An Elegant Solution(106)

“I wouldn’t know which was which,” I said.

“And the men in these positions recognize each other.”

“I’m sure you must,” I said.

“Even great ability will only raise a man to a certain level. Occupying one of these highest Chairs, holding office in one of these exceptional Academies, or attending one of these erudite Courts, is just as necessary.”

“I’d aspire to such a position,” I said.

“These positions are never simply given.”

“They must be achieved?” I asked.

“They must be negotiated.”

“But . . . with whom?”

He had leaned forward, slowly, as he talked. Now he leaned back and his manner changed from conspiratorial to magnanimous. “An introduction to the Royal Academy in Paris will be a step forward, and I have every hope the Secretary will receive it graciously. Now, Leonhard, the Provost and I both thank you for your service today.”



All the bells of Basel tolled three o’clock as I walked back to my grandmother’s house. They were a cacophony but pleasant and grand and noble. I felt them calling me to noble and grand places. Then they fell silent, and their echoes circling the city dwindled. From far off, I heard the single bell of Riehen answer two o’clock, quietly.



Later, I made a visit to the Boot and Thorn in the chance of finding Daniel, which I did. Nicolaus was there, of course. I don’t think he enjoyed the smoky dungeon any more than I did.

“It’s all for tomorrow,” Daniel said. “Just hours.”

“It’s a Chair,” I said, “but only a Chair. Daniel, you’re nervous as a sheep that smells a wolf.”

“As a wolf that smells a sheep,” Nicolaus said.

“You’ll be nominated,” I said. “I’m certain you will. And you’re certain. Be at peace.”

“It’s a certainty that doesn’t bring peace,” Nicolaus said.

Daniel snarled at him. “What’s that?” His anger flared, but Nicolaus was still as always. “You’d take a nomination if you could! You’d give as much as I.”

“How much have you given?”

Daniel shrugged him off. “He’s just jealous,” he said to me.

“There are three nominations,” I said.

“And two are worthless.”

“Worthless after the stone’s drawn, or before?” Nicolaus said.

“After,” I said. “They’re each worth the same while they’re each still in the box.”

“Don’t under-guess Mighty Brutus,” Daniel said. “He’ll squeeze just what he wants out of that box. There’s no telling what he might do.”

“I don’t understand you,” I said. “You seem so sure that you’ll be nominated and chosen, and you’re sure your father will be sure that you aren’t. What does it mean? And your father isn’t so vengeful as you think, anyway.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“He’s conceded my proof. He’s said he accepts it and even admires it.”

“Brutus? He said that?”

“To me, this morning.”

“That’s easy enough, I suppose, when there’s no one to hear him.”

“He says he’s sending a recommendation to Paris that I’ve solved the challenge.”

Daniel leaned close, and even Nicolaus did, too. “But has he sent it?”

“It’ll be on the Post to Belfort tomorrow. It will be in Paris in a week.” I couldn’t help myself, boastful as it was to say it. “And he’s recommending it to the Acta Eruditorum, as well.”

“What? Never. It’s not the same man! You’ve been captivated by a conjurer, Leonhard. It wasn’t any member of my family who said that.”

“Or father’s been captivated,” Nicolaus said, thoughtfully.

“If he’s been,” Daniel said, “it’s worth guessing by whom. No, Leonhard’s the one captivated, and by Brutus.”

“Would you want a nomination, Nicolaus?” I asked.

“I have my Chair already in Bern, and I’m wise enough,” he said with a nod to his brother, “to not give up my own until I have something better.”

“The nothing I have now is better than that Chair was. And you’ve neglected your Chair this past month.”

“It will stand a rest when I have more urgent business here.”

I asked Daniel a question. “Which part is Gottlieb of the schemes? Is he of yours or your father’s?”

“That’s a question,” Nicolaus said. “Which is he, Daniel?”

“We’re fire and stone,” Daniel answered. “Enemies that can’t help or hinder.”