”I still couldn’t believe that they did this. I wanted to talk, but then I might give them orders. I shouldn’t do that. I had all this power, bu... I needed to be controlled by them. I needed to be dominated. It was the proper way of things.Dad took the head of the table, seating there the way the patriarch should. Strong and commanding as Mom came in with the tuna casserole, a savory scent filling the air. She must have left it to stay warm in the oven while they came upstairs to play with me.“I. As soon as I saw the flaw, I knew instantly what had happened and why. Emotional intent.Most magic is not created by exact measurements. It’s not at all like the idea that you have floating around in your head. There is no add one cup of newt, a dash of bat guano, and a tail feather from a peacock type of spells where if you don’t follow precise instructions, the incantation fails. Nor is there a Witch stirring a bubbling brew in a huge black cauldron, as seen in your cartoons. While there are. Make a good likeness of me and my three and you can stay in the barn. Just the barn, mind. Don’t want you nowhere near my house, or my girls. If you don’t produce, you’re on your way with my boot up your backside.’ I started to unstrap one of the panniers on Wilful to get my sketchpad. ‘Just the four of you?’ He took my meaning. ‘Just the four. No business of your’s where their mothers be.’ Keep him talking, I decided. ‘Unusual name, Thanksbe. Don’t think I’ve come across it before.’ ‘Damn fool. Sarah’s servants spent many hours applying make-up to her face and trying out the costly designer outfits that had been bought specifically for the occasion. The draped silk dress left her shoulders bare and fell fashionably open at the front so that little effort indeed was needed to catch a glance at her nipples. And for this reason, much care was taken to ensure that they were rouged and powdered as much as her face and shoulders so as to present her in the best possible light. Her servants.