‘Are you talking in English?’

She smiled. ‘I mean – there is a related and controversial interpretation of the early books of the Bible which has caused much pain and anguish over the centuries.’

‘Which is?’

‘The problem of Cain’s wife. And so on.’

‘Ah…’

They were nearing the nub. But Simon needed to eat something – because he hadn’t eaten all day. So he picked up his tiny fork and stabbed it into the surprisingly tender centre of the bone knuckle. A small, strange, wriggly blob of jelly emerged, pronged on his fork. The roasted marrow. It looked repugnant, yet it smelt quite good. He placed it on a slice of toast and took a deep breath and ate it.

It was oddly delicious, despite the revolting texture.

‘See!’ said Emma Winyard, her handsome face smiling. ‘Not so bad after all.’

‘I guess…Tell me more about this heresy.’

Emma had finished her intestines; she laid down her fork and knife and sipped some water, and leaned forward.

‘I’ll tell you in one go, as you tackle your bone. First thing to know is that there are strange hints in the Book of Genesis that Adam and Eve were not the only human beings around during the Creation.’

Simon stopped eating, halfway through a mouthful of bone marrow.

‘What?’

‘Yes. There are some other odd and mysterious hints in the Pentateuch of non-Adamite humans – other races of already existent human beings, apart from Adam and Eve. For instance, in Genesis, the Bible tells us that Cain went out into the world: “And the LORD set a MARK upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.” Thing is: who on earth were these people who might find him? Theoretically, only Adam and Eve were around at the time. That’s in Genesis 4. So who was it Cain should be scared of?’

Simon sat back. He looked at his laptop bag by his side. He wondered if he should be making proper notes. This was really quite intriguing information: it was also quite unnerving, this Biblical idea of different humans, of people already existing, yet separate: like a tribe of pale shadows.

‘That’s truly strange,’ he said. ‘Go on.’

But the elegant Ms Winyard was distracted: she was sitting back once more as the waiter whipped away her starter, and placed another dish on the table. Her face lit up.

‘Pig cheek and butterbeans, one of my favourites.’

The waiter now set a second dish in front of Simon. It was red and hot and looked like something…recently aborted.

‘Ah.’

‘I ordered you bloodcake.’

‘That’s nice.’

His phone was ringing again: very annoyingly. Simon glanced at the read-out. Fazackerly, it said, pulsing on and off. What had got the professor so agitated? He recalled the yellowing smile of the old man, and the over-elaborate metaphors of Darwinian struggle; he once more killed the call without answering. And this time he switched off the phone.

Emma was checking her watch, with a flicker of irritation. ‘Let’s kick things along?’

‘Yes please. Sorry about all these interruptions.’

‘Apology accepted. Now we come to the Curse of Cain. To put it very briefly, this strange passage of Biblical verse, Genesis 9:20 or thereabouts, says that Ham’s father Noah placed a hex upon Ham and his son Cain, that they should become perpetual slaves, after Ham saw his father’s nakedness in a tent.’

‘This is a different Cain we’re talking about?’

‘Yes. It is complex. But a different Cain, yes – this is the grandson of Noah, son of Ham. He is also known as Canaan, the founder of the Canaanite people…’

Simon was trying to enjoy his bloodcake, and failing. He pushed the plate away, suppressing nausea, and asked Emma to continue. She was happy to oblige.

‘So what does this strange story tell us? Well, the Curse of Cain has been used by elements within the Abrahamic religions to justify racism and Zionism and especially the enslavement of black Africans. Because they were believed to be descendants of Ham and Cain.’

‘But how? I’m confused. Again.’ He shrugged. ‘Was Cain African?’

She smiled.

‘It’s quite simple. The Bible itself says Ham and his son Cain should be slaves in perpetuity, for their sins – for the unseemly sexual act with Noah, exposing the drunken father. And that’s all. But early Jewish and Christian scholars say God went further, they claim Jehovah smote Cain with blackness. The Babylonian Talmud, for instance, categorically states “Cain was smitten in his skin” – i.e. turned black. The Zohar, the most important book of the Kabbalah, likewise says “Ham’s son Cain blackened the face of mankind”. And Africans thereafter descended from Cain…’

‘And it’s mainly Jewish, this theory?’

‘Oh no. No no. Christian church fathers were just as keen. An Eastern Christian work from the fourth century, the Cave of Treasures, openly connects slavery with dark-skinned people.’ Emma swallowed a big chunk of pig cheek, and explained: ‘Why all the fuss? Probably Africans were already being enslaved by this time, so foisting the Curse of Cain upon them was a good excuse to perpetuate the bondage of blacks. Throughout the Dark and Middle Ages there are many more scholastic references to Cain, blackness and slavery.’

‘And people used this doctrine during…colonial times?’

‘Absolutely.’ Emma paired her knife and fork. ‘Spanish conquistadors, British imperialists, the French and Portuguese, many American slavers, they all seized on these pseudo Biblical passages to justify the hideous trade in Africans. The idea was either that God made different inferior races, when he made Adam, or he deliberately created a caste of black slaves when he cursed Cain. Ergo, slavery is OK.’

She dabbed her lips with a napkin, and continued, ‘And the theory still has potency. Mormons only renounced the doctrine in 1977.’

It was time to broach the underlying topic.

‘Emma, did you discuss this subject with a guy, name of Angus Nairn, a few months back?’

Professor Winyard sat up.

‘Yes, I did. But…How did you know that?’ Her persistent smile faded. ‘I thought you were just a journalist researching racism?’

‘I am. But…there are other factors. And I need to know, what did Nairn want?’

She frowned. ‘OK…Yes, Angus and I were quite close. He’s a rather eccentric…but rather charming young man. Very clever scientist. Scottish Presbyterian.’

‘So I understand.’

‘I haven’t heard from him in ages. But I have been immersed in my studies…’

‘What did you, ah, talk about?’

‘Lots. He was interested in some strange things. The history of the Curse of Cain as it related to the Inquisition, the Basques and the Cagots.’

‘The Cagots?’

‘Yes, a tribe of French pariahs.’

‘Never heard of them.’

‘Most people have never heard of them. They were one group of victims of this extreme Curse of Cain theology. Some Catholic priests thought they were of the sons of Cain, blah-de-blah, and persecuted them. There is a strain in French Catholicism which is highly racist, and sometimes anti-Semitic, to this very day.’

‘Such as?’

‘Remember French Archbishop Lefebvre? He was excommunicated for his extreme traditionalist views, opposed Vatican Two, and so forth. Some of his followers are outright Holocaust deniers. This strand of Catholicism had links to the pro-Nazi French puppet regime at Vichy. Some truly renegade French priests actually worked for the Nazis.’

‘How?’

‘As chaplains in concentration camps, for one.’ Emma glanced again at her watch. ‘I’m afraid I really have to go soon -’

Simon nodded. ‘Just a couple more questions?’

‘Fire away. But quickly please.’

‘So what else did you and Nairn discuss?’

‘Oh…many things. We even had dinner a couple of times.’ She looked momentarily wistful. ‘He was particularly keen to know what happened to the results of the doctors’ tests: of the Cagots.’

‘Sorry? Tests?’