Bienne, Switzerland

They soon drove out of the snow, and by the time they reached Bienne, the roads were clear and dry. A few minutes before noon, David gave Maria a hand out of the car in front of Hotel de la Poste. "This is where I had lunch two weeks ago before I met Hans."

"You said you met him in a hotel. Was that here?"

"Yes, after lunch in a small meeting room. My thoughts had been he was being careful and didn't want to have me come to his offices for a first meeting." He paused to assist Maria up the steps and into the hotel dining room. "We're meeting him at fourteen thirty, so we'll have lunch here first. I found the food rather fine the last time."

Inside, they were greeted and led to a table, seated and given menus and cartes. Maria immediately checked hers to see if there were prices, then she looked up and smiled. "You said this is a French area, and I thought they'd be doing the French thing with these. But, no, they're civilised here."

She swivelled her head. "I wonder where the WC is. Surely that is also civilised."

"I've not seen squatters in Switzerland, though so far, I've only visited a few. I wouldn't think that aberration has crossed the border. The language and the appreciation of food are here, but I don't think the outmoded attitudes have followed."

"When he comes back, I'm going to ask the waiter where it is, just to satisfy my curiosity." She laughed. "My crazy curiosity – so, we'll meet Hans here after lunch?"

"No, at the factory. After our meeting, he gave me a map and a picture to make it easy to find." David pulled a bundle out of his breast pocket and unfolded it. "This is what the factory looks like. It should be hard to miss."

"Oh, my. That's his? And he's an orphan in his early thirties?"

David pointed. "Here. He's circled its location to help us."

Maria examined the map. "That's not far from here." She measured with her fingers against the scale. "Barely a kilometre. That's a huge building for making such small watches."

"I'm not sure how much of it is for that. Likely, he has only a part of it. I have no idea what's involved in watchmaking, but we'll find out. He said he'd take me on a tour on my next visit."

"Does he know I'm with you?"

"I told him yesterday morning when we spoke by telephone, arranging the details of the visit. I need to pay him for the watches I sold, and I need a new stock."

"You're getting better at including me." Maria grinned, then pointed again at the map. "I'm confused. Our driving map and the road signs show it as Biel-Bienne, but this names it Biel, and you call it Bienne."

"The city sits on the boundary between the French and German language parts of the country, and each side uses its own name. This map was published by a German-speaking company, so it's called Biel."

"At least they don't appear to be fighting with each other here." She examined the room. "This is very peaceful and pleasant."

"I don't think there'd be many German sympathisers here; the cultures seem to have blended." He laughed. "That's why I think their plumbing is more comfortable."

"I still need to check it." She paused. "Actually, I need to use it."

"Let's look at the menus, then call the waiter."

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After lunch, David and Maria strolled through the old sector of the city, admiring the mediaeval architecture. They paused in front of the Church of Saint Benedict to read the plaque. "Construction began in 1451." David shook his head. "That's when Columbus was born. There's such a different idea of old here compared to ours back home in Canada. The oldest buildings in Vancouver date from the 1880s."

"Will you take me to Canada? I'm so curious to see it after all you've told me about it."

"I intend to, but we have a war to win first." David turned and pulled her into a tight embrace. "It's difficult now to make plans beyond that. We've so much unknown. So much chaos. I'd love to explore the entire world with you, but we need to concentrate on here and now."

He kissed her, then looked at his watch. "We should head back to the car and go find Rebbergweg. We don't want to keep Hans waiting. He said he'd meet us outside the new building."

"Which one is that?"

David pulled the map and the picture from his pocket and handed them to her. "This one, the smaller one."

Back in the car, Maria guided him to the underpass beneath the train tracks and onto Höheweg. A few hundred metres up the hill, she pointed. "There. That looks like it. And there's the turn into Rebbergweg."

Hans stepped forward to greet them as David stopped the car in the small courtyard. "I was concerned you might have been stopped by the snow." After introductions, he led them inside. "This is the Aegler factory. They supply most of my movements – all the precision ones."

"So you don't make the movements yourself?" David asked.

"No. Switzerland has many factories, big and small, and I've been picking and choosing the best movements and putting them into cases to meet the demands of the market. Aegler is the only maker with a wristwatch movement certified with chronometer accuracy." Hans led them along a corridor.

"So, others are also using the accurate movements."

"Very few. I've been purchasing most of their production from the beginning, and I've become their largest customer." He smiled as he knocked on a door. "I'm the only one who has been marketing their accuracy, causing my sales to grow quickly in Britain, and they're expanding on the continent. I'm in the process of setting up an office and an assembly facility here to supply the European demand. Paying the taxes and tariffs both ways – to and from England – makes no sense with either money or time."

A woman opened the door, invited them in and led them to an inner office. Hans made the introductions with Jean Aegler. "Jean's family established this company in 1878, and they quickly gained prominence. I've been working closely with him and his parents since 1905."

After further background was shared by both Jean and Hans, they all headed out on a tour of the works, having details explained and questions answered. An hour and a half later, Jean bade them farewell, and Hans took David and Maria to an office.

"I'm still amazed by the quantity you sold, David," Hans said after they had all taken seats. "I had expected your stock would last much longer."

"With your data sheets, certificates and display case of samples, selling was simple. I had more demand than I had supply."

"That's what this is all about, David. Creating a demand. Not being afraid to boldly state that we have the finest wristwatches available." Hans raised a finger and wagged it. "But we need the watches to prove our boasts. Any fool can claim to be the finest. I intend to always prove it. And to continue improving the quality."

David paid Hans the wholesale price for his earlier sales, and then he selected another sixty watches. "This was easily the most popular one, and had I more with me, they would have sold. I also need more copies of the observatory certificates and information sheets. I ran out handing them out freely, and I suspect they will have generated more sales when I return."

"Yes, that's wise giving them away; they cost but a few pence per ream and they are easily turned into sales. People often believe more readily what they read than what they're told. Also, many keep them as a reminder."

David loaded the watches and the bundles of paper into his satchel, and then he glanced at his watch. "We should be going. There was snow on the road as we came through Solothurn, so driving will be slow back to Zürich, particularly in the dark."

"Before you arrived, I was told the road to Solothurn has been closed by snow. I had thought you would be staying the night; otherwise, I would have mentioned it earlier."

David glanced at Maria, then out through the windows at the gathering dusk. "It seems we are staying now."