Mid-afternoon, David demonstrated to Maria the comforts of their new bed, and they lay under the duvet, gently shifting their hips while he answered her questions about Georg. "He's forty-four, so three years older than your mother."

"You told me a few weeks ago he had never married. That seems strange for such an attractive man. How did he miss getting caught?"

"I've thought after his fiancée cuckolded him, he withdrew. I've not discussed it with him, but I suppose his leaving Switzerland for England to join the Army and fight in the South African war – that would be a way to get away from his shame and embarrassment. He was a sergeant teaching explosives at the Engineering School in Chatham when we recruited him for this mission."

Their conversation turned to David sharing details from his German trip. "It was easier to gain access to the Kaserne in Freiburg than the one in Donaueschingen, though neither presented any great difficulty."

"Did you visit any jewellers, or did you concentrate on the Army?"

"No shops this trip. I needed to gather intelligence on the results of our work. I'm amazed how easy it was to gain information – innocent conversation was so easily directed to harvest titbits. Some of the officers are incredibly naïve, and at times, I had to cut them off lest we be overheard by more sensible ones."

Maria giggled. "Your easy manner would have drawn them out." 

"That and subtly directing them toward information I wanted before diverting attention to the watches. Piecing together small gems from several exchanges gave me a clear picture, and ..."

David paused and ran his hands down Maria's back to cup her butt cheeks. "I sense you're approaching another. I'll pause so you can focus on enjoying it."

After Maria had recovered and started another gentle churning, she asked, "So where did you go? How did you meet the officers?"

"Paul suggested I set up displays in the messes. That's what he's been doing in England, and he thought it would also work in Germany. I got permission to set up in the foyer of the Officers' Mess of the Badisches Infanterie-Regiment as the officers came in for afternoon coffee and again in the evening. The Rolex placard and the display of samples attracted immediate attention. The brochures and the chronometer certifications made it so easy to engage the officers in a lively discussion on accuracy."

"Ummm. And smoothly directing them to offer too much information."

"Having the most accurate wristwatch in the world intrigued many, and since we were discussing superlatives, there was a sense of braggadocio. I barely had to dig at all; just direct." He chuckled. "The first thing I learned was that the public is being told an earthquake had caused the closure of the three rail lines and two roads. But better, the Army knows it was French sympathisers in Alsace and Lorraine who caused the damage."

Maria sniggered. "Blaming their own people keeps them from suspecting someone crossing the border. Did you find out how much damage you had done?"

"The Hell Valley will take three months to clear and rebuild – both the rail and the road – so road convoys from Donaueschingen to the Front now have nearly three times the distance to travel. The line from Donaueschingen to Offenburg will take two and a half months, and the repair of the Biesenbach viaduct will take five months."

"Oh, my! So, did you sell any watches? Or were you too busy gathering information?"

"I sold thirty-six, all but two women's models and the samples. I was tempted to dig into the ones I had bought for the men as Christmas gifts, but I resisted."

"Thirty-six! In two days?"

"I have orders for seven more in Donaueschingen, but I told them I wouldn't be able to bring them until after Christmas." David chuckled. "That's when I learned of their intended movements the next while. God, are they ever naïve."

"Forty-three in two days, Mr Wilsdorf will be pleased."

"Fifty-seven, including the twelve Christmas gifts for the men and the ones for Tante and Mama."

Maria paused her hips. "Those are rather expensive gifts for the men, are they not?"

"They'll cost me nothing. It's less than half my margin from the sales. Expenses for gasthaus rooms, meals, and gasoline leave me a profit of nearly eighteen hundred Marks. With my discount, the men's watches cost me less than half that, and they'll add to the precision of the team. I need to find other ways to have my profits help the war effort. Maybe I should buy the Lancia from the War Office. I love the new car."

She resumed her slow churning. "How much would it cost? That was such an easy trip from Bern this time, compared to the ones in the lorry. I love the electric start and the enclosed coach. So, how much?"

"I saw the total on the dealer's order when I signed it for the War Office last week. Delivered to Bern, it was twenty-six hundred and twenty Francs."

"So, another trip like the last one will give you more than enough." She paused her hips again. "When is your next trip?"

"I need to go to London first to meet with William. He wants to see me next week."

"That's rather tight with our wedding plans, isn't it?"

"My thought was to leave on Sunday, overnight in Paris and meet with him on Monday. Leave London on Tuesday and be back here on Wednesday. Seven trains there and seven back. God, the war has disrupted so much. The clerk at the Embassy told me that last year it was a single overnight train from Bern to the Channel, so only two trains to London."

"Could I go with you?" She rocked her hips gently and sighed. "I miss this so much when you're away."

"Let me savour you for a while as I think on it." David remained silent in his thoughts, making slow thrusts and enjoying her deep-throated moans; then he said, "We can take a more southerly route – away from the Front. Maybe the line through Lausanne and Dijon."

Maria trembled as she recommenced her churning. "I would love that." She trembled again. "Let's do your finishing romp. I'm quite close, and I think that's all we've left to complete the testing of the bed." She giggled, then began churning more aggressively.

A while later, as they were drying each other after their shower, David said, "I have a map of the French rail lines somewhere. The clerk at the Embassy gave it to me in June for my trip to Oxford, and I can dig it out and see what other routes there are."

"Why don't we take the same route you did in June?"

"That passes too close to the fighting at the Front. Both going and returning, I heard and felt the blasts of artillery fire. I don't want you anywhere near that. Anywhere near danger."

Maria hummed a sigh as she nodded. "My knight in shining armour, protecting me."

After they had dressed, David searched through his files to find the map. "The clerk had a stack of these printed, and he marks them for each trip. That's the route I took in June."

He pointed to Belfort. "This is where the artillery was."

"And where is Ypres? Where were you wounded?"

David put his finger near the top of the map. "There's Lille. It's in France next to the Belgian border, and Ypres is to the northwest, across the border into Belgium, about twenty miles away – that's thirty kilometres for you."

"That's a long way for you to have travelled. All the way from Ypres to here, and to do it while you were wounded." She shook her head.

"Being wounded made it easier. My bandaged face and head allowed me to blend in with the other wounded soldiers travelling to and from home on sick leave." He chuckled. "My leave pass and orders allowed me to travel free of charge on their trains."

He pointed to Basel. "This was my first destination. There's an odd bulge in the border across the Rhine near Basel, much smaller than the one here at Schaffhausen, but it's also a land border rather than a cold, swift and wide river."

"So, why didn't you cross there?"

"Remember our first day in the mountains when I told you about the German soldier being shot as he climbed over the fence into Switzerland? This is where that was. The Germans had the border rigged with trip wires and bells, and but for fortunate timing, that deserting soldier so easily could have been me. I spent the night huddled in my greatcoat up the hillside as I rethought my plans."

She trembled. "Oh, God! That was just before I met you, wasn't it? Seems so long ago now."

"Yes, the next day. I figured Freiburg would be the best place to outfit myself for a traverse of the mountains to Schaffhausen. I'll never forget the way you looked at me that first night in the gasthaus."

"And I'll never forget the way you made my body tingle when I looked at you." She trembled. "God, you still do it."