Page 26 of Things We Do for Love and Science
“All of you have proven to be hard-working and talented to have got this far. Some of you’ll be brilliant. Never forget that with great ability comes great responsibility. What we do here has serious and far-reaching consequences for society, even mankind as a whole. Never take it lightly.”
By now she had them at the edge of their seats; a lecture theatre full of first-years who already pictured themselves as Nobel prize winners. Motivating the crowds was never a problem for her.
Chapter Eight
She should’ve knownthe peace would be of short duration. Of course, John Winter wouldn’t be satisfied with the Renwood DNA already in his possession. No, this time, he wanted a sample from Gabriel himself. The old earl had given him a sample before he died, and John wanted Gabriel’s DNA to compare it to that of his father. As per usual, it was hopeless to try to get out of that one.
Now that she was friends with Gabriel, invading his genetic privacy felt even worse. Because he wouldn’t deny her request. At least he’d only have to spit into a test tube and not extract any more teeth from defenseless skeletons.
Even though Gabriel and her had greeted one another amicably, today, for some reason she found it hard to break the silence. Her large-scale DNA model sat proudly on the Louis XV table, and the marvelous jewels glistened and glittered on her neck.
Gabriel’s blue gaze met hers occasionally while he painted her face, and a sudden shiver ran through her. Adrenaline, of course. Perfectly natural when one was stared at by an attractive man. His look was of intense concentration mostly, but sometimes she imagined his gaze held shyness and something else she couldn’t readily identify. Her cheeks warmed, and she hoped his keen artist’s eye wouldn’t pick up on her sudden bashfulness.
Her thoughts were taking a direction she didn’t approve of. Best to concentrate on her tasks for tomorrow. Brief her grad students on the configurations for the upcoming series of experiments. Remind Professor Winter’s nephew to get the funding application ready for submission, because Johnny Snow, although a fully grown man, needed regular prodding to get his chores done.
“Tea break?” Gabriel’s voice dragged her out of professional planning mode.
Now was her opportunity. She straightened her spine and said, “Before we break for tea, I need to get something off my chest.”
His eyes narrowed. “Let me guess, more ancestor DNA?”
“No, he wants a sample of yours.”
Gabriel studied her; his expression guarded. “He wants one of my teeth?”
“God, no. A bit of your saliva will do nicely.” She gave a shaky laugh.
“Phew.” He blew out a breath. “Sounds much better. Did you bring a test tube or something for me to spit into?”
Her face heated. “As a matter of fact, I have. Are you sure you don’t mind? I mean it’s your genetic data, and you might not want to disclose it.”
“I take it you’ll do the sequencing, comparing, analyzing, and whatever else it is you do with other people’s teeth and saliva?”
She took a step toward him. “Yes, that’ll be me.”
His mouth curved into a wide smile, and creases appeared around his eyes. “Well, then, if you find anything dodgy, keep mum about it.”
