"At least I know how to be rid of the champagne," he replies, teasing the knot of his tie away from his neck. It doesn't chafe any less.

"Perhaps I should be asking you the same question. I wouldn't have expected pomp and circumstance to be your style."

Her attire was as much a surprise to him as his was to her. He knew her very much as the Major and while she was emminently capable of delicacy, it was always made abundantly clear that she could just as easily separate your head from your shoulders as waltz.