Page 108 - Brokenclaw - John Gardner

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‘Let’s hope the food’s as good as the menu. While I was still at school,

which was not for all that long, I made a vow that I would one day only allow
the best food in the world to pass my lips.’
‘Was it that bad? School, I mean.’
‘On Fridays we had fish. It was known as the piece of cod
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understanding.’
She gave a wan smile and buried her nose in the menu.
Chi-Chi ordered caviar followed by grilled rognon de veau with new
potatoes and petits pois. ‘I shall also make a pig of myself and have the fraises

des bois with a great deal of cream,’ she added with a cat-like smile.
Bond said he would join the lady with the caviar. ‘But make certain there is
a lot of toast.’ He glanced at Chi-Chi. ‘Good caviar is easy to come by. The
trick is to get enough toast.’ He then ordered lamb cutlets with the same
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vegetables as Chi-Chi. ‘And while Madame is enjoying the strawberries, I’ll
have an avocado with a lot of French dressing – vinaigrette that is, not the pink
stuff that sometimes passes for French dressing in this part of the world.’
The stewardess looked shocked. ‘But, certainly, sir. It will be vinaigrette.

There is no other kind of French dressing.’
The meal was extraordinarily good, Bond’s cutlets being tender enough for
him to cut with a fork alone, while the wines served with each course were, as
he said later to Chi-Chi, ‘Quite remarkable. There can’t be many bottles of the

Lafitte-Rothschild ’47 left in the world.’
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After dinner, Ding came back again to ask if there was anything else they
needed. ‘They’re being a little overly solicitous, aren’t they?’ Chi-Chi
whispered.

‘Just a bit.’ He hardly moved towards her, yet he spoke in almost a whisper.
‘Don’t worry, Jenny, I’m sure everything’s going to be fine.’ He looked down
the cabin. Both Fox and the large Chinese seemed to be settling down to sleep.
Turning his head back to Chi-Chi, he suggested that they should also get

some rest. ‘We don’t really know when we’ll have a chance to sleep again.’
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She merely nodded, not looking at him, and closed her eyes.
As he tried to catnap, Bond was aware of the aircraft doing a series of long,
steady turns, as though it was under ATC instructions.

Just under seven hours after he had given instructions to the New York station
on Lexington Avenue, Grant was called back to the makeshift communications

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