Chapter 14 Chapter Fourteen Goodbye, Henry

As the snow fell, Nicole and her daughter, Geno Viève, arm in arm, climbed towards the top of the hill. "Did you see the look on that American's face when I told him who you were?" smiled Genevieve, who was so proud of her mother. As they approached the inn, Nicole slung the skis and poles over the other shoulder.A man who looked like Santa Claus murmured "good afternoon" and walked by. "I hope you don't talk so fast." Nicole's tone didn't sound reproachful. "Sometimes it's really nice when no one knows you!" Next to the main entrance of the small hotel, there is a hut specially used to store ski equipment.Nicole and Genevieve went in, put their skis and poles in the locker, changed their ski boots, and went out of the cabin.The light from the inn softly sprinkled on the snow, stretched and soaked, and disappeared into the darkness.The mother and daughter stood together, looking out over the ridge.It meanders away towards the village.

"You know," Nicole said, "as we raced down the track today and headed back, I just couldn't believe it. I'm really going to go?" She pointed to the sky. A meeting with a mysterious spaceship flying from outside the sky within two weeks? Sometimes the human mind hesitates before the facts." "Maybe it was really a dream," said the daughter softly. Nicole smiled.She liked Geno Viève's romantic and poetic tone.No matter how hard or boring the daily work is, she can always become cheerful and cheerful under the influence of her daughter's relaxed and lively nature.A family is like a harmonious trio, living together and living together.Nicole didn't even want to think about the separation and longing that would be caused during her 100 days of absence.

"Are you okay with my long walk?" Nicole asked her daughter when they walked into the lobby of the hotel. There was a fire in the room, the flame flickered, and the light and shadow flickered.A nimble Swiss waiter was serving warm drinks to the skiers.It can be seen that this small hotel has no robots, not even room service. "Don't worry, I'll be fine." Geno Viève has a cheerful personality and never looks for trouble. "Besides, I can still talk to you by videophone every night. During the call, the delay caused by the time difference must be It's fun." They walked past the quaint counter of the inn.

"In addition, I will be the central figure of the whole school during the whole process of watching your actions in the school's network center." Genevieve added, "I already have a plan, which is also an assignment. Your narrative, draw a sketch of the Rama people." Nicole shook her head and smiled again.Genevieve's optimism is always contagious.I'm ashamed to think about it... "Oh, Ms. de Jardin." A voice interrupted her thoughts, and the manager of the inn leaned out from the counter. "Someone wants me to deliver a letter to you personally." Then, he handed over a letter Small plain envelopes.

Nicole opened the letter, saw a special emblem on the letter paper, and quickly closed the letter paper, her heart pounding. "What's the matter, mamma?" asked Genevieve. "It's a special letter. It's very unusual!" Nicole tries to hide her emotions from her daughter. "This is a memo about my work." She lied, "The sender made a serious mistake. He shouldn't have given such an important document to someone else, but should have sent it to me directly." "Is it some classified data on the physical condition of the astronauts?" Genevieve asked.She often discussed with her mother the role of life sciences officer, an enviable and appreciated role in a major space operation.

Nicole nodded. "Honey," she said to her daughter, "you'd better go upstairs and tell Grandpa I'm going to be alone for a while and see if there's anything in this letter that needs to be done right away. We still have dinner at seven-thirty." She kissed her daughter, watched her get into the elevator, and then walked out of the inn into the bright snow. Standing under the street lamp, she unfolded the letter paper with her cold hands.Her fingers trembled and her movements were awkward.She said to herself: "You are so stupid, you are so careless, it has been such a long time, if your daughter sees..."

The emblem on this letterhead is still the same, exactly the same as it was 15 years ago.At that time, Dali Higgins had invited her to dinner outside the Olympic Press Center.Surprised by the intensity of her emotional reaction, Nicole forced herself to read the letter. "I'm sorry to inform you so late. Must see you to-morrow, at noon, in cottage No. 8, Westfrucca, alone.—Henry." Early the next morning, Nicole was the first in the waiting line for the cable car that took skiers all the way to the summit of Westfrukage.Along with about twenty other skiers, she boarded the clear-windowed gondola.She leaned against the window and watched the car door close automatically, feeling very worried.

"I've only seen him once in 15 years, and..." Her thoughts raced. The cable car ascends slowly.Nicole put on her ski glasses, and it was a sunny morning, not unlike that January morning seven years ago. I remember that it was Dad who called her loudly in the villa that day.The night before, Beauvais had snowed the most heavily it had ever seen.It took her a lot of trouble to coax Genevieve into staying at home and playing in the snow instead of going to school.At that time, Nicole was still working in the hospital in Tours, and was waiting for an acceptance letter from the Aerospace Academy.

When her father called, she was watching her daughter how to make an angel out of snowdrifts. "Nicole, Genevieve, come and see what's in our mailbox! It must have come last night," Papa yelled. Nicole and Genevieve ran over and saw Dad sending long texts to the big screen on the wall. "How strange!" said Pa. "As if we were all invited to the coronation of the King of England, and the private reception after the ceremony! That's an extraordinary thing." "Hi! Grandpa," said Genevieve excitedly, "I'm going! Can we go? I want to meet the King and Queen!"

"My dear, there is no queen in England now," laughed my grandfather, "unless you mean the queen mother, who is the king's mother. The king is not married yet!" Nicole said nothing, but read the invitation letter back and forth several times.When Genevieve went out, her father looked at her, holding her by the shoulders. "I'm going," she said quietly. "Are you sure?" he asked, his eyes searching. "Yes." She replied in the affirmative. Nicole thought, checking the time on her watch: Henry had never seen her before that afternoon.She checked her skis again, and then, sprinted down the hill.

"Father has a way. He actually managed to make me disappear from Beauvais. No one knew that I had a baby until Gene Viève was a year old. Henry didn't suspect it until that night at Buckingham Palace. Until we meet." That night, they stood in the line of guests waiting for an audience, and before the king came, Genevieve had already shown a look of impatience. At last the king arrived, and he stood before Nicole. "The noble Pierre de Jardin of Beauvais, a Frenchman, with his daughter Nicole and granddaughter Geno Viève." Nicole bowed politely; Genevieve curtsied solemnly. "Oh, this is Genevieve?" said the king, bending down and gently resting Genevieve's chin with his hand.When the little girl looked up, he saw something very familiar.The king looked back at Nicole inquiringly, suspiciously.Nicole was still smiling slightly, showing no other expression. At this time, the master of ceremonies called out the name of the next guest loudly.So the king had no choice but to go on. "So, you told Dali to come to the hotel." Nicole recalled while rushing down the hillside at high speed, doing jumps and volleys, "he chattered and babbled for a long time , and finally said, can you invite me to drink tea with you. " Nicole plowed the lip of the skis into the snow and stopped abruptly. "Tell Henry, I can't go." She remembered that seven years ago, she rejected Dali's suggestion like this. She looked at her watch again. It was only eleven o'clock, too early to go to the cabin.She walked toward the lift and up to the top. Just two minutes after 12 o'clock, Nicole came to the edge of the forest, where there was a shepherd's cabin unique to the Swiss mountains.Nicole took off her skis, planted them in the snow, and walked toward the cabin.Suddenly, two burly men appeared from nowhere, and one of them jumped in front of Nicole and blocked the door of the hut. "It's okay, we're waiting for her!" Nicole heard a familiar voice. Just as they suddenly appeared just now, they suddenly disappeared again.Nicole saw Dali smiling as usual, appearing at the door of the hut. "Hi! Hello, Nicole." He greeted her in the same friendly way as before.However, it can be seen that he is much older. On his forehead, there are a few gray age spots, and his beard is also gray. "How are you?" the old man asked. "I'm fine, Dudley," she replied.Suddenly, she felt herself getting nervous, and she scolded herself in her heart: I'm so worthless!And remind yourself that, like the king you're about to meet, she's a successful person.She worked up her courage and went into the cabin. It was warm in the house.Henry stood there with a small fireplace behind him.Darley closed the door behind Nicole, leaving her alone with the king.Nicole took off her scarf and ski goggles, and unbuttoned her ski suit. The two stared at each other in silence for 20 seconds, maybe 30 seconds, without speaking.In an instant, those passionate days 15 years ago resurfaced before their eyes, arousing their infinite emotions and emotions.No, don't disturb this dreamlike memory. "Good day, Nicole," said the King at last, in a soft, tender voice. "Hello, Henry," she responded.The king walked around the chaise longue in the middle of the house and approached her as if he wanted to hug her, but her silence and sternness stopped him.So the king had to stand there, leaning against the couch. "Why don't you sit down?" he suggested. Nicole shook her head. "I'd like to stand, if you don't mind." She waited for him to speak. Their eyes were intertwined again, as if there were a thousand words.She felt that she couldn't help but want to throw herself into his arms, but there was a voice in her heart warning and stopping. "Henry," she finally couldn't help herself, and blurted out, "why did you call me here? It must be something very important. It is very important that the King of England spends his precious time in a small cabin on a remote snow-capped mountain in Switzerland." Unusual!" Henry walked to a corner of the room and said, "I'll give you a present to congratulate you on your 36th birthday." As he spoke, he bent down and took something. Nicole smiled, and felt relieved: "Tomorrow is my birthday, and your day is a day early. But why..." He held a data crystal in his hand and handed it to her. "This is the most valuable gift I can find for you." He said solemnly, "For it, the royal family spent a lot of money." She looked at him in bewilderment. "I've always been worried about your move. At first, I didn't know why. I was playing with Prince Charles and Princess Elena one night four months ago, and I suddenly understood what made me Uneasy. My gut tells me that there is something wrong with some of your players. I know it sounds a bit crazy, especially to me, it's more of a worry. But I'm not worried about Rama itself. I Think that smug Brown might be right, the Ramas don't harm humans. But, you're going to be locked up with 11 co-workers for hundreds of days... Come on, take this crystal. I'll let me Our intelligence officers gathered dossier material on all 12 personnel aboard the Newton, including yours." Listen, listen, Nicole frowned. "Most of this information is not in the files of the International Space Agency. According to my observation, there are quite a few unstable elements among the crew members of the Newton. For this, I have no good plan for the time being..." "These things have nothing to do with you," Nicole interrupted angrily.She felt insulted that Henry had meddled in her work. "Why are you interfering indiscriminately..." "Come, come, be quiet, will you?" said the king hastily, "I promise my motives are good. You see," he added, "you probably don't need this information, although I think it's It will be useful, but take it. You can throw it away if you like. You are a life science officer, you can do whatever you want." Henry hastened to comfort Nicole awkwardly.Just don't screw up this meeting.He stepped aside and sat down in a chair by the fire with his back to Nicole. "Be careful yourself, Nicole," he whispered. She thought about it for a while, then put the data crystal into her pocket, then walked behind the king, and said softly, "Thank you, Henry." She gently took his arm. The king didn't turn around, but took her finger silently and emotionally.They stood there in silence for a long time. "There are many things in this that puzzle our intelligence experts." He said in a low voice, "There is one thing that I am particularly interested in." Nicole felt her heart pounding like the crackling logs in the fireplace.One voice cried: Tell him, tell him; but another urged: Reason, silence. She withdrew her hand slowly, and he turned to gaze at her affectionately. She smiled, walked to the door, put on her scarf and leather coat, and said softly: "Goodbye, Henry."