Page 32 of Coral Memories

“Liar. You were studying those chandeliers as if planning a heist and estimating their worth.”

“That depends on the cost of each piece of crystal.” Ginger named the number she’d calculated, give or take a few missing pieces. “If you know that, I can give you a fairly accurate assessment. I can share that calculation if you have time.”

Instead of excusing himself then, as most men would have done at this point, he stared at her. “Are you serious?”

“I’ve met sixty-three-and-a-half people this evening, though my husband is much better at names than numbers. I prefer this.” She glanced up again, giving him another chance to leave.

Amusement crinkled his eyes. “A half?”

“Half of who they might be.” She sniffed at the waste of human potential. The vacuous, the bored, or those who had given up on life. What a shame, she thought.

“Quite right,” he replied, looking slightly awed. “And who is your husband?”

“Bertrand Delavie.”

The man’s eyebrows raised. “Why, you don’t say?”

“That’s exactly what I said.” Ginger wondered why people said such things.

She turned her gaze upward again, signaling her disinterest. Perhaps he would leave to converse with her husband, who was much more affable.

“Are you appraising the chandeliers?”

“No, but I would place the value at…” She quickly named a figure, to his apparent surprise.

Seemingly intrigued, he inclined his head. “Sounds like a good guess.”

“I don’t guess. That’s for amateurs.” Slightly annoyed, she went on. “Lacking specific information on value, I assumed each crystal is worth four U.S. dollars. If it were six dollars, you’d increase that by fifty percent. Value is a variable to be confirmed.”

He lifted a corner of his mouth in a half grin. “How about that in French francs?”

“Of course, one moment. The prevailing exchange rate is…”

The man looked on in amazement as Ginger rattled off numbers in two currencies and then multiplied that by the number of chandeliers in the room. This was a cheap parlor trick, but it kept her mind occupied.

“What if you knew the cost?”

“Helpful, though cost and value are different.”

“You could add percentages for the cost of labor and profit. Realizing that these are only assumptions.” A smile touched his lips as if amused.

“Alright.” Without having anything more worthwhile to do, she spun out a few more numbers before turning back to him. After finishing, she waited for him to leave. They always did.

When he didn’t, she asked, “Shouldn’t you be moving on to someone more important or fascinating? I’m only a career diplomat’s wife.”

He shook his head in amazement. “I’ve never seen anyone do math in their head like that.”

“I’m sure any college professor of mathematics could do the same. Though I wouldn’t know.” Without higher education in mathematics or better fluency in French, she hadn’t been able to further her study in Paris, although she was working on the latter.

Bertrand caught her eye and touched his lips as though in thought. She smiled and did the same.

They’d developed little signals they used at functions. A finger touch to the lips meantI love you. A sweep of a finger to an eyebrow signaled the desire to leave; a tap to the forehead meantyes, and a touch of the chin forno. Fingers to the chest meantcome here, I need you.

“I’m not sure even a professor would have your rapid mental dexterity,” the man continued. He stared at her with a look of disbelief creasing his brow.

“I didn’t catch your name,” Ginger said, extending her hand.

“Forgive me,” he said. “Silas Rutherford. And what do you do with your time here in Paris?”

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