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started gathering their books spread across the wide desk when Ollie appeared from behind a gondola of books, his laptop bag slung over his shoulder. His face broke into a joyous smile when he recognized his dormmate.
    “Hey Maddie, what are you doing here? With Pippa?” he asked, attracting reproaching looks from staff nearby. His face flushed as he said Pippa’s name.
    Pippa didn’t even spare a look at Ollie when she said, “My good looks might mislead you, Davies, but I have a perfectly formed brain. And I happen to study at Oxford, just like you.”
    Ignoring the comment, Ollie threw a quick glance at the books opened in front of Madison. “You’re interested in William Shakespeare Burton? I like his work too.”
    She blushed. Madison had only shared her interest for the painting with Pippa.
    “Yes, indeed.” Pippa tilted her head and flicked her tousled hair playfully.
    “Have you heard, by any chance, of The Wounded Cavalier? ” asked Madison.
    “Well yes, of course. It’s his most famous painting.”
    “I’m trying to determine if Burton used actual historical figures as an inspiration for the three characters in the painting.”
    Pushing his round-rimmed glasses up his long, narrow nose, Ollie said, “Oh yes, sure.”
    “Do you know who they might have been?”
    Ollie’s gaze settled back on the painting displayed on the last book. “No. But very often they used existing portraits, those of their benefactors, or their benefactors’ families.”
    Madison already knew that.
    A member of the library staff passed their desk and firmly reminded them that time had run out.
    “Who was Burton’s benefactor, do you know?”
    “No idea. Sorry.” He seemed surprised, having failed to answer her for a second time.
    “We need to go.” Pippa stood now, clasping the books against her chest. Her lips twitched sideways in an impatient pout.
    Putting her laptop back in her satchel, Madison thanked Ollie for his help.
    “But …” He pointed a finger toward the ceiling in a eureka-like action. “If I remember correctly, Burton spent a lot of time around Oxford, in the Cotswolds. You should look at the prominent local families.”
    Together, they took the books back to the reserve desk and left the Lower Reading Room. When they stepped outside the Bodleian onto Catte Street, the freezing November night air engulfed Madison, and her whole body tensed to face the journey back to Christ Church College.
    Pippa pointed her manicured hand toward Madison’s bicycle. “Now you’re like any other student. Best purchase of the term, I have to say.” Despite being a secondhand one, the bike leaned proudly against the wrought-iron bars around Hertford College. “Bye darling, I’ve got to dash.”
    “Thanks for offering to help with my research.”
    Pippa shrugged, but a frown clouded her face. “Don’t get your hopes up with Rupert tomorrow. You’re not his type, and he won’t be good for you. Believe me, I know him.” She left Madison in front of Hertford’s main door with its embossed, colored flowers.
    Her words punched Madison’s ego. Maybe Pippa was just jealous of the time Madison would spend at Rupert’s mansion tomorrow. Forcing herself to forget Pippa’s warning, Madison turned her attention to Ollie.
    “I have to go in the same direction. See you tomorrow,” he mumbled, and started running after Pippa like a puppy dog after his master. Love her, hate her . Maybe Ollie should make up his mind about Philippa Connelly.
    Madison psyched herself up against the cold and opted for the longer way back to Christ Church past Hertford College, along New College Lane. She needed time to think.
    She rode her bicycle around the sharp bends of the narrow street, now her favorite spot in all of Oxford. On her left, a small alley led down to the Turf Tavern through the historic city wall.
    She admired the flying arch linking the two parts of Hertford College, the Bridge of Sighs. And sighing was what she