“Welcome to Vietnam, Monsieur Guibert. What brings you to Saigon?” “Thank you, Your Excellency,” Nicholai said. “I’m starting a business—a manufactury.” “Superb,” Bao Dai said. “And what will you manufacture?” “I was thinking of marionettes,” Nicholai said, looking straight at Bao Dai. “You know… puppets.” It was a deliberate insult and everyone who heard it knew it. But Bao Dai merely smiled and asked, “What sort of puppets?” “French, I think,” Nicholai said. “Or do you think American?” “I didn’t think the Americans were known for such things,” Solange said. “Yes, their ventriloquists use
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