Circle of Shadows

II.2

The same day, the Old Lecture Hall, Leuchtenstadt, Maulberg

A century of chalk-dust rather than incense, the silted spirits of many years of intense intellectual strain rather than devoted prayer, but the Old Lecture Hall did have the atmosphere of a cathedral, that reverential attention of the congregation listening while a single voice unfolded mysteries in Latin — though these mysteries were mathematical rather than metaphysical. It was usually silent, so when someone yawned very loudly then returned to gnawing the last flesh off his apple core, the sound echoed out like someone singing bawdy ballads at Communion. The Professor’s chalk ceased to move across the board. He abandoned Monsieur Clairaut’s explanation of the motion of the apsis to turn slowly towards the auditorium of students.

It was quickly obvious who the offender was. The significant glances of his more cowardly pupils guided the Professor’s gaze towards the centre of the room where a youth sat — no, not sat, lolled — core in hand and staring up at the plain, whitewashed ceiling above him. The Professor stared his famous Medusa-like stare until the boy, apparently aware that the low drone of his voice had ceased, turned towards him and grinned. He spoke in German, like a shopkeeper.

‘Sorry, Professor, do carry on. I think you were still on the second order effects, weren’t you?’ The youth yawned again, and the Professor found himself on the receiving end of what could only be described as an encouraging wink.

The boy who delivered it could not be more than twenty. His light brown hair was unpowdered and the eyes somewhere between grey and blue. It was not a very handsome face; the nose was snub and its expression was rather foolish, or rather innocent to the point of foolishness. He looked, the Professor’s mind rummaged through its clutter of equations and Latin maxims for the right word … fresh.

The silence in the room that followed this remark deepened as forty young men of good family and high expectations drew in their breath and waited for the explosion.

‘I would hate to think I am boring you, Mr …?’

‘Pegel, Herr Professor, Jacob Pegel at your service.’ He waved the remnants of his breakfast. ‘No, not boring me exactly, but this is all quite basic stuff, isn’t it? Good old Clairaut.’ He looked about him at the white, awe-struck faces of his fellow students, the same foolish grin on his face.

The Professor had been at pains to impress upon his students, in awful tones that made them tremble as if they found themselves at the Gates of Hell, that only the occasional mathematical genius among them might hope to come to a true understanding of the three-body problem. The rest must be left to wail in the limbo of mathematical ignorance. He had had them in the palm of his wrinkled hand, terrified and obedient, and now this boy appeared, blowing raspberries at him. This new boy. The Professor recognised the name only too well. The Head of the University had had a quiet word with him about letting this snub-nosed little whelp attend his lectures. He had no title, no apparent wealth, but still the Dean had asked that the doors of the Old Lecture Theatre be opened to him, and eventually, after a series of deep sighs and shakings of his head, the Herr Professor had agreed that this boy would be allowed to attend his lectures without the usual qualifications and stipulations. It had obviously been a mistake.

The tension of hearing the great learning of Clairaut spoken of in such a way was too much for one young man in the back row. He giggled, then attempted to disappear behind his companions while simultaneously stuffing his handkerchief into his mouth.

The Professor smiled, a thin evil smile. Those who had feared an explosion of his temper now almost wished for it. ‘Perhaps,’ he said, ‘Herr Pegel, you would like to continue the lecture, in that case. Do educate us poor provincial half-wits.’

Forty pairs of eyes swung back to Pegel. He must apologise now, surely, then the great rage of the Professor would tear forth in rush and thunder and fall upon him like the waters of the Red Sea closing over Pharaoh’s troops.

‘Righty-ho then!’ Pegel said cheerfully, swinging himself upright and trotting down the stairs. ‘But you shouldn’t be so hard on yourself, really. I know this sort of thing was all the go thirty odd years ago.’ He sprang up onto the dais and put his hand out for the chalk. The Professor, beginning to suspect he had not woken up this morning after all, handed it over.

Pegel stood back from the board a moment, then picking up a duster wiped the slate clean. The gasp this time was audible. He paused again, then, whistling, began to write, occasionally interrupting himself to tap his chalk and bark an explanation of his terms. In five minutes the board was filled once more. Pegel made a final underlining and stepped back. ‘And here we are! Spherical harmonics, you see? Track that little beggar through and there’s your explanation of the great inequality of Jupiter and Saturn.’

He turned to his audience. Thirty-nine pairs of eyes stared back at him over thirty-nine open mouths, but in the front row one youth was scribbling furiously, glancing up to the board and back down. ‘That’s a good lad,’ Pegel said softly to himself.

If the Professor heard him, he gave no sign. He was staring at the board and murmuring under his breath, ‘It can’t be that simple. No, surely not, you’d have to … then …’

Pegel clapped his hands together to knock the chalk-dust off them. ‘Lord, there’s the hour up already. Off you go, chaps.’ Looking as if they had been collectively stunned, the students began to file out silently from the room. Pegel watched them go affably enough, but as the scribbler of the front row passed him, his face was briefly lit by a slower, more genuine smile. He heard the clatter of conversation in the hall, then turned back to the Professor.

‘Sorry about that! Good, solid work you’ve been doing here. Just it’s nice to put on a show when you’re new in town. Sure you understand, Herr Professor.’ He clapped him on the shoulder, causing a haze of ancient chalk to lift from his gown. Pegel’s eyes watered and he coughed.

The Professor did not seem to notice. His eyes were still tracking back and forth across the calculations on the board.

Pegel picked up the duster again. ‘Shall I rub this all off for you then, sir? Leave it nice and clean for your next group?’ The Professor’s thin hand clamped suddenly around Pegel’s wrist.

‘Do. Not. Touch. It.’

‘All right, governor.’ Pegel was released and started to shake the blood back into his fingers, stepping back a pace as he did.

‘Righty-ho then, as you like, Herr Professor! Any points you want clearing up I shall be knocking about the university for a few weeks, I suppose.’

The Professor spun towards him. His eyes really were red. ‘Tonight. Come tonight.’

Pegel began to back away slowly. ‘Sorry, not possible. Busy. Very busy. Can’t work all the time. Tomorrow, or the day after maybe. But soon, certainly soon. Promise.’

The Professor hissed and turned back to the equation, leaving Pegel to escape with a skipping step into the corridor. He was not surprised to find the blond scribbler waiting for him. He put his hand out to Pegel and blushed.

‘My name is Florian zu Frenzel — Lord, actually. I wanted to ask-’

Pegel took the hand offered him and put his free arm around Florian’s shoulders.

‘Course you must, Your Holy Graceness. But I’ve got a question too. Where does a fellow get a drink round here?’

Frenzel stuttered a little. ‘I w-would be very glad if you w-would be my guest at-’

‘Then be glad!’ Jacob interrupted, giving his shoulder a squeeze. ‘Lead on, and tell me where we’re going only when we get there. I love to be surprised.’

Pegel had taken rooms in Leuchtenstadt on 3 February, and in the three months since then had grown very fond of the little town, its medieval buildings all tumbling down in cheerful disorder to the river. The university held its classes in halls and buildings scattered all round the town, which meant the roadways were constantly filled with young men making their way from lecture to lecture, spending their money in the taverns or their youth bent over their books depending on their abilities, rank and proclivities. The Professors stalked the streets like little Kings, nodding each to each and scowling at the young men. Pegel watched, listened, heard and followed. He mapped the streets in his mind, till he could make his way through them blindfold. He handed out pennies to children, flirted with housemaids, and made a lot of notes in a pocketbook that never left his side. He had a healthy supply of gold sewn into the lining of his coat, but lived frugally. When the proper time came and his plans were laid he presented himself to the Head of the University and handed him a letter. The Head of the University read the letter and went rather pale. The boy in front of him was so unremarkable. The letter was remarkable and deeply upsetting. It mentioned his mistress, his gaming debts and some rather unfortunate remarks he had made about two of his senior colleagues. The Head of the University offered Mr Pegel whatever assistance he required. Pegel took the letter back and asked to be admitted to the Higher Maths Lectures, then reassured the Head of the University that he would not return. Pegel left, whistling.

Pegel’s first talent was mathematics. It came to him as naturally as speech and before he was eight years old he had leaped ahead of his parish schoolmaster. The schoolmaster, rather amazed, handed the child book after book, but when he realised Jacob had managed to teach himself passable French and better Latin to read further, he acknowledged that he could do no more and appealed to the Bishop. Pegel was removed to the Bishop’s Palace at ten and fed sweetmeats and the contents of the Bishop’s library. It was just after his fourteenth birthday that the old Empress paid the Bishop a visit and Pegel’s life became rather more interesting. She carried back the little prodigy to Vienna, and there Pegel began work breaking codes to read a great deal of European diplomatic correspondence. When he was eighteen he met a man who suggested he might prefer a line of work, less confined to a desk. Life got a lot more interesting again. He had developed several other talents in the last few years, but numbers were still his closest friends. Some said God was an architect, but Pegel had seen too many mis-shaped beings in the world to believe that. No, for Pegel, God was a mathematician. Numbers worked. It had been a delight then to learn, within a week of following him home with his two older friends, that Florian was regarded as gifted in that science, and was a slightly shy, lonely young man among the duellists and drinkers who made up the greater part of the student body. He was perfect. Pegel went, for the first and only time, to class. Then, on Florian’s arm, to the tavern.