" I was dumbfounded. And I was caught. "If your father were here he'd whip you until you bled. Or worse!" "Yes, Ma'am," I admitted. "You need to be pu...ished, but this is nothing that can wait until your parents get back," she continued. My prospects suddenly brightened; she was right, my father would have skinned me alive. I was willing to take whatever she decided was a fair punishment if he never was to find out. She sat on the edge of the bed. "Come here," she ordered, and I dutifully. Bis es der Frau auffiel. "Was habeich gerade gesagt?" "Dass ich immer genau zuh?ren muss," antwortete ichtrotzig, ohne sie dabei anzusehen. Sie fasste mich unters Kinn und zoges hoch, bis ich ihr in die Augen sehen musste. "Du bist wirklichrotzfrech," stellte sie fest. "Ich werde dir zeigen, was mit einemSissy, der rebellisch ist, passiert!" "Ich bin kein Sissy! Ich werde dasmeinem Herrn erz?hlen, wie du mich behandelst!" platzte ich - odervielmehr der alte Mario in mir, der sich. “Did you hear what I said?”“Yes, of course.” She gulped a large sip. “Robert, please. If you care for me, you’ll leave now.”“Do you still want me?”“What do you think?”He gazed into her dewy eyes and attempted a smile. “Thank you for that - if nothing else. OK, I’ll go then.”In the hallway, there was an uncomfortable silence as he put on his overcoat. It seemed to Gina that he was anxious to say something. He was fidgeting and awkward, when he’d always been so relaxed with her.“I don’t know when. Fortunately, I had plenty of gold in my magical little sack, so I had an excuse to wander through a lot of the shops, adding to my stash of items.I also had plenty of gold for the local brew, which went down like water, but kicked like a mule.I woke up from a dream about home, my head pounding and my mouth dry. Once I was able to open my eyes, I dimly recognized the room at the Inn I'd stumbled into the night before.Can you dream in a dream? I expected to wake up at home, but I'm still here..