(1992) Prophecy by Peter James Read Free Book Online

studied the menus in silence for a few moments. Frannie ordered melon followed by turbot, and Oliver Halkin ordered pâté and the turbot.
    She wondered how his wife had died but did not like to ask. ‘Which bank are you with?’ she said.
    ‘It’s a small merchant bank, called the Halkin-Northrop.’ He raised his eyebrows. ‘I shouldn’t think you’ve heard of it.’
    ‘Halkin? Is that a family connection?’
    ‘More by name than much else, these days. We don’t own many shares any more. They give me something to do out of kindness.’
    ‘I don’t believe that! What do you actually do there? Chairman?’
    ‘No, gosh, I’m just a sort of consultant. I dabble away with my mathematics and every now and then if I get something right they give me a pat on the head and a biscuit.’
    ‘You do their accounts?’
    ‘No. I’m a statistics analyst. I study trends, patterns, assess the odds of risks. We do quite a bit of reinsurance financing – I have to try to work out things like how many people are going to be killed in road accidents over the next decade, how many in plane crashes and how many are going to get bitten by dogs.’ Hesmiled wryly. ‘Or how many cavalry officers are going to get kicked to death by horses.’
    ‘Do many?’
    ‘It’s a very consistent figure.’
    ‘I’ve never been much good at maths.’
    ‘Have you ever been interested in it?’
    ‘No, I’ve never really thought about it very much – probably because I’m so hopeless at it.’
    He looked reprovingly. ‘That’s a shame.’
    ‘Why?’
    He patted the table with the palm of his hand, lightly but with a sudden look of zeal on his face, and leaned forward. ‘Because so many bright people do ignore it. So few teachers make it exciting at school – they teach it as just another boring thing you have to learn.’ His eyes brightened, coming alive like a dormant fire blasted by bellows. ‘Archaeology – beauty – symmetry. Think about the proportions of buildings, of vases, furniture. Mathematics and design are inseparable. The design of objects,’ he raised his side plate then put it down; ‘the design of the world.’
    ‘Of the world?’ she said.
    He picked up his glass and swirled the liquid inside it. His eyes were alight and Frannie was captivated by his enthusiasm. ‘Mathematics is the most exciting thing of all. It holds the key to the universe.’
    She looked at him and asked dubiously. ‘In what way?’
    ‘You said you’re a Libra. Do you read your horoscope?’
    ‘Sometimes.’
    ‘Do you believe in fortune-tellers?’
    ‘I’m not sure. I suppose I do, a little.’
    ‘I’m a fortune-teller.’
    Her eyes widened. ‘Do you have a crystal ball?’
    ‘No. Just a calculator.’ He smiled. ‘At a simple level, mathematics can predict the most extraordinary things.’
    ‘Like what?’ She leaned towards him.
    ‘I can tell you how many people are going to die next year, in every country of the world, in any kind of accident you can name. And from any kind of disease. What’s more, I’ll be more accurate than any seaside clairvoyant.’
    Frannie savoured her spritzer then cupped her glass in both hands. ‘Except you can’t predict who the victims will be, can you?’
    He smiled. ‘No, that’s right. Not yet.’
    ‘Not
yet
? You think you’ll be able to one day?’
    ‘There are patterns to everything. By understanding patterns you can make order out of chaos.’ He raised his glass. ‘I’m getting far too serious.’
    ‘No, I’m interested.’
    He drank and then set the glass down with exaggerated care. ‘Tell me about your parents. What do they do?’
    The time slipped by easily, almost unnoticed, as they chatted. Their table had become a private island where they sat alone, absorbed in each other and undisturbed except for the arrival of food and more drinks and the removal of plates, and at some point, even when Frannie already thought she was feeling far too drunk, a bottle of Sancerre was