‘How do you feel now?’ Phoebe asked. ‘Weird. Relieved, mostly, I guess.’ ‘Me too. It was an overwhelming experience. Almost too much for me....�� ‘I can imagine. Especially after they got you so often in the beginning.’ ‘That was pretty horrible indeed.’ ‘It took me quite some effort to come to terms with it all,’ Ashley said, looking at the wall. ‘I had to disconnect myself from my body. I had to tell myself all the time, don’t let them play with your mind. Don’t let them play with your mind. They. Now, come and lick that mess off my shoe!”I lovingly bent to the task, gazing upwards in awe at the beautiful, smirking face of this goddess.As she watched me, she reached forward, grabbed me by the hair and slapped me hard, twice, across the face.“It’s OK, Peter. I’m not mad at you. I just felt like slapping you. You don’t mind, do you?” she said.Rubbing my cheeks, “If it pleases you, Miss”.On the following afternoon, back at home, Caroline had news for me.“Marion has invited us to her home. I scrambled the eggs, but if you like them another way, I have plenty and can make what you like.”“This is all very lovely, really,” said Lydia And Emily added, “Oh it is wonderful! And after breakfast, I’m going to clean up the kitchen. I know that you and Mom have a lot to talk about this morning, don’t you?”I looked at Lydia quizzically, but she looked down at her plate avoiding my glance.“Well, I’m just wondering,” Emily continued, “Do you think you made a little girl baby or a little boy. They had two stops before they reached the Black Bull, each time near a trackside trough where the horses could drink and rest.At each stop, Becky demanded that she be given some time with Trafalgar, which also gave her added time to be closer to Jack, which he didn’t mind at all.The Black Bull hostelry was as well set-up as Sir Oswald had suggested. Well, for horses it was. There was a wide facility where the unharnessed pulling horses could be washed down before being settled in individual.