It was black, form fitting on top and flowy on the bottom, and stopped right at her knee. The neckline was a lot more daring than what she usually wor..., but it was absolutely beautiful and flattering. She could bring out her mother’s pearls and wear it with a pair of seamed tights and red, satin heels. ‘Claudette!’ Mamette’s voice interrupted her thoughts, ‘That man outside seems to want your attention.’ Claudette furrowed her brows before turning to look out the semi-frosted window. It was. " Not here for that," he grunted, his voice guttural. "What happened to your legs?" 'Might as well find out if I'm wasting my time, ' he thought. He could always withdraw if the trip was a waste -- it wasn't as if she could chase him down."You could have just asked..." she muttered."I just did." I was in an automobile accident, several years ago," she related, sighing. This wasn't usually the first question someone asked; courtesy seemed to dictate that it be the third or fourth. "They were. Then she laid a trap, but it failed.”“The thing is, House Lords and Ladies are also Padroni,” I said as I pulled on my jeans. “Apparently, from what I’ve been told, the two are considered the same thing. Becoming a Padrone has also made me a House Lord, even though I don’t have that kind of House.”I saw Linda’s confusion. “I don’t have my own collection of Magi,” I said. “Think of it like my own kingdom.”“So, you have to have Fonti to feed your power, what benefit do you gain from having. I puttogether an email for Barry with the status of all the projects we hadgoing on, and attached the key reports, then touched up my makeup. I wasfeeling a little mischievous so unbuttoned the top two buttons on myblouse, to show some (ok, a lot of) cleavage. Time to head out.A little after seven, I pulled my BMW into the Saltaire parking lot. Amodern building built out on wharf over the river. I found Matt sittingat the bar with a beer, and engrossed in the hockey game on TV. Hedidn't.