attractive he was. She watched as he stepped forward and the crowd parted to let him pass. He walked toward the boy who Soulden and Green were now holding between them. "He is the oldest son of the Duke of Grafton. He is the most dangerous one, the one you should beware of the most. He gets away with everything he does because of his family's power—even the professors cannot control him. If anyone ever offends him, he makes it his mission to force them either to beg him for forgiveness or to drop out of Oxford. And hence, this is happening."

Nancy watched as Andrew looked down at the trembling boy with disdain on his face. "Are you ready to confess now, Fudge?" he snarled, grabbing the boy by the collar of his shirt.

"I didn't do it on purpose." Despite his trembling state, the boy Fudge sounded tired and defeated.

Andrew glared at him for a few more minutes. "Very well." He turned to the crowd. "Where is Jennings?"

Almost immediately, the crowd shifted and a few people pushed a new person forward, who Nancy assumed was Jennings.

"Jennings," Andrew called out. "Fudge is your friend, isn't he?"

"Y-yes, my lord," Jennings stammered. Beside Nancy, Oliver groaned.

"He should never have said they were friends!" Oliver whispered.

Andrew was smiling maliciously. "Then you should teach him a lesson." The crowd seemed to be holding its breath now, everyone watching with a strange fascination. "Hit him, and if you manage to break his nose, I will leave him alone."

Jennings watched as the two bigger boys, Soulden and Green, forced Fudge to his knees again.

"Do it." Andrew's voice was low and full of authority.

Jennings turned to Fudge. "Sorry, mate." He drew his fist back and swung it forward, letting it connect with his friend's nose. The crowd start cheering as Fudge's nose gushed blood. Andrew pushed Jennings out of the way and he stepped forward to examine Fudge's nose.

"Hmm, pity you failed." He smirked. "So this isn't the end of your misery after all, Fudge. Your best friend could not even save you." The crowd cheered and hooted even louder as Andrew turned around and walked away, followed by Soulden and Green.

Nancy turned to Oliver, horror-struck. "Was that normal?"

"Sadly, Miss Brooks, that is extremely normal here."

Nancy could feel the anger rising inside her now. "And people just allow him to do all of that, do they?"

"There is not much anyone can do," Oliver replied. "He is too powerful. People are afraid for themselves. And it would be better for you if you were beware of Lord Montgomery, lest you want him to target you next."

Nancy did not think she could process any more information. She knew that she had to get out of there, and fast. "Thank you, Mr. Crew." And with that, she hurried away.

Nancy continued to walk until she reached a small garden that was hidden behind the last building of the campus, next to the woods. It was a small enclosure surrounded by tall trees with enormous canopies. She had discovered it in the morning when she had been exploring the campus. She judged that it was probably a place students did not usually frequent.

Entering the enclosure, she sank to the ground beside one of the trees, muttering to herself.

"Who do these people from these influential families think they are?" she cried. "They are all arrogant, stupid cowards!" Unable to sit still, she got up and began pacing. "He made that boy hit his own best friend and then told him that he couldn't save him! What is wrong with these people?" She breathed deeply, trying to calm her rage.

"We are all arrogant, stupid cowards, are we?" The deep, smooth voice had come from behind her. She whirled around and found herself looking at William Cooper—the one who had left the scene she had just witnessed. He lay in a corner of the garden, holding a book. Nancy watched as he stood up and slowly walked toward her. There was a slight look of amusement on his face.

"Yes," Nancy countered impulsively. "All of you." She turned her back to him. Her anger had still not completely subsided.

After a few minutes of silence, she turned back toward him. He still stood there, watching her with amusement. Nancy vaguely registered how handsome he was.

"I'm Nancy Brooks." She said this mostly because she was unsure of what else to say, and his gaze was making her uneasy.

"I know." He didn't introduce himself. After a few more moments of silence, he spoke again. "You must be shocked by what just happened. I didn't witness it, but I can imagine."

Nancy felt anger rise inside of her again. "One of the boys was telling me not to offend any of you rich people, or else that Andrew Montgomery would target me next."

William Cooper watched her with a strange expression that seemed almost sad. "Alas, Miss Brooks, you have already offended him."

And with that, he turned around and walked away. Nancy stared at his retreating form. What did that mean? She had never even spoken to Andrew Montgomery. How could she have offended him?

It was still difficult for Nancy to believe how much she could learn in just one day. Apart from the lectures she attended, she spent most of her time in the library, reading all kinds of books she would never have had the chance to read in the local library. Sometimes she felt as though she could actually feel her mind opening up. She did, though, make sure she had some afternoons free to help her mother with delivering clothes, although her mother was now making a concentrated effort not to give her too much extra work, which pleasantly surprised Nancy.

Ever since she had seen exactly what Andrew Montgomery and his kind did to entertain themselves, she started going out her way to avoid everyone in order to prevent herself from getting too angry and doing something she would regret later. However, Nancy did not know that she would witness another one of Andrew's extracurriculars so soon. A few days after the first scene she had witnessed, as she was walking past the dining room—she had made it a point not to eat there—she heard his drawling voice float out the door.

"But this will not do, will it?" he said. "You have to be more careful."

Nancy stopped in her tracks and glanced inside to see who his new victim was. To her surprise, it was a young woman, one of the serving maids. Nancy immediately recognized her as the one who had given her a cup of tea and a plate of biscuits when Nancy had accidently wandered into the kitchens a few days back. She was staring at her feet as Andrew watched her and excited students gathered around. Unable to stop herself, Nancy made her way inside. She knew she should stay away from Andrew if she wanted to spend her two years here in peace, but something kept her feet moving.

"I apologize, my lord," she sputtered. "I can have it cleaned for you, if you would like!"

Andrew raised his eyebrows. "That is not the problem here." His voice was dangerously low now. In one swift motion, he ripped open the buttons of his shirt, took it off, and threw it at the maid. "Now I'm cold. What if I get a fever because of your carelessness? The future Duke of Grafton, getting sick because of a lowly maid. Do you have any idea how important my family is?" He took a step forward, and the terrified girl took a step back but was hindered by the table behind her. She stumbled slightly, and Andrew's lip curled into a cruel smile. Soulden and Green were closing in from both sides of her, so she had no choice but to face Andrew. Nancy's eyes fell on the table behind the maid. There were three cups of tea sitting there. A chill ran down her spine as she remembered the kindness the maid had shown her. She looked up at the maid's tear-streaked face and terrified eyes and then to Andrew's cold glare, and she felt something inside her snap.

"Leave her alone!" she cried loudly. She felt everyone's eyes turn toward her, all the attention that had been on the other girl now shifting to her. "She apologized. What more do you want? You are frightening her!"

Slowly, Andrew turned his head toward her, and his gray eyes focused on her for the first time. The intensity of his eyes made Nancy's heart start beating fast, and she realized that perhaps the reason people were so terrified of him was because he actually was terrifying. His cold gaze made a shiver run down her spine. Nancy became aware of how small her frame was compared to his. She trembled slightly, thinking about all the consequences that probably lay ahead of her because of this. But she was not going to give him the satisfaction of knowing he had any effect on her.

"Leave her alone," she repeated in the loudest and steadiest voice she could muster. She walked forward and placed herself between Andrew and the girl. "Leave her alone, or else."

His eyes narrowed as he watched her. The whole hall had fallen silent. There was no cheering or hooting. The only sound that broke the silence was that of the maid crying. Then, slowly, Andrew leaned forward, his height working its advantage as he loomed over her, trying to intimidate her. His face was so close to hers that it took a great amount of courage not to cringe away.

"Or else what?" He raised an eyebrow, and his eyes seemed to become even colder. Nancy stared back at him stone-faced, defiant. Finally, he took a step back and walked away, followed by his friends, the whole room in shocked silence. As soon as Andrew was out of the hall, people began muttering and moving away from her.

For the first time, she felt the full weight of what she had just done. They—all these people—were going to drive her out of this university.

Thinking that she might collapse from it all,she hurried out of the hall as fast as she could.

===== ===== ===== ===== ===== ===== ===== ===== ===== =====