Quite skilled in her field of work, Catherine was advanced rapidly through the Department of External Affairs. This however had cost her an early marriage, and caused her to forsworn the martial state for the rest of her life, believing the demans of travel and the insane hours of her job were unacceptable to any man worth having. Catherine first met Marie while she was with the Treasury Board in Ottawa where she briefed the diplomatic corps prior to their assignments. She took two refresher courses, one for the European Common Market and the other for Hong Kong.