CHAPTER 26
IGOR AND GREG immediately returned to Westminster Abbey and made their way to the lush High Altar, where Ben Morant was waiting for them.
— I hope you had an excellent trip, Mr. Evans.
— Impossible not to have a good trip in first class, Mr. Morant.
— I'm glad, but you can call me Ben...
Greg nodded, enjoying not being so formal, he'd always hated working with Englishmen, because of all that formal frills.
— I wish your visit was in a different situation.
— I believe that here, as elsewhere, they only call the police to solve problems.
— I don't know of any connection to the MPS central, inviting the policemen to eat barbecue.
Gregory nodded again.
— So, Ben, why did you call us here?
— I would like you to see this here.
He showed an open bible and written in blood below it:
John Cap I v XXVII l 6
— What is written in John: chapter 1, verse 27 and "1" "6?" — asked Greg.
Igor opened the Bible app on his cell phone and anticipated it.
This is the one who comes after me, who is before me, whose sandal thong I am not worthy to untie...
— Are you talking about John the Baptist?
The priest agreed.
— There is no "l" "6".
— Is it not the sixth letter?
He did the counting, it was the letter "q".
— It doesn't make any sense.
Greg looked at the bible and it was open to the book of the prophet Isaiah Chapter 6 and read it aloud:
In the year that King Uzziah died, I also saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Seraphim were above him, each had six wings, with two they covered their faces, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew.
And they cried out to one another, saying, — Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of his glory.
And the doorposts moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.
Then I said: — Woe is me! For I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell among a people of unclean lips, my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.
But one of the seraphim flew to me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth with a coal, and said, Behold, this has touched thy lips, and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.
After this I heard the voice of the Lord saying: — Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?
Then I said: — Here I am, send me.
Then he said, — Go, and say to this people, 'You hear indeed, and do not understand, and you see indeed, but do not perceive. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and close their eyes, lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and turn and be healed.
Then I said: — How long, Lord?
And he answered, — Until the cities are desolate and without inhabitant, and the houses without inhabitant, and the land be utterly desolate. And the Lord remove men from her, and in the midst of the earth be great forsaken. But still the tenth part will remain in it, and it will be grazed again, and as the oak and the holm oak, which after being stripped, still stand firm, so the holy seed will be its firmness.
— What does that mean? — Morant asked.
— Individually speaking, it doesn't mean anything.
— That's what you're talking about — said a female voice behind them.
Igor would recognize that voice among millions of others, he looked back and it was as if he had been instantly transported to the past.
— Yulia?
She gave him an affectionate smile.
— How long, Igor...
— Why are you here?
— I thought your boss said he needed the brightest minds to solve this case.
— Do you guys know each other by chance? — asked Ben Morant.
Igor nodded, but Yuliya continued as naturally as she could, as if absolutely nothing had happened between them.
— We were engaged during college.
— I DIDN'T KNOW PRIESTS could date.
— I wasn't a priest at the time — said Zumerick, visibly moved by the moment, — and another, Anglican priests can get married, there's no impediment.
— I forgot that little detail.
— It is even incoherent to say that priests cannot marry, since they were married until 1070 after Christ.
— Are you serious?
Zumerick smiled.
— Unfortunately, it all started with the Templars, they took vows of chastity and in less than 50 years they became the greatest military and financial power in the world, attracting many adepts, from there it's the story we know.
Yuliya approached the altar and Igor smelled the sweet perfume she was breathing.
He felt that Yuliya still wore the same perfume...
No. 5 of Chanel Paris — Eau Premiere...
As he studied the inscription, Igor stayed by his side. She looked at him and offered him an affectionate smile.
— You haven't changed a thing, Igor.
— Unfortunately, everything has changed, Yuliya.
She agreed and continued.
— Are you sure you don't know what is written here and what it means? — asked Yuliya Barah, outraged to be among the world's leading experts in their respective fields.
The three shook their heads.
— It's pretty obvious to those who know a little bit about William Blake's history.
— Sorry — Greg said, cutting them off, — I don't think we've been introduced.
Yuliya reached out to greet him.
— Forgive me, Mr. Evans, Yuliya Barah, Professor of Art History at Oxford, I am probably the person who knows most about William Blake's art and history in the world.
— Now that you all know each other — said Ben Morant, interrupting the formalities, — what does all this mean?
She gave her irresistible smile and it seemed that time had not passed, Igor immediately went back to the past when they first met.
***
IGOR WAS IN THE FIRST year of computer science and theology, for many, he was one of the brightest students the university had ever had the honor to receive and one of the rare cases that took two courses at the same time.
Oxford is the city of "Dreaming Spiers", world famous for its University and place in history. Oxford is the oldest of the English— speaking universities, considered one of the top ten in the world .
— PLEASE — SAID YOUNG Igor to a woman — where is Oxford University?
She gave a kind smile.
— A common mistake made by newly arrived tourists here is asking where the University campus is located, which doesn't actually exist, as in modern universities around the world.
Igor was a little embarrassed, she extended her hand and said:
— Yulia...
— Igor...
— Both Russian names on English soil.
— Maybe it's a coincidence.
— As far as I know, anyone studying at Oxford doesn't believe in coincidence or luck, they should know that.
Igor nodded awkwardly, and Yuliya continued.
— Oxford is made up of about forty colleges spread across the city. Among the oldest and most famous colleges are Magdalen, New College, Christ Church, St. Johns, Somerville, Brasenose and All Souls .
She pointed to each one of the buildings and Igor was amazed, his closed world in Canterbury was opening horizons never imagined, without waiting, Yuliya was already giving a lesson on Oxford to young Igor.
— Among its famous alumni are the then— future kings, presidents and other famous statesmen, as well as scholars, scientists, writers, Nobel Prize winners, actors and others. Among these Margaret Thatcher , Bill Clinton , Tony Blair , Indira Gandhi , CS Lewis , JRR Tolkien , Edmund Halley , who named the famous comet, Robert Hooke , Dorothy Hodgkin , Lewis Carroll , Benazir Bhutto , Manfred von Richthofen — the Red Baron, Oscar Wilde , Vera Brittain , Iris Murdoch , and actor Theo James .
— Perhaps one day we will be among these names.
She smiled.
— We've already taken the first step..., actually, this is my second step, because I'm doing my master's degree here now, and has it been decided which course to take?
— Computer science, and...
Yuliya looked at him strangely.
'Theology,' he said a little awkwardly.
— We have a religious who will study in the school of the atheists.
He smiled awkwardly.
— It is very rare for someone to take two courses at the same time, in here it is very busy.
— Let's just say I'll be doing it just for the diploma, I've already worked for some of the professors here on campus, so they referred me out of mere formality.
— We have a little genius, then.
— Maybe one day, right?
She took his hand and pulled him back to the tour.
— The fame of this English university town is shared with its eternal rival, Cambridge . Recently, its colleges were chosen to serve as the setting for the filming of the Harry Potter films .
That one was a subject of his nerd universe.
— Oxford was also the birthplace of important and famous books in world literature, such as Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll , The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien , and many others. the pub , The Eagle and The Child, was even one of Tolkien's favorite places and there were unforgettable debates between him and Lewis, who was an atheist and was converted through this friendship, it is even said that both the lord of the rings and The Chronicles of Narnia came about through a bid.
They walked a few more meters and she pointed to new buildings.
— The city of Oxford has two universities: the University of Oxford and Brookes University. In addition, the French trade school, EM Normandy, has a campus in central Oxford. Shares its buildings with the City of Oxford College, Activate Learning. Each year, it receives approximately 200 students from France , and university exchange students linked to universities associated with EM Normandie.
— What is your case?
She smiled and nodded.
— The University of Oxford is a member of the Russell Group , which brings together 24 research — intensive universities. It is also a member of the Golden Triangle group of elite British universities, together with Cambridge, University College London , Imperial College London , and the London School of Economics. He is a member of LERU and Europaeum . The university operates Oxford University Press , the world's largest university press and has the largest collection of libraries in the UK. Among its alumni, the University of Oxford has 30 Nobel Prize winners , 28 British Prime Ministers , the most recent being Noah Hughes and several foreign heads of state.
She smiled again and seemed to have an important ace up her sleeve.
— From the creation of Anglicanism until 1866, students were obliged to follow this religion in order to obtain a degree. The system of faculties with distinct subjects was implemented in 1802, with faculties of mathematics and the humanities . In 1853 faculties of Natural Sciences , Law and Modern History were added. In 1872, the latter was divided into the faculties of Jurisprudence and Modern History. Theology became the sixth faculty. In addition to these degrees, a postgraduate course in Civil Law was created , which is still available today.
IT WAS EXACTLY in this place that Igor saw Yuliya for the first time, a woman in her thirties who was pursuing her master's degree and applying for a position as an academic.
In a few weeks, romance was inevitable, until her past came to light and she had to run away from what she imagined to be, her future with Igor.