Цитаты
»Hvornår kom du til Oxford?« Jeg håbede, at mit åbne spørgsmål ville overbevise ham om, at jeg ikke snagede i hans tidligere liv.
»Denne gang var det i 1989.« Han strakte sine lange ben med et afslappet suk. »Jeg kom til Oriel for at studere naturvidenskab og blev der og fik min doktorgrad. Da jeg vandt et All Souls Prize Fellowship, rykkede jeg herover i et par år, og da jeg havde taget min universitetsgrad, tilbød universitetet mig en stilling.« Hver gang, han åbnede munden, kom der noget forbløffende ud. En Prize Fellow? Dem var der kun to af om året.
»Og det her er første gang, du har været i All Souls?« Jeg bed mig i læben, og han lo.
»Lad os få det overstået,« sagde han, løftede hænderne og begyndte at tælle colleges på fingrene. »Jeg har været fellow – engang – af Merton, Magdalen og University College og af New College og Oriel to gange. Og det her er første gang, All Souls har vist mig den ære.«
Matthew stuck the champagne bottle into a silver bucket full of ice and sat down with me in one of the cozy chairs on either side of the stove that was not being used. "No one lights the stoves anymore here in Oxford."He pointed sadly at the empty stone hole. "When it was lit up everywhere, the city smelled like a bonfire.«
"When did you come to Oxford?"I hoped that my open question would convince him that I was not snagging in his past life.
"This time it was in 1989."He stretched his long legs with a relaxed sigh. "I came to Oriel to study science and stayed there and got my doctorate. When I won an All Souls Prize Fellowship, I moved over here for a few years, and when I had my college degree, the university offered me a position."Every time he opened his mouth, something amazing came out. A Prize Fellow? There were only two of them a year.
"And this is the first time you've been to All Souls?"I bit my lip and he laughed.
"Let's get this over with," he said, raising his hands and starting to count the colleges on his fingers. "I have been a fellow – once-of Merton, Magdalen and University College and of New College and Oriel twice. And this is the first time All Souls has given me that honor.«
When I multiplied his answer by a factor of Cambridge, Paris, Padua and Montpellier – all of which I was sure had had a student named Matthew Clairmont or some variation of the name – it made a staggering amount of degrees dance around in my head. What had he not studied in all those many years, and with whom had he studied?
»Undskyld.« Jeg lukkede øjnene og knugede hænderne i et forsøg på at samle tankerne. »Det er ligesom en sygdom. Jeg kan ikke styre min nysgerrighed, når du begynder at fortælle.«
»Det ved jeg godt. Det er et af de problemer, en vampyr står over for, når han er sammen med en heks, der er historiker.« Matthew vendte mundvigene nedad, men hans øjne glimtede som sorte stjerner.
»Hvis du vil undgå de problemer i fremtiden, vil jeg foreslå, at du går uden om Bodleians afdeling for håndbøger i palæografi,« sagde jeg spidst.
»Jeg kan ikke overkomme mere end én historiker i øjeblikket.« Matthew rejste sig smidigt. »Jeg spurgte, om du var sulten.«
Det var mig en gåde, at han blev ved – hvornår var jeg ikke sulten?
»Ja,« sagde jeg og forsøgte at komme op af en dyb Morris-stol. Matthew rakte hånden frem. Jeg tog den, og han trak mig ubesværet op.
Vi stod ansigt til ansigt, og vores kroppe var lige ved at røre hinanden. Jeg koncentrerede mig om bulen fra Bethania-ampullaen under hans sweater.
"Diana?"Matthew's contented voice penetrated my thoughts. "Did you hear what I said?«
"Sorry."I closed my eyes and clasped my hands in an attempt to gather my thoughts. "It's like a disease. I can't control my curiosity when you start telling.«
"I know that. It is one of the problems a vampire faces when dating a witch who is a historian. Matthew turned the corners of his mouth down, but his eyes gleamed like Black Stars.
"If you want to avoid those problems in the future, I would suggest that you bypass Bodleian's Department of manuals in Palaeography," I said pointedly.
"I can't get over more than one historian at the moment."Matthew got up smoothly. "I asked if you were hungry.«
It was a mystery to me that he stayed on – when was I not hungry?
"Yes," I said, trying to get out of a deep Morris chair. Matthew held out his hand. I took it and he pulled me up effortlessly.
We stood face to face and our bodies were just touching each other. I concentrated on the bulge from the Bethania ampulla under his sweater.
Впечатления
