.. Yes, Master." I'll be home in forty-five minutes." Y... Yes, Master."I hung up.Ally had outdone herself. When I entered our home, I was pleasantly ...urprised by the sight of so many candles, and by soft music wafting through the house from the lounge room. I decided then and there that I would have to tease her more often. The scent of a delicious dinner wound itself around my senses as I dropped my briefcase in the walk-in wardrobe and changed into jeans and a t-shirt. I washed my hands and. Waiting outside the front gate, Corvus counted more than a dozen slaves engaged in tasks to keep the place looking new and fresh - mowing the lawn, trimming the hedges, and painting the eaves. Corvus thought of his house as having a certain genteel neglect, but the Herrenius house made it seem like a dump.Instead of opening the gate, Aquilina emerged from the house at a trot. She was wearing a simple sleeveless sundress the color of yellow saffron and flats. The outfit suited and flattered her,. Can’t this wait? -No. Just come now. I’ll explain. Rachel raised her eyebrow at his last sentence. He’d explain? She was now curious. Was something wrong? It was kind of crazy that he’d text her out of the blue like this. And to be so insistent. It wasn’t like him. She sighed. OMG. K. Be there soon. Rachel turned and stepped back off the porch and headed to her car in the driveway. She knew if she went inside and saw her parents, it would be twenty-one questions about Kevin and the prom and. .. You're right. It sure as hell isn't," Johnconcurred. "So, to paraphrase Oliver Hardy, I guess you couldsay that this is another fine mess I've gotten us into!It's all my fault! I never should have asked you to makelove to me tonight!" "Would you please stop berating yourself, kiddo?Look, if anyone's to blame, we both are. After all, neitherone of us saw this coming." "True... But, we both should have known better! Weboth should have seen it coming!" "All right. You'll get no argument out of.