She wanted to scream, but she clamped her back teeth together, instead. She would not lose it here in front of this overcontrolled man. She had her pride.

"They say that you were his opponent, Cooper, and that you won."

Cooper continued to look meditative.

"This is most unfortunate," John murmured.

"Certainly struck me that way, Dad," she said. "According to the gossip that's going around, the only witnesses allowed were the other members of the Guild Council. That means you were there."

John winced uneasily. "Now, see here, my dear-"

She switched her attention back to Cooper. "Guess what, Cooper. Gossip flows through the Guild Hall as quickly as it goes across the campus. In fact, the news is all over town. And this is a small town, in case you've forgotten. Do you know what that means? It means I can't even go grocery shopping without people talking about me behind my back."

"This will all blow over in a month or two," John announced in forceful tones. "Frazier is fine. It was his decision to leave town and move to Frequency City."

"He would hardly want to hang around Aurora Springs after he'd been humiliated by losing a duel and being forced off the Council," she shot back.

Cooper studied her with a considering expression. She knew that he was trying to decide just how much of the truth to reveal.

"I regret that there has been gossip and that it got back to you," he said slowly.

"For heaven's sake, you could have been seriously injured or even been killed."

Cooper's brows drew together above the rims of his glasses in a slightly baffled expression. "There was no danger of anyone getting killed."

"A sanctioned ghost-hunter duel is a formal ritual," John said quickly. "It's used only as a last resort to deal with challenges to the existing power structure of the organization. The strongest hunter wins. The members of the Council witness the results, and that's the end of the matter."