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'I thought it must be some kind of a spiel like that No You stay away fro to be hotter later in the day when they find a certain Mercedes at the bottoet off the line now Sorry to have wrecked your Christmas 'Bye'

Bond put down the receiver and went up to the restaurant Tracy had been watching the door Her face lit up when she saw him He sat down very close to her and took her hand, a typical airport farewell couple He ordered plenty of scraht, Tracy I've fixed everything atto be bad news There'll be people who'll have seen you drive aith the Mercedes on your tail There always are, even atot his et the hell on over the frontier Which is the nearest?'

'Schaffhausen or Konstanz, I suppose, but' - she pleaded -'Ja for you And I have done well, haven't I? Why do you want to punish me?' Tears, that would never have been there in the Royale days, sparkled in her eyes She wiped therily aith the back of her hand

Bond suddenly thought, Hell! I'll never find another girl like this one She's got everything I've ever looked for in a woman She's beautiful, in bed and out She's adventurous, brave, resourceful She's exciting always She seeirl, not cluttered up with friends, relations, belongings Above all, she needs me It'll be someone for me to look after I'm fed up with all these untidy, casual affairs that leavechildren I've got no social background into which she would or wouldn't fit We're two of a pair, really Why notthose words that he had never said in his life before, never expected to say

'Tracy I love you Will you ly Her lips trembled 'You mean that?'

'Yes, I mean it With all my heart'

She took her hand away from his and put her face in her hands When she re ' I' of It came as a shock But yes Yes, of course I'll marry you And I won't be silly about it I won't ' She looked seriously at him, at every detail of his face Then she leaned forward and they kissed

She got up briskly 'I suppose I've got to get used to doing what you say I'll drive to Munich To the Vier Jahreszeiten It's my favourite hotel in the world I'll wait for you there They know 's at Samaden I'll just have to send out for a tooth-brush and stay in bed for two days until I can go out and get soet married? I et ot a kind of diploh quickly Then we can be lish church, or Scottish rather That's where I coet to you just as soon as I can I've got to finish this business first'

'You proet hurt?'

Bond smiled 'I wouldn't think of it For once I'll run away if soht then' She looked at hiain 'It's time you took off that red handkerchief I suppose you realize it's bitten to ribbons Give it to me I'll mend it'

Bond undid the red bandanna fro And she was right Two corners of it were in shreds He ot the was bad down the ave it to her

She took it and, without looking back, walked straight out of the restaurant and down the stairs towards the exit

Bond sat down His breakfast ca mechanically What had he done? What in hell had he done? But the only ansas a feeling of tremendous warmth and relief and excitement James and Tracy Bond! Commander and Mrs Bond! How utterly, utterly extraordinary!

The voice of the Tannoy said, 'Attention, please Passengers on Swissair Flight Nuate Nuate Nuave a quick glance round their trysting-place to fix its banality in his ments of his old life torn up amidst the debris of an airport breakfast

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M en Pantoufles